Page 38 of A Wolf's Treasure
But how could he not have known? His pack was scheming with her father. If he knew what her father was, then he should have known what she was.
And then she had a very chilling thought.
Could it be they didn’t know about the so-called prince?
A horrific scream echoed through the trees.
Ryanne took off running as fast as she could go. She was nearly back to her wolf when she heard them. Footsteps that weren’t her own.
Immediately, she made herself unseen again as a wave of fear crashed over her. Not her fear. Duncan’s. She froze where she was and listened, shivering from the damp, night air that suddenly seemed so much colder.
The rain dripped through the trees. An owl hooted somewhere close by, pleased with its kill.
There. More footsteps. One sounded like a human. The others…did not.
Wolves?
Dammit. Thomas’s wolves were still here. Still searching for her. It had to be. If going back to the club hadn’t been stupid enough, coming back here most definitely had been. They were lucky they hadn’t been intruded upon a few minutes earlier. Both she and Duncan could’ve been slaughtered, and she doubted either of them would’ve noticed.
A bellow of rage echoed through the trees.
Duncan!
Ryanne ran forward a few steps without thinking. Stopped. And then, with a shake of her wet hair, continued on. Her wolf was hurting and vulnerable. If the others had taken him unawares, he would be killed without a doubt.
She had to help him.
“Dammit, Thomas!” Keeping her voice down, she cursed him all the way back to the Jeep. Still a good distance away, she took to the trees to avoid being heard or scented, and jumping from branch to branch, circled around until she could see what was happening.
Duncan was flat on his back in the mud, arms and legs akimbo like he was sacrificing himself to the gods. Two large wolves, both in various shades of brown, circled around him. A male in his skin stood off to the side in a dark raincoat, arms crossed over his chest as he stared down at Duncan. He was frowning.
After a moment, he flicked his hand like he was waving away a bug. “Get rid o’ him. He will no’ be telling us anything like this.”
In a surge of panic, she jumped down from the branch she’d been sitting on and rushed toward them. “Hey!” she yelled.
The two wolves spotted her immediately, dropping their heads and baring their teeth. It was a stroke of bad design that they had the ability to see her when she didn’t want to be seen.
The one in his skin dropped his arms back down to his sides, his eyes scanning the trees where she stood.
“I’m the one you’re looking for,” she said as she strode forward. Flicking a brief glance down at Duncan, she saw blood trickling down his temple. Just out of pouncing distance, she stood with her feet braced and her arms at her sides, ready to move quick if the need arose. She tilted her head at the leader. She hadn’t seen this one before. Must be new.
Which meant he had no idea who he was dealing with.
“Come on, dogs. Come and get me,” she taunted. And just so their leader wouldn’t miss out on all the fun, she made herself visible again.
There was a movement in the mud as Duncan’s head slowly fell to the side. She felt, more than saw, his green eyes lock onto her.
The two wolves paced restlessly from side to side, heads down and tails straight out.
“What are you waiting for?” she taunted. But they were smart not to charge her. She could take at least one of them out before the other one got its teeth in her, and it appeared neither of them wanted to be the dead one.
Of course, if the leader shifted, she’d be in a world of trouble. Even a Faerie of Ryanne’s caliber couldn’t take on three wolves at one time.
The smaller one was getting restless. Ryanne could tell from the way he kept sending their leader little growls and looks from the corner of his eye. He was a dominant wolf, despite his size. Nearly as dominant as the one in charge, and he obviously didn’t like being told what to do.
Ah, a rebellious one. He was going to break protocol.
Ryanne smiled. This is what she’d been waiting for. She just needed to lead them away from Duncan. And with any luck, if she didn’t make it back, his pack would come looking for him.
