Page 11 of A Wolf's Treasure
He, himself, was still somewhat wary of the forest people. Although a few of his friends and pack mates had mated with Fae lasses, and Duncan tried not to treat them any differently than any other, if he were to be honest with himself, they still struck fear in his bones.
Even the sweet thing sitting beside him.
But that hadn’t stopped his wolf from rushing to her side when danger arose. And once his beast had made it’s mind up about something, there was no stopping it.
Even if it meant taking on the three who were following them.
It was a perplexing thing, that the beast inside of him was so adamant about this particular lass, and it was definitely something to think about when he had a moment’s peace. However, Duncan quickly shoved the thought aside. He had no time to worry about it at the moment. Right now, he just needed to get her to safety, and then get back to his pack and tell them what he knew about these wolves who were invading Cedric’s territory without the alpha’s permission.
“I think we’re losing them,” Ryanne said. The relief she felt was evident in her tone.
Duncan checked the mirror. Then he checked again. He looked to either side of the vehicle, then behind them again.
“What’s wrong?”
“There’s only two wolves back there,” he told her. “I dinna ken where th’ third one is.” Duncan floored the gas pedal. The police could just add to the chase if they happened to see him.
Ryanne held one hand up the window, shielding her eyes from any glare from the lights on the dashboard, though he knew she could see as well as he could in the darkness. Twisting around, she searched behind them, then leaned across his lap to look out his window, the dark curls pulled on top of her head softly brushing his jaw.
He inhaled the sweet smell of her.
Fookin’ hell.
His insides twisted, and for a few seconds, he completely forgot where he was and what he was supposed to be doing. But then she was gone again, back on her own side of the Jeep.
His wolf howled at the loss, pacing restlessly beneath his skin. Duncan took a deep breath and focused on the dark road ahead of him.
“Where did it go?” she asked him.
“I dinna ken. But this can no’ be good.”
“You have to lose them. If they catch me…” She let the words trail away.
He knew well what would happen if they caught her. The Fae weren’t ones he would ever mess with if there was no need. At least not one on one. But there were three of those wolves. If he thought he could take them alone, he’d stop the Jeep and shift, but one against three weren’t very good odds. If he took on one, or even two, that would leave the last one to go after Ryanne. And it was very possible, in all the confusion of a fight, it would get its jaws around her wee throat before she could protect herself. “I’m tryin’, lass.” He glanced over.
She was looking at him with large dark eyes. Eyes full of worry and something else.
Trust.
“They will no’ get their paws on ye,” he promised her. Motioning with his head, he indicated the “oh, shit!” handles beside her seat and along the top of her window. “Hang on, Ryanne. We’re aboot tae go off road.”
Checking behind them, he saw he was finally gaining ground, although there was still no sign of the third wolf. Of course, it didn’t mean anything. It could’ve broken off from the others in an attempt to cut them off further ahead.
Or maybe he’d gotten taken out by one of the big trucks, the only other vehicles on this dark highway this late at night. It wasn’t likely, but one could hope.
Perhaps if they fought together…
No, he couldn’t risk it.
He wouldn’t take the chance of getting hurt, or even killed, and leaving his female defenseless.
Duncan frowned. Where the fook had that come from? The lass wasn’t his.
Did he want her to be?
Och. Now was not the time to be thinking about such a matter. Their only chance was to get out of their sight and lose them, then circle back and get to his pack.
He watched the landscape as they sped down the highway. The turn he was looking for would be coming up very soon. If he could get around it, their pursuers would lose sight of them, and there was a turnoff on the left. An old, dirt road that led up the mountain, completely unnoticeable if you didn’t know it was there, half covered with overhanging branches and brush covering the tire tracks. The highway began to weave in and out through the mountains here. With any luck, they could disappear into the trees and be gone by the time the wolves chasing them came around the corner.
