Right Wolf, Right Time

Chapter Eight

Monty had been gone for three days with no word, and Sophie was losing her mind. She couldn’t think, couldn’t eat, and refused to talk to Julia or Gabby about it, avoiding them by working overtime at the grocery store. But she couldn’t face her lonely house anymore. To stay near Monty, to breathe in his scent, she slept in his big bed each night, crying and missing him as she imagined her uncle and cousins carving him up.

She’d seen enough during her years to make her more than wary of men. Her cousins had brutalized women and men she now knew to be Ac-taw, but they’d done it when their uncle had been away. Ted Norris didn’t subscribe to sexual urges. The man had been a monk in all the time she’d spent around him. He reveled in violence and brutality, but her cousins liked it all. And the dirtier the better.

Nightmare images of Monty being tortured refused to leave her, and her wolf was constantly on edge, turning at the smallest scent or sound.

Footsteps nearing the house had her reaching for Monty’s favorite knife, the one he’d left with her for protection, as if she’d need it with the pride always underfoot. Julia and Gabby were bad enough, but they must have told their mates of their worry, who in turn told Burke, because he stood outside the front door, waiting.

“Sophie, I’m coming in. We need to talk.”

She didn’t unlock it, but she apparently didn’t need to. She heard Burke sigh and fiddle with the door. In moments he entered with a grim look on his face.

She paced, anxious and ill at ease. Though she’d promised herself to Monty, she wasn’t exactly comfortable with the other pride males, and not in a place she considered her own den. Den? Her wolf intruded on her thoughts more and more, and she’d let the creature, because she wanted to be more like Monty—a man at peace with himself.

But her man belonged to the pride. She didn’t, and Burke wasn’t a wolf.

She stood with her back to the sink counter, her grip on the knife’s hilt, and watched warily as he stopped inside the doorway.

“I’m going to sit over here, okay?” He moved to the couch and sat, leaving her a clear path to the door should she need to leave in a hurry.

Too tense to feel ashamed for needing the avenue of escape, she asked him the question she knew he held an answer to. “Any news?”

“Yes.” Burke wore his worry in his golden eyes, and she wanted to howl. “One of the wolves reported back. They found some Hunters in the woods, but the Hunters were prepared. Two wolves are dead, the other seven were taken. No further word from any of them. They’ve vanished.”

Her worst fear come to light.

“Now don’t worry, we’ll—”

“Don’t tell me not to worry,” she growled. “He’s my mate.”

“Yeah, and he’s part of my pride,” Burke growled back and stood.

She automatically retreated and felt immediate shame. Monty deserved so much more than her. Weak, pathetic. She was everything her uncle and cousins had called her. And worse, because she’d never done the right thing when she had the chance, preferring to live in denial.

But she could fix that now.

“Damn it, Sophie. I’m not going to hurt you. Hell, I want to help you. The order’s lighting out in a few hours, when it turns darkest. We’re going to get him back.”

“Who’s we, exactly?” she asked as she plotted.

“The order, Sheridan and his wolves. Soon as he has a direct fix, I’ll join him. We know the bastards are somewhere south of Kalispell, closer to Flathead Lake. But we can’t nail the exact location. Not yet.”

“You can’t go with them.” Something about Flathead Lake sparked her memory. “You have to protect the pride.”

He grimaced. “I’m pride leader. I make my own decisions,” he reminded her in a firm but gentle voice. “Rachel understands.”

For his friend, he’d leave his pregnant mate behind and go into danger. Could Sophie do less for her mate? The love of her life? Fear of her uncle and cousins had blinded her to so much for so long. Because of them, she’d denied her wolf, her very self. And now because of them, she might lose a love worth fighting for.

Time to stop being so Sophie-like and man up. Wolf up, her animal spirit corrected, and she embraced the idea.

She let the tears flow. “I’m sorry, Burke. I’m just so worried.” She sniffed a few times, pouring it on thicker. Not that she had to pad her worry, but she’d finally worked up the courage to do something and she needed to get away from the pride and their protective instincts.

“I know, honey. I understand.” He gave her a sympathetic nod. “Want me to get Julia or Gabby for you?”

“No. Not now. I think I just need to sleep on it, you know?” She bit her lip. “Would it be okay if I went home to my house? It’s where Monty and I first… Ah, where he first told me he loved me. And I want to be closer to him. Sounds silly, but…” She held on to the pendant he’d given her, relying on it for strength.

“No, no.” He looked relieved. “I’ll have Grady drive you home.”

“I’m okay. I want to drive my car. And I live in town, so it’s not like I have to worry about being attacked by Hunters.” Not like Monty.

“Yeah, but you’re under my protection. Monty entrusted me with your welfare, honey. You mean the world to him.”

Her eyes welled again.

“Shit. I mean,” Burke paused, looking helpless. “Go ahead home. I’ll follow, just to see that you get in safe. Okay?”

“Sure.” She caught her breath and grabbed her purse and keys. “Can we go now?”

“Yeah. Meet me at the main house.”

She drove to the main house and waited while Burke hustled into his truck. As promised, he followed her home. She waved at him and watched him drive away, knowing she had a small window of time to do what needed to be done. Burke would have someone sit outside the house for her protection. Not that she needed it, but because he’d promised Monty to protect her.

She hurried into her basement and retrieved the duffel she hadn’t looked at since Theo had brought her to Cougar Falls.

Taking a deep breath, she called on her courage and made the call that would end her life in Cougar Falls. A half an hour later, a knock sounded at the door. She glanced at the bag on the table and knew the time had come.

She rose and answered it. Axel and Rafe entered. Alone.

“Thank you for coming,” she said quietly.

Axel nodded and glanced around. “You by yourself?”

“I think one of the pride is watching the house.”

“Melissa’s out front,” Rafe added. “A few of my wolves are distracting her while we discuss what the hell you’re up to.”

She blinked away useless tears. God, she hadn’t cried so much since she’d left the frickin’ homestead with Theo years ago. “I know how to get Monty and the others back.”

Axel and Rafe exchanged a glance before Rafe said, “No.”

“I’m worth more to the Hunters than you know.”

Axel frowned, but Rafe’s expression didn’t change. “I know more than you think. And the answer is still no,” he denied softly.

“Rafe?” Axel asked.

“I’m Ted Norris’s niece,” she said out loud. “The big bad Hunter killing Ac-taw? I’m his blood. Call and ask Theo. He’ll tell you.”

Axel swore.

Rafe shrugged. “He already told me years ago. I’m not going to let you sacrifice yourself to that monster to rescue anyone.”

“I’m not going to sacrifice myself. I’m going in as bait while you and your wolves get ready to take his Hunters out for good. I’ll distract him for you.”

“Sophie—”

She approached him, ignoring Axel’s tension. “Rafe, I have to. Monty’s my mate. We bonded.” She started to cry again. Damn it. “I spent my entire life growing up under my uncle’s thumb. I didn’t do enough before.”

“Theo said you did plenty.” Rafe shook his head. “You saved his life.”

“But I should have saved a lot more.” She didn’t look away from her alpha, even when his powerful glare ordered her to submit. “I can do this, Rafe. Please. I have to do this or I won’t survive.” Not without Monty, not without doing what I should have done so long ago.

He softened. She could see it. Apparently so could Axel.

“Hell, no, Rafe. You can’t let her go in there. Not around those fuckers.”

“And you can’t tell me what to do,” Rafe growled in a low rumble.

Axel glanced down but didn’t relent. “She shouldn’t go.” He looked up at her. “Even if she is part of this mess. She’s breeding.”

Sophie started. “I’m not pregnant.”

Rafe blinked at her. “She’s not—is she?”

Axel nodded. “It’s really subtle, but it’s there. Happened recently.”

She colored.

Axel’s grin widened. “Yeah.” He touched his nose. “This thing never lies. You’re going to be having a pup in nine months.” His smile died. “So no way you can be anywhere near Norris. He’ll kill you, or worse. Think about your mate, Sophie. Your baby.”

Now more than ever, she had to help Monty. “I am.” She turned a pleading gaze back to Rafe. “When I left my uncle, it was after years of living with him, knowing he was bad but not how bad. He hunted and he killed. But they were just wild animals stealing our chickens or cows. So I told myself. But I think I always knew.”

“Sophie, don’t.” Rafe tried to stop her.

“I saw him kill one of us. A man who’d been so nice to me. My uncle shot him right between the eyes in the middle of his change. And then I knew what he’d been doing all those years. To all those people.” She blinked back her tears, using her pain to bolster her resolve. “Theo helped me escape as much as I helped him. And now my uncle is doing it again, hurting Ac-taw. But this time it’s because of me.”

“No, it’s because he’s a sick fuck,” Axel interrupted. “Honey, you can’t go up against him. From everything we’ve heard, he’s not right in the head.”

“He’s Ac-taw,” she whispered, suddenly putting the pieces together.

“What?” Rafe stared at her, hard.

“He has to be. Monty said he never seems to change, and when I thought about it, I realized he never has, not in twenty-six years. He’s the same man he’s always been. Strong, and he can see, hear and smell things normal humans can’t. He’s like me, and he doesn’t shift. Ever.”

“Well, that would make him a nutjob of the first order.” Axel nodded. “Never feeling his wolf, all that anger and ferocity balled up in a human body? Bound to make him psycho.”

Rafe studied her. “Tell me everything you know about your uncle. Everything. Axel, get on the horn. I want eyes on the last known location we had for him.”

“I think I know where he might be going.” She hoped. It was a long shot, but she remembered the many places her uncle had traveled to, often because she’d handled the logistics for his trips while her cousins, who’d been supposed to organize them, had been too busy having fun in the barn, doing thing she hadn’t wanted to know about.

She told Axel what she knew, and he quickly relayed the information over his cell phone. Then she told Rafe about her uncle.

The telling took a good hour, and she felt mentally exhausted at the end. “So, you see, I have to go. I can’t live with myself if I don’t do what I can for my mate. I have to.” Then she let her wolf come to the fore. “And I’m going to rescue him.”

Rafe just watched her, then smiled. “I knew you had the wolf in you, Sophie. You just needed an excuse to let her out.” He sighed. “You know Monty is going to be pissed as hell when this is all over.”

“If he wants anything to do with me anymore.”

Rafe shook his head. “Honey, if GrayClaw is so big an asshole that he can’t see what a gem you truly are, you have a place in the order. Don’t you worry.”

But she did worry. Because she now had not only a mate worth saving, but a tiny baby needing the protection of a mother and father—an Ac-taw not so screwed up that he couldn’t teach her baby how to live with the wolf instead of struggling against it for so many years.

Lost in contemplation, she didn’t hear Rafe until he repeated himself. “Oh, and Sophie?” She glanced up to see Axel standing over her with a resigned look on his face.

He sighed. “Rafe, do I have to?”

Rafe snarled. “Do it.”

“But—”

“Do it.” Rafe turned to her. “You’ll thank me when it’s over.”

Before she could question him, Axel’s large fist struck her cheek. Then she saw black.

She woke minutes later, spurred by her wolf. Rafe’s and Axel’s voices faded as the front door creaked closed. The wolf whined and snapped at her to shake it off and wake the hell up. Sophie moaned and rubbed her throbbing jaw.

I cannot believe he struck a pregnant woman! She was so telling Monty about this when she saw him next. If she saw him alive again, and if he would care. She sat up in her bed and pushed her covers aside. The idiot wolves had knocked her out and then tucked her in bed. She stopped moving when she heard movement and quickly lay back down and feigned sleep again.

She smelled cat and wolf.

“Monty is going to be unhappy when he hears about this.” She recognized Melissa’s voice.

“Nah, not if no one tells him,” offered the deep voice of one of the gray wolves. “Besides, we’re keeping her safe. He’ll thank us.” Dirk, she thought. Or Dave. Or Dick.

Annoyed with men all over again, she waited until the pair stepped away from the door and moved back downstairs. Great. Now she had a cat and a wolf as babysitters. Her duffel bag was nowhere in sight. Yet…

She slowly left her bed, well aware of how to move without making a sound. She searched her closet and retrieved her rifle, the one she’d won contests with. Hunter contests, unbeknownst to her. She took it and a bag of ammunition and made a plan.

Ten minutes later after a very brisk run in human form, she stood outside Monty’s cabin in the shadows, making sure she was alone. Nothing stirred and no one moved. She went inside and grabbed his keys, then used them before she lost her nerve. Sophie quickly texted Rafe to beware hidden traps. It was the best she could do under the circumstances. Then she muted her phone and tucked it into her backpack. She was twenty minutes outside of Cougar Falls, on her way to Kalispell, when her cell phone vibrated. She didn’t answer.

She had a very important place to be, and she had to get there before the wolves did in order to prevent a bloodbath. Simply put, she’d told Axel and Rafe where her uncle might have relocated, but she hadn’t thought to warn them of his safeguards until now. If she knew her uncle, and she did, he’d have wired the perimeter of his camp with booby traps, the way he had around the farm back in Tennessee.

Now it was up to her to get to Monty. And fast.

Per Monty’s GPS, she arrived a few miles outside of his camp and parked under a copse of trees. The moon remained behind a bank of clouds, and with no wind on the horizon, she didn’t have a spotlight on her as she moved through the forest, attuned to foreign sights and sounds. Her wolf whined at her to be set free, but Sophie needed hands for her rifle. For the first time in a long time, she openly communicated with her animal spirit, using the wolf’s senses and sharing her concerns.

No longer not allowed to be anything but herself, she embraced her twin soul and felt stronger because of it. When she came upon the first tripwire, she disarmed it and looked for a second trap to follow.

There. She cut it and continued, deactivating a half dozen more booby traps along the way. She could only be thankful Rafe and his wolves hadn’t arrived. A few of them would have been dead by now, she was sure of it. Her uncle didn’t mess around with defense.

Allowing herself the time, she sent another harried text to Rafe’s cell phone with her exact location.

As she moved, she kept her eyes open for the right tree. Within sight of the camp, of course, but tall. She found it another half mile to the west of her current position. After tightening the straps of her backpack and securing the rifle against her chest, she climbed. She made it twenty-five feet and settled in the crook of a thick branch. Then she took her ammunition and clips and set them close. She unwound her rifle and scope and took aim on the campfire.

She didn’t see her uncle, but then, she hadn’t expected to. She saw her cousin Charley looking as dopey and mean as usual. Not the brains of the outfit, which explained his position at the campfire, as a decoy. A few other inexperienced Hunters patrolled the outer edge of the small camp. A solid two dozen men. Hunters tended to be sexist. They considered women good for nothing but having babies. Nope. Not a woman in sight.

The Folly would be underground, through a makeshift hole against the side of a massive boulder that led down into a large underground cavern her uncle had expanded into his own personal hideaway years ago.

Sophie couldn’t believe she was up in a tree with a loaded rifle. She’d never done anything so risky before. But for Monty, she had to try. And then she heard them. The sound of footfalls, the four-footed kind.

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She’d never intentionally killed a person before, but she knew Monty and the others depended on her to survive.

“We’re here.” Rafe’s voice.

“Come on out, Shifter. We’ve been waiting.” That was Matt, her middle cousin. A rapist and murderer. She could only be glad she’d never been left alone with him, or she feared what he might have done. He had a sickness as bad as her uncle’s, and she knew he’d kill the wolves of the order without thinking twice. “You don’t come into the light, I off your friends. Starting with this one.” He nodded and her cousin Charley moved into the light holding a bloodied man by the collar. He’d been shot in both legs and could barely stand on his own.

She recognized him. It was James, a gray wolf who always had a ready smile for her when he’d stopped by the store.

She felt sick.

Rafe took a step, and she heard the telltale click of safeties. She zeroed in on sound and saw sharpshooters lined up in the woods behind the campfire, giving them perfect vision while hiding them from the wolves. Without thinking, she shot, rapid-fire, at the threat.

Rafe and the wolves in the woods took cover. Hunters returned fire at the wolves and at her. Then more shots came from Rafe’s side of the woods. The gunfire died and the wolves entered the campsite, killing the remaining stragglers until no one else moved.

The chaos stopped as suddenly as it had started and Sophie stared at close to forty wolves all over the place. Good Lord. Rafe had brought an army with him. She hustled down the tree with her gear and stopped when everyone turned to face her.

“Fuck it all, you’re not supposed to be here,” a large white wolf sent her, his teeth stained red as he joined Rafe, now in wolf form. The pack often communicated telepathically, and Sophie had no problem understanding them.

She swallowed hard at the carnage around her. She’d actually killed people. No, not people. Murdering Hunters who would have killed your pack, the wolf reminded her. She tried not to find pleasure in the coppery scent of blood so near. “Someone had to save you from your own foolishness. Why didn’t you take me with you? If I hadn’t been here, you’d be dead now.”

“So you disarmed the traps in the woods. Nice job,” another wolf said as he sidled next to Rafe. She looked at him with wolf eyes and inhaled.

“Mitch?”

“Hey, Sophie. Nice shooting.” He chuffed at her with approval.

“Save it. Where do we go now?” Rafe growled at her.

“I go in there,” she whispered and pointed her rifle toward a dark passage away from the campfire. “You need to wait. They heard the shots, they know we’re here. Just give me a little time. When they come running out, take them here and at the back. Let me show you.”

“No way in hell.” Rafe nudged her behind him and Axel took up the rear. “Shift into your wolf.”

“No.”

“Then you stay here.”

“I can shoot faster than you can attack. And Monty’s in there.” She yanked on his tail. “Rafe, please.”

He stopped still, his fur bristled.

“I know these people and this place,” she murmured. “You have to trust me.”

“Come on, Rafe.” To her surprise, Axel agreed. “She took care of the traps and the shooters in the bushes. We don’t have time to argue. Let her go—we’ll wait. If she’s not out, we go in anyway.”

Rafe snarled at her. “Shit. Well, hurry up. Axel’s going with you. That’s non-negotiable. I’m giving you two a ten minute head start, no more.”

It would have to be enough. Sophie nodded. She showed Mitch and a few others the hideaway’s hidden back exit before returning to the front, where Rafe and Axel sat with their heads cocked. The other wolves had scattered around the camp, keeping to the dark and blending with their environment. The savvy canine hunters would give the humans a true challenge this time.

Axel reported, “A few guards several meters from the entrance. I smell gun oil, carbon. Rifles, maybe a pistol or two.”

She nodded and checked her weapon, reloaded it, and set her mental guards for stealth mode. She couldn’t worry about the morality of it all. Not now. She had to concentrate on saving Monty. The Hunters normally had orders to kill Ac-taw on sight. She would do the same to them.

“Be careful.” Rafe licked her hand as she passed.

She nodded and entered the cave, her rifle at the ready. Her first shot sounded overly loud to her enhanced hearing. But the ones that followed bothered her less and less, especially with Axel’s encouragement.

It was the absence of smell that alerted her to move back. And just in time. A bullet shattered the rock wall where her head had been.

“Not her, you idiot.” Uncle Ted’s booming voice still had the ability to unnerve her.

“I’ll circle around,” Axel said and slid into a crevice she hadn’t noticed.

Then arms appeared out of nowhere and hauled her inside a place she could only describe as Monty’s Hunter hell.