Callie's Captors [Mountain Men of Montana 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (3 page)

They stayed that way for several minutes, eyeing one another, sizing each other up. The black wolf watched her as the two other wolves moved around the hole. But she didn’t sense any danger from them. Instead, they seemed as curious as she was.

“So we’re okay? You’re not going to eat me?”

He pulled back his lips.
Damn it all. It’s not my imagination. He’s smiling at me.

She dropped her backpack and slid to the ground beside it. “I don’t know if I believe this, but I’m going to take full advantage of it anyway.”

Daring to put her knife on the ground, she pulled the flaps open and pulled out her camera. “At least if I’m going to end up as your dinner, there’ll be photographic evidence.” She lifted the camera and adjusted the settings. “Smile, big wolfie.”

She almost forgot to push the button when he did just that. Biting her lower lip, she clicked off more photos. With each successive picture, he shortened the distance between them. She fought against the fear stiffening her spine, determined to not let him stop her. Before long, he was less than a foot from her.

The growl rumbling out of his throat threw her off her game. Dragging in a long breath, she lowered the camera and found herself staring into the amber eyes of the wolf.

“Oh, my God,” she whispered.

* * * *

Pete Deacon couldn’t take his eyes off her. She was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. Her eyes were big ovals that were locked onto his, in a face so sweet the sight of it would make the angels in heaven jealous. A sprinkling of freckles raced over the bridge of her nose, but that didn’t lessen the sultriness of her pouty lips. Her long, black hair, as dark as his fur, hung in ringlets around her face, over her chest, and disappeared down her back. She was tanned by days spent in the sun and her lean body showed that she was in shape, yet curvaceous.

Her eyes were what lit his soul on fire. He could see fear in them, but beyond that, he saw courage and intelligence. She’d managed to stay calm after he’d jumped into the pit. Even now, when she should’ve been frightened out of her wits, she was composed enough that her hands didn’t shake. Hopefully, that meant she wouldn’t grab her knife and try to stab him.

A growl from his brother, Blue, interrupted his thoughts, but he didn’t take his gaze from hers. Raine, his other brother, would be as anxious as Blue for him to get out of the hole and move into the forest where they could talk. But he wanted to linger not only to memorize every inch of her face, but to draw in her intoxicating scent. The aroma was a heady mix of the woods, sweat, and her own unusual, flowery scent. He could’ve stayed there forever and lived off her fragrance.

But Blue had other ideas. Growling again, he whirled around and dashed toward the woods. Raine danced on his feet, waiting for Pete to jump out of the hole, but when he didn’t, he gave up and chased after Blue.

She glanced up, noted their departure, then lowered her eyes to his. Her lips parted and he had to resist the urge to shift back to human form so he could kiss them.

“Go.”

It wasn’t a command. Her whisper was a plea, but it held a tone of regret, too.

He had to leave. He knew his brothers were waiting for him. In his present form, there was nothing he could do for her anyway. But he couldn’t leave before he did one thing first. Lifting his head higher, he reached out and slid his tongue along her cheek.

She jerked, but didn’t scream or try to get away. Instead, she lifted her fingers and touched the spot where he’d licked her.

She tasted even better than she smelled.

A howl broke the silence of the night. He stepped away from her.

Damn you, Blue. Shut the hell up.

Gathering his strength, he crouched then hurled his body out of the pit. He spun around and looked back at her. She stood, her camera still in her hands, as he lifted his head and howled his answer to his waiting brothers. With a flick of his tail, he bolted and ran toward the woods.

Raine and Blue stood just past the edge of the trees, hidden by the dense foliage, but he could still find them easily enough. Since they were back in their human bodies, he shifted, too.

“How did she get in?” Blue’s eyes, a testament to his name, glittered with excitement.

Although Raine shook his head, his own blue eyes blazing, he still gave an answer. “She has to be a werewolf.”

Pete glanced back at the hole. “No, there has to be another answer. If she’s a werewolf, why doesn’t she shift and jump out?” He shook his head, mimicking his brother’s gesture. “Could someone else have brought her into The Hidden?”

“And then desert her?” Blue sniffed the air. “If someone did, they ought to get strung up. I can still smell the stench of The Cursed.”

Pete caught the scent, too, but at least the odor wasn’t strong. That meant only one or two of the wretched creatures had been around. “If they saw her, then they’ll tell the rest.”

“You don’t think one of them brought her through, do you?”

Pete cringed at Raine’s question. “Let’s hope not. If one of them dragged her inside, then that means they can get on The Outside now.”

None of The Cursed aside from the leader Burac had ever been able to go to The Outside. And they’d had no indication that any of them could leave and return as Burac had done.

Since his death, the Cursed’s attacks on the people of The Hidden had happened less frequently than before. A few had even said they’d run across The Cursed and had seen no aggression from them. But the past was difficult to forget and the people weren’t ready to believe that The Cursed could change.

Blue’s concentrated thought made creases in his forehead. “None of us is getting this right. We’re missing something and the best way to figure out what that is would be to talk to her.”

Pete grabbed Blue’s arm to keep his brother from taking another step. “I agree, but don’t you think we’d have better luck if we had some clothes on?”

As it often did, Raine’s crooked grin preceded his joke. “That depends on what kind of luck we’re wanting.”

But they both knew he was right. As shifters often did in The Hidden, they’d left what few clothes they had back in their tent at camp. Their tent wasn’t very large since they preferred to sleep in the woods at the edge of the community that served as home for all kinds of supernatural beings. Werewolves were the predominant form of shifter within their group, but The Hidden was also a refuge to fairies, werecats, werebears, and skinwalkers. The Deacon brothers often stayed in their wolf forms, running through the forest and howling at the moon.

“Okay, then, let’s get our clothes.”

“We can’t leave her alone, Blue. What if The Cursed comes back?” Pete didn’t want to risk that happening. “I’ll stay here and keep watch. You two head back and grab our clothes. Once we’re dressed, we can show our faces to her.”

“Pete’s right.” Blue was the oldest, but he rarely asserted his authority. Raine was a couple of years younger at twenty-six and Pete a year younger than him at twenty-five years of age.

Pete was thirteen years old when Blue and Raine’s parents had found him wandering the woods surrounding The Hidden. He’d been frightened and hungry, but he’d still tried to fight them by shifting into his wolf form and lunging at them, fangs bare, and claws extended. They’d easily subdued him, and after finding out that his mother had abandoned him, pushing him out of the car on a lonely mountain road, the Deacons had welcomed him into their lives and their family.

Pete’s story wasn’t an unusual one. Often, a human mother couldn’t raise a werewolf child that had somehow transformed without becoming a full werewolf. Seeing their child shift was too hard, and soon, they’d find a way to be rid of them. Many of the children who hadn’t changed yet ended up being raised by the human social services system while others, like Pete, were cast aside to fend for themselves.

Blue was good at solving problems and Pete envied his older adopted brother’s quick and logical mind. “Good. Then like I said, I’ll stick around and watch over her.”

Raine shoved him. “Why do you get to stay? Haven’t you always claimed to be the fastest runner? As such you and Blue can use your considerable speed and make it quicker than I ever could.”

Pete wasn’t falling for the flattery. How many times had Raine boasted that he could outrun them? “No thanks. Besides, I called it first. I’m sticking and you two are hoofing it. Now get going. I don’t like the idea of hanging around here any longer than I have to.”

Blue arched an eyebrow. “Hang on. Who knows when The Cursed might get back? I’ll stay with you in case they do.”

Raine narrowed his eyes, but he knew he’d been outmaneuvered. “Damn. I wish I’d thought of that. Fine. I’ll go to the camp and fetch our clothes.”

Pete hated it when Raine used canine references. But knowing that Raine had probably done it just to get on his nerves, he refrained from showing his irritation. Raine didn’t mean any harm, he simply liked to joke. “Then get moving, bro.”

Raine took a deep breath and looked longingly in the direction of the hole. “You guys promise not to do anything, even talk to her, until I get back?”

“We’ll do what we have to do. Who can say what that will entail?”

Pete liked that Blue was ready to give Raine a taste of his own medicine. “Yeah. If we have to jump in and snatch her into our arms to keep her safe, then that’s what we’ll do. After all, someone’s got to make the sacrifice.”

Raine snorted his derision. “Some sacrifice. She’s so hot I’m surprised steam isn’t rising from there.”

Pete could see the lust he felt on his brothers’ faces. “She is that. Do you think she’s taken?”

Unlike werewolves outside The Hidden, werewolves inside didn’t get an immediate and physical connection to their future mate. Instead, it was more like a longing, an empty place in their hearts that suddenly felt filled whenever they discovered her. Many of them went outside The Hidden to find their mate while others stumbled upon her before ever discovering the shifter sanctuary. But only a few had ever had their mate come to them while inside their treasured forest.

“If she is, he doesn’t deserve her. As soon as we get back, I want to find out why she’s out here all by herself.”

Blue was right. A lone woman in the Montana mountains didn’t make sense. “Agreed. Like I said, Raine. Get going.”

Raine grumbled then shifted into his wolf form. His eyes glittered with amber as he twirled in a circle then darted through the underbrush toward the camp.

“So, brother, are we going to keep our word and stay away from her?”

Pete couldn’t suppress a smile. He didn’t want to, that was for damn sure. But they still had the problem of having no clothes. “Unless you think she’ll welcome two butt-ass naked men joining her down there, I think we have to.”

* * * *

Blue couldn’t help himself. He had to watch her. As he’d done several times already, he eased closer to the pit, careful that she didn’t catch him peering down at her. She sat on the ground, her head bowed as she rummaged through her backpack.

He liked her spirit. Most women would’ve broken down into sniveling crybabies at the sight of three wolves. Then to have one of the wolves jump into the pit with her? Even then she’d held her own. He’d smelled her fear, but she hadn’t cowered. Instead, she’d been ready to fight with a pitiful knife as her sole means of protection.

Her dark hair spilled around her shoulders, making his palm itch. It would feel soft against the calluses of his hand, like the smooth belly of a newborn wolf. Although they were hidden now, he remembered the firm swell of her breasts. Her long neck had dragged his gaze from her breasts upward to her pouty lips and her big eyes. Her features had been open, filled more with curiosity than with fear.

“Blue,” hissed Pete.

He stepped back, once again heeding his brother’s warning to get away from the hole. Dragging in as much of her scent as he could gather, he slunk back to the tree line. “Don’t go getting your fur up. She didn’t see me.”

“Then you’re damn lucky. But come on, man. If I can wait to see her again, then so can you. It can’t be much longer until Raine gets back. Can’t you wait until then?”

Blue relaxed against a tree, hiding the raging need that was tearing up his body. “No problem.”

Pete’s snort was as soft as his whisper. “Yeah, right. I swear. If you get any hornier, I’m going to have to drag you to the stream and dunk you under.”

He was hot for her. There was no denying that. But it was more than that. Maybe it was her bravery, or the glint of challenge in her eyes, or even the underlying impression that she’d had more than her fair share of shit during her lifetime. Whatever it was, he sensed she was special. But just how special?

* * * *

Callie hunkered down against the wall and hugged her knees to her chest. So far she’d managed to keep her fear from taking over, but she was losing ground on that battle fast. She’d clung to the hope of rescue until the moon had finally overtaken the sun. And, although the moonlight was bright, it couldn’t reach every part of her prison and she shuddered whenever she heard a sound. The wolves had gone a while ago, but who knew what else might appear?

Did snakes burrow in the ground? If they did, could one come out of the wall and land on top of her? She shook herself and muttered quiet chastisements. She wouldn’t let her imagination run wild. If she did, she’d never make it out.

But would anyone ever find her? She’d run into only a few other hikers in the mountains and the prospect of that happening again was minimal at best.

What if she could build a fire? She tugged her backpack closer and dug around until she found a box of matches. But what could she burn? The pit didn’t have even a few sticks, much less anything that would make a decent fire. Besides, the possibility of someone seeing the flames from the deep recesses of her confinement was slim. Even if she could get a fire going, she’d have to wait until tomorrow and hope the smoke would draw some attention.

“Damn it all. This sucks.”