Hunter's Heart: Wolf Shifter Romance (Wild Lake Wolves Book 5) (15 page)

“The dogs,” I said, my mouth running dry. “That was
Brutus. Something’s hurt her. And they aren’t foolish enough to stop to let the
dogs take a piss, Derek. I think she might have been trying to tell me
something.”

He gave me a slow nod. “We have to move quickly. It
might already be too late.”

The pain in his voice cut through me.
We might
already be too late
. My fault. Our fault. If only we hadn’t stopped. If
only the other wolf hadn’t caught us in the middle of the highway. The instant
I thought it, Derek did too.

“It might have been a decoy,” he said. “Son of a bitch.
They
knew
I’d think they’d come after me first. They’ve probably been
after your father all along.”

“Derek?” I grabbed his upper arm. “Oh, God. Derek.
You can’t let them hurt him. You can’t let them take her again.”

His eyes went dark as he looked at me. “I swear to
you, as long as there is breath left in my body, I’ll do whatever I can.”

I nodded and grabbed the rifle. “Do you even know
where to go?”

We were already on the move. Derek took my hand and
led me through the woods. “I have an idea. For once, I think your grandmother
is going to be glad she bears that mark. This time it just might save her
life.”

Chapter Sixteen

Derek moved with purpose, menace, and threat. I
flagged down a passing car, and one golden glint from Derek’s wolf eyes and the
driver was only too happy to donate to the cause. When Derek tried to get
behind the wheel I stopped him.

“No offense, but I don’t need anything shifting
behind the wheel except fourth gear. You ride literal shotgun.” I tossed the
rifle to him. He grunted at me but got in.

“Head west. I can hear them all the way from here.
They can’t be that far. Twenty miles, maybe.”

Twenty miles. My heart dropped. Twenty miles!
Anything could happen in the time it would take to catch up.

“Are they moving? Can you tell?”

“I don’t think so,” Derek said. He gripped the
dashboard; his knuckles buckled. He was so keyed up, I could sense his wolf
stronger than ever. Again, having me drive might be my best idea yet. “I think
they’re pinned down. I can’t sense your grandmother the same as you. Just her
general location, and only if she’s close.”

I pressed my foot to the floor. The car lurched in
protest.

“Figures,” Derek said. “It had to be foreign. You
should have let me bite the guy.”

Ten miles felt like an eternity. My body thrummed
with Derek’s pulse. Though he kept his wolf in check, aggression poured off
him. On high alert, my skin seemed to crackle with energy. I knew then a little
of what his urge to shift felt like. A tightness, an overpowering need to tear
loose and run wild. My new mark throbbed. When I brought a hand up to cover it,
I felt the edges already healed. He’d left a perfect crescent-shaped scar
there.

“When we get close, I want you to hang back,” Derek
said. “Keep the rifle ready. You’ll know when I need you.
If
I need
you.”

“Derek, you’ll need me the whole time. How many
wolves can you take on?”

He shook his head. “It would be different if I were
facing a whole pack with their Alpha. That’s not what this is. This is a bunch
of splintered wolves with no real leadership. Unless the Kentucky Alpha’s come
this far north himself, it won’t be so bad.”

“That’s not an answer. How many, Derek? You don’t
have eyes in the back of your head. You said before it could be hundreds.”

He pounded a fist against the car door. “I just wish
I had time to call my pack.”

“How far away are they?”

“Southern Michigan. They’re waiting at an outpost we
have near Ann Arbor. They can’t get down here in time to do much more than put
themselves in danger if Kentucky’s got a force closer to the border. Let’s just
focus on getting there. I’ll do the rest.”

I went another two miles when I felt Derek’s
heartbeat slow. He made a gesture with his hand. I downshifted and slowed the
car to a crawl.

“There,” he whispered. “Northwest, eleven o’clock.”

I saw it. A flash of white. Rapid fire. Dad’s AR-15.
I pulled to the shoulder and threw the car in neutral. There was nothing out
here but mostly flat farmland. The sky clouded over. Shadows everywhere. The
flash came just over a small rise. A hollowed out red barn stood about a half a
mile to the east. The graying farmhouse beside it caved in on itself. Another
burst of gunfire. Howls rose beyond the rise, but I couldn’t see anything.

“Hot damn,” Derek said. “Tinker’s putting up a
fight. That means he thinks he can win.”

“Or he plans on going out in a blaze of glory. I
know him better than you do. Grammy’s probably made him promise to put a bullet
in her head rather than let that pack take her again.”

“Stay here,” Derek said. “In the car. Keep it
running. No matter what you hear. If I need you, you’ll know. But, I want you
ready to drive out of here as fast as you can.”

More gunfire.

“No way!” I whisper-shouted. “We do this together.
I’m not helpless, remember? I managed to put you down when I needed to.” I lifted
the barrel of the rifle. Derek gave me a murderous look and clenched his jaw.

A scream in the distance ended the debate. I started
to run toward it. Derek swore behind me, but in a flash, he’d shifted and gotten
out ahead of me. It occurred to me Derek might be in a hell of a lot more
danger than I was. Dad was out there fighting for his life with Grammy at his
side. If he caught sight of Derek’s wolf, he might shoot first and worry later.
It’s sure as hell what I would have done.

“Do you see them?” I called out to Derek. His answer
filled my head, startling me enough to make me lose my step.

“Stay low.” His words tore through me, and my mark
burned hot.

“You could have warned me,” I thought.

“Later,” Derek’s voice answered in my head. “It’s a
little different for everyone. I didn’t know I’d be able to do it this fast.”

“Handy,” I said out loud as I struggled to keep up
with Derek’s wolf. He slowed, crouching low to the ground. He looked back, eyes
flashing a warning.
Stay out of sight.

Then, I saw them. Three sets of eyes weaving near
the tree line on the other side of the abandoned barn. More gunfire from inside
the barn. Dad was inside or behind it.

“Derek!” I whispered. “They’re everywhere!”

But Derek could already see. Three more gray wolves
came from the east behind the house. Growling from the north. Six wolves, all
surrounding my father. Far more than Derek could take on alone. And Dad might
run out of ammo.

I rummaged through the backpack and stuffed two
magazines in my pocket. I could get the first shot off, no trouble. But, I
couldn’t shoot more than one at a time. I didn’t figure the other wolves would
just sit and wait their turn. If we could figure out a way to lure them to us
one by one, we could pick them off.

I sensed Derek thinking the same thing. He turned
and pressed his head against my shoulder. Again, his thoughts seemed to burst
into my head fully formed. He wanted to try and flank the wolves to the east.
We had no way to tell how many more might be waiting in the woods beyond that
farmhouse. If we could just break their line on one side, it might be enough to
let Grammy and my father make a run for it. Maybe we couldn’t kill them all,
but between our firepower and Derek’s Alpha strength it might be enough to get
away.

Derek pushed me down and went to his belly beside
me. We were in blessedly tall grass. It would be a long, treacherous way, but
if we had to commando crawl all the way to the side of the house, that’s what
we’d do.

We got within fifty yards of the house before hell broke
loose. First, Dad’s gunfire ceased. My heart dropped as I realized Dad must be
running out of ammo. I had no way to let him know help was on the way.

“Thomas, do it!” Grammy’s plea tore at my gut. I was
right. I knew what she wanted. She would have told him to wait until it looked
like they had no other choice. And the wolves were closing in.

“We have to do something!” I tugged on Derek’s fur.
“She’ll have him kill her. We’ve got to find a way to let them know we’re
here.”

Derek acted quicker than I did. He tugged on my
backpack. The wolf whistle spilled out of the side. He nudged it toward me.

“Won’t that take you down too?”

Derek pawed the ground. His words came into my head
disjointed. He was far more beast than man now.
Quickly. They’ll scatter. Get
disoriented.
Your dad.
I thought I understood. The whistle might be
enough of a distraction to break the wolves’ concentration. We just needed them
to stop their advance long enough for Dad and Grammy to make a run for it. If
Dad had his eye on the wolves closest to him by the tree line, he’d know
exactly what happened. And he’d know we were here. I just prayed he still had
enough ammo to make a difference.

I gave Derek a nod. He didn’t have to tell me with
words or otherwise that I’d only have one chance and only as long as I could blow
my breath. He nuzzled my leg and pushed me forward. I crawled a few more feet
closer to the farmhouse, took the deepest breath of my life, and blew the
whistle.

Derek whined behind me and tried to shake off the
sound. But, he recovered, perhaps growing used to the sound having heard it
once before. The wolves by the house dropped to the ground. It didn’t paralyze
them like the Wolfkillers did, but it definitely scrambled their brains for a
moment. I heard more whining toward the woods then laughter inside the barn.

“Hot damn, Mama,” Dad shouted. “Time to move!”

I blew as hard as I could and readied my rifle. Dad
and Grammy burst out of the barn and made a run for it. Dad held his rifle high
in one hand, Grammy’s hand in the other. Poor Brutus and Sofie ran out behind
them and whizzed past us as if they understood to get as far away as possible.
As I blew the whistle, I ran toward my father and tossed a magazine, watching
it arc high in the air. He caught it and reloaded as the last gasp of air
gushed out of me. Dad made it within twenty feet of me before the whistle
dropped out of my mouth, fell to the ground and out of reach. It was no use to
me now even if I had it in my hand. I couldn’t shoot all the wolves at once,
and now they knew exactly what that whistle did. They’d tear my arm off before
I could use it again. Plus, now that we were all out in the open, I needed
Derek at full strength.

We were surrounded on three sides. Nine wolves. Derek
moved even faster, protecting us from the rear.

“This way,” I called to my father. “Slowly. Back to
back. If they start running for us, start shooting.”

Dad nodded. Grammy got to me and pressed her
forehead against mine. No time for hugs. Dad put his back to mine and we
started to walk sideways back toward the road. Derek circled us, his growl low,
menacing. Tail high.

The wolves advanced. With each step we took, the
less sure I became about the efficacy of our plan. It was still a long, long
way to the car if we even made it inside.

One wolf grew braver than the others, or more
stupid. He made a lunge for my father and got a bullet between the eyes. One
shot in a million. It didn’t just paralyze him; it killed him instantly at that
range. And it left eight wolves. Three to the right of us, three to the left
and two coming straight on.

We could do it. We could take them one by one if we
had to. Maybe. But the closer they got, the more I realized the unlikelihood
that all of us would make it out of this alive.

Derek jumped out in front of us. His thoughts filled
my head, nearly driving me to my knees. This group of wolves had no leader.
Derek picked out the most dominant one, closest to us. A red wolf with blazing
green eyes. His fur matted with mange as if he’d been living out here for
weeks, months. It made him the most dangerous because it felt like he had
nothing left to lose.

Derek squared off with him while Dad and I kept our
rifles pointed at the two groups of wolves on either side of us. If one of them
managed to circle around and get behind us, we’d be done for. Derek advanced,
growling, his snout low to the ground. He waited for the red wolf to make the
first move, then he meant to rip his throat out.

The three wolves to the left of us broke free from
the others. Derek dodged the red wolf and put his body between Grammy’s and
mine, lunging for the other wolves. With no leader, the enemy wolves finally
moved as a group. They descended on Derek all at once, driving him to the
ground.

“No!” I raised my rifle, but the wolves piled on
each other; fur and fangs flew. If I shot, I’d risk hitting Derek. And the
three wolves to the right of us moved in for the kill.

Dad shot in the air first, trying to distract the
wolves from their bloodlust. Derek killed one of them. I felt him rip through
muscle and flesh. In that same instant, fangs sank into his leg. The pain of it
tore through me, making me lose my step. I landed on my knees and tried to find
a new target.

Grammy screamed as the other three wolves joined.
They had him. They had Derek. He stayed on his feet, but he was surrounded. The
enemy wolves snapped their jaws, and I took aim again. I could not,
would
not stand there and let them tear him apart. If I couldn’t save him, I’d be
damn sure none of the rest of those wolves would walk out of here alive.

Then something happened. Three of the wolves leaped
over Derek and tore into the others. They turned on the others, giving Derek a
chance to get on his feet and out of danger. Derek wasted no time in pressing
his advantage. He grabbed the red wolf by the hind legs and threw him to the
ground. He snapped his neck. He stood shoulder to shoulder with the other three
wolves, facing down the rest. Wolf on wolf. Fang to fang. Derek and the three
turncoats tore into the rest of the pack, killing them where they stood.

When it was all over, Derek turned to me, blood
dripping from his snout. His eyes blazed red with bloodlust. Then, he turned to
the others, raised his head, and let out a howl loud enough to split the air.