Rescue in the Smokies (Durham Wolves) (2 page)

Where are they?

She knew she couldn’t be too far from civilization because she’d spent the entire night heading toward the only light she’d seen. How she hadn’t ever reached it was beyond her comprehension. It was as though the light had been only an illusion or a mirage. She felt sluggish, hypnotized.

Now that it was day, she was stuck. She had a compass and a map. Well, the map wouldn’t do her a bit of good at this point, because she had no idea where she was. Somewhere in the woods. In the middle of nowhere as far as she was concerned. She could make good use of the compass, and the sun, but she was so exhausted.

She needed to lie down and rest for a while.
So tired
. Thank God for the Mylar blanket in her pack. She set the bag down next to the tree and pulled out the shiny material.

All she could do was hope whatever light she’d been heading toward would be as bright tonight as it had been last night.

The Smoky Mountains were covered with trails running in every direction.
How is it none of them seem to be anywhere near where I am?

Rest, she told herself as she lay in the pile of leaves, using her backpack as a pillow. She still had four protein bars and plenty of water, but she needed to get out of this mess by tomorrow or she’d be in a heap of shit.

Keeton McKinney leaned back against the damp cave wall and smiled.
Aren’t I the lucky bastard?

It had been almost a hundred years since he’d smelled anything as sweet as that fiery hot piece of ass lost in his woods.

And yes, he did think of them as “his”. After all, he’d been traipsing around in this forest off and on for nearly three hundred years. He’d first settled in the area long before there were as many inhabitants as there were now. Back then, the only humans he ever saw were Native Americans, mostly from his own tribe. All his people were dark complected with long black hair.

His pickings had changed drastically since then.

The pale-skinned petite redhead made his mouth water anew.

Redheads were so delicious. Their veins, easily visible under nearly translucent skin, made it easy to drain them of their essence. He would know; he’d feasted on plenty of them in his day.

But something intrigued him about this woman. Her smell was so enticing, he thought he might keep her.

His hands shook as he slithered down to sit on the cave floor. Darkness enveloped him.

He’d never left a single person alive before. Didn’t even know if he could. Nor had he ever considered taking a mate. It seemed easier to travel alone. He’d enjoyed many a good fuck before the kill, but never contemplated forcing himself to take just a taste. Save some for later, so to speak.

Other vampires had human mates. He’d run into them over the ages. But he’d never understood how they did it. How did they sleep with the same woman day after day without draining her? Somehow they managed to sip of the essence of one woman just enough to lengthen her life expectancy and keep her enthralled.

He’d thought it a feat not worth his effort. Until now. Until the stunning redhead had entered the picture.

Keeton had gotten his first whiff of her the night before. He’d been wandering around the base of the mountain after dusk and gotten a trail on her scent. He’d frozen in his spot. Something was different about her. Her pheromones called to him unlike any other human’s ever had. He’d followed her sweet, intoxicating smell to her hotel and watched from the shadows all night. Late in the afternoon, Keeton had ventured out under the cover of the trees to track her, praying all the while she’d headed out for another day of hiking. And rejoicing to find he was right.

Thank God, because he didn’t do this often. Traipsing around in daylight was not his style. After hundreds of years as a vampire, he was strong enough to endure sunlight, but he still preferred to sleep by day out of habit.

When he’d first spotted her alone on the trail, he’d intended to lure her into the forest, fuck her and suck her dry. But as he got closer, he’d realized he wanted more. Her scent was like a magnet to him, drawing him toward her. When he breathed the air around her, he could taste her on the tip of his tongue like a sweet red wine as it glided down his throat. Her voice, when she’d asked him about his “shortcut,” had been smooth, sexy, mesmerizing. He hadn’t remembered having goose bumps in decades…until she spoke.

Could he hold her under his spell, control her mind, for a hundred years? With the right balance of mind control, he could convince her she belonged with him, hold her in a trance in which all she wanted was to fuck him. His dick stiffened at the thought. He licked his dry lips.

Normally, he survived on the blood of animals in the world’s forests. In the last century it had grown more difficult to kill a human without raising the suspicion of local law enforcement. The last thing he needed was for humans to discover his existence. Several already suspected. It had grown harder and harder to cover his tracks. Sucking a human dry of their blood and leaving them on the side of the road raised eyebrows. He’d had to get more creative and dispose of the bodies—permanently—after a kill. So taxing.

In the Smoky Mountains he almost never killed. Especially since the wolves had descended.

But the redhead made his mouth water for more than a taste. He wanted to have her over and over. Could he do it?

The only thing he could think to do at the moment was lure her farther away from civilization until he could come up with a plan.

His mind was practically fuddled as though she held him under a spell instead of the other way around. He’d needed time to think. Get control of his urges so he didn’t drain her in the heat of passion. He’d intended to take her during the night, but hadn’t quite felt he could do so without killing her. Perhaps if he sucked the blood of several animals before he went to retrieve her again, he could gain some control. Maybe a larger animal than usual was called for this time.

He surely had one more night before humans, and wolves, would start looking for her. A hiker on her own out traipsing around in the mountains wouldn’t be missed by anyone yet. It usually took at least two days before someone missed them. Stupid on their part. Played out fantastically for Keeton though.

The light had been a brilliant idea. He’d led her quite a distance last night with a lantern. Always staying just far enough away to make her believe she could find other people if she could reach the light. He’d experimented with his ability to control her, confuse her. And it had worked. Several times she’d turned all the way around, stared up at the sky with a frown on her face. She even mumbled out loud about those damn stars reorienting themselves in the darkness.

He laughed, remembering his game of cat and mouse that had lasted the entire night. His voice echoed off the cavern walls, scaring a few bats and sending them scattering through the darkness.

His brow furrowed. The bats should be migrating away from the area by now. He’d hoped to use the caves to keep his lovely mate safe for a while. He didn’t want to run the risk of her getting rabies. Plus, there was a ban on humans entering the caves and abandoned mines in the Appalachians because the bats were infected with white-nose syndrome. The disease was killing hundreds of thousands of bats. It wasn’t dangerous to humans, but the sexy redhead would probably be reluctant to enter their habitat.

He intended to find some caves that were bat-free to sequester his woman in for a while.

For now, he needed to sleep. He’d left her under a tree, exhausted after the long trek. With a slight push in her mind, he’d convinced her to lie down for a while. It bought him some time to rest as the sun began to rise.

Hopefully, he’d enthralled her enough to keep her asleep all day. If not, he could track her scent anywhere.

As long as those damn wolves didn’t get to her first. Those fuckers had been a thorn in his side since they decided to move into the area ten years ago.

Bastards think they own the place
.

Ha.

He smirked and let his eyes close. He really needed some rest.

Chapter Three

Sergius stripped off his clothes and stuffed them in the pouch he always had on him. It wasn’t the most ideal situation, since he had to carry the bag in his mouth through the woods, but he’d yet to figure out a method that worked better.

If he could just find a way to harness something onto his back, that would be perfect. But how was he supposed to attach the pouch alone in wolf form? And what would people think if they happened to spot a wolf running through the woods wearing a backpack?

The air was cool against his bare skin. The day would warm up significantly later, but this morning it was overcast and still chilly.

With a deep inhale, Serg closed his eyes, tipped his head back and listened to the sounds of the forest around him. Birds, leaves rustling in the breeze, insects buzzing. In moments he would be one of them, a part of nature.

He let the change take over his body. Limbs popped, stretching and shrinking into place. He dropped down onto all fours while his face elongated and his fur grew from his pores to cover bare skin. In seconds he was an oversized red wolf.

The reintroduction of the red wolf into the Smoky Mountain National Park in the last decade had made the area a perfect spot for Sergius and his brothers to settle when they reached adulthood and set out on their own. Their parents had been killed by poachers in Virginia when the brothers were cubs. Nearby relatives took them in and raised them. At twenty, twenty-two and twenty-three respectively, Micah, Jaxon and Sergius had headed south to the Appalachians.

Now, ten years later, they were enjoying a quiet, peaceful life, raising thoroughbred horses to make a living and staying out of the public eye. Sergius was Alpha and the oldest, but none of the three had much interest in mating and raising families. They’d seen firsthand the destruction humans could wreak on shapeshifters and hoped to enjoy each other’s company and finish out their days at one with nature, a three-man pack.

That was until today. Today, the world had tilted a fraction on its axis when Sergius climbed into that police cruiser and got the first deep whiff of his…mate.
Damn
.

His brothers were not going to understand. Hell, Juliana wasn’t going to understand. If he even found her before that fucking vampire sank his teeth into her.

Serg’s stomach rolled at the combination of the vamp’s presence and a lost hiker—and not some random lost hiker. The need to find her and get her to safety made his fur stand on end.

McKinney’s tracking skills were at least as good as a wolf’s, if not better. If he was anywhere near this area last night…

With a brief howl of frustration, Sergius took off toward Chimney Tops Trail.

James had dropped him as close as possible. It would take only minutes to run the half mile through the trees to the junction where she’d left her friends.

Without pausing to breathe, he loped between the trees and overgrowth off the beaten path until he reached his initial destination, the junction of Road Prong Trail and Chimney Tops.

He skidded to a stop, panting. He could smell her, thank God. His wagging tongue could taste her essence. Juliana had definitely been here, and he trotted intently up the path, sniffing his way along where she should have hiked. The closed path gave him the edge needed to explore without running into any hikers. People tended to scream and run from him in wolf form. He didn’t like to test the theory any more often than necessary.

Pausing from his concentration on his mate’s scent, Serg lifted an ear. In the vicinity was a search team. They had started earlier. Arrived before him. He could hear someone calling out orders. The smells of about a dozen different humans wafted his way from maybe a quarter mile to the north.

Where was she?

A chill went down his spine as he contemplated the possibilities.

Nose to the ground, he resumed tracking her. Halfway up the path her scent ended, as far as the main trail was concerned. This was where she’d ventured into uncharted territory. The other searchers were farther up the path. They had no idea she hadn’t reached the end. Her scent stopped here.

Why? From what James had said, she was an avid hiker. No hiker left the path without a damn good reason. Besides getting lost, any sort of fate could befall them, ranging from snakes to poisonous plants to…vampires.
Damnit
.

In any case, it was easier to track her once she’d stepped into the forest. Her smell was not mixed with that of others. Trees and bushes all around him were covered with her scent.

About ten yards beyond the tree line, Sergius stopped and raised his muzzle to sniff the air.

Fuck
. It was as he feared. McKinney was hot on her heels as well. Had that bastard actually singled her out from the crowd and led her astray? Or worse, dragged her body into the woods? How had he gotten away with either of those things with people all around and in broad daylight?

Nose back to the earth, Serg trotted forward with renewed haste. His hackles were up. He had to find her alive—no other alternative was acceptable. She hadn’t died here. That much he knew. How was it that Juliana and the vampire had met up in this spot for some reason and the vamp hadn’t killed her? What was McKinney up to?

And why would fate put the woman in Sergius’s path if he wasn’t meant to have her? Decidedly angry now, Serg lit a fire under his own ass and loped off in the direction of his mate’s scent.

Within minutes he realized he was on the craziest wild goose chase of his life.
What the hell?
The woman had traipsed everywhere, north, south, east, west. All over the place.

Of course, if McKinney was somehow leading her, anything was possible. How on earth had he managed to string her along like this?

One thing he knew for sure—the vamp hadn’t simply dragged his mate into the woods and drained her on the spot as Serg had feared. There was no sign of a struggle. No blood anywhere.