Then he pulled out his medical pack, reapplied a bandage to his waist, and did the best he could to bandage the shoulder wound. He pulled on his shirt just to keep blood off his seat, climbed into the truck, and drove to Silver Town to see Dr. Weber.
Eric never would have thought he would be the one injured when he only meant to help a wolf in need. Now he would have to see Dr. Weber about his own injury instead. He was about to call CJ with an update when the truck’s digital screen lit up with an incoming call. It was his brother Sarandon, and Eric knew he’d have to tell him what had happened, even though he’d rather not mention the second wolf fight to anyone. His own pack would be furious he was attacked when helping another wolf pack out.
Chapter 2
Pepper Greycoat couldn’t believe it when she heard two wolves fighting in the woods. She’d seen a glimpse of both male wolves, the snarling big tan and gray that bit at Waldron Mason, a beige wolf with a white front and a smattering of gray hairs. The mystery wolf had snapped at Waldron before he raced off. The way he didn’t tuck tail meant he wasn’t cowed by the aggressor. And that had intrigued her.
She was furious that Waldron was pulling her away from her own pack to deal with him when she wanted to ensure Susan was properly cared for. As quickly as she was able, she stripped off her clothes, shifted, and ran like the devil to chase Waldron down. Whoever the other wolf had been, he had posed no threat to them. When she ran after the two wolves, she smelled their scents. The mystery wolf was indeed Eric. No way had she wanted Waldron to hurt him after Eric had helped Susan.
She was so angry, she could have killed Waldron for his unwarranted actions.
When she spied Waldron still chasing after Eric, she tore into Waldron, growling and snapping to let him know just how angry he’d made her. He whipped around as if to attack, then recognized her, and realized he’d lose any chance he had with courting and mating her—not that he had any—so he backed off. From his narrow-eyed, harsh gaze, she could tell he was irritated to the max with her. If he could have, he would have continued to hunt the other wolf down and finished him off. She worried about Eric—she smelled his blood on Waldron. How badly had Waldron hurt Eric?
But she knew Eric had been injured even before this because she’d smelled both an antiseptic and blood on him when she first met him.
She listened, but didn’t hear any sign of Eric. Growling at Waldron again, she turned and ran off. She continued to pay attention to the sounds around her, making sure he wasn’t following her back to their campsite. She didn’t want to have to say a word to him about any of this when she reached camp. Her only intent at that point was seeing that Susan was taken care of.
She wondered if he’d gone after Eric again when she didn’t hear him follow her.
As for Eric, she already had trouble with one alpha male wanting to court her. She sure didn’t need a second one bugging her, if Eric had any such notion. Still, she felt badly Waldron had attacked him, and she really hoped he wasn’t hurt too seriously.
*
Later that night, after a doctor had x-rayed Susan’s leg and found her cousin had suffered a hairline fracture, Susan and Pepper settled on the couches for a late night glass of wine and chips at Pepper’s home in the woods. Susan had her wrapped leg propped up on Pepper’s coffee table to help reduce the swelling.
“You should have played in the creek with us instead running off and starting a rock slide,” Pepper said, unable to let go of the annoyance over Waldron. “It would have been safer that way.” Had Waldron been watching the women playing in the creek before he attacked Eric? Most likely. She was certain Waldron wouldn’t have been spying on the rest of the pack.
She still couldn’t believe that Eric Silver had stood up to her about taking Susan to see his own pack’s doctor. The challenge in his whole expression had said he didn’t agree with her and that he wanted to do things his way. She didn’t know anything about his pack, and she had no intention of relying on a doctor she didn’t know. She and her pack might not have a wolf doctor, but they trusted the human ones they saw. Not that their doctors knew anything about the lupus garous.
She still could envision Eric finally bowing his head in concession, giving in to her ruling.
“Yeah, but then the most handsome of wolves wouldn’t have carried me back to the cabin,” Susan replied. “I couldn’t believe it when Richard told Eric he couldn’t take me to see their doctor. Their pack actually has a doctor! Now how cool is that?”
“Cool.” Pepper thought it was great, but she didn’t want to get involved with another pack. She was surprised there was another pack living only four hours south of where she and her people lived. Still, since each pack tended to run in their own territory, Pepper could see how they wouldn’t have encountered each other before.