“Okay, so what are you going to do that’s so important?” Sarandon asked.
“Nothing. Just checking out an area on the nearby creek.” He wanted to learn more about the pack that had rented the cabin, like where they lived. Which meant checking their reservations. Since he worked for the park, it would be easy for him to do. He had to know if they were involved in the illegal cultivation of cannabis.
“For…what?”
Eric couldn’t lie to his brother. After their father had lied to Eric and his brothers, Eric wouldn’t do that to them. But he wasn’t about to tell him he had seen a fantasy in the forest he wanted to know more about, and wanted to prove to himself in the worst way that Pepper was innocent of any wrongdoing. Pepper was the only name he had to go by. And she was just as hot and spicy as her name. “Just checking it out.”
“Okay, well, let me know if you discover anything interesting.”
“Will do.”
“I bet,” Sarandon said, sounding skeptical.
Eric knew he had to get his injuries looked at, and better Sarandon hear about the fight from him rather than pack gossip. “A couple of wolves bit me.”
“Is it bad? It has to be or you wouldn’t have told me. Do you need me to come get you?”
Sarandon knew not to make a big deal of it.
“Not a problem. And I wouldn’t have mentioned it if I hadn’t wanted Doc to look at it.”
“Hell. It is bad or you wouldn’t be seeing Doc.”
“Just to be on the safe side.”
“How bad—”
“Minor.” Though both wounds were still bleeding and hurting like crazy.
“This has to do with the drug wolves?”
“One of them, yeah. CJ and the rest of the sheriff’s department are checking into it.”
“One? What about the other?”
“He was a…guard wolf for another pack, just visiting the park.”
“You’re going after the wolf tomorrow then?”
“No.” Not that wolf. The she-wolf.
“Then—”
“I think he was protecting his pack. Anyway, I was just curious where their pack is from.” Eric pulled onto the main road going to Silver Town.
“Related to the drug business?”
“I don’t believe so.” He sure as hell hoped not.
“Any woman you’re interested in seeing more of in particular?” Sarandon asked, his tone bordering on amused, but he was also curious. “You wouldn’t be interested if there wasn’t more to it than that.”
“As if it’s any of your business, but yeah. There were some women in the pack.”
“Hell, Eric.” Now Sarandon sounded surprised. Which, given Eric’s disinterest in women for the past two years, was understandable.
“They might be mated.” Eric knew Sarandon would assume he was interested in one of the women in particular. He didn’t want to tell him about the possibility that her pack, or some of her pack, could be involved in illegally raising cannabis. Not without proof.
Then again, Pepper had been the leader of the group of women at the creek, not necessarily a pack leader. The other women had fluttered around her like she was a goddess, everyone attentive to her, and when she entered the cabin, she’d definitely been the one in charge.
“Do you want me to go with you when you check the area out?” Sarandon sounded worried.
“No.”
“The wolf who attacked you could be her mate.”
“She didn’t have one. Apparently some wolf has been wanting to court her though.”
“Do you have a name for her?”
“Pepper is all I got.”
“All right. Let me know what Doc says about your injuries.”
“Sarandon…”
“All right, all right. See you tomorrow if we can get together. Otherwise, I’ll talk to you later.”
“Sounds good.” They ended the call. Despite the fact that Eric’s shoulder was hurting like crazy, he was trying to see the point of view of the wolf who had bitten him, but he was having a difficult time of it. He called Doc, hating to make this a late night call, but Dr. Weber always took calls anytime of the day or night. Not that he would be happy about it. Doc wasn’t a late-night person.
Still, Eric was damn glad they had a wolf doctor in their pack. Reporting that a wolf had bitten him to a human doctor would be bad news all the way around for wolves, his kind and otherwise. And lying and blaming a dog could cause problems too. Of course, Eric could have called their pack vet, because he didn’t mind taking care of anyone any time of day or night, but Eric really didn’t want to see the vet.
“Hate to be calling you like this,” Eric began.
“Another snakebite?” Dr. Weber asked, sounding grouchy.
Eric was still irritated with himself for not spotting a coiled-up rattler only a week ago while he had been out searching for a missing hiker. He’d been wearing heavy-duty, snake-proof boots, but the rattler had struck out at him from a stack of rocks, and had dug his fangs into his thigh.