He wanted to kill the bastard quickly with a well-aimed shot, but he couldn’t, not with the way Debbie was tearing into the guy and the way he was tearing into her. Allan had to stop and strip, then shift. It was the only way to protect Debbie, who was attacking and not backing off. The wolf saw Allan then and tried to run, but Debbie pursued him, biting his tail, and he turned around to tackle her again. By then, Allan had shifted and was running full-out, because right this instant, Allan was in a killing mood. Nothing would stop him now.
He bit at the wolf in a vicious way, distracting him. He smelled Debbie’s blood on him, and that incensed Allan all the more. His phone was vibrating in the pocket of his pants nearby, while Debbie bit again at the wolf’s tail. Was the wolf Otis? They had no way of knowing at the moment.
What he did know was the wolf wasn’t calling a truce. He’d tried to run as a wolf. He had something to hide. Paul suspected the wolf was their man.
Debbie was still snarling and growling, and Allan prayed she hadn’t been injured too badly.
The wolf he was tackling was growling just as ferociously as Debbie, but he wasn’t able to overpower or outthink Allan. Not as a new wolf.
Instinctively, the wolf knew to go for the throat, but Allan kept indicating he was going one way and then sweeping back to tackle him another. That was why it was so important for wolves to learn to read body language. This wolf was still clueless. He hadn’t played with another lupus garou, hadn’t learned the techniques to use. But Debbie had. She knew what Allan was going to do and complemented his actions, move for move.
He couldn’t have been more proud of her. Suddenly, as if the wolf figured he wasn’t going to make it out of this alive and he would kill the easier prey, he swerved around to attack Debbie. She read the signs before he lunged. And so did Allan.
She yipped and bolted away from the wolf. Allan charged into him, his teeth sinking into the wolf’s neck, breaking it with one killing bite.
The wolf sank into the snow, tree branch shadows cutting across him and weaving a web of darkness.
Allan and Debbie stood panting and watching him. They saw that he was no longer breathing and heard his heart stop beating. The wolf shifted to human, and though a beard covered his jaw, it was him—Otis, the man they’d tried to locate forever. Allan joined Debbie, smelling her blood and checking her over. She licked his muzzle, then motioned to the cabin with her head. He nodded and ran off to get to the field pack and his clothes resting on top of the snow. He shifted, dressed, and slung the bag over his shoulders, then headed for the cabin. She paced in front of the screen door. The man had cleared the step recently, or the door wouldn’t have opened.
Allan opened the door for her, and she ran inside, smelling the scents like he was. She didn’t seem to be injured badly, if the way she was moving about was any indication.
They found Otis’s rifle, more silver rounds, camo, another Glock, hunter’s spray, and enough canned food to last a couple of weeks. The cot had been slept on, the sheets and blankets not having been washed, from the smell of it, for eons.
Debbie paced, her wolf nails clicking on the wooden floor. Allan pulled out his phone, saw a missed call from Paul, and quickly called him back.
“We got him.” Allan gave Paul the coordinates. “Cliffs are nearby. Should we take him there and drop him off them? He died, a wolf checked him out, bit into him, and left him?”
“Yeah. Sounds good. If we don’t report finding him, animals will feast off him. Vultures, what have you. How’s Debbie?”
She was curled up by the fire, licking her leg.
“She’s still a wolf, a few bites, but nothing serious. She’s one hell of a wolf partner.”
She lifted her head and howled.
Paul laughed. “Good. You?”
“Same here. He’s got more ammo, rifle, guns. Let’s report the find in the storage facility, then we’ll dump his body off the cliff. Maybe we can let someone find the rest of this stuff in another month when the owner comes for another hunting trip. Maybe at spring thaw someone will discover his remains down the mountainside. Or not.”
“Sounds like a plan to me.”
“Okay, well, I’m out of here with the body. I’ll call back in when that’s done and let you know when we’re on our way home.”
“Okay. I’ll let everyone know the killer has been caught and his killing spree has ended.”
“Thanks. Out here.”
Allan looked down at Debbie. “Did you want to stay here, and when I’m done, I’ll come back for you?”
She woofed and rose to her feet, then ran over to him. He took that as a no. They were in this together.
Chapter 23