Neither wolf was totally disabled. That was the problem with just breaking their legs. He knew of a wolf—a real wolf—that had lost a leg in a trap. She continued to have pups, and when she lost her mate, she began attacking sheep as a way to provide for her young. Luckily, the sheep owner humanely caught her and took her to a wolf sanctuary where she and her pups were cared for. But it proved a wolf could still manage to survive on three legs. Which meant these wolves were still dangerous to him.
Neither attacked, but both eyed him, growling, which made him suspect they were both beta wolves. When one lifted his chin to howl, Eric knew he was calling his pack for help. And then Eric would really be a dead wolf. He leapt in a single bound and tore into the wolf. He bit him in the throat just as he felt the other wolf tackle his back.
Once Eric took out the first wolf, he twisted around, but fell on his side. The wolf took advantage, but not for long. The injured wolf couldn’t manage well on three legs. He was in pain, trying to kill Eric with all his might, but it wasn’t good enough. Still, the wolf managed to bite Eric’s flank, and then he lifted his snout to howl.
Hell. His heart racing, furious with the damn wolves for doing something illegal and putting all their kind at risk, Eric tore into the wolf. He only wanted to take him in. He didn’t want to have to kill him. But when he heard another wolf coming, Eric finished the injured wolf off, and raced back down the mountain. The other wolf would have to deal with his dead pack members. Eric could fight another, but not a whole pack if there were even more of them in the vicinity.
His flank was burning, but he tried to ignore it as he ran full-out as if a whole pack of wolves were on his tail. With the enhanced healing abilities of the lupus garou, it would heal up sooner than if he were just human, but it could still take some time, depending on how bad it was.
Eric reached his truck and shifted, the shift warming his muscles and bones, though his wound burned even more. The shift was instantaneous and he quickly unlocked his door using the code, grabbing his medical bag and fumbling around inside it for the disinfectant. Then he bandaged the injury. It wasn’t too deep, thankfully. He hurried to pull on his clothes when he heard a wolf yip about a half a mile away, in a different direction than where he’d just been.
His need to protect a wolf kicked in, yet the wolf could very well be from the same wolf pack that was growing pot. What would the odds be that members from two lupus garou packs besides his were here in the park?
He grabbed his medical pack and headed out at a run, calling CJ, his deputy sheriff brother, at the same time. “Killed two of the wolves involved in the drug operation. Left when a third was on its way. Now I’m investigating a wolf injury.” He gave coordinates for the drug site.
“Wait for me to get there. I’m calling it in to Darien and the sheriff, but I’m on my way.”
“Can’t wait, little brother. I’ll be cautious.”
“All right. I’ll let everyone know what’s going on.”
Eric approached the area, careful to stay downwind. When he was close enough to see what the problem was without the wolf seeing him, he witnessed five wolves around an injured she-wolf. She was lying on her side near the base of a cliff where evidence of a recent rock slide littered the area. By the way the other wolves were reassuring the injured wolf, Eric assumed they were lupus garous, which surprised the hell out of him. He hadn’t seen any in the park before his run-in with the other wolves earlier today. But owing to the size of the national park, it was understandable. Unless they were just visitors and not from the area.
He smelled their scents and was assured none of these had been near the cannabis plants he’d already located. Although they could still be members of the same pack and involved with the operation in other ways.
He slowly walked out of the cover of the trees toward the rocky cliff, wanting them to know he wished to help the injured wolf. He quickly told them who he was, since he was off duty and no longer wearing his uniform. “I’m a park ranger. My name is Eric Silver. I can take her in my truck to the clinic in Silver Town, two hours south of here. It’s wolf-run.”
Two of the wolves snarled and growled at him, but they didn’t draw closer. He assumed they were betas, trying to figure out what to do. They couldn’t take care of the wolf themselves, not as wolves. And running around in the woods as naked humans carrying an injured wolf was going to take a lot of explaining if they ran into anyone else.
The injured wolf was still lying on her side. She tried to sit up and yipped, lying back down.
“Just lie still,” Eric said, motioning for her to stay put, his voice gentle and reassuring.
He needed to get closer so he could examine her, but he was cautious about the wolves who were threatening him. Even beta wolves could tear a person apart, so he needed permission to draw closer. Though they probably wouldn’t hurt him, he couldn’t risk injury by ignoring the threat.
When they wouldn’t back down, he tried again to convince them he only wanted to help. “I can carry her to my truck, only a mile from here. Some of you can come with me so you know I’m serious about getting help for her.”