“You know, Pepper,” a blonde said to the woman in the blue dress, her voice darkening, “he wants you for his mate.”
Eric straightened a bit. No one used the term mate but lupus garous. He couldn’t smell their scents from where he was, nor could they smell his. He would have to cross the creek upwind of them to learn if they were really wolves. But he suspected the woman he was carrying must be a member of the same wolf pack these women belonged to. Why else would the wolf lead him in this direction?
The male wolf suddenly detoured and Eric was taken away from the creek and back into the woods, on a path that led straight to a small cabin. A few more people were there, warily watching him. So the pack was camping here, not just visiting for a few hours. As many of them as there were—he’d seen about fifteen—they must have rented a couple of cabins.
The door opened for him, and a man stepped aside so Eric could carry the wolf inside. To reach these more isolated cabins, the pack would have had to hike in on foot. There were no vehicles here and no parking next to the cabins. Another reason he would have preferred to take her to Dr. Weber in Silver Town.
The wolf in charge ran into a room, then came out wearing a pair of jeans. “I’ll take it from here. Just lay her down on the bed.”
“Is your pack from around here? Our town is only two hours south,” Eric reminded the man, hoping he would listen to reason. If the pack didn’t have its own doctor, Dr. Weber would welcome the chance to take care of her.
“We’ll take it from here,” a woman said, and Eric swung around to see the brunette with the short, curly hair from the creek—Pepper, the other woman had called her. The other women were with her and some of the wolves were at her side, as if guarding her. “Thank you for bringing Susan here.”
She was even more enchanting up close, and his image of her as a goddess remained the same. She was beautiful. He wanted to make an impression on the she-wolf standing before him, who was obviously in charge, and not in the least bit hesitant. She was an alpha and he was in love. It was the first time since he’d lost his mate that he’d felt any interest in another she-wolf.
Eric bowed his head a little to her. “I’m Eric Silver, a park ranger, and I’m with the pack of Silver Town. I was telling this gentleman we have a wolf doctor in town if you don’t have one of your own who can see to her. It helps to see one of our own kind.”
“We’re fine. Thank you. We’ll take care of her.”
Did that mean they had someone in the pack with medical training? Most packs had some, but not many that he knew actually had trained doctors in the pack.
Eric turned and said to the injured wolf, “Take care, young lady. I hope you heal up soon.” Then he took one long, last look at the she-wolf in charge and bowed his head again before taking his leave.
The whole way back to his truck, he couldn’t stop thinking about Pepper. Was she running the pack? Or was she just a sub-leader when the pack leader wasn’t around? Either might be the case, since she made the decisions once she arrived, and not the male who had lead Eric there. She didn’t seem interested in mating the other male, who was clearly interested in her. Which was good, if Eric could meet up with her again. Then his law enforcement training kicked in. What if the reason the woman didn’t want him to take care of her pack member was because they were involved in the illegal activities in the park? Perhaps she didn’t want to have anything to do with anyone who was in the business of law enforcement, particularly when that someone was a wolf too and could smell things that humans couldn’t?
Hell, he hated when his law enforcement training took control. He really wanted to listen to his wolfish side on this one. Damn it.
When he reached his truck, he tossed his medical pack inside, stripped off his clothes, and looked at the bloody bandage on his waist a second before yanking it off. Stinging and a roaring ache accompanied every movement, and he bit back the pain. Then he locked up his truck and shifted. If the wolves had been foraging for new places to take cannabis plants, he wouldn’t smell anything in the camp. But he hadn’t smelled all the wolves who were there, either. If he didn’t check out the campsite, he couldn’t clear them for certain, but the possibility of another pack’s involvement in the illegal operations would seem more viable at that point.
He raced back along the path and when he finally reached the area near the cabin, he slipped around to where he could see it from a distance. They were packing up. Good. The campsite would be cleared out, so he could sniff around to his heart’s content.