Page 4 of Hunted

Also medical supplies, including stimulants to give him energy. He might not be as exhausted as she thought.

The prey is here, her wolf growled. Hunt. Kill.

Michelangela held her in check. According to her training instructors, as well as—well, everyone really—impatience and impulsiveness had always been her worst ‘problems.’

Mikey called it following her instincts. She acted when action was needed, and dealt with the consequences afterwards. It had never not worked out for her.

Except that one time, when she fell for a certain mercenary who’d turned out to be a fucking liar.

That said, walking blindly into a cave holding a heavily-armed operative who wanted her dead would be too impulsive even for her.

She had to lure him out. And for that, she had to make a plan.

If this was some kind of hideout, then there was probably a second exit. For exactly this situation. Moving as silently as possible, keeping an eye on the cave entrance, she climbed past her original hiding place to the top of the ridge that held the cave.

Below her was a slope of tumbled rocks leading down into a ravine. She carefully climbed down, checking out each fissure in the rock.

She found it on the fourth try, a deep cleft with the scent of bloody wolf wafting out. That was probably where he’d exit, while she was watching the front.

She scanned the landscape in front of her. If there was a supply cache here, his base was probably nearby—within five or ten miles. Probably to the northeast—that’s the way they’d been heading for two days.

She almost missed it, in the late afternoon shadows. A barely discernable trail headed up a rocky hillside on the far side of the ravine, into the pine forest at the top.

Michelangela thought for a moment, tapping her fingers on her thigh, considering the possibilities of the full complement of military-style field gear attached to her tactical vest.

As soon as the idea came to her, she was in motion. Her plan did mean leaving the cave unguarded for a short time, but it was a small risk. Harrelson was probably eating, resting, treating his wounds. Waiting for dark.

And if she was wrong about that, she could always pick up his trail again.

One way or the other, she’d get him, and she’d make him lead her to Gunn. Then, after she’d done the punching and probably kicked Gunn in the balls a few times, she’d stop feeling the way she’d felt for the last year.

Like her insides were burning, and the ends of her ribs were splintered so they ripped her heart apart every time she moved, leaving her just pretending to be the same person she’d always been.

While inside her, her wolf was wild. Broken. Impossible to talk to; almost impossible to control.

They both were. Michelangela just hid it better.

At least, she did when they were around people. But it was hard, which was why she’d started to just stay away from people.

Especially her friends and family, who wanted to help. Helping made it worse.

Staying out of sight of the cave exit, Michelangela climbed down into the ravine and up the other side, to the top of the trail.

She was about to prepare a trap for her prey.

Chapter 3

Twilight had fallen on the mountainside, and the shadows were deepening. Michelangela was waiting.

She’d always hated waiting. And doing what she was told. And bad coffee, and people who took up two parking spaces so no one would ding their overpriced car.

And also, waiting.

Impatience was making all her nerves twitch. Wolves chased down their prey. They didn’t sit and wait for it like fucking pussycats.

Why the hell didn’t Harrelson make his move?

Unless, of course, he’d collapsed from the toxin and was lying unconscious in the cave. Or dead. That would really piss her off. She hadn’t followed that dirtbag this far just to lose her one chance to find Gunn.