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Chapter Six
Finton
I never anticipated ending up in this situation. And neither did Trace, or at least I felt confident that he hadn’t. At the moment, he was tossing and turning with a high fever. Mine was lower, or at least I was conscious. For all the good it would do us. Because while we’d both been out, the tent had been covered by snow, and I wasn’t sure how I could get us out without filling the one shelter we had with snow.
Reaching over, I tucked the sleeping bag higher around my husband’s shoulders in the darkness. I had flashlights and a lantern but didn’t want to use up the batteries when I had no way of knowing how long we’d be in here. Walking away from our village was the hardest thing I’d ever dreamed I’d have to do, but now, listening to my husband’s harsh breathing, I knew there were worse things.
Fortunately, our stomach symptoms weren’t too bad. Yet, at least. We’d both been vomiting, one of the reasons, along with the weather, that we’d decided to set up camp here. But that had eased somewhat. “It will be okay, Trace.” I stroked his hand that clung to the outside of his sleeping bag. “I’ll figure out a way to get you somewhere safe.”
Scrape! Scrape!The sound cut into the world where the only sounds were my words and our breathing. I closed my eyes as if it could be any darker in here and that would help me figure out what was going on.Scrape!
Something was trying to dig down to us. What was it? And how could I protect us? The tent sides were weighed down with snow, not giving me a whole lot of room to maneuver, but with no other options, no other way to keep Trace safe, I struggled out of my clothing and forced a shift. We weren’t armed with guns, knives were iffy, but claws and teeth, they were my best weapon.
The sounds continued, growing louder and less muffled as whatever or whoever—could it be a person?—dug into the snow around us. I didn’t think most animals were out in the storm, and certainly not likely to have noticed us under the snowbank that I could imagine surrounded us. I’d been more worried about running out of air than being attacked.
Crouched over my mate, I bared my teeth, a low rumbling growl issuing from my muzzle. My wolf was poised to take out the threat , and so was I, when a voice called, “Whoever’s in there, I’m here to help.” Female. Not a bear or a mountain lion or a wild wolf. A person. What in the name of the mountains would they be doing out here in the middle of nowhere in a blizzard?
The growl died out, but I stayed in position. Until I was sure of what I faced, I’d keep my tools at hand. A female human was no match for a wolf of any kind, much less my large alpha version.
The front of the tent shimmied as snow was cleared away from it. If I unzipped it now, there would be no avalanche. Unfortunately in my current form, I had no thumbs to do that with.
“Hello? I’m going to open the tent now. Please don’t shoot me. I’m here to help.” She’d said the latter part before, but not the part about shooting. Who did she think was in here? “If you’re hunting out of season, that’s between you and Fish and Game. I’m not planning to report you or anything.”
Oh. She thought we were hunters. Poachers. But then, didn’t that seem logical? Who else would be out here like this now?
No longer fearful, or at least reduced from that to wary, I gathered myself to shift, before I scared our rescuer—who might be here to help, but if she was smart was probably also armed. Too late. The zipper that had stuck nearly every time we opened or closed it on our honeymoon, slid up as if greased, and a face peered inside. Dark hair framed cheeks rosy with exercise and indigo eyes widened at the sight of what faced her in the tent.
She looked from me to Trace and back again. Gods, she must think a wolf had been hunting the man in the sleeping bag and probably hurt him. I couldn’t shift in front of her… I tried to make myself as small and nonthreatening as possible, not an easy feat when I took up nearly all the space between the walls of the tent and having claws and teeth.
Ours.
WTF?My wolf was choosing now to have a conversation?This is not the time.
Mate.
Oh holy hells.Trace is our mate. I know you’re glad to be rescued, but that doesn’t make whoever this is ours or a mate. She’s just a kind passerby who we hope doesn’t shoot us for being a wolf.
Our mate won’t shoot us.
Her eyes narrowed, dark lashes sweeping her cheeks. “If you’re done with your conversation, it’s time we got out of here. I think your friend there needs medical aid.” She sniffed, nose wrinkling. “Maybe you both do.”
Suddenly recalling everything that got us here, I tried to push her back. It wouldn’t do to repay this woman for saving us by infecting her. Then I recognized what she’d said.If you’re done with your conversation…This was no human. She knew exactly what had been going on, that my wolf and I had been talking. But she didn’t know what we’d said. Did she?
Not yet. Soon she’ll be able to talk to us.A note of satisfaction rang in my wolf’s mental tone.After we mate.
“Your wolf is very chatty, isn’t he?” She scooted back, making room for me to exit. “If you’d like to shift and dress, I think it would be a good idea. That way we can help your friend as well. My cabin isn’t far away, and I think he’d do better inside in a warm bed than here in the snow.
My friend. My husband. I crawled out on my belly and, as soon as I reached clear space, I shifted. My coat and paws shielded me from a lot of the cold, but human skin did not. At all. I was shivering, teeth rattling as soon as my feet landed on the icy ground.
“Here, I brought extra coats and things, but you’ll need your own boots. I didn’t have anything big enough. Also, if your clothes are dry, hurry and get them on. I think the storm is about to hit again.”
It wasn’t snowing on us at the moment, but the clouds hung almost to the tops of the trees, gray and heavy with their burden. And the wind howled in the distance. Actually, it howled nearby. And a few feet from us, it was snowing. But now wasn’t the time to consider what all that might mean. Our rescuer, Cerine, was urging me to dress and take my husband to a warm house. I could only hope we didn’t kill her with whatever had infected our pack as a thank-you for her kindness.
