Betrayed (Wolf Gatherings Book 6) (2 page)

Marcus cringed as he pictured his mother cowering in front of her father. Bile rose in his throat.

“Melvin has created a superwolf, Lora. Unstoppable.” His father’s words were filled with pride as though he were discussing some educational accomplishment rather than some strange subversive military coup planned by his grandfather. What were they called? The Romulus? Marcus’s spine stiffened as he pondered what a superwolf might be.

“What’s a superwolf? Why?” his mother asked, voicing Marcus’s exact thoughts.

Melvin spoke again. “They’re larger and stronger than the average shifter. Lora, I’m tired of taking orders from others. I’m sick of living in hiding. We’ve lived below the radar as a species for centuries. I have the financial backing now to make this possible. There are humans in high places who know about us. They’re helping me. In return, I’ll assist them.”

Whatever the fuck his grandfather had planned, the details made Marcus go pale. His body shook with rage. He needed to get out of there, and fast. The last thing he wanted to do was to get caught and hauled into this mess.

How he’d lived twenty-six years oblivious to all this shit was beyond him, but he didn’t have to live another minute on the wrong side of justice knowing what he now knew.

“Where’s Marcus now?” his grandfather asked.

“Probably on his way over. I invited him for dinner,” his mother said.

Thank God he’d gotten off work earlier than expected and come straight to his parents’ home. He hated to think what might have happened if he’d been ten minutes too late for this powwow.

“Then I’ll wait. We’ll either convince him to come in, or take him against his will if need be.”

Marcus eased away from his spot against the outside wall. He prayed not a single board in the porch squeaked to give him away as he inched toward the side railing. He didn’t dare go back down the front steps. With one hand on the banister, he leaped over the top and landed firmly on the ground. Seconds later he was running into the woods behind his parents’ house.

He couldn’t take the chance of going home. Besides, he wouldn’t be able to take anything with him anyway. He wasn’t going to take a casual drive in his car to escape. The only option he had was to shift and go completely under the radar. Rogue.

He managed to dash more than a mile into the trees before he paused to shed his clothes and shift. The last thing he wanted was for anyone to easily figure out he’d run by encountering his clothing. He found a dip in the ground, buried everything he had, and covered it with debris and leaves. Over the years he’d run in these woods so many times, there was no way anyone would be able to track him. His scent was everywhere.

Shifting was quick and easy, and then he was on the move.

He lamented the loss of the life he’d built for himself over the last few years. His job as a contractor would quickly be snatched up by someone else when he didn’t show up for work. It couldn’t be helped.

Marcus was a grown man. No drugs had been in his system for six years, with the exception of that one weekend. He’d worked hard to build his life the way he wanted it, giving everything he had physically and emotionally to overcome his weird childhood. And he wasn’t about to lose the ground he’d gained. Not even for family. Not for anybody.

He ran. Hard. His destination easy.

Texas.

Like his mother, Marcus would never believe the Spencers had anything to do with the kidnapping or harboring of anyone. His best option now was to go see for himself.

•●•

Spencer Ranch, three weeks later…

Heather heard the rattle only a second before she felt the stinging bite of small teeth entering her ankle. She yelped and jumped, but it was too late. Instant pain ran up her leg and froze her in her spot. “Fuck.” She didn’t dare move as she watched the venomous diamondback slither away.

Tears filled her eyes. She lifted her gaze toward the main ranch house. She was too far away to make it to the house. In fact, her leg hurt worse than any pain she’d ever experienced, and she lowered herself to her knees as the pain increased. As a human, the clock was ticking.

Heather shook her head. She needed to think. She gritted her teeth and then screamed. No one heard her. Why had she wandered so far from the corral and barn alone? She sat hard on her ass and grabbed her leg with both hands as though squeezing her calf would alleviate the searing pain.

Her eyes watered, blurring her vision. But she could see enough to watch her ankle swell rapidly around the two puncture wounds. “Dammit,” she muttered.

Heather was a nurse. She needed to take a deep breath and calm herself.
Think
. Her life depended on it.

Her chest seized with fear. She could literally die right here on the ground. And who knew how long it would take for the Spencers to find her?

Heather flattened to the dirt. It wasn't a conscious choice. She was growing woozy. She bit down against the searing pain, curled onto her side, and grabbed her ankle with both hands.

Her ponytail whipped across her face, obscuring her vision, but she couldn't care enough to brush the locks away. Tears escaped to run down her cheeks, and she bit the inside of her lip to keep from screaming as she struggled against the burn in her leg and blinked back the dirt in her eyes. All she could see through the curtain of thick hair was the tall brush in which she lay hidden.

She tried to steady her breathing. Suddenly she had a moment of clarity.
Shift. You must shift. It’s the only way
.

Dragging the last bit of energy she could manage, Heather called forth the shift. It took longer than usual, but she managed. Several seconds later she lay panting on the ground in wolf form, her clothes in tattered shreds around her. Her leg still hurt like a mother, but at least she wouldn’t likely die.

As a wolf, she would heal faster. Her body was less likely to shut down from the venom.

She didn’t move, afraid her legs wouldn’t hold her up if she tried to stand. She closed her eyes against the glaring sun and let herself slip into sleep. If she died, perhaps she wouldn’t even be aware of it. If she lived, at least in slumber she would give her body a fighting chance to heal.

•●•

Marcus paced inside the tree line. He’d wandered around the outskirts of the Spencer Ranch for three days now. He knew the best thing to do was to man up and head for the main house, but he hadn’t conjured the courage yet.

A loud scream rent the air and made him jerk his head in the direction of the noise. A woman stood only a few dozen yards from him, long glorious red hair blowing behind her. How had he not noticed her? It wasn’t like him to wander so close to the main section of the ranch.

Just as he was about to duck back between the trees and slink off deeper into the woods, he saw a look of sheer horror on her face. She cussed as he watched. Her red curls were held back by a ponytail, but hair blew across her features as she bent at the waist. And then she disappeared entirely from his view, collapsing onto her knees and then disappearing into the brush.

What the fuck?

Obviously she was in horrible pain, but from what? Could she have stepped on a trap?

Marcus turned to run deeper into the woods, but something told him to stay close. He sat on his haunches and sniffed the air, tipping his head back.

The woman was a shifter. He could discern that without much effort. And the fact wasn’t shocking. He’d noticed only shifters on the ranch since he’d been watching them from afar.

He stared at the spot where the woman disappeared, silently cussing inside his head. He couldn’t leave her there.
What the hell is she doing?

Nothing. Silence. He watched for several minutes, beginning to think he’d completely hallucinated the redhead in the first place. Had she fallen into the Bermuda Triangle?

Marcus inched forward as though pulled to do so by an invisible string. As he got closer, he heard a low moaning sound. She was definitely injured. And he smelled wolf. She’d shifted. Good. At least she’d had enough sense to take her lupine form. Whatever injury she’d sustained would heal faster in wolf form.

Yards away still, Marcus crept forward. He smelled her distinctly, long before he saw her. And he stopped moving.

His chest pounded. His ears twitched. He lifted his nose into the air to get a better scent.

Holy mother of God. She’s my mate
.

Marcus sat on his haunches. He had no other choice. If he hadn’t, he would have collapsed onto them anyway. He jerked his head in every direction, suddenly aware someone could spot him. No one was around. He almost wished they were. His mate needed help.

Pulled into action, Marcus lowered his body out of sight and crawled forward until he reached his mate’s body. The first thing he saw was her gorgeous red fur, the same shade of her human hair. The second thing he saw was her badly swollen leg.

Had she been bitten by something? He nudged her paw with his nose, seeing the blood caked in her fur. He licked at the wound. Snake. Had to be. Shit. For this kind of damage in such a short span of time, it had to have been a rattlesnake. He could taste the venom on his tongue and spat it out on the ground.

Marcus circled to her face and felt her steady breathing as it wafted onto his snout. She was alive. He lay alongside her, keeping his nose right next to hers. If there was any change, he would know. As long as she slept off the venom, she would be safe. All he needed to do was keep an eye on her ankle and ensure the swelling didn’t progress up her leg, and she would be fine. Her wolf would fight the infection. It was rare for a shifter to succumb to such an injury, especially if they managed to change into wolf form as quickly as she had.

It would hurt for several days, but she’d pull through.

She had to.

For over an hour Marcus lay next to his mate, learning her scent and every tiny move she made in her restless slumber. She moaned every few minutes, a sound he hoped to never hear again in this lifetime. It wasn’t the good kind of moan he hoped to rend from her in bed, but rather a pained expression of discomfort.

And what the hell was he thinking? He couldn’t take a mate right now. He hadn’t been with anyone in over a year. He wasn’t ready.