Wanted: Undead or Alive (11 page)

“I’m fine.” He pulled up a search engine. “There are camping areas in the forest, right?”

“Yes. Over thirty of them.”

“We’ll need to check those. Corky may have commandeered one of them.” He glanced at Brynley. “Don’t check anything without me. It could be dangerous.”

She opened a loaf of bread. “Seems to me that it would be safer to look for her during the daytime when she’s dead.”

“She wouldn’t dare sleep unprotected. She’ll have a few mortals under her control, and they’ll be brainwashed to kill anyone who comes close to her. Don’t do any investigating without me.”

Brynley glowered at him. “Okay.”

He found a good map that detailed all the camping areas. “I’ll zip over to Romatech and print this out and grab our sat phones.”

“Okay.” She slathered some mustard on her bread.

“I’ll probably stay there for a few hours. See how my brother’s doing. File a report and catch up on what the other guys are doing.” It would be a lot easier to resist her if he put over a thousand miles between them.

“Okay.” She slapped her sandwich together.

“You’ll be all right here?”

She shot him an irritated look. “I’ll be fine.”

“You have a lot to do tomorrow. You should get some sleep.”

“Go ahead and teleport. I know you don’t want to hang around me for the rest of the night.”

“It’s not that I don’t like you. Quite the opposite—”

“Just go!”

“Fine!” With a sick feeling in his stomach, he vanished.

“W
ho’s afraid of the big bad wolf?” Brynley sang to herself in the shower. She’d finished her snack, then checked on the horses in the barn. Phineas had not returned.

She turned off his computer, then gathered up some supplies for the trip to Cloud Peak Glacier. Some beef jerky, a few granola bars, some bottles of water, a roll of toilet paper, and a sleeping bag. Phineas might be able to teleport in and out, but she’d be with the horses, so she’d have to do things the old-fashioned way. She made a note to herself to bring some weed-seed-free feed for the horses.

By one o’clock in the morning, he still wasn’t back. She took a shower and sang the Big Bad Wolf song at the top of her lungs, hoping he’d come back and hear it.

He didn’t.

She left the light on in the bathroom with the door partially closed, so the cabin wouldn’t be totally dark, then climbed the ladder to the loft and crawled into bed.

With a groan, she punched a pillow. It was her fault he was uncomfortable around her. She shouldn’t have told him that she knew what the red eyes meant. She’d wanted to tease him, but to be honest, she was flattered. More than flattered. Amazed. Astounded. He’d admitted he was attracted to
her
. The real Brynley.

All the guys in the past who had pursued her had never bothered to find out who she really was. They’d simply seen her as the Supreme Pack Master’s daughter, the ticket to win more power and prestige in the werewolf world.

Phineas had nothing to gain from a relationship with her. Unless you counted gaining a bunch of enemies. Her father and his countless followers would want to kill him.

She sighed and nestled under the covers. It was for the best that he was staying away from her. They couldn’t be together. He knew it. She knew it. Her inner wolf knew it. They were from two different worlds.

How much did she actually know about him? Had he really been a drug dealer? Was it true there was an outstanding warrant for his arrest? It didn’t seem to fit the Phineas she knew. She’d always felt safe around him. She knew her brother and the Vamp guys liked and respected him. Angus MacKay had promoted him to head of security at Romatech. He wouldn’t have done that if he didn’t believe Phineas was absolutely trustworthy.

But how well could she trust him? He was the Love Doctor, the Blardonnay Guy. Hundreds of Vamp women would gladly throw themselves at him. She rolled over and punched a pillow. Lucky Phineas. He could see his brother whenever he wanted. She didn’t dare even contact her sister.

She must have dozed off, for when she next looked at the bedside clock, it was almost four. The cabin was totally dark. The bathroom door had been shut. And the water was running.

Phineas was back. And taking a shower. She pictured him the way he looked in the commercials with a towel wrapped low around his hips. And his chest, his glorious chest would glisten with droplets of water. A tiny rivulet would sluice down his chest, right between his man-boobs—

Her breath caught. The water had turned off. She slipped out of bed and tiptoed to the edge of the loft.

The moon, now low in the sky, shone through the windows, softly illuminating the room below. He’d moved the couch back a few feet to cover up the trapdoor to the basement. And he’d moved the chairs back, too, so the whole arrangement would look normal.

The bathroom door opened, and the light switched off.

Her heart pounded, and she took a deep breath to try to stay calm. She didn’t want him to hear her racing heartbeat.

He moved into view, and her heart stuttered. He was wearing a towel, just like in the commercials. Oh God, his shoulders really were broad. And his back . . . so strong and muscular. She bit her lip. If only he would turn around so she could see his chest.

Suddenly, he yanked the towel off and rubbed it over his head. She gasped. His rear end was showing!

He stiffened and turned his head slightly.

She slapped a hand over her mouth. He must have heard her gasp. But oh my God, when he had stiffened, it had caused the muscles in his buttocks to flex. It was about the most beautiful sight she’d ever seen.

“Brynley?” He turned toward her with the towel lowered to cover his groin.

She scrambled back onto the bed and held her breath. Her heart was beating too damned fast. He was going to hear it.

“Good night, Brynley,” he said softly.

The cabin was quiet. She strained her ears, but heard only crickets chirping outside. And an owl hooting.

She eased back to the railing and peeked over. The room was empty. He must have teleported into the basement.

She crawled back into bed and lay there, staring at the ceiling. If she had the nerve, she’d shove the couch aside, open the trapdoor, and jump down into the basement. Straight into his arms.

But she couldn’t. She squeezed her eyes shut, and the vision of his naked back and buttocks filled her mind.

With a moan, she pulled the covers over her head. Easy to resist, she’d told him. What a big fat liar.

She’d never wanted anyone as badly as she did Phineas.

Chapter Nine

T
he next evening, Brynley sat on her sleeping bag at the camp she’d established at the base of Cloud Peak and watched the sun slip over the horizon. Any second now, Phineas would be waking from his death-sleep. She’d give him a few minutes to dress and drink some blood before calling him.

She breathed deeply of air scented with spruce and lodgepole pine. The two horses munched on the green grass of the meadow where she’d camped. Far up the side of the mountain, nestled in a beautiful cirque, the glacier gleamed white in the moonlight. Patches of snow still dotted the mountainside. Tiny bits of ice sparkled as if a divine hand had tossed a stash of diamonds across the side of the mountain.

Beautiful. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the crisp night breeze that nipped at her cheeks.
Home.
Her inner wolf trembled with joy. It knew instinctively that she’d returned, and it was eager for the full moon that would come in two nights. Eager to burst free from her human skin and run wild through the forests, chasing deer and elk.

She would have to explain to Phineas that she needed the night off. It wasn’t a choice for her. On the first night of a full moon, she shifted, no matter where she was.

The teaching job at Dragon Nest Academy was perfect for her since she was able to live in the same building with her brother and the banished werewolf boys. She shifted with them every month and roamed the extensive grounds around the school. It was fun being with her brother, but she missed her sister. And the Adirondacks were not the same as the mountains out West. Her inner wolf knew the difference and had longed for her to return home.

While the wolf celebrated, her human half tensed. She was taking a terrible risk. If she stayed here, her father might find her. And if he captured her, he’d make it extremely hard for her to escape a second time. He knew not to trust her now.

A twinge of paranoia skittered through her. She stood and surveyed the woods that encircled her camp, her extra-keen eyesight adjusting to the darkness. She listened with her extra-sharp hearing. A rustling in the grass as a field mouse scurried to its home, the beating of the air as an owl took wing.

“Hurry, little mouse,” she whispered. She knew the feeling of being stalked, the terror of being hunted.
Princess, my ass
. Phineas had no idea. In her father’s world, she was prey.

She felt a sudden need to have Phineas there with her. He’d said he would never allow her to be forced into a marriage against her will. He would protect her.

Because he wants you for himself
. And why should she object? A spark of rebelliousness ignited inside her, inciting an urge to tell the world to buzz off. She wanted Phineas.

But since when did she ever get what she wanted?

She grabbed the sat phone off the sleeping bag and called him.

“Hello, Brynley.”

His voice did the usual warm, fluttery things to her stomach. “You’re all right! I was so worried about leaving you all alone in the cabin. I’m glad you’re okay. Are you ready to come here?”

“I already have.”

Her heart lurched and the phone tumbled from her hand as she whirled around and found him standing behind her. “Don’t do that! I told you to never sneak up behind me!”

“It wasn’t on purpose.” He pocketed his sat phone. “I’m never exactly sure where I’ll end up when I teleport.”

“Oh.” She pressed a hand to her chest as she willed her heart to stop pounding.
Great
. She’d freaked out again.

“Are you all right?” He was regarding her curiously, so she quickly changed the subject.

“It’s beautiful around here, don’t you think?”

“Yeah.” He glanced around quickly, then focused again on her. “Are you sure—”

“There’s the glacier over there,” she interrupted, motioning to the cirque. “I’m not sure where Jason was attacked. The mountain still has a lot of snow on it. I can’t imagine anyone trying to hike up there in the dark, so I’m figuring Jason was attacked somewhere down here. I’m glad you wore that heavy coat. It’s pretty chilly.”

He studied her silently for a while, and she felt her cheeks grow warm. She was babbling, and he knew it.

“I’ll look around,” he said quietly.

“All right. But don’t take too long. We have a lot of campgrounds to check out. I’ll get the horses ready.”

He gave the horses a wary look, then zipped around the meadow and nearby woods at vampire speed.

With a sigh, she rolled up her sleeping bag. She needed to stop freaking out whenever he was behind her. The attack had happened five years ago. Time to get over it. She attached her sleeping bag behind the saddle on the gelding. Phineas was an inexperienced rider, so she’d let him ride the gentler mare.

He zoomed toward her in a blur of movement, and she gripped the reins of the horses as they shied away. “Cut it out!” she fussed at him. “You’re scaring them.”

“Sorry.” He stopped abruptly, casting a worried look at the horses. “I found the spot where the attack happened.” He gestured toward a giant spruce. “The grass is crushed, and I found a few drops of human blood on the ground.”

Impressive. She hadn’t detected any blood, and her sense of smell was excellent, although not nearly as good as when she was in wolf form. “Can you tell if it’s Jason’s blood?”

Phineas winced. “The older Vamps probably could, but I’m not as experienced as them. I can’t tell if Corky was here, either.”

She nodded. He seemed embarrassed, but that only made him more attractive to her. Werewolf men, especially the Alphas, tended to be overconfident to the point of arrogance, and that had always annoyed her.

He retrieved a piece of paper from his jacket pocket and unfolded it. “I printed out a map that shows the location of campgrounds. Vampires would need a cabin or a cave to stay protected from sunlight.”

She patted the sheath attached to her belt. “I brought a good hunting knife. I’m ready for them.”

He lifted his hands. “Wait a minute, Wolfie-Girl. If there’s any fighting, you have to stay out of it.”

“I’m not going to leave you alone.”

“Your brother would kill me if I let anything happen to you.”

She scoffed. “So it’s just my brother you’re worried about?”

“What do you need to hear, Brynley? That I couldn’t bear it if anything happened to you? That if I failed to protect you, the shame would kill me?”

Her eyes widened. “Is that true?”

“Yes! So stay the hell out of trouble, okay?”

“Okay.” She smiled, her cheeks flushing with heat. “Let’s go, bloodsucker.”

“After you, Snout-Face.” He handed her the map.

She pointed at a spot on the map. “We’ll head to this one first. It’s not too far.” She folded the map, stuffed it into her jacket pocket, then mounted her horse.

He stood still, eyeing the mare with an anxious look.

“Come on, city boy.” She bit her lip to keep from grinning. “Mount up.”

“I think that’s the one that tried to bite me.”

“That’s Molly. She’s as gentle as can be.”

“Until she sinks her teeth into you.”

Brynley snorted. “A vampire afraid of biting?”

“Hell yeah, if I’m on the wrong side of the bite.” He inched closer to the horse. “Do you just sort of jump on their back?”

“Put your foot in the stirrup. No, the other foot.” Brynley chuckled. “Unless you want to ride backwards.”

He put his left foot in, then hopped on his right foot as the horse shied away. “Whoa, Nelly!”

“It’s Molly.” Brynley gasped when Phineas suddenly teleported right onto the horse’s back.

With a frightened whinny, Molly reared up and dumped him on the ground.

“Ow. Damn.” He hefted himself to his feet and glared at the horse. “What did it do that for?”

“You frightened her.” Brynley dismounted and grabbed Molly’s reins. “Here. I’ll hold her still while you mount.”

He rubbed his rear, scowling at the horse. “She doesn’t like me.”

Brynley smiled as she patted Molly’s neck. “Poor Phineas. Must be hard, mounting a female who doesn’t like you.”

He glowered at her. “I wouldn’t know. They’ve always been willing.”

Her smile faded. How many women had been seduced by the Love Doctor’s sexy voice and handsome face? “I suppose you’ve had a whole herd of willing females? And you rode them like a cowboy?”

“If I did, would you be jealous?”

“No, more like nauseated.”

He snorted, then slipped his foot into the stirrup and mounted neatly. “How’s that?”

Gorgeous. She was sorely tempted to pull him to the ground and give him the ride of a lifetime. Make him forget about the herd of willing females he might have had in the past. Instead, she handed him the reins. “Hold them lightly. Molly won’t need a lot of direction.”

“She knows what she wants?” His hands brushed slightly against hers as he took the reins.

She swallowed hard. “We don’t always get what we want.” She hurried back to the gelding and mounted up.

T
his wasn’t so bad once you got used to it, Phineas thought. The trail was wide and smooth, and well lit with a nearly full moon and a million stars.

His horse was happy to follow Brynley’s gelding. And he was happy to watch her from behind. Her back was graceful and curved into a slim waist. Her long ponytail swayed from side to side.

The stars shone more brightly here than at home, and the sky seemed bigger. Even the Earth seemed bigger, more expansive without the cramped and crowded feel he was used to in the city. Here, he could easily believe that he and Brynley were the only two people on the planet.

It was a tempting fantasy—he and Brynley all alone with a moral obligation to repopulate the Earth. And no angry werewolf father to object. But in reality, his sperm was dead, and Brynley hated vampires. He was ninety-nine percent positive that she had spied on him when he’d gotten out of the shower, but of course, she’d found him easy to resist.

He took a deep breath. The air was definitely fresher here. No smoky scent of meat grilling at the local street vendor or stench of trash overflowing from a Dumpster.

At first, it seemed deathly quiet. No horns honking, no sirens, no throbbing bass from passing cars. But slowly, he became aware of different sounds. More subtle. A breeze ruffling the leaves, a twig snapping beneath a paw. The scenery appeared peaceful on the surface, but danger lurked in the dark depths of the forest. A different set of predators existed here—wolves, bears, mountain lions. But the predator that had attacked Jason Pritchard was one he knew well—a vampire.

Just like other predators, a vampire always left a trail. It was their need for blood, and their options were limited. They could order blood from Romatech, raid a blood bank, or drain animals dry. Or if they were Malcontents, they left human victims in their wake.

As Phineas relaxed into the swaying movement of the horse, he congratulated himself. This cowboy stuff wasn’t so hard after all. Brynley would have to stop calling him a city boy. Unfortunately, at that moment his horse decided to leave the path and turn right into the forest.

“What the hell?” He sat up. “Horse! What are you doing?”

Brynley glanced back over her shoulder. “Where are you going?”

“I don’t know.”

Brynley pulled to a stop. “Steer her back onto the path.”

“There’s no steering wheel!” He looked frantically about as his horse continued to walk into the forest. “How do I put this thing into reverse?”

Brynley’s laughter drifted toward him. Dammit, he couldn’t even see her now.

“She’s not a thing. She’s a mare,” Brynley yelled. “You have to let her know you’re in charge!”

“I thought I was!” Typical female. The mare had only let him
think
he was in charge.

“Pull on the reins,” Brynley called. She sounded closer, thank God.

He pulled hard, and the horse reared up, dumping him onto the ground. “Umph.” He fell back, hitting his head. Stars danced around the sky. “Damn.”

“Are you okay?”

“I think so,” he mumbled as she walked past him.

“I was talking to Molly.” She smirked as she grabbed Molly’s reins. She rubbed the horse’s neck. “Poor girl.”

With a grunt, he hefted himself to his feet. The muscles in his rump and legs twinged with pain. “Damn.”

“Come on.” Brynley led his horse back to the path, her mouth twitching as she passed him by. “Don’t forget your hat, city boy.”

He spotted his hat on the ground, but when he leaned over to pick it up, his muscles objected. “Ouch. Damn.” He walked slowly and stiffly back to the path.

Meanwhile, Brynley had tied a rope from Molly to her gelding. “I’ll have to lead your horse since you don’t know how to control her.”

“It’s not my fault the horse is weird.”

She chuckled. “Do you need help mounting?”

“No. I can mount just fine.” He ignored her dubious look, and swung his leg over the horse. His muscles groaned as he settled into the saddle. “See?” He grimaced, hoping it looked like a smile. “Piece of cake.”