Heather shouted down at them. “David, get out. Please get out!”
His naked human mate was up there with dozens of drunken hillbillies. He had to get out but didn’t want to leave anyone behind.
A rope dropped down into the pit. Caleb stood at the top in his human form. “We don’t have all day, David.”
He shifted into his skin, giving the rope a yank to test the strength. “Both of you shift now while the wolves have the humans scrambling. We don’t have all the time in the world here,” David said.
The unknown male shifted first. He had a large build and shoulder-length dark hair. There were many scars on his torso, so unusual for a shifter. Was he a threat? Would he turn on them as soon as he was out of the pit?
“The girl first,” David said, not trusting the other man.
“Of course.”
They both turned to the she-bear and waited. “Now’s a good time,” he said.
She began to ripple, her fur receding and advancing. This bear needed a lot of training yet. She was too unstable, too volatile. After a long, tense minute, she managed to return to her human form. At one point he didn’t think she’d manage.
“Get up!” he shouted.
There was a fire where the cars were parked, quickly growing to life, sparking into the pit. A forest fire was never a good thing. The she-bear climbed up the rope, but she was weak. It was taking too much time.
He turned, not liking the other wolf shifter at his back. They both sized each other up.
“I never hurt your mate,” he said. “My name’s Maddox, by the way.”
David shrugged. Even if he never laid a finger or paw on Heather, he still didn’t like the thought of him being alone with her. His wolf’s territorial instincts were raging inside of him, threatening to take over his humanity. Right now, they needed to get the fuck out of Dodge alive.
Once the she-bear was finally over the edge of the pit and safe, he glared at the wolf before grabbing the rope and heaving himself out. Once on top, he looked down, tempted to unsecure the loop at the top, trapping the shifter in the pit for all time.
“David?”
He turned to Heather and smiled. Then he waved the shifter the all-clear. Within seconds, he was out of the hole and next to them. Most of the hunters had either scattered into the woods or driven off. The fire was raging and he could feel the heat even where they stood.
“How’s the cut?” he asked. David had taken a good bite out of the other wolf. He didn’t regret it, even now.
Maddox looked at his shoulder. “I’ll live.”
“You’re not healing.”
“Like I said, I’ll live,” Maddox said.
He didn’t like this foreign wolf. What pack did he belong to? Why wasn’t he healing like every other shifter he’d ever known?
“We need to go,” Caleb said. “The fire’s getting out of control.”
“What about Maddox and the girl?” Heather asked.
David growled.
“Don’t worry about me,” Maddox said. “I don’t need a babysitter.”
“Why are you alone? There weren’t any other shifters around looking for you,” Caleb said.
“Why would there be? I don’t run in a pack.”
A lone wolf wasn’t trustworthy. Maybe he’d been tossed out of his pack for good reason.
“You’ve helped one of ours. Come back with us,” Caleb said.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
He couldn’t argue with his alpha, but he certainly felt tempted. “Heather, let’s go,” David said. As soon as they broke the treeline, they shifted into their fur and ran in the direction of home. Right now, he had her back, and that was all that mattered.
****
“David, it’s been over a week. You can relax,” Heather said.
Her mate was leaning out their bedroom window with binoculars, attempting to monitor every movement of their newest pack member, Maddox. After they’d returned home the night of the rescue, Caleb convinced the lone wolf to join their pack. Maddox agreed to give it a trial run.
She wasn’t sure why David wouldn’t warm up to the other man, especially when he was so helpful to her in the fighting ring.
“No, I’ll never put down my guard.” He still had the binoculars up, barely paying attention to her.
“David, what’s your problem with him?”
He finally set the binoculars down and turned, leaning against the wall. “I should have been the one to save you.”
“You did. You came when I needed you most.”
David scowled, pacing the room. “Your scent was all over him. My wolf still hasn’t accepted that.”
“We were mock fighting to stay alive. That’s it, nothing more.”
He nodded. “I trust you, Heather. It’s him I don’t trust.”
“You’re jealous. There’s no need, David. He’s never done anything inappropriate and I have no interest in anyone but you.”
As soon as she got closer, he grabbed her waist and whirled her around, pressing her to the wall. He pinned her hands high above her head with one hand. “How do we convince my wolf when you’re not even marked?”