Page 2 of Corbin (Wild Wolf Pack from the world of Gallize Shifters #2)
Hanging on tight as he let out rope, he lowered one foot at a time through a mass of branches and searched blindly for a thick limb. He began squeezing his body through the crisscross of branches while death-gripping the ropes. Leaves smothered him in darkness when he sank lower.
His boot thumped against skinny branches that rattled.
Finally, his knee whacked one solid enough to not move. Shit! That hurt.
Ares snarled, Stupid!
Just once, Corbin would like to get his hands on that wolf’s throat and shake some sense into him. Moving his arms through this living gauntlet took all his effort. Bending his knee, he lowered himself to sit on the branch and shook out one cramped hand at a time.
A couple of deep breaths, and he was back in his element.
With a new surge of energy, he tested the branch before creating slack in the rope.
No sound of cracking. He made fast work of shedding his climbing gear, then dropped it to the ground before lowering himself all the way until he touched solid ground.
He tied his gear as high as he could on the trailing rope.
For the first time since getting on the back side of this mountain, something felt natural.
Even in the dark, he made it down the tree with ease and leaped to the uneven ground.
His wolf growled and pulsed angry energy through his body.
Corbin pulled the vinyl cover off the face of his digital watch. Thirty-eight minutes left. He should be able to reach the cabin in twenty to twenty-five minutes, right? He pressed the flap back in place.
Adrian and Jaz had given them great equipment.
Shrugging off the comfortable backpack that Jaz had stocked for each of them, Corbin checked the contents.
She’d sent a lightweight tranquilizer pistol to stop the bear, and a change of clothes should theirs get shredded.
Where had their people gotten tranqs that packed enough punch to stop a bear?
Having to be within seventy feet to discharge the tranq dart left little room for mistakes.
Flexible metal rods had been built into the looped straps of the backpack for holding it off the ground so a wolf could step through the opening and wear the pack.
That had been an irritating negotiation with Ares.
Corbin got what he wanted in the end, having only surrendered one token agreement he hoped not to regret.
Give me body! Ares shouted.
Corbin grabbed his aching head. Stop yelling. I’m almost ready.
Too slow.
Ignoring that, Corbin reminded Ares, We have an agreement. Wait for my directions and for me to approve any killing.
Keep talking and there will be no one to kill.
That had been the one concession Corbin had made. Ares could kill the bear shifter if Corbin’s team failed to contain the kidnapper. Adrian wanted to keep the kidnapper alive, if possible, to find out who else might be involved.
Corbin should be able to make that happen with the dart gun.
Adrian and his people were hoping the undependable cell reception in this area meant a shifter holed up this deep in the woods would be delayed in learning from a partner if the money got dropped.
Unless the kidnapper waiting with the woman had a satellite phone like Adrian’s, the odds were good they’d reach the cabin before he found out he’d been screwed.
But any gambler would say odds are never dependable.
A niggle of worry argued with Corbin’s confidence, but he had no time to kick this around. After stripping down, he tucked both his boots and clothes into the backpack. He dropped onto his knees and hands, then called up the shift.
Ares needed no help. His monster wolf intentionally blasted out of their skin fast to punish Corbin for making him wait. It felt like hot needles stabbed into every muscle.
The minute Ares shoved his head and paws into the backpack openings provided, he wiggled his body, moving the pack to where he wanted it, and got serious.
Corbin always did his best to leave his wolf alone when on the hunt.
He only hoped Ares could keep his head screwed on in the right direction.
Ares dropped his snout to the ground, sniffed a couple of places, and took off at a steady trot. He’d covered twenty yards when he paused, lifting his head and sniffing. Then he lowered his head, continuing to scent everywhere as he moved more slowly.
Minutes ticked away too quickly in Corbin’s mind. He remained silent. Pushing his wolf to run could get them caught in a trap or killed.
Ares suddenly paused and abruptly backed up.
What is it? Corbin asked.
Trap. Hole in ground . Bear scent heavy a few steps forward, but skunk scent dripped in a line going out to left and right .
Sniffing faster, Ares made his way around the boundaries of the hole, which was well-camouflaged by brush and very likely armed with vertical spikes.
Ares had a talent for sorting scents and quickly determining if any seemed out of place.
The skunk scent should be more concentrated in one spot, not dribbled in a straight line.
Smart move by the bear shifter, though. Where a natural animal would more likely change directions and avoid the area, a shifter hard on the hunt would leap over the stench to keep moving forward and land in the pit.
Not Ares.
He and Corbin had learned about traps the hard way over the years.
Without access to his watch, Corbin had no way to be sure of time, but it felt as if they were down to less than ten minutes. Ares paused again and lifted his head. Looking through his wolf’s eyes, Corbin spotted a tiny flicker of light through the trees.
He urged his wolf, Keep moving but without making a sound.
You insult me . Ares started forward, avoiding downed branches and anything else dead that would make a snapping sound to alert the shifter kidnapper. Forty yards from a small shelter that had once been a decent shack, Ares hesitated again. Bear scat everywhere.
Corbin had caught a whiff, but the lack of sounds in the cabin worried him more than a shifter right now.
Were they too late?
He told Ares, Let’s move closer.
We are upwind , his wolf argued.
True. The wind had shifted while they headed this way. Regardless, he had to know if the woman still lived. Be careful and get close enough to hear if one of them is speaking softly.
No argument this time. Ares had all but tiptoed a short distance when a woman screamed, “ Noooo! Don’t touch me! ” Sobbing followed.
A loud roar came next that should have shaken the old wooden shack into a pile of rubble.
Ares stepped behind a thick bush and held his nose up to catch scents.
Corbin had to get to the young woman. He couldn’t handle seeing any female being abused. Give me the body.
No. Ares lowered his head and backed out of the pack he’d been carrying. He wanted to fight.
Give. Me. The. Damn. Body, Corbin shouted at Ares internally.
Wait. Bear coming out in human form.
Before Corbin could argue another word, a bull of a man stepped from the shack with a rope in his hand. The other end was tied around the waist of a skinny young woman. She looked more like sixteen than nineteen as stated on the report.
She limped on a bad ankle or a broken foot. Her ripped pale-yellow shirt and dirty white shorts showed the least of her mistreatment. She’d lost her shoes. Blond hair tangled with sticks and leaves fell to her shoulders. Scratches ran down her arms, some with dried blood.
The bear shifter dragged her to a tree and tied the rope around it, leaving little slack.
She yanked back and cried, “Let me go. He’s wrong. My father paid. I know he did.”
Ah hell. No, her father had not paid because he had expected Adrian’s team to save his daughter before the payment was due. Even if he had paid, the kidnappers would have killed her.
“No, he didn’t, bitch. You humans think you’re smarter than a shifter. He’s going to find out what happens for lying to Dagger.” He yanked off his gray T-shirt and started unbuckling his belt—a true wacko who spoke of himself in third person.
She fell to her knees, hands clawing at the rope. “Please don’t do this.”
Come on, Ares. We can’t let him rape her.
You let me kill him?
Son of a bitch. Ares would pull that card now. Corbin said, Let me have the body so I can shoot him with the dart gun. He might have to give in to Ares if this went on too long.
Ares grumbled, Asshole .
The shift came hard and fast again. Corbin ground his teeth through the pain and got ready to act. The moment he had human arms and legs, he dug the gun from the pack. It already had a dart chambered, and he grabbed a second one.
Cursing the whole time, the bear shifter shucked his jeans, leaving him naked.
The woman’s wild eyes dropped to Dagger’s groin area. She screamed a gut-wrenching sound.
Just as naked, Corbin ran out and ordered, “ Stop! ”
That froze the bear shifter long enough for Corbin to get a shot into his rump, the only part of that body that didn’t look carved from a tree trunk.
Corbin ejected the dart and jammed a second one in as the bear shifter turned on him and started changing. Shit. He pointed at the man’s neck and discharged the gun again. Luck was with him. The shot struck true.
A black bear, Dagger lifted his hand with claws ready to slash, stood a moment, then slid down to his knees. His eyes rolled up, and he fell forward.
Corbin wanted to help the woman, but she’d been terrified already, and he’d make it worse heading over with all his male glory hanging out.
He called over, “Give me a minute and I’ll free you.”
Every pack also held a few medical supplies and an extra-large black T-shirt for the female. Jaz had prepared Adrian’s team for the possibility that the victim might be in any condition. Rushing, Corbin snatched a pair of loose warm-up pants, stepped into them, and then ran to the woman.
She stared at him open-mouthed. Okay, she was in shock. He had to go slowly. “I won’t hurt you. I’m here to save you.”
Then she started shaking her head and talking between sobs. “There’s ... there’s ... another—”