Page 14 of Tracking the Alpha (Project Therianthrope #1)

Chapter Nine

Tanis slept fitfully but not because she lay on a hard rocky floor. She couldn’t help wondering why Barrett abruptly fled. One moment, they’d been talking, planning, and the next, he’d offered some bullshit excuse and left the cave.

By morning, he’d not returned. Did that mean he’d been captured? Had he abandoned her? Did he keep watch outside? She wouldn’t know by hiding in the cave.

The morning light streaming through the hole allowed Tanis to pack her bag, along with her weapons—which he’d left behind. He’d not even attempted to take the rifle with him, which meant she’d not had to seesaw through a decision on whether to let him have it or not.

The bulging knapsack went on her back, rifle threaded through the straps, bow over her shoulder.

The bulky gear didn’t prevent her climbing to the opening in the ceiling, the roots and footholds easy to see.

She emerged to find frost on the ground, which sparkled in the dawning sun and turned her breath to white fog when she exhaled.

Blinded by the light, she put a hand to her eyes to shield them and looked around for the man she’d formed a connection with the night before. A man who’d surprised her.

After all he’d been through, while angry, he’d not become irrational or even rabidly vengeful.

On the contrary, he remained calm and matter of fact about the situation.

He showed courage too. He’d not let fear of being captured send him fleeing but rather sought a way to rescue his friends, even as he seemed convinced of the impossibility.

Barrett even showed concern for Tanis, a virtual stranger, by making it clear he wasn’t keen on her spying for him because he worried about her wellbeing.

The conclusion? Tanis had actually found a man of morals—with a handsome face.

It had been a long time since Tanis found herself drawn to someone of the opposite sex.

What irony that it happened with the wolf she’d been sent to track.

Then again, she’d always been drawn to alpha types.

When Barrett had hauled her to safety, showing strength, and then held her close, she’d never felt more protected and feminine. A rarity for her.

Apparently, it went only one way. As she stood there, a prickling awareness let her know someone watched.

Barrett, most likely. When he didn’t emerge or call out a greeting, she pursed her lips.

Now what? So much for them working together to take down General Davidson and free his friends. Guess she’d be doing it alone.

Crazy? Probably. However, she couldn’t exactly flee. The general would come after her for sure. He’d shown himself callous when it came to human life. Even if she’d never uncovered any secrets, the man wasn’t the type to let a loose end walk free.

Not to mention, Barrett needed help, and despite only having just met the man, Tanis couldn’t let him fight this alone. He wasn’t the only one with a strong moral code.

Despite him hiding, Tanis planned to do exactly what they’d discussed the night before.

Find out more about the military installation in the woods.

How many people did it hold? Where were Barrett’s friends being held?

What would it take to disrupt the operation or expose it?

All questions that required infiltration, hence why she pulled out her walkie-talkie and switched it on.

To her surprise, the general himself responded immediately in his usual unpleasant tone.

Rather than tell him where he could shove his attitude, she stated, “Target’s den located.”

“And what of the wolf?”

“Spotted but fled before he could be captured.”

“I thought you were only going to report if you had real news,” barked Davidson. The man only seemed to have one mood. Bad.

Having dealt with belligerent men a good chunk of her life, Tanis had no patience for it. “Don’t you dare get pissy with me. If you want to ream someone out, then it should be your soldiers for spooking the wolf with their gunfire last night.” She turned the blame on the situation around.

“They were conducting a training exercise.”

“Yeah, well, thanks to you, the target fled just as I had it in my sights, and now you’ve made my task ten times harder.”

“I thought you said you found its den.”

“I did, and now that my scent is all over it, he won’t return.”

“If you knew that would happen, then why did you enter?” snapped the general.

“How else was I supposed to capture the wolf? Do you know how quietly I had to move to get that close? I was seconds from putting an arrow in the beast when your idiot soldiers started making a ruckus. Target ended up waking, saw me, and ran so fast it’s a wonder I didn’t get whiplash,” she complained.

“So, you failed,” Davidson’s flat reply.

“More like suffered a setback. Give the creature a chance to calm down and it’ll be ripe for tracking again. To that end, I’m going to return to base for a few days. It will give me a chance to restock my supplies, study the maps again, and get some bait it won’t be able to resist.”

“What kind of bait?”

Tanis almost smiled as the general went from pissed to curious exactly as hoped. “I’ve noticed the wolf’s been keeping its hunting grounds tight, which has led to a lack of meat in the area, which explains why it’s been attacking the people you’ve sent to capture it.”

“It didn’t go after you,” Davidson pointed out.

“Because I’m not stupid enough to be caught,” she retorted. “But it knows I’m out here. The first time we set eyes on each other, I winged it with an arrow and almost caught it in a snare. Its most likely got a healthy respect for me now. Even more since I found its den.”

“Meaning it will avoid you, rendering you useless.”

Uh-oh. Tanis had to convince the general otherwise. “Do you always give up so easily? I told you I have a plan.”

“Which consists of what?”

“Tempt the wolf out of hiding with a goat or a cow.”

The general snorted. “As if it will fall for such a blatant trick.” As if catching his gaffe, he quickly added, “The wolf is smart and will smell the domestication on a farm animal. No way it falls for the bait.”

“So little faith. You get me some proper meat bait and I’ll make sure the fury menace can’t resist.”

“That kind of request will take a few days to coordinate,” Davidson replied.

“That’s fine. Like I said before, it will give the wolf time to calm down and me a chance to sleep in a real bed and shower while I plan where to spring the trap. Expect me back at the facility by midafternoon.” A few hours from now, which was how long it would take her to walk that far.

“I can get you here faster than that.”

“How?” she asked, even as she suddenly heard the distant hum of engines.

“I already had soldiers in the area because of our training exercise. They’re heading to your location now.”

The claim tightened her belly. “How? I haven’t told you where I am.”

“Did you really think I’d send you off without a means to check in on you?”

“You’ve been tracking me?” Tanis wanted to ask what he’d bugged, only to have it hit her suddenly. The general hadn’t known where to find Tanis until she turned on the walkie-talkie. The signal it emitted gave her away.

Tanis glanced at the walkie, tempted to toss it into the fast-flowing creek. However, that wouldn’t go well with her cover of being ignorant. “Glad to know I won’t have to walk all the way back. See you soon.”

She left the device on but muted it before she held it up and waved it around.

“He can track me when it’s turned on.” No need to shout.

If Barrett watched, then he heard. Listened but didn’t appear.

What had happened to make him suddenly distrust her?

Then again, why should he believe anything she said?

Actions speak louder than words. An expression to live by.

“I’m going back to the facility to scout.

” It felt kind of weird to be talking aloud, but she wanted him to know what she planned.

“Once I get a grip on numbers and whatnot, I’ll try and find a way to let you know.

Who knows, maybe I’ll get lucky and get a message out.

” An email or a phone call to a media outlet could blow the whole operation apart.

Although she did remain mindful of the fact Barrett thought the general would torch the facility if he thought he might get caught.

No reply. Whatever. Barrett might have suddenly decided he didn’t want an ally, but Tanis was committed. She needed a way out of this mess with or without him.

Tanis tucked the walkie into her pack and eyed the rocky face she had to climb down, followed by the cold water she’d need to cross to meet up with the soldiers. Ugh. Unpleasant or not, it had to be done.

By the time she reached the other side of the creek, a UTV emerged from the woods, carrying a pair of soldiers. She noted their faces so she wouldn’t count them again later.

A wet and shivering Tanis rode in the back, glad that what would have taken her three to four hours ended up being thirty minutes of a breakneck trip through whipping trees.

The UTV stopped in front of the main gate of the facility.

It resembled a compound like you’d see in a movie with its concrete wall topped with barbed wire and the soldier who stood on a platform with a rifle in hand keeping watch.

A seemingly unnecessary precaution, seeing as cameras panned the area on each corner.

Two in the UTV plus one sentry equaled three soldiers.

She slid out of the vehicle and waited for the gate to be opened.

Once it gapped wide enough for her to slip through, Tanis entered.

She kept her face pointed forward, expression bored, but her eyes darted left and right taking in details.

To her left, a female soldier hosed down an area only partially visible through an open door.

Was this where the coyote escaped from last night, or had there been more than one incident?

In any case, four troops so far.