Page 6 of Tracking the Alpha (Project Therianthrope #1)

“Brief me. Yeah. Yeah,” she muttered. “Can you at least tell me what kind of terrain and temperature I’m looking at?”

“Very similar to your current locale.”

A clue that didn’t help much. She’d hoped to find out where they were taking her.

She packed warm, the fall weather nice during the day but getting a cold bite at night.

Socks, tees, sweaters, jeans, vest, toques, gloves, orange vest and matching cap, plus her hiking boots took care of the clothes.

She’d wear her fleece-lined jacket and runners for the trip.

Next, she went to her gun cabinet, the key for it kept on a chain around her neck. As she opened it, the soldier said, “The major will provide you with weaponry.”

“Which will be unfamiliar and unsighted. I’ll take my own.” She placed her Winchester model 70 in the carrying case, along with some 22-250 ammo. She also grabbed her compound bow and quiver, which led to the soldier blurting out, “Why are you bringing that?”

“Because if we’re dealing with a pack, they’ll scatter with the first gunshot.

With this baby, I can usually bag a couple before they get spooked.

” She grabbed some urine bait spray, the kind not made in a store, before saying, “Okay, let’s get this show on the road.

I’d like to get this over with so I can be back home before the snow starts.

” Which according to Agnes Light Tail, their current shaman, would be soon.

The soldier carried her clothing bag after a bit of arguing, as he felt he should be the one in charge of her weapons.

She put a stop to that, saying, “No one touches my gear but me.” Tanis wouldn’t take the chance someone fucked with the settings on her gun or bow, as it could mean the difference between bagging her prey or becoming its next meal.

Some animal specialists claimed wolves didn’t pose a threat. Partially true. Wolves, with full bellies, usually avoided conflict with humans. However, Tanis had come face to face more than once with a hungry pack. Their baleful yellow gaze made it clear they saw people as meat.

The helicopter’s rotors were already sluggishly turning as they made their way to the open door of the cabin. The major stood by it, pinch-faced and tapping his foot impatiently.

“Took long enough,” he grumbled. “Did you have to pack so much? Two bags? Really? This isn’t a holiday.”

“Seeing as how you’ve yet to give me any actual details, I’d rather be prepared. Only one bag is for clothes; the rest is my hunting gear.”

“Hardly necessary since we will supply you with anything you need.”

“I’d rather use my own things,” she snapped.

“Your attitude is unacceptable.”

“Ditto,” she said with a smirk.

The major’s face tightened, and he muttered, “Civilians.” Then in a louder tone said, “You can cut her loose now.”

The soldier quickly pulled a knife and sliced the plastic holding them together, leaving her with a bracelet as a reminder. She cast a glance at her house and sighed. Hopefully the chief would send someone by to keep an eye on it.

“Let’s go,” barked the major.

“Coming,” she muttered as she clambered into the helicopter. Not her first time riding in one. She’d actually flown a few times, surveilling areas before hunting.

She would have liked to watch their departure from a window but found herself crammed between the major and the soldier who’d been her shadow.

As they left the ground, she began asking questions of the major. “Where are we going?”

“Cold Lake Base to catch a plane.”

“And where is that plane taking us to?”

“Northern Ontario.”

The destination raised her brow. “Couldn’t you find a local hunter?”

“We conscripted a few, actually.”

“And, what? They failed to track whatever animal it is you’re after?” She meant to sound sarcastic, and mocking, but the major replied with a flat, “Yes.”

He said nothing else, and she gritted her teeth. “Exactly what am I looking for?” Because he’d never actually said.

“A wolf. A very specific one.”

“Singling out a wolf might be difficult if it runs in a pack.”

“No pack. This beast is a loner, and your task is to capture, not severely harm. We want it alive.”

Her lips pursed. “Hate to break it to you, but you have the wrong person. When it comes to predators, I shoot to kill. Sounds to me like you need someone with tranqs and a cage.”

“It’s been tried without result. My understanding is you’re skilled at setting snares and traps.”

“Again, for things that don’t try and eat or claw people. It’s one thing if a buck doesn’t step into a snare, but a wolf, especially a hungry one…” She shook her head.

“You’re a professional. Figure it out. We just need you to subdue the beast long enough for us to get him back into custody.”

The phrasing offered a clue. “This wolf escaped your control?”

“Yes,” a terse reply.

“From a zoo or the military?”

The major huffed. “A military installation, and before you ask, this is no ordinary wolf, hence the reason why we’re going through so much trouble to retrieve it.”

“Not ordinary how? Did you do some experiment on it? Is it carrying some kind of disease?” This all sounded very odd.

“That information is classified.”

A bogus answer. “It could be important. If this wolf isn’t your run-of-the-mill sort, then that means I might have to adapt my usual strategies. So, I’ll ask again, what makes it different? Can I tell it apart from others of its kind?”

“For one, it’s smart. Very smart. It won’t fall for simple traps, so don’t even bother trying. Thus far, it has easily evaded all attempts to corner it. Also be warned, it’s ruthless when confronted.”

“It’s attacked people?”

“Yes.”

“Is it rabid?”

“No, but if it senses someone is a threat, it takes them out.”

The claim had her clenching her fists. “How many people has it claimed?”

“Several.”

“Including the hunters you sent?”

“Yes.”

Well, that added an unexpected wrinkle. “Given it’s a murdering beast, why the determination to capture? Shouldn’t you be culling it? One wolf hardly seems worth the lives of people.”

“As mentioned before, the orders are to bring it in alive.”

“And if I refuse?”

“Either you succeed or you die.”

A cold thing to say. “That isn’t a choice.”

“Never said you had one. Capture the wolf. That is the only option you have.”

“Or you’ll kill me.”

“Not me. If you fail, it will be because the creature bested you.”

This kept getting better and better. “This wolf… I assume you have images of it and a map of its roaming area?”

“It’s a wolf. Pretty sure you know what they look like,” the dry reply.

“You want me to find a specific one, so, yes, I want an image so I don’t waste my time tagging the wrong one.”

“It’s the only wolf left in the area. All the others were culled by earlier hunters.”

“Exactly how many have tried to capture it?” How many had failed…

“A few.”

“How many?” she reiterated.

“Not counting the inexperienced soldiers we initially sent out? Three.”

Her mouth rounded in shock. “You’re telling me this wolf took out three experienced hunters?”

“The wolf only killed two. The other was just badly wounded.”

“Just?” she squeaked. Not one for hysterics, Tanis couldn’t help the tight panic building in her chest. “Exactly what did the military do to this wolf to make it so hard to capture?”

“I told you, it’s smart. We tried sending out squads in the beginning to recover it. It picked off the soldiers one by one. That’s when the general decided we should use those experienced in dealing with wolves. The beast outsmarted them as well.”

She noticed his use of the word “it,” but earlier he’d referred to the wolf as a “he.”

“It’s a male?”

“Yes.”

“How old?”

“Not relevant.”

Probably not, but still annoying that the major kept refusing to give her information. “Size?”

“Larger than your usual wild wolf. This one is approximately one hundred and ninety pounds, about eight feet in length from nose to tip of the tail, and about forty inches to its shoulder.”

Once more she couldn’t stop her jaw from dropping. “That’s huge.” The average wolf in Canada hit a hundred to 130 pounds and measured only about thirty inches high. “I assume it’s larger size is because of what the military did to it.”

“That’s class?—”

“Classified, yeah. Whatever,” she muttered.

The major didn’t need to confirm for her to know she didn’t deal with an ordinary specimen.

A most likely illegally genetically modified wolf in the wild.

No wonder he was hellbent on getting it back.

“I have to say, not sure what you think I can do. Sounds to me like you might have to give up on the plan to capture.”

“We are following the general’s command.”

“Your general appears to not care he’s getting people killed.”

“He is also simply following orders.”

Such a terrible reply and the last thing she learned, as the major proceeded to ignore her for the rest of the flight to the airfield.

The plane, fat-bellied and gray, waited with its ass-end wide open for them on the tarmac.

Tanis hesitated before stepping onto the ramp, resulting in a hard shove from a soldier and a growled, “Get inside and strap in.”

Would they shoot her if she ran? Given the callous disregard for the lives fed to this escaped wolf, most likely.

With a sigh, she entered the belly of the aircraft, the center of it empty.

Along its walls, benches with harnesses.

As she strapped herself in, she cast a last longing glance outside and tried to not flinch when the door closed.

The rumble and vibration as the plane began to move tightened her throat.

Her belly dropped when the plane lifted from the ground, and she leaned her head back, eyes closed, trying to remain calm.

She failed. Agitation churned inside because she had the feeling she’d never see home again.