Desired By The Pack: Part Three Read Online Free PDF Page A

Margie.”
    “You’ll try to find out what happened to Prince?”
    At Cross’s nod, she sighed and climbed into the truck. Maverick and Cross rounded the house and dropped out of sight.
    Spotting a woven blanket on the passenger jump seat, she grabbed it and wrapped it around her shoulders. The blanket, like the interior of the truck, smelled like Cross, woodsy and rich as suede ..
    Prince’s phone vibrated with five incoming texts and calls before Maverick reappeared. He carried a large blanket-wrapped bundle over his shoulder.
    January opened the door far enough to talk to him. “Is that…?”
    “Our only source of info? Yes.” He walked past her and heaved his burden into the truck bed.
    She flinched at the fleshy thud. “Where’s Cross?”
    “Following some tracks.” He cleaned his hands with a rag he pulled out of the storage mounted behind the cab. “I know you want to wait for him but we can’t. I need to get this guy somewhere he can be fixed up enough to talk and I need you somewhere secure.”
    “Back to the river,” she said.
    “Yeah, lover. Sorry. Is there anything you want from inside?”
    “Cross isn’t going to burn it to destroy evidence or something, is he?”
    “Not unless we have reason to think it’ll be a target again.” He jerked his head toward the truck bed.
    She sighed and scooted across the bench seat, taking Cross’s blanket with her. “If it comes to that, I want a chance to go through the house first. For now, let’s just go. I can’t face it again today.”
    “On my honor.” He swung up behind the wheel and started the truck. As he backed down the drive, she rested her forehead against the window and said a prayer for Prince.
     

    Beck folded his arms across his chest and studied the unconscious hunter. Steel restraints pinned him to the exam table in the infirmary. Cleo and a young man who hadn’t yet seen his first change worked to remove the mauled stranger’s shredded clothes.
    “Hunter.” Cleo pushed her thick mass of red curls out of her face and pointed at a spot behind the man’s ear. “He has the ink.”
    Beck circled the table. “Doesn’t get any more certain than that, does it?”
    Cleo used the end of a pen to hold the man’s bloody earlobe out of the way. “I haven’t heard of any wannabes adopting the headless wolf as a gang symbol. As far as I know, it’s still the hunter special.”
    “What are we going to do with him?”
    Beck glanced up at Cleo’s young assistant. The kid wore his fear on his face.
    “We keep him restrained, blind and deaf until he wakes up. Then we interrogate him.”
    “Give me a pair of those earplugs.” Cleo pointed the kid to a jar of orange foam pellets. She tore open a plastic eye shield, positioned it over one of the hunter’s eyes, and secured it with surgical tape.
    “How long do you think?”
    Cleo shrugged. “I don’t know. The wolf that got him didn’t leave a lot behind. Maybe a few hours but I doubt he’ll be responsive to anything except his own pain.”
    “Do I have twelve hours?”
    “I think so. Maybe. We can keep him alive that long, anyway.”
    Beck headed for the door. “Do that. I’m going to go find out what happened on that farm.”
    “Any guesses?” The kid asked.
    Beck paused. “Best one is we have a newly-changed wolf to round up.”
    Aware of the ticking clock, Beck wasted no time between the infirmary and January’s cabin, which was his up until a few days ago. Convincing his reluctant mate to take her place was a delicate operation. Heat or not, she probably would have bolted if he tried to set her up in his den. Soon, he’d reclaim his place, though that, like anything, was only a temporary measure. Pack was strongest together.
    Anders stood guard, sitting on his haunches in front of the closed door. At Beck’s approach, he stood and moved aside.
    Beck gripped the knob but didn’t twist it. “I’m taking Maverick and meeting up with Cross to track down the new wolf.