When she began to venture around the backside, Cameron said, "No, Faith. I don't want you out of my sight."
She frowned at him. "It'll only take me a minute. If I can find an unlocked window, they might have antibiotics and better bandages inside. I have to try."
"No, it's not worth it. If the wolf's still lurking out there… it's just not worth it to me. Come on. Take me back to your cabin so we can get warmed up." His blood had soaked his shirtsleeve and sweater and it had chilled him even further. Now, due to the shredded parka sleeve, everything that had been wet was coated in ice. Shivering uncontrollably, he didn't think he could get any colder.
Still frowning, Faith helped him down the steps and back to the cabin. "I can use my towel maybe, to stop the bleeding. How bad does it feel?"
"Not too bad," he lied, afraid she might still try to go after the windows on the other side of the lodge once he was settled in her cabin. "With as many layers of clothes as I'm wearing, he didn't hurt me too much."
"A German shepherd can crush a bone. I imagine a wolf could do even more damage. Are you sure you're not too bad?"
"I was feeling better."
She chuckled, a little hysterically.
"Sorry. I guess I shouldn't have told you that."
As soon as they reached the cabin through the path to the woods, she assisted him inside and helped him to one of the dining room chairs, then locked the door. After removing his coat, she pulled off his sweater and stared at the blood and rip in his shirt.
"Not too bad," he said. "It's not even bleeding any longer."
A flitter of concern slipped across Faith's face, but she quickly removed his shirt and wrapped the towel around the wound without saying a word.
"Tetanus shot up-to-date," he said. But he knew that probably wasn't what was worrying her. Rabies. What if the animal had rabies, and that's why he'd attacked?
"We have to go back to town tomorrow if Charles doesn't return to the lodge by then."
He agreed with a nod. Now that their snowmobiles were back and if the weather had cleared up by then, he figured that was the best move.
"Wonder why the men stole the machines, then brought them back," Faith said, as if she was trying to get his mind off his injury. "Really bizarre."
"I don't know. What made you go around that way when the way I went was closer to your cabin?"
"I was drying the edges of my wet hair when I looked out the window and saw the snowmobiles. I didn't really think they were ours. How weird would that be? But I had to check it out. Do you think it might have been somebody joy riding who doesn't have a snowmobile here at the camp?"
"Who first threatened you with a gun?"
"Well, then, maybe somebody stole them from these guys and brought them back." Faith helped Cameron into bed, pulled off his boots and socks, and covered him with his sleeping bag.
"Highly unlikely," he said.
"Well, you're a former cop. What do you think?"
He gritted his teeth against the pain in his arm, but when Faith caught his action and glanced out the window, he started talking to distract her from leaving him to seek help. "It's hard to say why anyone would do what they do. I rode around with some petty criminals once while I was undercover. Their reasoning for not stealing a young woman's purse? She had a kid. Not that morality had anything to do with it. They figured the kid would scream and attract too much attention. Another scenario? A woman was carrying a big purse. Which to them meant she had lots of money."
"You're kidding? A woman with a big purse might not have a bit of money, just lots of useless junk."
"Right. So you see, it's hard to predict what goes on in the criminal mind." He patted his sleeping bag on the mattress. "Are you going to join me?"
She rubbed her arms, her brows furrowed. "I'll add some more wood to the fire."
"Don't go outside."
"Enough wood is stacked in a basket by the stove. Just sleep, Cameron. I'll get you help as soon as I can."
"Don't leave the cabin, Faith," Cameron reiterated in his police officer's voice, obey or else. No way did he want her to risk going outside alone to get help for him. But they needed to get word to the other guests also. Later though. He figured no one would run around much in this weather, and he wasn't in any shape to go anywhere, nor did he want Faith out in it by herself.
Faith's cold hand touched his forehead. She gave him a worried smile. "No fever."
"No, I'll be fine. I just need some rest." Tired beyond belief, he closed his eyes, a dull pain throbbing from the wound and radiating down to his fingertips, the thought of cuddling with her still lingering in his thoughts despite the pain.
She moved away from the bed, added firewood to the stove, paced across the wooden floor a bit, her footfalls muffled when she walked on the braided rugs. He wished she'd join him in bed, still worried she might leave, but then he drifted off into the world of snow and wolves. The wind howled and then the sound shifted, changed, morphed into the howl of a wolf. One, the alpha male, deep and low and long. Then another joined in, and more until a whole chorus of wolves sang their lonely song. One part of him longed to join them, but part of his conscious mind warned him the consequences could be deadly.
"Hmm," Lila said, lounging before a roaring fire in the great room of Kintail's lodge, her bare foot rocking up and down off the sofa, her manner an attempt at seductive, and Kintail wished she really was up to seducing him.
The woman was a master manipulator when she wanted her way, or just plain sarcastic and antagonistic when things weren't going her way. He noted the subtle change in her demeanor since he'd had the run-in with Cameron earlier today.
He knew sarcasm was her ploy this evening before she even spoke further. "So you bit Cameron but you didn't kill him. And his feisty girlfriend struck you with a snow shovel."
Situated at the massive oak dining room table that overlooked the sitting area in the great room, Kintail lifted another spoonful of hot and spicy chili to his lips. Feisty, that's the way to describe the woman named Faith O'Malley. But seeing her in her low cut bra and bikini panties before she entered the hot tub, gave way to more erotic fantasies. He hadn't liked the way Cameron was kissing her in the tub and Kintail had the notion of biting her instead of Cameron, get it over with, change her, and see what transpired, but she had to call out to Cameron about the snowmobiles. Kintail hadn't predicted the guy would race around the building as if the world was on fire and get in Kintail's way.
Served him right to get bitten first. Still, Kintail couldn't quit thinking about the woman. She might be trouble, but she was damned intriguing. And here she'd only just met Cameron, but instead of screaming for help after Kintail had bitten him, she'd slugged Kintail in the hip with a shovel to save the guy.
Kintail hadn't expected that. The bruise would heal up soon, so no big deal. But he liked her character, protective, loyal in the face of danger, striking in the flesh. An alpha female.
He finished the bowl of chili and motioned to Trevor to get him some more.
"Well?" Lila snarled.
He knew she wanted him to kill the woman. Competition. Good competition, too. Faith was the first woman he thought might have enough gumption to fight Lila and win. Not that he wanted Lila hurt, but he needed a mate, damn it. And she wasn't cooperating one iota.
Trevor set a fresh bowl of chili before him, his gaze shifting to Lila.
"She's intriguing," Kintail said, knowing his words would antagonize Lila. They had sort of a love/hate relationship, and he supposed someday he'd have to take her for his mate. Unless he could find someone else he truly cared for, if he couldn't break the impenetrable barrier Lila had erected around her heart. Miss O'Malley was growing more interesting all the time even though he'd never considered changing a human to suit his purpose. Those born as lupus garous already knew the role they had to play in their society. Much easier to deal with. Normally.