"We're not allowed to shift without an adult being present, you know. I mean, we can't shift around a boy when we're not supervised." Sarah blushed. "You know what can happen."
"We're not shifting, Sarah. Just going as humans."
"Promise?"
"Listen, of course I know what can happen." Frowning, Alice stopped and faced her sister. "How do you think Mom got pregnant?"
Sarah's jaw dropped.
Alice began stalking through the woods again, staying away from the human trails and headed straight for the zoo.
"That's not true," Sarah said, her voice rising. "Take it back."
Alice let out her breath. "Sarah, you have to know why they kicked us out of Dad's pack. His uncle was furious that Dad and Mom went off on a hike when they were teens, got lost, stripped, but before they shifted, they got... distracted. After they found their way home, everything was fine, for a while. When Mom started showing..." Alice shrugged and started walking, slower this time.
Sarah didn't say anything for a long time. Then she asked, "That's why we weren't accepted at three other packs? They learned we were a mistake?"
Alice raised her brows. "Don't ever say that to Dad. Of course, we weren't a mistake. We just came... a little earlier than we should have. And it all worked out. Now we're in a pack that accepts us just like we are."
Sarah harrumphed. "How come I didn't know?"
Alice rolled her eyes. "You don't make it a habit to eavesdrop on others' conversations."
"No wonder Dad doesn't want us around Evan. He's afraid we'll end up like Mom." Sarah's eyes grew big. "Has Evan kissed you?"
Alice smiled.
"If Dad finds out..."
"Sarah, I already told you, we won't say anything, and neither will Leidolf. No one ever has to know."
"If we don't get caught. And what about Evan? What if he wants to tell everyone how he helped rescue our pack leader?"
"He won't." But Alice didn't sound as sure of herself as she wanted. What if Evan did tell the rest of the pack how he rescued Leidolf? He might. He'd leave Sarah and her out of his rescue version if she asked him to, she was fairly sure. "He won't tell anyone," Alice said, with a little more conviction.
"Yeah. Whenever you're unsure of a situation, you repeat yourself."
Alice ignored Sarah, hating when she was right.
They stalked through the woods toward the zoo with another mile to go before they reached the perimeter. What next? They'd have to sit tight until Evan arrived.
"How long do you think it will take until Evan gets here?" Sarah asked.
"Two hours. That's how long the drive is from Portland to Leidolf's ranch. Zoo closes at seven, and probably not much staff will be here after that."
"I wonder how Leidolf got caught," Sarah said again.
"Rescuing Cassie." Alice put her hands to her chest in a dramatic gesture. "True love. Nothing will separate them. The zoo men took her hostage. He came to rescue her, and he got zapped with tranquilizers. That's what had to have happened."
Sarah chewed on her bottom lip. "What if Leidolf got shot first, and Cassie came to his rescue instead? Julia Wildthorn writes how her heroines save pack leaders sometimes. So maybe Cassie was trying to rescue Leidolf and then she got shot."
Alice tried to envision the scenario. "She did try to aid him the first time he was tranquilized."
Sarah nodded.
Alice shook her head. "Nah. Got to be the other way around this time. This time, Leidolf was rescuing her when..."
A branch snapped several feet away, and the girls came to a dead stop. Her heart racing, Alice listened, trying to identify what had made the noise.
"There," Carver said, catching sight of the red wolf watching them from across the river. Half hidden in the dark woods, her fluorescent eyes shined like a welcoming beacon in the night. It wasn't Leidolf or Cassie but the one they had chased after initially. He stalked back into the woods.
Elgin and Fergus ran after him.
"I'm shifting. She's here for a reason." Carver unbuttoned his shirt.
"I'm going with you," Elgin said.
Carver grabbed his arm before he could begin to strip. "You're in charge while Leidolf's not here. You and Fergus. If I drown, no problem."
"Your daughters," Fergus said quietly, always the voice of reason whether it was wanted or not.
Carver jerked off his shirt. "Right. So I won't drown. Just think of this as delegating responsibility."
"Yeah, but we're supposed to be the ones giving the orders," Elgin said, casting Fergus a wink.
Fergus nodded as Carver paused, his hands on his bootlaces. "What are you waiting for, Carver? Get to it," Fergus commanded.
Carver gave a half smile, jerked off the rest of his clothes, and shifted in the dark woods. Then faster than he'd ever moved before, he raced for the river in wolf form. Although he wasn't sure what he was going to do once he reached the red wolf.
"How come he gets to go after the girl?" one of the other bachelor males complained. Since many of them weren't royals, having had too many human influences in their genetic backgrounds, they had no way to shift anyway during the new moon and would have had to track her down in human form.
"Because I said so," Elgin explained, his voice hard. "While Leidolf's gone, that's all you need to know."
That's all that Carver heard before the sound of the rush of the river filled his ears. He sure as hell wished he could wolf paddle faster than this. He hadn't realized how slow he was at swimming as a wolf, not ever having needed the feat in an emergency. He kept his eyes on the female as she stayed where she was in the woods. Occasionally she'd look over at the other men as if wondering if they'd come, too, but she didn't seem afraid of him. However, once he made it to shore, he suspected she might change her mind and run.
In that case, he would just have to change it back.
As soon as he reached the shore, he shook the excess water off his coat and looked back at the men, all who watched him with great expectancy. Fergus motioned to Carver to fetch her. Then he turned to observe the female. She stayed motionless, her gaze on his. Yet something about her expression told him she was going to make a run for it, her ears slightly flattened, her tail down.
He trotted toward her, sure that if she ran, he'd catch her soon enough.
She dashed deeper into the woods, and he heard the men shouting across the river. "Go get her, Carver. You can do it!"
"She's yours once you catch her!
"Good luck!"
He smiled, but only because he was catching up, or she was already slowing down. He'd reach her soon.
The last of the zoo visitors were gone, lights were off, and Leidolf lifted his head and then stood. None of his pack members had shown up to rescue them, so it was nearly time for him to set Plan B into motion.
He walked to the area hidden from the viewing windows, only he'd have to stoop once he shifted. Cassie watched him, and he thought she looked a little hopeful that he'd get them out of this bind. He had hoped that Carver's daughters might send word to other pack members about the mess they were in. He and Cassie couldn't wait for dawn to come, which meant the arrival of new visitors to the zoo. And the nuisance of having to wait until dark fell and the zoo closed again.
He shifted and sat down on the rough concrete. Cassie hurried over to join him, licked his cheek, and then stretched before she shifted. As soon as she changed into her human form, he admired her beauty. He would never get enough of it, from her red curls to her milky skin. Silky, sensuous delight. He pulled her naked body into his arms, and she sat on his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck.
"Now what, hero of mine?" she whispered.
He smiled and kissed her nose. "Now it's time to rescue the damsel in distress."
"Hmm, seems you're in the same predicament as me. Your people are probably in Mount Hood National Forest still, don't you think? Waiting for your return? And the location of your ranch isn't that close to the Oregon Zoo, is it?"