He definitely appealed on a basic physical level. The way he came after her... she liked that he had guts. His voice, too, deep and commanding, yet expectant, similar to his expression, intrigued her. She was a lost cause when it came to strong men with needs.
He waited nervously, like a guy on a first date, his hands clenched until he folded his arms around his body. "Are you looking for a pack?"
How she wished she had some clothes to wear. Not that shifting in front of lupus garous was a problem when she was a member of the pack, but when not, it was a bit uncomfortable. Plus it was damn cold out.
Hell, she didn't have a choice if she was to solicit help for Cassie. She took a deep breath and shifted.
The man stared at her, stupefied at first, and then finally he said, "You're one of us. I'm Carver."
She kept her arms wrapped around her and shivered. "I'm Aimee Roux."
"Cassie's sister!" Carver hurried forth and before she could react, he pulled her into his heated embrace, warming her chilled skin.
"I'm Cassie's cousin. Her sister died many years ago. The... the men from the zoo took Cassie hostage. And one... of your men, too."
"Leidolf?"
"Whoever was with Cassie."
"Leidolf. Our pack leader. Hell. Will you return with me?"
"One of your men planned to kill me," she said. Carver squeezed tighter, and she sure could get awfully used to his heated embrace. "Irving. Tynan was with him," she explained further. "Can you protect me? Keep me safe from them?"
He knew the bastards were up to something, but he'd never suspected anything like this. "Hell, yeah. Shift, and we'll return to the rest of the pack. Looks like we're bound for a trip to the zoo. Not our favorite place."
Aimee shifted from a silky-skinned beauty to an equally majestic red-furred beauty.
Then he shifted. She darted back into the woods toward the river. He took after her, and when they reached the trees near the river, the men all drew close to the shore, expectant. Elgin wore a worried frown, and so did Fergus. But Aimee held back at the tree line. Carver licked her face and nuzzled her cheek, encouraging her to come. He would protect her at all costs.
Then he trotted toward the river, hoping to hell she would follow his lead. He didn't look back. His pack members all watched her. Then he heard her footfalls on the slippery rocks, and she bumped his left flank, assuring him she was with him on this, that she trusted him to keep her safe. He wouldn't let her down.
"Did you hear that?" Sarah whispered, as she and Alice froze in amongst the hemlocks.
Alice breathed deeply, trying to smell who was out here. "Tynan," she responded, her voice hushed.
Their father had warned them that he and Irving were up to no good. But what if he could help them get Leidolf out of the zoo? If she and her sister and Evan botched this, they could be in real trouble. With everyone. But if an adult like Tynan was with them, he would be at fault, being the eldest.
Still, Alice was hesitant to call out to him, a sixth sense warning her he was not to be trusted.
Then everything was decided. She smelled a whiff of Irving, the leader of the two men. Tromping at a run in the brush, the two men headed straight for her and Sarah.
Chapter 24
Trying not to rush Cassie on the concrete as they crawled out of the wolves' tunnel, Leidolf led the way on his hands and knees and prayed they wouldn't get caught.
She grabbed his foot and wiggled it. "Hurry, Leidolf. I want out of this place." Her voice wasn't panicky or scared; she spoke in a teasing way as if trying to reduce the tension between them.
Loving the way she dealt with their dilemma, he chuckled. "This concrete is rough on my knees. You must have more padding."
She snorted. "I thought you were tougher than that. I'll have to remember you have delicate knees."
"You can kiss them when we're out of here."
"Hmm, and lots more than that. If we make it, someday we ought to revisit that lake I found you swimming in."
"Ready to take me up on my offer?" He hesitated and glanced back to see her expression.
"Maybe. I heard the soil made for a good comfy bed." She smiled at him as he raised a brow at her.
"Or ferns to lie down in, Douglas firs serving as our walls and canopy. Sounds good to me."
"And the Forest Club. I want to go back and dance. But this time I want to order the plate of roast tenderloin."
"Didn't get enough the last time?"
"You were such a gentleman. Thanks for sharing with me."
He paused. "I had to. If you licked your lips one more time while salivating over my roast, I would have had to join you on your side of the table and kiss you, right then and there. I didn't think you were quite ready for that. So I shared my roast with you instead."
She chuckled softly. He smiled again.
He reached the end of the tunnel and moved over so Cassie could kneel beside him. "We'll climb out there," he said, pointing to the fence on the north side of the wolves' exhibit. "Looks like one or two more fences beyond that. Once we've crossed all the fences, we'll shape-shift back into our wolf forms, and traverse Forest Park, which is closed now. We can reach Carver's house in a short while."
He took Cassie's face and kissed her mouth long and hard. "We can't get caught, Cassie. No matter what, we can't get caught."
She sighed. "I don't plan on it. All right. Let's do it." Cassie climbed out of the tunnel first and sprinted next to a building and through a group of trees, and then dove at the fence.
Intent on protecting her, Leidolf kept up with her, watching for any signs of trouble, sampling the air for human smells, listening for anyone's approach. At this time of night, Leidolf figured no one would be roaming around the grounds, unless someone thought the red wolves were in danger of being freed again. He smiled wryly.
When he joined Cassie in attempting to climb the high fence, he reached up and gave her ass a boost.
"Thanks," she whispered, struggling to get over the top. "We'll have to bring wire cutters next time."
"Won't be a next time." He dropped on the other side, and then he reached up and helped her to the ground.
They dashed for the next fence and the promise of deep woods and the security of Forest Park, the bugs cricketing in a chorus as if cheering them on. As long as no park rangers caught them running in the park after it was officially closed for the night, they'd make it just fine.
"How are your knees?" Cassie asked, trying to reach the top of the next fence.
"Need some tender loving care."
She shook her head. He gave her another boost. "Ahh," she said. "Watch where you put your fingers."
"Sorry, hand slipped, but someone seems ready for me again."
"Yeah, but this isn't a really good time." She glanced back at the first fence. The gray wolves were watching them from their enclosure. "Hope nobody sees them watching this way and comes to inspect."
They'd made it over the second fence when Leidolf grabbed Cassie's hand and ran full speed for the safety of the forest.
Footfalls hurried toward the wolf exhibit, and Thompson's deep voice said, "I know, Joe. I'm not happy about it, either. The crew to install security cameras won't be here for another couple of weeks. They have to get funding approved, work orders, you name it."
"That means we'll have to do some surveillance. But the word's not going out until tomorrow. If anyone's going to steal them, it'll take some planning and..."
Leidolf continued to race with Cassie through the woods and then pulled her to a stop. "Let's shift. You okay?"
She nodded, her face flushed, her breathing fast. "I get to do a lot of running when I'm around you."
He shook his head. "Running away from me, you mean. This time we're running together." He kissed her lips again, rubbed her chilled arms, and said, "Let's shift."