Page 7 of Wolf Bound

Leaving her backpack with Fisher, she rushed over to grab the rope and began climbing up to reach Billy as quickly as she could. She had her gun belted at her waist, but she couldn’t use it until she made it to the top of the cliff. She just had to reach Billy before the men did. Since he had already heard them coming, it was probably too late. But she had to take the chance. She couldn’t allow them to take Billy hostage again. She was halfway up the rope, afraid they might cut it or shoot at her while she was climbing. She couldn’t tell the boy to run or to hide because as wolves they would be able to smell him anyway and they would be able to outrun him.

Then the boy screamed. Her heart stuttered. A black-bearded man peered over the cliff, and she knew this was really bad. He sneered at her. “We’ve got a live one,” he called over his shoulder. “Cut the rope.”

Her heart in her throat, she felt a vibration in the rope, and she knew they were cutting it. She rappelled down the rope as fast as she could. Once she reached the ledge, she dove under the shelf and straddled Fisher, the only way she could get out of harm’s way. Sure enough, the rope dropped to the ledge, and gunfire sounded, the bullets hitting the ledge, splintering rock, and the fragments hit her face and her arms, though she was wearing a long-sleeved, flannel plaid shirt that protected her arms.

The boy was screaming, pleading with them not to kill the lady, and she felt so bad that she couldn’t rescue him. And bad that he was so scared that they would kill her and Fisher. She wanted to shout that they were okay, but she kept quiet, hoping the men would leave and not take the boy with them. She was being careful not to press her body on top of Fisher’s in case he had broken ribs. She was stuck down here now, unless she could free climb back up to the cliff’s edge. Which she thought she could do if no one was shooting at her. She just had to concentrate on her foot and handholds and be really careful.

She’d never thought the kidnappers would return for the boy. She again considered that maybe she should have tried to move him down there to protect him, but she felt it still could have been just as dangerous.

“Fisher,” she whispered to him. But his eyes were closed, and he didn’t wake. He appeared to be out cold.

Then one of the kidnappers said, “Come on. They won’t be giving us any more trouble.”

They moved off into the brush. The boy was still crying, but he was staying next to the cliff edge. She so hoped that meant the men were leaving him behind. She carefully moved beyond the little shelter she and Fisher had and looked up to see if anyone would attempt to shoot at them again. No one did. Then she saw the boy peering down and he smiled at her through his tears. Her heart lifted with joy to see him there and that he was still safe.

He motioned to her, telling her that the men were gone.

“We’re okay and help is on the way soon,” she said, her voice soft in case the kidnappers were still close by. She wanted him to know help was still coming and that she and the “dog” were fine.

He gave her a tearful thumbs up. He didn’t look reassured though that any of them were going to be rescued any time soon. Then she heard a male voice under the shelf saying, “Where am I?”

She glanced back at Fisher and saw a very naked, very hot male wolf lying on his back on the stone.

“Uhm, Billy, I’m checking on the dog real quick. He’s under this shelf. I’ll be right back.” She said to Fisher, “No, no, no. Turn back into your wolf. Your cousin, Devlyn, is sending people to rescue you.” She quickly pulled out a first aid blanket and her parka from her backpack. Even though earlier, she thought it would be good for him to shift and be in his human form so she could bandage him and look over his wounds and speak with him, she realized he would be colder, and it could be worse for him.

“I…heard gunfire.” He held his head as if it was hurting.

“The kidnappers of the young human boy, Billy, they’re wolves. They came back maybe to finish you off. They discovered I had moved Billy to the cliff and had come to save you. In any event, they shot at you and me, but it was fortuitous that I had moved you under the shelf before that happened. They’ve left again. But they cut the rope that I used to climb down to take care of you.”

“With you on it?” He groaned in pain. “They’re wolves?”

She pulled out a cloth from her backpack and wiped his sweaty forehead. “I rappelled down before they could cut the rope all the way. And yes, they’re wolves.”

He let out a relieved breath as she covered his beautiful, muscular, bruised body with the thermal blanket. “And the boy?”

“He’s up on the cliff. I’m going to free solo back up the cliff. The boy is terrified and I’m worried that before we can get help, he’s going to get too chilled.” She placed her jacket over Fisher’s chest on top of the thermal blanket, then pulled out a knit cap from her bag and tugged it on his head.

“Are you sure you can do it without falling? How far was that drop?” He really sounded worried for her, which she appreciated.

“About thirty feet. I don’t know how badly you’re injured.”

“A cracked rib or two, or maybe bruised, I think. And the gunshot wound. I’m feeling cold.” Even though she had covered him with the blanket and her jacket, the stone ledge he was resting on would be cold.

On top of that, he was sweating from the pain.

“Shift back.” She wanted him to be as warm as possible while wearing his wolf fur coat. She grabbed a bottle of water and helped him to sit up a bit to drink it.

“I can’t. As soon as I shifted into my human form, I tried to shift back. It’s much more comfortable to lie on the stone as a wolf. But I’m in too much pain to hold my wolf form. You have a red Kia.”

She frowned, wondering how he knew that. “Right.” Then she realized he must have smelled her scent by her car at the trailhead. “Okay, I’ve got to go.” She tugged a sweater out of her backpack, tied it around her waist, then she left him the bottle of water. “Drink some of this if you need to. I’m going to climb up to the boy to make sure he’s not getting hypothermia. Because of the trauma the boy had experienced and now that the sun was setting, he is sure to be cold. Don’t you dare move from this spot until we get help here for you.”

He gave her a halfhearted smile. She suspected he did because he was in no condition to move anywhere on his own. Which was good. She didn’t want him accidentally falling off the ledge and then he would be dead for sure.

Once she was sure he was warmer, she used her backpack to make a pillow for his head. “I’ll be back.”

But before she could leave him, he seized her wrist. Despite being injured, he had a strong grip—that she was glad for—and he stopped her in her tracks. “Be careful.”

“I will be. Or I’ll end up joining you on the ledge in the same condition as you are, minus the gunshot wound.”

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