Page 25 of Hollow Moon

Before he saw the stable, a powerful odor hit him, and he almost fell over.

It was the scent of the drug, although not in the high concentration as when they’d gassed him in the shed. But he wasn’t fully recovered from the experience, and the stuff still made his head swim—which meant he wouldn’t have been able to follow Maggie now if he couldn’t keep her in sight.

He fought light-headedness and nausea as he surveyed the familiar scene. He would have died here if he hadn’t gotten away. He almosthaddied. And Maggie had saved him.

That admission firmed his resolve. She had helped a naked man with a gunshot wound. He must save her. And they would deal with the rest later.

Shivering, he forced himself not to turn tail and run from the drug that had taken him down once. Instead, he kept following as the brother—Campbell—ushered Maggie around the side of the stable and up a path. About a hundred yards farther through the woods, he saw what looked like a typical Maryland farmhouse with a wide porch and a roofline capped by a front gable. The place had seen better days. The porch sagged, the heavy vines growing on the posts looked like they were dead, and paint had weathered off the siding.

As Knox watched, the drug mastermind escorted Maggie through the front door, his hand firmly on her arm.

It was all Knox could do to keep from rushing the house. But that would only get him shot—again.

What was going to happen in there? Was the bastard going to put her in a basement cell?

He stayed where he was, and a few minutes later a light came on in an upstairs room. He caught a flash of movement at one of the windows. Was that where he was holding her? It was a room over the porch, which might make it possible to get up there without going inside. Well, a wolf couldn’t climb up there, but a man could. Too bad he was naked.

He waited for long moments, willing Maggie to come to the window so he’d know she was unharmed. And then what? He was one wolf running at seventy percent capacity. There were at least three men in there—all probably armed. And how many more were down at the stable?

Too bad he had no idea how to get her out of there. Would the brother knock her around? Kill her?

Knox clenched his teeth against the terrible images that leaped into his mind.

The guy had already been pretty rough. But how far was he going to go? And what would Maggie tell him?

Not much, Knox concluded. As far as the fairy tale part was concerned, she hadn’t seen any wolves.

She’d come across a naked man near her campsite. A naked man who told her he’d been shot by guys who were part of a drug-manufacturing operation. A naked man who kept wigging out as the drug in his system continued to affect his brain.

But now he thought his mind was functioning correctly—although there was no way to be sure.

For long moments, he kept his eyes on the window and listened intently for sounds from the house. Unable to pick up anything, he faded back into the woods, putting a little distance between himself and the source of the disorienting drug molecules floating in the air.

When a twig snapped behind him, he went rigid. Christ, had he gotten caught again?

With a snarl he whirled around to confront the enemy—and came face to face with another wolf.

CHAPTER 8

It was his cousin, Cole Marshall.

If he could have spoken, he would have shouted his gratitude and relief. But a wolf couldn’t talk, and under the circumstances, he thought it might be a bad idea to howl.

Cole inclined his head, indicating that they should get away from the house. As Knox followed him farther into the woods, he kept glancing back at the window, hoping to see Maggie. But she didn’t appear.

He followed his cousin into a thick stand of trees and found two more wolves waiting—Zack and Brand. Jonah Ranger was also leaning against a tree, a knapsack at his feet. He wasn’t a werewolf, but he was probably Decorah’s most talented telepath.

Knox nodded to them, then began to silently say the chant that would turn him from wolf to man.

The other wolves did the same, and soon three naked men and one in a camy outfit were standing in the woods.

“Jonah’s got everybody’s clothing—plus some for you,” Cole said.

“Thanks.” When Knox leaned over to pick up a pair of pants, he winced.

Cole looked at his leg, which was oozing blood again. “You got shot.”

“Yeah. I had to take the dressing off when I changed,” he said as he pulled on his pants. Realizing that required a bit more explanation, he added, “Maggie’s a nurse. She patched me up.”

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