2 In 1 - Paige Tyler

ANIMAL ATTRACTION

If anyone ever found out she’d taken this job, her career as a serious journalist would be ruined. Eliza Bradley sighed as she took her place at the huge rectangular table of Paranormal Today magazine. But honestly, who was she kidding? She had no real career to ruin. In reality, she’d never been more than a lowly fact checker. The most she’d ever gotten to write was the headline for someone else’s article.

She probably shouldn’t have complained about her job at the San Francisco Chronicle; it had paid the bills, after all. But after graduating summa cum laude from USC with a degree in journalism four years ago, she had just naturally expected to move up the ladder fairly quickly. That hadn’t happened, though, and finally tired of checking for typos in other reporters’ work, she had decided to give her boss an ultimatum. Determined to break into the ranks of serious journalism, she had marched into his office and firmly told him that if he didn’t find a job for her as a reporter, she was going to quit. She had been sure he would give in to her demands, but much to her chagrin, he had called her bluff. Ten minutes later, she’d cleaned out her desk.

Finding a job as a reporter with another newspaper had been more difficult than Eliza had thought it would be, however. While all of them had been more than impressed with her college background, they had been less so with her lack of real-world experience. It had been on the tip of her tongue more than once to ask how the heck she was supposed to get real-world experience when no one would give her a job, but she’d restrained herself. Barely. That was usually the point during the interview when the person conducting it mentioned the newspaper had a position open for a fact checker, if she would be interested. Right.

No one would hire her: not the big papers, not the little ones, not even any of the locally published magazines. Thoroughly frustrated at that point, she had been about to give up and take one of the fact checker jobs she’d been offered when she heard about a reporter position available at Paranormal Today. The name alone sounded so ridiculous that her first instinct had been to say forget it, but then she’d remembered how desperate she was for a reporting job, and decided to at least look into it. At that point, she hadn’t cared what she wrote about, as long as she got the job.

She had expected the interview to go the same as the others had, but to her surprise, Roger Brannick, the editor-in-chief of the magazine, hadn’t been put off by her lack of experience in the field at all. In fact, he’d told her that she was just the kind of fresh, young talent the magazine looked for in a reporter. She had been so stunned when he’d offered her the job that she’d taken it without hesitation.

In retrospect, however, Eliza was beginning to think she should have given the whole thing a bit more thought. Working for a magazine like Paranormal Today could destroy her credibility and make it difficult to ever get a job with a reputable newspaper. In the world of reporting, it was just as bad as working for a scandal sheet.

As Roger Brannick began handing out story assignments to the other reporters attending the staff meeting, Eliza found it hard to keep a straight face. He had them investigating rumors of vampires prowling New York City’s Central Park, sightings of ghosts in a Miami hotel, tales of zombies terrorizing Los Angeles, even a sea monster living in the Great Lakes. The list, which seemed to go on and on, only got more and more bizarre. What was even more absurd was that Roger was treating them as if they were seriously newsworthy. Then again, he wasn’t the only one. She looked at the other reporters at the table. My God, they were actually taking notes!

“ Eliza,” Roger said, finally coming to her. “The other day, we got an email from one of our readers up in Fairbanks who says he has evidence of a werewolf in the area. It seems that a couple of hikers turned up dead recently, and though the authorities are calling it a wild animal attack, I want you to go up there and check it out anyway. Undercover, though. I don’t want people getting wind that you’re up there looking for a werewolf. We don’t want to attract the competition. Say you’re up there doing research for a book you’re writing on wolves, or something like that.”

Werewolf? He has to be kidding. She’d definitely go in undercover. She certainly didn’t want anyone knowing why she was really up there, that was for sure. If anyone found out, they’d think she was insane.

Before she could say anything however, Roger continued. “I’ve already—” he began, but was interrupted by muttering coming from the opposite end of the table. Lifting his gaze from the notepad in his hand, the gray-haired editor turned his attention in that direction. “Is there a problem, Carson?”

“ Damn right there is,” said the bespectacled, blond-haired reporter at the far end of the table. “I’ve been working at this magazine for five years, and what do I get? I get a haunted house in Iowa while the new girl gets next month’s cover story!”

Eliza might have laughed if the other reporter didn’t look so pissed off about the whole thing. She sat up straighter in her chair and cleared her throat. “I don’t mind if he wants to switch assignments, Roger.”

She really didn’t mind. It was all the same to her whether she was investigating werewolves or ghosts. The idea that either one existed was ludicrous anyway. Her new boss, however, was shaking his head.

“ That’s not necessary, Eliza,” Roger said, looking at her over the rim of his half-moon glasses. “I want you on the werewolf story.”

At the other end of the conference table, Carson Emory picked up his spiral notebook, pushed back his chair, and got to his feet. “Screw this!”

Eliza watched in disbelief as the blond reporter strode to the door and out of the conference room. Great. She had been working there for less than a week and she was already making enemies.

“ Don’t pay any attention to Carson. He’s never happy,” Roger told her, ignoring the other man’s temper tantrum. “I want you in Fairbanks ASAP. Go see Brenda in the travel department. She’ll already have your flight, hotel, and rental car all set up.”

Eliza blinked. She was impressed. For a magazine that published stories on the bizarre and ridiculous, it was certainly run efficiently. She opened her mouth to thank him, but Roger had already begun going down his list again, something about a fifty-foot boa constrictor in the sewers of Chicago. Thank God he hadn’t given her that story. She hated snakes.

As she was making her way back to her desk after the meeting, Eliza noticed Carson approaching from the opposite direction. Though she really wasn’t sure why she felt the need to apologize to the man, she found herself stopping him to do just that.

“ Save it!” he snapped. “Go to Alaska and chase after some stupid werewolf. I’m done with this rag anyway!”

Thinking that the other reporter might actually knock her down if she didn’t get out of his way, Eliza took a hasty step back as he pushed past her. Jerk.

“ Good riddance,” said a male voice behind her.

She turned to see a tall, lanky man with shaggy, dark blond hair and wire-rimmed glasses. He was wearing faded jeans and a worn T-shirt that said Property of the San Francisco 49ers on the front.

“ Carson’s a crybaby. Don’t worry about him,” the man continued. “I’m Andy Decker, by the way, the staff photographer going up to Alaska with you.”

Eliza blinked in surprise. The magazine was sending a photographer with her? Wow, it was almost enough to make her feel as if she were a real reporter. Well, at least it would have, if her first assignment didn’t involve writing a story about something as ridiculous as a werewolf!

* * * *

Their plane landed at the Fairbanks International Airport a little after three-thirty the following afternoon. Even with the hour-and-a-half layover in Seattle, Eliza had to admit they’d made surprisingly good time. Then again, she supposed that had something to do with the time change. Fairbanks was an hour behind San Francisco, after all.

Eliza had spent most of the flight digging up what she could about the hikers who had been killed. The articles she’d found on the Internet hadn’t said much really, just that two hikers had been found dead, one a week ago, the other last month. One of the articles mentioned that some livestock had also been killed, but said that local authorities didn’t consider that unusual, especially since grizzly bears had been known to attack farm animals from time to time. She’d noticed that there was no mention of a wolf, were or otherwise, in any of the articles.

Finding no further information about the killings, she’d decided to read through the email from Nate Corrigan again, the guy who had contacted the magazine about the supposed werewolf. It was cryptic at best. He claimed he had proof that a werewolf had killed the two hikers, but that he didn’t want to say too much in an email. Apparently, Nate didn’t trust the Internet all that much. No surprise there. He was probably a conspiracy freak as well as a paranormal nut.

By the time she and Andy got their luggage and picked up the rental car, it was well after four-thirty. After spending hours on a plane, all Eliza wanted to do was go to the hotel and fall into bed, but when her stomach growled in protest at that idea, she suggested to the photographer that they get something to eat before they check in.

As they drove around looking for a restaurant, Eliza took in her new surroundings. She’d never seen so much green in her life. There were tall trees everywhere, both evergreen and birch, which made the whole place seem less citified somehow. With all the green, she had just naturally assumed that the weather would be warmer. But there was still a light frosting of snow on the ground and it was quite chilly for May, at least to her way of thinking. Well, she was in Alaska. And if the trees and the cold weather didn’t convince her, then the moose standing in the middle of the road certainly would have. He just stood there looking at them with his big brown eyes as if wondering why they were getting in his way.

While Fairbanks wasn’t huge in comparison to most cities, there were still the usual fast-food restaurants to be found. Rather than go to one of those, however, she and Andy instead decided to go to the quaint diner down the street from their hotel. While she admittedly wasn’t much of a diner person, there was something about the rustic-looking log cabin that seemed inviting.

The diner had that same rustic feel on the inside, with exposed logs and hardwood floors, and Eliza found herself smiling as she took in the snowshoes, wood skis, and wildlife paintings that hung on the walls. She might be up here on a wild goose chase, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t enjoy the local sights. Though she could do without all the moose heads and mounted fish.

“ Two?” asked the teenage girl behind the hostess desk, drawing her attention away from the decor. At Eliza’s nod, she grabbed two menus from the stack in front of her and gave them a smile. “Right this way.”

As she read over the menu a few moments later, Eliza’s stomach growled again, and she was relieved when the waitress finally came to take their order. She decided on a cheeseburger and fries. Andy ordered the same thing, though he opted for onion rings instead of fries.

Taking a sip of the iced tea the waitress brought to their table a few minutes later, Eliza looked at the photographer. “So, how long have you been working at the magazine?”

“ Almost two years now.”

That took her by surprise. “You must really like it then.”

He laughed. “It’s not bad. I get to travel to a lot of different places, and the pay is decent.”

She nodded. “You don’t really believe in all this paranormal stuff, though, do you?”

It had been something she’d wanted to ask the photographer all day, but with her spending most of the flight on her laptop, and Andy spending most of it listening to his iPod, she hadn’t gotten the chance.

Across the table from her, Andy shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ve seen some things on this job that make me wonder.”

Her eyebrows rose. “But werewolves? That’s a little far-fetched, don’t you think?”

“ Maybe,” he agreed.

Eliza would have said more, but the waitress came by just then with their burgers. The older woman gave them a smile as she set the plates down.

“ Anything else I can get for you folks?” she asked.

Eliza glanced down at the table before looking up at the waitress again. “Ketchup?”

The woman nodded. “There’s a bottle on the table right behind you, sugar. Enjoy your dinner.”

Eliza had expected the woman to bring her a new bottle of ketchup, or at least grab the one off the other table for them, like waitresses in most restaurants would usually do. Maybe it was a diner thing. Or an Alaska thing. Either way, it seemed she would be going to get her own bottle of ketchup.

Taking her napkin off her lap and placing it on the table, Eliza pushed back her chair and got to her feet. When the waitress had told her that there was a bottle of ketchup on the table behind theirs, she had naturally assumed it was unoccupied, so she was surprised to see a man sitting there. And not just the average, run-of-the-mill guy she’d expect to find in a diner either, but a mouth-watering specimen of a man. Her breath caught as she found herself stopping right there in the middle of the diner to stare at him She had read in Cosmo once that there was something different about Alaskan men, that living in the great white north made them more masculine and sexy. Staring at the man seated at the table, she could well believe it.

Thank goodness he was intent on whatever he was reading on the laptop in front of him, because he would surely think she was a freak standing there staring at him with her mouth hanging open. But good heavens, with that thick, dark hair, chiseled, hair-roughened jaw, and wide, sensual mouth, how could any woman not be mesmerized?

Abruptly realizing how idiotic she must look just standing there, Eliza finally forced her feet to move. As she neared his table, the man looked up from his laptop and she felt her breath hitch as his gaze met hers. She’d never seen eyes like his before. Not quite brown, but not really hazel, either, the only way she could think to describe them was gold. And the sexiest pair of eyes she’d ever seen. The heat from them mesmerized her, pulling her into their depths, and suddenly she found it very hard to breathe.

When he lifted a brow in question, she finally managed to break out of her trance.

“ I, um, was wondering if I could steal your ketchup,” Eliza stammered, her face coloring. “We don’t have any,” she added, glancing back at her table.

The man followed the direction of her gaze, his gold eyes settling on the photographer for a moment before he gave her a smile. “Sure.”

Picking up the bottle, he held it out to her. As she reached for it, her fingers brushed his and she almost gasped as the most amazing sensation swept through her. It was as though she’d just gotten completely and thoroughly kissed. Her knees felt weak and there was a delicious little flutter in her belly that left her breathless.

It was then that she realized she hadn’t actually taken the bottle of ketchup yet. She was just standing there touching him like a doofus. She tried to cover her bizarre behavior by grabbing the bottle, but all she did was almost knock it out of his hand. They both fumbled with the thing for a moment before she finally gained control of it.

Could she be any more lame? She could already feel the heat rushing to her face.

“ I think your boyfriend’s waiting for the ketchup,” he said when she continued to just stand there.

Eliza’s brow furrowed in confusion at the word “boyfriend,” but then she realized he must be referring to the photographer. She forced her attention away from the pleasant warmth that still swirled between her thighs and gave him a smile. “Oh, you mean Andy. He’s not my boyfriend. We just work together.”

One eyebrow rose. “Really.”

Oh God. Did he think she was trying to come on to him? Crap, she really needed to go back to her table before she did something else to embarrass herself. But she couldn’t seem to make her feet move. She had a crazy urge to reach out and touch him again to see if that same sexual spark would happen. Resisting the impulse, she instead reached up to tuck her long, dark hair behind her ear. “But you’re right. He is probably waiting for the ketchup.”

Giving the man another smile, she forced herself to turn and walk back to her table. Halfway there, however, she couldn’t resist glancing over her shoulder to take one more look at him. He was regarding her with those incredible golden eyes of his, and her pulse fluttered wildly at the intensity in his gaze.

What was going on with her? She’d never experienced anything like this in her life. She had to get control of herself. Giving him one more look over her shoulder, she turned and stumbled back to her seat in a daze, clutching the bottle of ketchup in her hand.

Across from her, Andy lifted a brow as if to ask, what the hell is wrong with you? When she didn’t say anything, he prompted, “You just going to sit there and hold that all night, or can I use the ketchup?”

She blinked. “What? Oh, yeah. Sorry,” she mumbled, handing it to him.

Eliza watched as the photographer dumped ketchup on his onion rings, and then began to dig into his meal. She knew she should be doing the same, but she couldn’t stop thinking about what had just happened. Her heart was still racing as if she’d just come back from a run. Or had just finished having some really great sex. Good heavens, and all of that was from a mere brush of the fingers. She couldn’t keep herself from wondering what it would have been like if he really had kissed her.

It was a long time before Eliza could focus on her food, and by then, she realized she wasn’t really hungry anymore, at least not for food anyway.

* * * *

God, she smells incredible. Hunter McCall watched as the girl walked back over to her table and sat down. Of course, with those big, blue eyes, full lips, and long, dark hair, she was gorgeous too, but with his werewolf senses, scent was always the first thing he noticed about a woman. And she definitely had it in that department. Hers was so arousing that just one whiff of it had his heart beating against his chest and his cock already beginning to harden.

Get a grip, dude. Another minute and you’ll be over there humping her leg.

While he tried to go back to what he’d been doing before she’d walked up and asked to borrow the ketchup, Hunter couldn’t make himself take his eyes off her for long. He couldn’t ever remember being so drawn to a woman before, especially not one he’d only exchanged half a dozen words with. But there was just something about her that was so alluring. She must not be from around here, because he definitely would have noticed her before.

He hadn’t meant to chase her off with that comment about her boyfriend. Hunter was glad the other man wasn’t. Of course, if he’d really been thinking, once he’d found out the guy wasn’t her boyfriend, he would have asked her to join him.

Hunter’s cell phone rang, interrupting his thoughts. Picking it up from the table where he’d left it, he checked the display, then flipped it open and held it to his ear. “Luke, what’s up?”

“ I was about to ask you the same thing,” came his brother’s reply on the other end of the line. “When were you planning on calling and telling me you’ve got a rogue werewolf on your hands?”

Hunter’s mouth tightened. How the hell had his brother found out about that? “Do you have to be so dramatic? It’s entirely possible that it’s just a normal wolf attack, you know.”

“ Sure it is.” Luke’s voice was sarcastic. “You don’t believe that, and neither do I.”

Hunter sighed. His brother knew him too well, and Luke was too sharp to make a mistake about something like this. Hunter only hoped his father hadn’t seen the newspaper articles, too. He wouldn’t even bother to call and ask if Hunter needed help; he’d just show up. Hunter appreciated the close relationship he had with both his father and brother, but sometimes he got the feeling that they didn’t think he could take care of himself. Maybe it was just the pack mentality that came with being a werewolf, but his human side preferred to take care of the situation on his own.

“ No, I don’t,” he said.

When he’d heard about the first attack, Hunter had been ready to assume that it had just been a regular wolf, maybe even a bear. Though it wasn’t usual for an animal to attack humans, it did happen occasionally. But then the police had called him in to take a look at the hiker’s body. One glance at the size and shape of the bite marks and he’d known that it hadn’t been a bear. And if it were a wolf, then it would have been larger than any wolf he’d ever seen. That meant it was almost certainly a werewolf. Of course, he couldn’t tell the cops that.

Werewolves usually didn’t go around killing people, if for no other reason than to avoid drawing attention to themselves. But this one was obviously different. He had killed for no apparent reason, and then left the body where it could easily be found. Hunter had hoped the rogue werewolf was just passing through the area, but the second attack had dashed that hope. The other were clearly had an agenda.

“ Do you think this werewolf is there because he’s looking to challenge you for your territory?” Luke asked, intruding on his thoughts.

Hunter was silent a moment before answering. “It’s possible. Or he could have been turned recently and isn’t really in full control of himself yet. Which makes more sense since the attacks took place around the full moon. If he is new, then he probably doesn’t realize he’s even in another were’s territory.”

“ What are you doing about it?”

Hunter shrugged. “Since they think it’s a wolf, the cops have asked me to come in as a consultant, but there’s not much I can do until he strikes again. I’m hoping that if I can get to the next scene soon enough, I’ll be able to track him.”

“ Do you want some back-up?” his brother asked.

“ Thanks, but I can handle it.”

On the other end of the line, Luke let out a sigh. “Well, if you change your mind, let me know. I’ll be on the next flight up there.”

“ Sounds good,” Hunter said. His brow suddenly furrowed as he realized that the dark-haired beauty was heading toward the door with her co-worker. Damn, she had an amazing body, admiring the way her curvy hips swayed as she walked. He’d been so caught up in talking to his brother that he hadn’t realized she had even finished dinner. “Luke, I gotta go. I’ll talk to you later.”

Hunter hung up without waiting for a reply, but by the time he got his laptop put away and tossed some money down onto the table to pay for his meal, the girl and her companion were long gone.

Damn. You snooze, you lose, dude.



ANIMAL INSTINCT

Why did married people seem to have an uncontrollable urge to play matchmaker with every single guy they knew? Cell phone to his ear, Luke McCall leaned back in his chair and propped the heel of his well-worn Timberland boot up on the edge of his desk as he considered that. He supposed his brother, Hunter, and new sister-in-law, Eliza, were just trying to be helpful. More likely, though, it was just another case of Hunter thinking that he knew exactly what Luke needed. Hunter had only been born about two minutes before Luke, but that didn’t stop him from playing the older brother card whenever he thought he should. Like now, when Hunter was trying to hook him up with one of Eliza’s friends. What even made Hunter think he was looking to get involved with anyone right now?

Luke supposed he probably shouldn’t be too hard on his brother. Now that Hunter had Eliza in his life, it made sense that his twin would want Luke to find happiness with a mate, too. But finding happiness was a tall order. Hell, just going out with a woman was hard enough in his situation. If anyone should know that, it was his brother. Dating was tough for any guy, but when that guy was a werewolf like he was, it added a whole new meaning to the word “complicated.” It was difficult to get close to a woman when he was keeping a secret that big. Most women intuitively picked up on the fact that he was hiding something, and were quick to bail on the relationship.

Of course, since Eliza was a werewolf, too, Hunter didn’t have that problem. Though Luke was happy for his brother, it was hard not to be a little jealous at the same time. Hunter had literally hit the jackpot with Eliza. Not only was she beautiful, sexy, and thrilled about living in Alaska, but she hadn’t freaked out when she found out he was a werewolf. And to top it all off, she had completely embraced becoming a werewolf when she’d gotten bitten herself. A woman like that didn’t come along very often. She was definitely one of a kind. Which meant that Luke wasn’t likely to find anyone like that anytime soon.

“ So, can I tell Eliza that you’re coming up this weekend?” Hunter asked, interrupting his thoughts.

Damn, his brother was persistent. “How ‘bout I think about it and give you a call later in the week?

“ Eliza’s friend is going to be bummed if you don’t come up,” Hunter told him. “She really wants to meet you. Eliza has told her a lot about you.”

Luke’s mouth quirked. “Well, at least she knows what I look like. Like I said, I’ll call you later in the week.”

“ I’m going to hold you to that,” his brother said.

Luke shook his head as he flipped his cell phone closed and shoved it in the pocket of his jeans. Even if he hadn’t wanted to avoid the whole blind date thing like the plague, he wasn’t sure he should be going to Fairbanks for the weekend anyway. He’d only moved back to Anchorage a couple of weeks ago and he was still trying to make a good impression on his new boss. That meant coming in on the weekend to get extra work done.

Getting to his feet, Luke picked up his backpack from the floor, grabbed his laptop and hand-held radio from the desk, then headed for the door. “I’m going up to Chugach,” he told the gray-haired secretary as he passed her desk.

Madge looked up from what she was doing to give him a smile and a nod. She had probably heard everything he’d said on the phone, and was even now thinking about setting him up with one of her unmarried daughters; she just had that look in her eye.

Luke hurried out the door before Madge could say anything. Outside, he took in his surroundings as he made his way over to where his Mercury Mariner was parked. Built on a strip of coastal lowlands at the base of the Chugach Mountains, Anchorage was one of the most beautiful cities he’d ever seen. Of course, since he’d grown up there, Luke supposed he was a little biased. But that didn’t mean it wasn’t true. While Anchorage was more populated than other parts of Alaska, there were so many parks and so much untouched wilderness around that it seemed less citified somehow. In a way, with its cultural influences and trendy shops, it reminded him a lot of Seattle. Though he’d enjoyed living in the Pacific Northwest for the past four years, he had definitely missed Alaska, so it was no surprise that he’d fallen in love with the place all over again when he’d come up for his brother’s wedding. A few days after being back, he’d applied for a job with the Alaskan Department of Fish and Game. Luckily, they had been looking for a biologist at the time, so they’d hired him right away.

The population studies on gray wolves that he was currently conducting had him spending most of his time either in Chugach State Park or the Kenai Wildlife Refuge. He’d never been one for sitting behind a desk all day, so that was more than fine with him. Any job that involved getting his boots muddy was a great job as far as he was concerned.

Less than an hour later, Luke was pulling into the parking area on Crow Creek Road. Grabbing his pack from the seat beside him, he threw it over his shoulder. Though it was still fairly warm, he could feel that fall was right around the corner. Temperatures would start to drop sharply in the next several weeks as the abbreviated autumn turned into the true Alaskan winter. He was looking forward to it. When it was warm, Alaska was beautiful, but once the snow began to fall, the state became truly spectacular.

Luke cinched the straps of the backpack more tightly across his chest as he headed up Crow Pass Trail into the forest. He planned on looking for wolf tracks along one of the major streams near the trail, hoping that would give him some information on the size of the pack that was living in the area. The moment he passed underneath the first huge alpine spruce, he took a deep breath. God, he loved the smell of the forest. In fact, he loved everything about the forest—the wind in the trees, the sound of animals scurrying in the underbrush, the solitude. With its five point four million acres, Chugach Forest was a complete wilderness area. He could walk all day and not see another person. That kind of freedom made him look forward to getting his work done quickly, so that he could stash his pack in a tree, change into a wolf, and go for a run.

* * * *

Heidi Gibson couldn’t help but smile as she slowed her car to a stop and patiently waited for the trio of Dall sheep to cross Seward Highway. They paused in the middle of the road to regard her with a bored expression for a moment before finally going on their way. Finding wildlife on a major highway back home in Denver wasn’t a common occurrence, so Heidi had been disconcerted to see moose, bears, and sheep frequently sharing the roads with cars here in Alaska. But after being in Anchorage for the past two months, she was used to seeing them.

She sighed as she started down the road again. It was difficult to believe she’d been up in Alaska that long. She had come up to Anchorage to get inspiration for some new watercolor paintings and had originally only intended to stay for a couple of weeks, but one look at the gorgeous mountain backdrop and lush arctic landscape, and she’d fallen in love with the area. It was the perfect place for an artist like her to go for inspiration. And she’d certainly been inspired. Not only had she finished dozens of paintings, but she’d taken hundreds of photographs that she could work from when she got back home. In fact, she was going hiking in Chugach State Park that afternoon to take some more. She was eager to get as many pictures as she could before she left the next week.

On the way to the park, Heidi made a quick stop at the ranger station in Girdwood. Even though she carried a small radio with her, she liked to check in with the park rangers to see if there was any news she should know about. As a woman out hiking by herself, she always wanted to have the latest information on any possible dangers, of both the wildlife variety and the human sort. She also liked to let the rangers know where she was going and when she expected to be back. That way, if something happened, there would be someone to know she was missing.

As she got out of the car and walked over to the small building, she waved to several rangers as they walked through the parking lot. She knew almost all the rangers who worked in the park, and was friends with most of them. But as she opened the door, she found herself hoping that Ryan Ackerman, one of the rangers, would be out patrolling the trails today.

Ryan had been one of the first people she’d met when she had arrived in Anchorage. Nice, in a shy kind of way, he had given her some great information on where to find the most scenic views around Anchorage, as well as which places to avoid. She had appreciated his help, and had even stopped by to show him one of her paintings. So, when he had asked her out to lunch a few weeks ago, she had just accepted without thinking. Though it had been fun, she’d immediately realized Ryan was interested in more than the food at the diner they’d gone to. She, on the other hand, wasn’t. Besides the fact that she was only in town for a little while, and therefore not looking to get involved with anyone, there just weren’t any sparks where Ryan was concerned. He simply wasn’t her type.

Unfortunately, Ryan hadn’t picked up on that vibe, though, and had asked her to go out to dinner with him several times since then. He was never pushy or anything, but Heidi knew that if she agreed, he would read something more into it than there was, so she had politely declined his offers.

When she walked into the building and saw the female ranger at the front counter, Heidi was thinking she might actually luck out and avoid running into Ryan altogether, but then he stepped out from the back. He was flipping through a guide book and didn’t see her at first, but he looked up the minute she walked over to the counter.

“ Heidi!” he said, giving her a grin. “I was just thinking about you.”

Great. She pasted a smile on her face. “Really?”

He set the book down on the counter. “Yeah. I was going to give you a call and ask if you wanted to get together this weekend. Maybe go to the Market, then dinner and a movie, or something.”

At the expectant look in his hazel eyes, Heidi felt her resolve start to slip. With his dirty blond hair and average looks, he wasn’t the most handsome guy she’d ever seen, but he was always so dang nice. Maybe she should just go out with him. But then she reminded herself how desperate he had gotten after a simple lunch date. She didn’t want to think how he would act after dinner and a movie. Fortunately, she didn’t have to make up a reason to turn him down this time.

She gave him a rueful smile. “I’d really like to, Ryan, but I can’t. I’m going back to Denver next week and I have a ton of things to do before I leave.”

He looked dismayed at that. “Already?”

She nodded. “I know. It feels like I just got here.”

He regarded her in silence for a moment, absently fanning the pages of the guidebook with his thumb. “Maybe we could go out to dinner before you leave, then?”

Heidi let out a regretful sigh. “I’d love to, but I can’t,” she said. “I have a load of packing to do. I have to get all my paintings boxed up and shipped.”

Ryan said nothing, and she could see his Adam’s apple bob up and down as he swallowed.

As the silence stretched out between them, Heidi reached up to tuck some long, blond hair that had escaped from its ponytail behind her ear. “Anyway, I just stopped by to let you know that I’m going hiking on Crow Pass this afternoon,” she said. “Any warnings I should know about?”

Ryan didn’t answer right away, and when he finally did, it was with a distracted, “Um, no, not that I know about. Are you doing some painting?”

Heidi shook her head. “Just taking some more pictures.”

He nodded, but made no comment.

She sighed. “Okay, then. I’ll try to get back up here before I leave, but if I don’t, it was really great meeting you.”

“ Yeah. You too,” he said.

Giving him a smile and a wave, she started for the door, but his voice stopped her.

“ Heidi.”

She turned back to the counter to find Ryan looking at her with those puppy-dog eyes of his.

“ Are you sure I can’t take you out to dinner?” he asked. “We could go after you come back from your hike. I get off work at five.”

Heidi almost groaned. Sheesh, he didn’t give up, did he? “I’m sorry, but I can’t,” she said. Then, before he could reply, she added, “I’d better go. I want to get back before it gets dark. See ya.”

Afraid that he might actually throw himself at her feet and beg her to go to dinner with him if she didn’t hurry up and get out of there, Heidi practically ran out the door. To her relief, the ranger didn’t follow, but a quick glance over her shoulder showed him still standing at the counter, a crestfallen look on his face. Dammit. Maybe she should have agreed to go to dinner with him just to be nice. She was leaving in a few days anyway, so where was the harm in it? Suddenly, an image popped into her head of Ryan Ackerman showing up on her doorstep in Denver saying that he’d moved there to be with her. Okay, on second thought, maybe it is better to nip things in the bud right now.

Getting back in her car, she started the engine and pulled out of the parking lot. The access point for Crow Pass Trail wasn’t that far from the ranger station and within ten minutes, Heidi was hoisting her pack on her shoulder and heading off into the woods.

Since she wasn’t looking for anything in particular to photograph, Heidi snapped pictures of everything from the beautiful purple fireweed flowers growing on the hillsides, to cascading waterfalls. She was glad she had a digital camera. There were so many beautiful things to take pictures of that she would have run out of film a long time ago. With a digital, she could take as many shots as she wanted.

An hour later, she was just taking a few shots of a huge alpine spruce tree when she heard a rustle in the bushes to her left. Thinking it was probably just a rabbit, she didn’t pay any attention. But as the rustling got louder, she realized that whatever it was, it was bigger than a rabbit. Not only that, but it seemed to be circling around behind her.

Forgetting about the spruce tree for the moment, Heidi slowly turned to survey the woods surrounding her. The forest was so thick here that it almost blocked out the sun, making it hard to see. But abruptly, she caught sight of something moving between the trees. Though she couldn’t make out exactly what it was, she knew it was big. What is it? A bear, maybe? That thought made her stomach lurch. There were a lot of bears in Chugach, but she had never actually come face to face with one, and she didn’t want to now. They were really cute in the zoo, but out here by herself, more than an hour down the trail, they were just plain frightening. She tightened her grip on the digital camera and searched the forest, straining to catch another glimpse of whatever it was, but she didn’t see anything. Well, just because she didn’t see the animal, didn’t mean it wasn’t still out there.

Forcing herself to breathe evenly, Heidi put her camera back in her pack, then turned and calmly began to walk down the trail the way she had come. Behind her, she could hear the sounds of rustling again. Oh God. It was following her. She threw a quick glance over her shoulder, but still didn’t see anything. She could hear it, though. Heart hammering in her chest, she turned around and started back down the trail again, this time at a fast walk. Though every instinct in her told her to run, she resisted the urge. All the guide books she’d read had said that running would only make a bear chase her. But does that rule really even apply in this situation? The thing was practically stalking her now. Surely, running wasn’t going to hurt. If anything, it might actually save her life.

Heidi was still trying to decide if she should run or not when she suddenly heard a deep growl right behind her. Startled, she whirled around. Her eyes went wide. Standing in the middle of the trail was the biggest black wolf she’d ever seen. The thing was freaking huge. And it was eyeing her like she was its next meal!

Swallowing hard, Heidi slowly took a step back, then another. The wolf followed, slowly taking one step forward, then another. Terrified to turn her back on the animal, she began to backpedal. To her horror, the wolf kept coming toward her, quickening his pace to match hers. He was going to attack, she knew it!

With a muffled cry, Heidi dropped her pack, then turned and ran.

* * * *

Luke was counting wolf tracks near one of the streams when a woman’s high-pitched scream suddenly echoed through the forest. He looked up with a frown. What the hell…

A second scream pierced the stillness of the forest, this one even more terrified. Forgetting all about the tracks, he tossed his spiral notebook on the ground beside his pack and took off running in the direction the sound had come from. Taking the trail would have been easier, but going through the forest was the more direct route, so he chose that way instead. Though he was used to running through wooded areas, doing it on two legs instead of four made negotiating the uneven terrain a little harder, but he paid little attention to it as he raced through the trees. That was when he heard the low, savage snarl of a wolf. He swore under his breath. Wolves didn’t usually attack humans, but when they did, it was serious.

Just then, the breeze changed direction and brought with it an all too familiar scent. Luke skidded to a halt. It couldn’t be. But there was no mistaking that deep, musky scent. It wasn’t just a wolf, it was a werewolf.

Swearing under his breath, Luke forced his feet to move. As he sped through the forest, the other were’s scent grew stronger the closer he got to the beast. God, he hoped he wasn’t too late.

He burst onto the trail, expecting the worst, and was relieved to find that the girl was still alive. She was far from fine, though. While the werewolf hadn’t killed her, he had bitten her at least once. She was lying on the ground, clutching her bloody thigh with one hand, her face contorted in pain as she warily eyed the beast circling her.

The pair was too intent on each other to notice him and Luke paused only long enough to grab a thick branch before racing toward them. Gripping the branch tightly, he brought it down hard on the werewolf’s back. Though the makeshift weapon had little effect on the were, it did startle the beast, and he jumped back from his prey with a snarl.

The girl looked just as startled to see Luke as the were had, but there was relief in her frightened blue eyes, too, and he tried to give her a reassuring look as he put himself between her and the huge beast. Pulling a knife from the sheath on his belt, Luke crouched down and let out a low growl of warning.

The werewolf regarded him in confusion for a moment, but then recognition shone in his light hazel eyes and he returned the growl with one of his own. The beast had picked up his scent. The were’s gaze dropped to the knife, and Luke tightened his grip on the handle. In human form, Luke couldn’t match the were in quickness, but he was still stronger than an ordinary man. And the long, hunting knife that Luke held could do some serious damage to the were. But even with Luke’s strength and the knife, the werewolf still had the edge. The only question was, did the were know that? Luke would just have to bluff and find out.

Luke’s gaze locked on the other werewolf. He bared his teeth and let out another growl, this one deeper and more menacing. The beast eyed him warily for a moment, but from the change in the were’s stance, Luke knew he had won.

With a look that could only be described as hatred, the werewolf turned and bounded off into the trees.

Though Luke wanted to check on the girl, he waited until the were had completely disappeared into the forest before he turned to her. Some of her long, blond hair had come loose from its ponytail, and he had to fight the urge to reach out and brush it back from her tear-stained face. Despite the hand she had pressed to it, blood bubbled from the bite wound on her thigh and ran down her bare leg. When he’d first realized that the were had bitten her, he hadn’t wanted to let himself consider what it meant. But now that the girl was out of danger, there was no avoiding the subject. She was going to be a werewolf now, and he didn’t have a clue how to tell her. One thing he did know for sure, though, he had to get her out of there.

Shoving his knife back into its sheath, Luke took off the button-up shirt he was wearing over his T-shirt and crouching down beside her, pressed it to the bite on her thigh. The wound was pretty savage; the were had bitten her two or three times. Of course, the lacerations would close up before he even got her back to the parking area, but at least the shirt would hide them from her view. Even if the wounds themselves weren’t fatal, he still had to be worried about the girl going into shock. The shirt should help with that. He wrapped the sleeves of the shirt tightly around her thigh and tied them securely.

Putting one arm around her, he slid the other beneath her legs and gently picked her up. “It’s okay,” he said as he got to his feet. “You’re safe now.”

She didn’t reply, but simply rested her head against his chest and cried quietly in relief as he started down the trail.