Shit. Split-second decision time: lunge at the armed man, or make a hasty turn, try to avoid getting shot in the back of the head, and run in the direction of Silver Town. Tucking tail was not Ryan’s way.

Before he could leap, he heard the sound of gunfire. The bullet ricocheted off a tree and grazed Ryan’s left foreleg before he reached the bastard. Panicked, the guy fired again twice without aiming. And Ryan darted behind a Douglas fir.

The bullets struck the tree next to him with a whap… whap! When Ryan came around the tree to take the man down, the red dove into the pickup, slammed the door, charged up the engine, and tore off with the truck leaving a trail of dust in its wake.

Hell. Ryan’s foreleg burned even though the bullet wound was superficial, as far as he could tell. He licked the injury, knowing that his wolf saliva could reduce some kinds of bacterial infection and that studies had shown that it could actually aid cell regeneration because of saliva’s epidermal growth factors.

He howled for Jake, letting him know he had lost his prey and was headed in, but then Ryan caught the whiff of the other man who’d split off from the three and took off after him. Taking care of the flesh wound could wait.

Jake howled to Ryan in response. A chorus of other wolves let him know where they were and that they’d gotten the message. If the reds weren’t already scared shitless, the sound of all the grays in the woods probably would do the trick.

Unable to keep up the faster pace he’d used getting there, Ryan finally slowed to a trot for a good long while, his leg bleeding some and the wound still burning, while searching for clues of the third man.

Jake soon joined him, sniffed his foreleg, and trotted beside him. Ryan couldn’t help but envy Darien and his two brothers. Ryan’s sister meant everything in the world to him, but having someone who acted like a brother to watch his back when they were on the warpath was a unique experience. And welcome.

From the looks of it, Jake must have lost his prey also, though.

While Ryan continued to look for clues of the other man, Jake seemed more concerned about Ryan’s health, glancing back in the direction of the hospital, circling as though he wanted to return. Maybe because Ryan kept limping, although he was trying hard not to. Unable to locate the red, Ryan finally gave up and motioned with his head toward town. Looking relieved, Jake dipped his head once in agreement. The two took off for their stash of clothes.

When they reached them and then shape-shifted, Ryan fumbled with his shirt. Jake looked like he was about to offer to help him, but Ryan finally managed. “What happened to your guy?”

“You were wounded.”

“Hell, Jake, I would have been fine. You lost him, didn’t you?”

“Carol wouldn’t have forgiven me if I’d left you to your injuries and you died. We don’t know if the bullets they’ve been firing are silver or not. And I didn’t know if your wound was superficial or something more serious.”

Ryan shook his head. “I didn’t say I was wounded when I let everyone know what I was going to do.”

“Gunshots had been fired in the vicinity from which you howled. You said you had lost your prey and were headed in. Not that you were helping me search for the one I was after or the other, but returning to where we’d left our clothes. Which meant you were wounded. Except I didn’t think you’d be trying to track down the third guy anyway.”

Struggling with his belt, Ryan smiled a little. “You’d make a good detective.”

“Just an observation of your nature,” Jake said, matter-of-factly, although the way his mouth lifted slightly at the corners, he looked like he appreciated the comment. “Still, you shouldn’t have gone after the other guy.” He yanked on his shirt. “Being a wounded hero always impresses a lady. Why didn’t I think of that first?”

“You’d take a bullet just to make points with Carol? I doubt she’d be overjoyed with the prospect.” Ryan snorted. “Besides, a hero solves the crime and saves the damsel in distress. I just managed to get myself shot. Where are the heroics in that?”

“It’s the thought that counts.”

Not feeling in the least bit heroic, Ryan shook his head. “Besides, I don’t need looking after. It’s just a graze, and the bullets, thank God, were not silver.”

“Which means?”

“They’re not trying to kill us.” At least insofar as they didn’t use silver bullets. Shooting a tree hadn’t been the red’s plan, Ryan didn’t think. “But if they keep trying to take Carol…” Ryan lifted his good shoulder with a slight shrug. “I won’t be responsible for my actions.”

“You and me both,” Jake growled. “Darien or Tom either, believe me.”

After some of the more alpha men had left the hospital to chase after North’s men, North attempted to sneak in as a patient to see Carol. He knew for a fact that Lelandi wasn’t there, so she wouldn’t be on the premises to ID him. For a few minutes, he’d be alone with Carol in an exam room before Doc Weber, who also could identify him, showed up. North patted the hypodermic in his pocket, this time with a much lower tranquilizer dose so that he could sneak Carol out the window. She’d still be on her feet but drowsy and unable to fight him.

His clammy hands planted in his windbreaker pockets, he tried to look calm instead of on edge as he waited his turn for the nurse to call him. Thankfully, the woman at the desk didn’t seem to think anything of the fact that he specifically had asked for Carol. While he studied a magazine, feigning interest in an article, his focus remained on the receptionist. He was listening to her phone conversations to make sure she didn’t alert anyone about him.

He figured one of the men sitting in the waiting area was here to guard Carol. Other than him, an elderly balding man in a running suit, two women, one with a small boy, all human, were waiting to be called. North was a walk-in, but the women were, too, so he fit right in.

His hair unruly, the younger man turned his gaze in the direction of the hall, never once looking at North. Idiot. If he was a guard, he sure would be easy to slip by. The man didn’t seem sick and was definitely a gray. He’d been here before the woman and her little girl arrived, and still he sat without being called.

The male nurse motioned for the elderly man. “Mr. Howard?” The man got up stiffly, grumbled about moving to Florida and the warmer temperatures, and followed the nurse down the hall.

The guard had been here before the old guy, too. North knew because he’d been watching the place for a good two hours from across the street, away from where his men had been stationed. His men’s ploy had worked, drawing the alphas to chase after them. Hopefully, none of them would get caught and he’d be successful in his mission this time. Even though they’d grumbled about him taking the inside job. They could grouse all they wanted. Carol would be his.

He swallowed hard. Damn, his throat was raw. A tickle started low in his throat and without being able to quell it, he coughed. Which led to another hacking spell. Hell, he didn’t need to fake being sick, and he figured he was destined for his cousin’s fate soon. Then Carol came down the hall, this time dressed in cat scrubs, her blonde hair bouncing with her step, the memory of her naked in his arms making him hard all over again. He’d almost had her. No way would any of his men have the chance to convince her they suited her better.

“Mr. Graylink?” Carol called out.

North concealed a sinister smile.

Chapter 17

THE GUARD IN THE HOSPITAL WAITING AREA WAS eyeing Carol until she mentioned North’s made-up name. That’s when he looked over at North and seemed to realize that North might be someone to watch. But the guard didn’t make a move to do anything, and Carol smiled as North stood and walked in her direction, coughing for effect, although the urge to do so was there anyway.

“How are we doing, Mr. Graylink?” she asked, walking with him toward the weighing station.

“Been sick. Running a fever. Coughing. All stuffed up.” He hated to admit any of it. As a werewolf, usually he just shifted. If it was a human viral condition, his wolf side would knock it out since the flu was nontransferable. Same thing if he had a canine bout of flu. But this time it was different. His cousin was the proof of that.

North nearly had a heart seizure when he saw Darien’s youngest brother, Tom, watching Carol from the station. Not good. He didn’t realize Tom was here. The alpha male was eyeing him with suspicion. North was too short to be a gray and wearing the hunter’s spray, so Tom couldn’t smell that he was a wolf, either. North had been afraid that if he didn’t use a gray name, he might not get in to see Carol since she was newly turned. Now he was afraid that hiding his scent would create the same problem.

Tom drew closer, took a deep breath, analyzing the air, and held up his hand. “Carol, you have another patient waiting for you.”

North coughed again, only this time he couldn’t help it. The damned tickling in his throat wouldn’t stop, yet it was so sore he was ready to rip it out. He cursed Connor for hiring the bioengineer and the man himself for what he had done to their renegade pack.

“Just this once, Tom.” She smiled at North. “You don’t mind if Tom Silver stays in the exam room with us, do you?” She shrugged. “Stalker boyfriend. Have to have a bodyguard around the clock until they catch him.”

North smiled, hoping his expression didn’t look too evil. Stalker boyfriend. That was about right. But then he looked serious and nodded, even though this was not what he’d had in mind. An exam room alone with Carol, that’s what he’d planned for. He figured he didn’t have much of a choice. Hell. He’d have to knock out Tom and then grab Carol. Hopefully, they wouldn’t make too much of a ruckus and he’d manage to pull this off.

Tom shook his head. “Darien said only special cases.”

“Special” as in lupus garou only because she didn’t have her shifting under control, North assumed.