Mallory's Bears(43)

Halfway there. Keep going.

She pressed on and heard the whine of her breath as it met her panic. Why hadn’t he attacked her yet?

She was almost to the front porch steps when Rick and Gunner yelled at her.

“Mallory!”

Where were they? She had to look, had to know that they were close enough to save her.

A glance over her shoulder sent her sprawling to the ground. She landed on her side, then rolled before coming to a stop on her back.

“Gunner, get to her!”

The sky was beautiful with light swatches of white and gold from the rising sun splashing across the blue as it transitioned from dark to a light. She studied it, ready to be plunged into darkness as death descended on her.

Instead, Gunner’s face appeared above her.

She blinked, unsure if she could believe what she’d seen.

“Baby, are you all right?”

Suddenly, awareness jerked her back. She was alive and Gunner had saved her. He pulled her into his arms, then lifted her. Giving into his support, relishing the way his warm body felt next to hers, she closed her eyes and surrendered to him.

He carried her into the house and set her on the couch. Pointing a finger at her as though she’d done something wrong, he ordered her to stay put, then rushed out the front door.

“No!” She had to stop him, had to keep him away from the wolf. Yet her legs wouldn’t hold her as she pushed off the couch and tried to stand.

Agonizing minutes passed with no sounds. Guilt rode her like a bronc free from its halter. If she hadn’t chased after the men, they wouldn’t have run into the wolf. But where had they gone? She’d seen them go into the barn, but hadn’t seen them leave. Had they gone out the back?

“Where are you? Please, come back.” Determined to find them, to do anything to help them, she pushed off the couch, her legs finally allowing her to hurry to the front door. Just as her hand fell onto the doorknob, the door opened.

Rick took her by the arms, scanned her body from top to bottom, then let her go. A glimmer of a question flicked through her mind at the sight of his arms, the dark hair covering the smooth skin. But the question was gone before it had a chance to form into coherent thought.

“You look all right. Are you?”

She nodded, then reached out for him. If she didn’t feel his body next to hers and know that he hadn’t gotten hurt, she’d cry. Yet crying would only make him angry. “I’m all right.”

He stalked away from her as he did so often. “Damn it all, Mallory.”

Gunner didn’t take her side this time. “We don’t have time to tell you why. Just stay in the house. Do you understand me?”

“If you don’t, I’ll swear I’ll hog-tie you to the couch and nail the damn doors and windows shut.” Rick’s eyes were wild as he ran his hand through his hair once, then again. “We’re wasting time.”

Gunner threw open the door. “Please. For once, do what we say, Mallory. And lock the door behind us.”

She couldn’t argue with them about the need to lock a door because of a wolf. It didn’t matter. The relief she felt after finding out that the wolf hadn’t hurt them overshadowed everything else. “Yes.”

They were gone in the next minute.

She did as they’d told her, turning the lock in the door and bolting the dead bolt. Peering out the closest window, she searched for them.

How had they moved so fast?

A flash of dark brown garnered her attention to the side of the barn. Another wolf, not the gray one that had chased her, lifted its head, and against her better judgment, she would’ve sworn it stared right at her. Their gazes held, then it whirled around and disappeared behind the barn.

Rick’s arm. Something wasn’t right about it.

Or rather, something was too right about it.

The memory of his wound came back. The wound that should’ve taken days, even weeks to heal, was gone. Not even a scab or a scar remained.

The wound, their eyes, she had to find out what was behind both.



* * * *



A day had come and gone with the men staying out well past the time when Mallory had finally given up waiting for them and had gone to sleep. She wondered why they didn’t join her, even if it meant waking her up. The only sign that they’d been home was a note left on the kitchen table.

Stay inside. We’ll be back as soon as we can.

They’d come home sometime last night, but why didn’t they sleep with her? They’d had sex enough times that they had to know she’d want them in her bed. Gunner’s excuse that they didn’t want to disturb her with their odd hours made sense, but they still hadn’t come to her even after she’d explained that she didn’t care if they woke her up from a sound sleep.