Dark Wolf(21)

His eyes focused on her, all that piercing intelligence. She had to  fight to stay relaxed. He looked as if he could see right into her soul.  "You're very sensitive."

"That's what my mother always says," Skyler said. That much was true.  Francesca said it all the time. She indicated his hand. Let him fish  around for something plausible. "What happened to you?"

Zev didn't so much as flinch. He lifted his wrist for her inspection. "I  was working and got a little careless. I tore my wrist on a nail. It's  not a big deal but it was deep enough to bleed a lot. I put this cloth  around it and it stopped."

"There's a first-aid kit at the camp. When we get there, I could put  some antibiotic cream on it so the laceration doesn't get infected."

He nodded. "If we don't run out of time. We should get moving soon or  night will fall. Here in the forest it tends to get dark fast."

She was happy to get moving. The faster they made camp, the faster she  could heal her ankle and set out to follow the Lycan back to Dimitri.

"Do you live close by?"

"I'm camping with some friends a few kilometers from here," Zev  explained. "Although I've been coming to these woods since I was a boy,  so I'm very familiar with them."

She frowned at him as she pulled her throbbing foot from the stream. Her  wince was very genuine. She was going to have to throttle Josef for  making her injury so real. "You don't hunt here, do you? The wolves are  protected in this preserve." She managed her most schoolmarmish voice,  the one that always made Josef sit up and take notice-or topple over in  gales of laughter.

"Sometimes with a camera, although when we were kids, we hunted for  food. Not wolves, but other creatures, mostly wild fowl, partridge,  things we could manage when we were pretty small. If we killed it, we  had to carry it."

He was telling the absolute truth, which was why he was so good at  intrigue. He mixed truth with implication-not outright lies. She tried  to pull her boot back over her swollen ankle. It hurt like hell.

"I'll carry you."

"You will not," Skyler said. "I can walk. Just give me a minute to get  my boot back on." Who knew what a Lycan might discern that close? "How  far away is the camp? Have I been walking in circles? Sometimes I was  pretty certain I'd been to the same place more than once."

"I thought all you researchers always carried a GPS with you."

She called on her mad nonexistent acting skills to blush, her long  lashes sweeping down deliberately. "We're supposed to. It's my first  time with this group and my partners are both . . ." She trailed off,  doing her best to look ashamed and guilty.

"Men," he finished for her. Zev took the boot from her hands and gently eased it over her ankle.

"I know I don't have anything to prove, and this isn't going to get me  off to a good start, but I guess I wanted to look good. I got up early  and set up the cameras. In my haste to be helpful, I completely forgot  the GPS. It's probably still clipped to my hammock."

He stood up and reached down to lift her easily into his arms, ignoring  her protest. "I'm sorry, young Skyler, but it's getting late. I need to  be somewhere and I've got to get you back to your camp."

She had no choice but to be gracious. In any case, she hadn't been  looking forward to walking on her swollen ankle. "Thanks, Zev, I  appreciate it, although I feel a little silly."

"Walking around alone in these woods is silly," he said sternly.

Skyler was used to being around physically strong men. Gabriel, her  adopted father, was extremely strong, being Carpathian. Dimitri  certainly was. Even Josef, as young as he was, had the Carpathian  strength, but Zev was amazing. He moved through the forest absolutely  sure-footed. He was graceful even. He didn't breathe hard and he never  once acted as if he needed a rest. He was born and bred for the forest,  and he was every bit as strong as a Carpathian.

She closed her eyes and breathed evenly, opening her mind a little at a  time to try to take in, to absorb the feel of a Lycan through every  sense she had. She recognized the way he moved from what Mother Earth  had revealed to her earlier. He barely made a sound, a soft whisper, no  more, as his clothing occasionally brushed against leaves. He was so  quiet they startled wildlife they came upon.

She felt the mechanics of him, the steel-like but flexible framework and  the muscles moving beneath his civilized clothing. She even began to  absorb the field around him that protected his energy from leaking out  and giving him away in a hunt-or battle.

He was a good man. She got that much from him, but he was lethal and  wouldn't hesitate to kill if necessary. She wouldn't want him coming  after her. That thought was frightening and she couldn't help the little  shiver that went down her spine. Of course he noticed instantly.

"We're nearly there. There's nothing to fear. I'm not going to let  anything happen to you," he assured. His voice was kind, even  compassionate.

"I'm sorry I'm so much trouble," Skyler said. That was the truth. She  didn't like using a good person. He clearly wasn't the demon she'd  conjured up in her mind. The Lycans had taken Dimitri prisoner when he'd  been defending not only his prince, but also the Lycans. They tortured  him and would have killed him if she hadn't intervened. She'd developed a  dislike of them. Still, she would much rather have had Zev find her  than some really awful Lycan who might kill her.

"You don't weigh much," Zev observed. "A good wind might blow you away."

A bubble of nervous laughter welled up. "My father says that."

"Your father is right." He frowned. "He should be watching out for you. Coming here was not a good idea."                       
       
           



       

She couldn't very well tell him her father didn't know and the world as  she knew it would probably be over once he found out. "My ankle agrees  with you."

He found their base camp unerringly, as if he already knew it was there.  He hadn't cast around for signs looking for the site, but seemed to  follow a direct-and the shortest-route straight to it.

He came to an abrupt halt. "Where is everyone?"

"Out looking for me, I suppose," Skyler replied in a small voice. Her  ankle really was hurting and she was grateful when he put her into a  chair. He had been smooth, walking through the forest, but still,  movement jarred the injury. "There's only Paul and Josef. The others  haven't arrived yet."

Paul strode into camp, a mixture of concern and aggravation on his face.  He held a rifle in his hands. She knew it carried tranquilizers. "What  the hell happened, Skyler?" he demanded. "We've been searching for you  for most of the day. I was about to call for help."

Zev's entire demeanor changed. He ate up the distance between Paul and  him with long, fluid strides, nearly gliding. He was on Paul before he  had a chance to even bring his weapon up.

"I'm a cop," Zev announced, with a small apologetic glance over his  shoulder at Skyler. "I'd like to see your papers now. No one should have  authorized work in this area. We closed it off a few weeks ago."

It was the last thing Skyler expected, but she realized his revelation  and demands made perfect sense. The Lycans had to have a way to keep  everyone away from them while they prepared for war, or tortured and  killed their prisoners. Zev probably really did have a rank of some kind  in law enforcement.

Paul kept possession of his weapon but went to the locked box and  removed the papers giving them permission to set up cameras in this area  of the forest. Zev studied their passports and the official documents  carefully, taking his time. This was no cursory glance.

Skyler's mouth went dry. Her heart began to pound. Josef was the best,  she reminded herself. His paperwork was always impeccable.

Zev looked up suddenly, pinning Paul with his piercing, focused stare. "Who's in charge?"

"He's not here at the moment," Paul said. "He went out searching for  Skyler, but we come back to the camp every two hours." He glanced at his  watch. "He should be coming back soon."

Zev handed the papers back to Paul. "Everything appears to be in order,  but there's been a mistake. I want you to break camp tomorrow morning  and get out of here. This girl cannot be wandering the forest alone, nor  should you or whoever is in charge. It's too dangerous."

"We're aware there is an active pack of wolves here," Paul said. "That's  why we're here. We just study their environment. We don't try to  interact. If we're lucky we'll have the cameras in the right places and  we'll get a glimpse of them."

Zev shook his head. "There have been several killings. Mutilations. Not  the wolves, someone human. This area is closed at the moment. You need  to pack up immediately and leave."