Sharon’s Wolves(3)

The land shook for several more seconds, during which Sharon rolled onto her back and struggled to sit up. Her leg hurt like a son of a bitch.

When she glanced down, drawing her knee up to inspect the damage, she cringed. The land stopped moving as she tugged her torn pants up, and she nearly passed out when she saw the blood. “Fuck.”

A shadow fell over her, forcing her to tip her head back and meet Griffen’s gaze. “Don’t move.”

He hunched down next to her while whipping his T-shirt over his head. In a heartbeat he had the cotton wrapped around her leg, squeezing her calf to stop the bleeding.

Sharon couldn’t slow her breathing. She lowered herself onto her back, afraid she would indeed pass out and hit her head if she didn’t remove her gaze from the wound.

“Sharon, look at me,” Griffen demanded.

She blinked up at him.

“We need to get you off this mountain.”

“It’s bad.” She didn’t need him to tell her. She’d seen the cut. It was deep and several inches long.

“Yes.”

Several other men surrounded her an instant later. “Is she okay?”

“No. We need to get her back to the lodge.” Griffen looked around as if he thought he might be able to come up with a viable solution.

The truth was she needed to shift. Soon. But she couldn’t do so in front of the men. None of them were wolf shifters. They were hired to clear the trail. They weren’t regular employees.

And they were several miles from the lodge. She would never be able to walk out of there.

“There’s a service road not far from here,” one of the men said as he pointed to the east. “It runs along this trail. Maybe we can catch someone heading down from the logging site to the north.”

“Good idea.” Griffen nodded at a group of men to one side, still gripping her leg tightly. “You three head for the road and try to flag someone down.” He angled his head toward the trail next to them. “Can someone grab my backpack and pull out some gauze and tape?”

Sharon swallowed even though her mouth was too dry. She watched the men run off toward the service road and bit the inside of her cheek. She needed to stay alert.

One man returned with the backpack and unzipped it hastily. He kept glancing at Sharon’s face, his eyes narrowed. I must look horrible.

What she knew was she had to be white as a sheet. Her skin grew clammy. She recognized the first signs of shock and gritted her teeth to keep it at bay. It wasn’t blood loss that ruled her condition. It was the fact that she’d seen the gash.

“Rebecca’s at the lodge, Sharon. All we need to do is get you down there, and she can handle the rest.” Griffen held her leg with one hand and ripped a long section of tape with his teeth.

She nodded. That was good. Rebecca was a nurse. She could handle this.

“Eyes on me,” Griffen demanded.

She tried to focus on his face, but it was hard. “You’re going to be okay.”

She nodded.

When he finished wrapping her leg, he finally released her and turned to the men still standing on the trail. “You two go back the way we came. If you beat us to the lodge, send someone up that service road. Just in case no one comes by from the north.”

The remaining men nodded and took off at a run.

Sharon grabbed Griffen’s forearm. “I’m okay. It was just the blood.”

“I know.” He wiped a lock of hair from her face that had escaped her hair band. Without another word, he bent down and lifted her into his arms. She leaned against his bare chest as he turned and headed into the trees toward the service road.

She knew it wasn’t far. She’d heard several vehicles go by throughout the day. They had made her cringe every time. Hikers didn’t like to hear cars and trucks interfering with their wilderness experience. But it would be short-lived. The loggers never stayed in one place any longer than it took to clear the designated area and move on.

It took Griffen only a few minutes to break through the trees and step onto the road. The men he’d sent ahead were already there.

One of them spoke. “Nothing has gone by. Want us to head north and see if we can find someone? It might be closer than heading back to the bottom.”

“Good idea. I don’t think it’s that far.” Griffen nodded his assent as he lowered Sharon to the ground next to the road.

The men took off, leaving her with her brother.

“You need to shift,” he muttered.

“And you know that’s not possible,” she responded through gritted teeth. If she shifted into wolf form, she would heal quickly. And it was a viable last resort. But it would be nearly impossible to explain to any of the humans.