SEAL Wolf In Too Deep(86)
He smelled their scents and was assured none of these had been near the cannabis plants he’d already located. Although they could still be members of the same pack and involved with the operation in other ways.
He slowly walked out of the cover of the trees toward the rocky cliff, wanting them to know he wished to help the injured wolf. He quickly told them who he was, since he was off duty and no longer wearing his uniform. “I’m a park ranger. My name is Eric Silver. I can take her in my truck to the clinic in Silver Town, two hours south of here. It’s wolf-run.”
Two of the wolves snarled and growled at him, but they didn’t draw closer. He assumed they were betas, trying to figure out what to do. They couldn’t take care of the wolf themselves, not as wolves. And running around in the woods as naked humans carrying an injured wolf was going to take a lot of explaining if they ran into anyone else.
The injured wolf was still lying on her side. She tried to sit up and yipped, lying back down.
“Just lie still,” Eric said, motioning for her to stay put, his voice gentle and reassuring.
He needed to get closer so he could examine her, but he was cautious about the wolves who were threatening him. Even beta wolves could tear a person apart, so he needed permission to draw closer. Though they probably wouldn’t hurt him, he couldn’t risk injury by ignoring the threat.
When they wouldn’t back down, he tried again to convince them he only wanted to help. “I can carry her to my truck, only a mile from here. Some of you can come with me so you know I’m serious about getting help for her.”
They continued to snarl at him, protecting her, but Eric wouldn’t back off either. He wasn’t leaving until someone took care of her.
Then one of the men shifted. He was maybe in his forties, with black hair and hard amber eyes. “We don’t need your help.” Even so, the man was obviously in a quandary.
Eric took the wolf’s shifting as a good sign. Not of friendship, but the wolf would have remained a wolf if he had felt threatened, especially since he appeared to be in charge. He would have led the wolves into attacking Eric if he was going to do it.
At that point, Eric slowly drew closer to the injured wolf. Then he crouched down to examine her, hoping they would finally let him help.
When he touched her right hind leg, she yipped. “Okay, girl, I’ll be gentle. I just need to check to see if it’s broken or something else.” He carefully ran his hand over her leg, and she pulled it away from his touch.
“Is it broken?” the man asked, sounding worried.
“I don’t feel any break, but it’s obviously tender. It could be a bruised tendon, torn ligament, or even a hairline fracture of the bone.”
“She can’t walk on it. We’re parked about five miles out.”
Eric said again, “I’m parked only a mile from here on one of the official-use-only trails. I can carry her to my—”
“No. We don’t need your help. We’ll take care of it.”
“But—”
“I said we’d take care of her.”
Eric raised his hands in a sign of truce, but he wasn’t leaving until he saw that they could provide her with the care she needed. “How are you going to do it? I’m trained in first aid. I can call in some others from my pack to help get her out of here, or I’ll carry her to your vehicle.” As much as Eric hated offering, he’d carry her the five miles to their vehicle if that was the only way they’d go for it.
“All right. You can carry her to our campsite then.”
Eric let out his breath in exasperation. Every mile he moved her would cause the poor wolf more pain.
The man in charge had already shifted back into his wolf form and was watching for signs of anyone else coming with the other males, while the female stood by the injured she-wolf, looking concerned. Eric made a makeshift splint, and as soon as he bound her leg, she whimpered. He hated that she was in pain and wished he could give her something for it. As gently as he could, he lifted her in his arms. This was going to be the longest hike he’d ever made. He wished the wolf in charge had listened to reason.
As a wolf, this would have been no problem, even though he was feeling some pain of his own. But as a human carrying an injured wolf, the trek was all the more difficult. He stumbled over too many exposed roots to count because he couldn’t see the path, making the she-wolf whimper or yip in pain. He fought groaning himself a time or two.
When they grew closer to a creek, he heard feminine laughter and worried human women would see him carrying a wolf, surrounded by wolves. One of the wolves in the lead ran off. The darkening sky was sprinkled with twinkling heavenly lights, the round moon on full display. Eric loved the wide open spaces in the park, the seventy-degree temps during the day, and fifty-degree temps during the night—even though in the summer things became rather hectic with all the visitors.
He wanted to make a wide berth around the women in the creek to make sure he wasn’t seen.
But the lead wolf made Eric stay to the path closer to the creek.
Despite how chilly it was, the women were splashing around in the creek, which intrigued him. They wouldn’t see him—not when he blended in with the lodgepole pines, oaks, and the shadows—unless the wolf forced him to go to the rocky bank.
Which the wolf did.
When Eric grew near enough, he observed five women in goddess-like semi-sheer dresses. He knew he had to be dreaming. Their silky pastel creations, in blues and pinks and mint green, fluttered about them in the summer breeze. The women were standing in the water up to their calves, the pocket water temperatures higher. Above them, the creek water was mostly gentle with a few small rapids. Down here, the rapids were much more common and significant, which had created the pockets of water. The women were laughing and talking. A petite brunette, her hair short and curly, really caught his eye. She was wearing a robin’s-egg-blue dress, the water plastering the bottom half of the gown to her calves and thighs in a sensual way.