Hunter's Heart (Alpha Pack #4)(26)

Scrutinizing her face, she wondered what Ryon saw when he looked at her. When she studied herself, she always saw a no-frills woman who never wore makeup of any kind. But then, makeup never looked right with her bronzed skin tone, even if she didn't spend most of her year in the wilderness where there was no one to appreciate it or care. She supposed her face was nice enough, with high cheekbones, thin, arched brows, and thick black lashes framing her brown eyes.

Nice, but plain. Nothing to account for the intense desire that had been rolling off Ryon like steam from a boiling pan of water. Not that she was about to complain.

In the bedroom, she retrieved the piece of paper Ryon had written the important numbers on, and pushed it into the pocket of her jeans. She walked out of the quarters into the hallway, firmly closing the door behind her, and glanced around.

Setting off in the direction of Ryon's room, she came to the door that corresponded to the number he'd written on the paper. The man owed her a talk and he was going to follow through.

After knocking, she waited for any sign of life beyond. She was just getting ready to knock again when the door swung open. Ryon stood there bare-chested, and she couldn't help that her eyes immediately fell upon the broad expanse of taut skin. He was toned a golden hue, a fair-haired man with the complexion of someone who was outside frequently. His pecs were dusted with just the right amount of hair, enough to tickle and fun to play with, but not too furry.

"Hey there," he said, eyeing her curiously. "I was going to check on you soon. Everything okay?"

"That's what I'm here to find out." She wasn't going to be swayed by his hunky self standing half-naked in the doorway.

His expression became serious. "You deserve the truth. Why don't you come in and we'll talk about-" A buzzing noise interrupted what he was about to say. With a grimace, he pulled an iPhone from this front jeans pocket and looked at the display. "Nick. I have to take this."

Turning, he went back into his quarters as he answered and waved her to follow. From his end of the conversation, she could tell that hers with Ryon would have to wait.

"Hey, boss." Pause. "Now?" Pause. "All right, I'll tell her." He ended the call.

"What is it?"

"Nick wants you and me in the conference room for a meeting with the team." He made a face. "It has something to do with the body in the woods."

She shrugged. "I don't know what more I can contribute, but I'll sit in and listen."

"Let me just put on a shirt." Quickly, he disappeared into his bedroom.

"Don't bother on my account," she muttered.

He called out. "What?"

"Nothing!" Damn, wolf shifters must have supernatural hearing, too.

He emerged wearing a dark T-shirt that read NEVER ENGAGE IN A BATTLE OF WITS WITH AN UNARMED PERSON. She snorted and he glanced down at it. Then he snickered. "Oh, well. Guess it'll do."

They walked out together, and he kept his pace slower so she could keep up. Her energy wasn't 100 percent, though her pain was pretty much in the past.

"You're doing great without the wheelchair," he observed.

"I just needed that extra bit of time to get back on my feet, but now I'm fine."

"We'll get Melina to x-ray that arm again. She might be able to take the cast off."

She gaped at him. "After a couple of days? Are you nuts?"

"Nope. You'll see."

He didn't offer more, and it frustrated her to no end. She tried to put it out of her mind as they came to the conference room. Inside, the Pack guys were assembled, some sitting around the huge oval table, some standing or leaning against the walls. All of them appeared interested in what Nick, at the head of the table, had to share with them.

"I've had some news from the sheriff," he said by way of calling them to order. When the room stilled, he went on. "This afternoon the body of the second hiker was found about two miles from the woman. They're almost positive it's her husband, from the clothing and some of the belongings that were scattered. Deveraux slipped us a sample of the man's tissue, for comparison against the woman. Of course, our lab is looking for shit the humans would never dream of."

A few grim chuckles followed that statement.

"And have they got anything from the woman?" Micah asked.

"Yeah." Nick rubbed the back of his neck, as though he was searching for the exact right words for what he had to tell them. "There was no wolf DNA present in the saliva on the lady's tissue, either natural wolf or shifter. Even if the white wolf was capable of shifting into half-human form, our lab doesn't feel there's any way she could've done that sort of damage. The teeth marks aren't consistent with the length or curvature of our fangs."

"What are they consistent with?" Aric crossed his arms over his chest.

"This is the fun part. The marks in the tissue and the way the victims' bones were crushed match an animal with the massive skull of say, a tiger, and the teeth of an alligator. The skin was punctured, two jagged rows of long teeth evidenced there, just like a roadmap of the creature's mouth."

"Jesus," Ryon breathed. "What the f**k?"

Grabbing a remote control for the projector, Nick turned on the device to shine an image on the wide screen. "What the f**k? about sums it up. This is a computerized composite image of our mystery creature based on the lab's findings."