Hunter's Heart (Alpha Pack #4)(6)

But that wasn't going to stop him.

Noah replaced the receiver and turned, grabbing the discarded wires from the heart monitor. "He's on his way. Scoot back and I'll fix this."

"No. I'm not staying here."

"Ryon-"

"I said no!"

"Fine! Stubborn furballs, all of you." The nurse stomped out, leaving the door open behind him.

Ryon felt bad for snapping, but anxiety was riding him hard. He needed to be gone, like five minutes ago. Dammit, he'd apologize later.

Nick walked in a couple of minutes after Noah left, his expression concerned. The Pack's commander was a big SOB who put off a don't f**k with me vibe that was best heeded. Oh, Nick was a good guy, but more than a little intimidating.

The commander pushed a hand through his dark hair, his eyes piercing Ryon's. "I knew a big change was coming for you. I just didn't expect it to arrive so soon."

The hair on the back of Ryon's neck stood up. In addition to being a rare white wolf-born, not made-the commander was a PreCog, which meant he could sometimes see events before they happened. Or get a sense of something important on the horizon. As much as Ryon hated his own gift, he wouldn't trade with Nick for anything. Some people might think being able to see the future would be cool, but Ryon thought it would totally suck to know the bad stuff.

"What did you see?" he asked in curiosity. And with a bit of dread as well.

"A woman," Nick said simply, with a bit of reluctance. "And the fact that she's going to shake up your world pretty thoroughly."

Oh, crap. "How so?"

"You'll just have to find out for yourself. But for that to happen, we'll have to get going." The man cocked his head. "Did she appear to you?"

Evasive bastard. "Yes, and she's hurt. She didn't say her name, but she told me she was pushed into a ravine past the second ridge, to the north."

"Pushed? By whom?"

"I don't know. She tried to say something about the rangers and a checkpoint, but the message was garbled at the end."

"Okay. I'll go by my office on the way out and give the ranger station a call while you grab a few of the guys." He eyed Ryon. "That is, if you're healed enough to go."

"I will be after I shift," he insisted. "My wolf is going nuts and if I stay behind, it won't be pretty."

Nick paused, considering. "All right. I trust you to know your limits."

"I'll meet you at the hangar with others. And thanks, Nick."

"You're welcome. I'll speak to Melina, Mac, and Noah on the way out, tell them what's going on and get them to accompany us in a second vehicle."

"We're bringing her here?" he asked in surprise. "What about the humans' Search and Rescue team? Sounds like she'll need a regular hospital."

A mysterious smile played about Nick's lips. "I have a feeling that's not going to work out so well."

"What-" Much to his annoyance, his boss left without explaining. "Damn."

Ryon stood, shrugging off the annoying hospital gown. Next went his briefs, tossed to join the gown. Naked and trembling from that small exertion, he focused on reaching out to his wolf in preparation for the shift, a process that wasn't typically as fluid and easy for him as it was for some of the other guys. Now, however, his wolf surged to the surface and completely took over, his anxiety to get to the injured woman almost a physical need.

Muscle and bone popped, morphed. His body rearranged itself, fur sprouting from his skin, muzzle lengthening, tail growing, hands and feet becoming paws. All of this in less than five seconds.

Immediately he felt stronger. Not fully healed, but he would last until the raven-haired beauty was found and brought back safely. The pull to do just that got him moving.

Steady on four legs, he bolted from the room and down the infirmary's corridor. Ryon ran straight to the recreation room where many of his friends could be found loitering away their downtime on any given day, and he wasn't surprised to find that today was no different.

Hammer and Aric were there, playing a video game on the Wii, and Micah Chase and Kalen Black were watching a rerun of Ghost Hunters. The foursome stopped what they were doing, giving him their full attention as he skidded to a stop and shifted back.

"Damn, my eyes!" Aric moaned as the others laughed. "I guess you're feeling better, huh? At least put on some pants."

They all knew the redheaded wolf was teasing-the Pack had been together long enough that they didn't care about nudity before or after their shifts. But Ryon didn't have the time or patience to play along.

"I need you guys," he said, holding on to the sofa for support. In human form he wasn't as well as he'd like, but it couldn't be helped at the moment. "We've got an injured hiker out there, and we're mobilizing."

Hammer, the team's gentle giant and Nick's righthand man, rubbed his bald head, perplexed. "That's not our job. What about Search and Rescue?"

"The woman appeared to me in astral form and begged for my help," he explained impatiently, unable to hide his anxiety. He chose to leave out Nick's interesting response to that very question Ryon had asked. "Getting S and R involved will take time she doesn't have. There's no way a bunch of humans will be able to find her before we do, and she's going to die if we don't hurry."