No matter what Misty’s reaction or how she responded when she learned of their involvement with Renee, he refused to turn away. For Renee, he’d face his sister’s temper. Kansas would do the same—he sensed his twin’s determination through their bond. They’d all placed their mark on Renee—some of them more than others. They’d linked themselves to her, and he didn’t regret the tie to the human woman, not when the rightness of the action pulsed through his mind.
Dakota kept moving for the next hour, the tundra growing increasingly white with the unrelenting snow and more difficult to navigate. His confidence in his oldest brother’s navigation didn’t falter. Calian had always kept in contact with his wolf. He’d get them to Renee, and he and Kansas with their twin bond would help her heal.
Stay strong, Renee. We love you, and we’re coming. Stay strong.
Matto had it easier, following in the footsteps of his older brothers. Ahead, Kansas and Dakota struggled, their fitness levels not as high as Calian’s. Matto embraced the meaning of his name. Brave warrior. He maintained the fierce pace, set by Calian, his love of running and rugby helping him to keep up without difficulty.
He noted their surroundings. The stunted trees, looming like gray wraiths in the dark. The frozen lakes, some shallow that they splashed through and others deeper that Calian skirted. The rocks. The first three hours of their journey was across flattish land with minimal plants. Now, as they edged into the final part of their run, the panorama turned into undulating ground. The wind whistled over the ridges, blowing snow into drifts. Some they avoided while others they waded through of necessity.
Calian led them unerringly toward the lodge, the starting point in their systematic search.
Renee. Her name pounded through his soul.Renee. Renee.
For this woman, he’d do anything. His brothers, the same.
They’d claimed her, and they were coming for their mate.
13 – On The Trail Of Renee
“Where are you, Samantha? I hate the cold. I hate the snow. And I hate you for making me come to this godforsaken place.”
The assassin sounded closer, her mood increasingly grumpier. Hide or try to find a weapon?
Weapon. If the assassin didn’t finish her off, the polar bear might. She still couldn’t figure out why the bear had left, why her limbs remained intact. Where had this extra jacket come from?
And more troubling, had she hallucinated? She was almost certain the bear had turned into a man, yet when she’d managed to turn her head all she’d seen was a bear.
Renee bit back the agony racking her limbs and crawled across the uneven ground toward the helicopter. Each chopper came equipped with a pistol for use in emergencies. If she reached that, she’d have surprise on her side.
Her chopper lay in several pieces. It hadn’t burst into flames, but she smelled fuel. When her shots at Renee had missed, the assassin had struck her tail rotor. A lucky shot had downed her chopper.
A menacing growl rippled across the clearing.
Renee froze.
A shot fired.
A blood-curdling scream rippled through the air. Another savage growl. An equally terrifying scream that cut short.
Then nothing but silence.
Renee groaned and attempted to shift her bodyweight to a more comfortable position. She listened for the assassin’s next move. She listened for the bear.
She heard nothing, and that was the worst of all.
* * * * *
Calian spotted the lodge through the fall of snow and released a yip of encouragement. Sax had told him to eat from the stores in the kitchen and try to get a call back via the satellite phone to let the Hallsten brothers know that they’d made it that far.
He doubted he’d make contact in this white-out. The weather had grown increasingly worse as they traveled. After leading his brothers to the rear door, he shifted to open the lodge. They needed to start a fire to warm up and to heat soup or canned meat stew. Maybe both since they’d burned through a lot of reserves during the run here. Part of him was still amazed his younger brothers had gone the distance.
In the kitchen, he crouched in front of the potbelly stove, thankful to the thoughtful person who’d left the fire ready to start. His fingers trembled as he lit a match, but soon the flame caught and, reassured the fire would go, he turned to his brothers.
Sax had suggested he switch on the generator. He’d do that in a minute.
Kansas and Dakota appeared the worst, their faces gray with fatigue. Matto didn’t look as if he’d run all those miles. His youngest brother’s eyes sparkled and a healthy tinge colored his cheeks. His bright gaze told Calian that Matto had more miles in him yet.
Calian poured glasses of water for the twins first. “Drink this slowly. Don’t guzzle or you’ll vomit it back up.”
