there were no sounds, no screams. That could have been either good or bad.
Once she was perched securely, she gave a soft whistle, high-pitched, one that she and John had used to communicate with each other. There was no response, and Drew could sense her distress. He growled low, indicating she should try again. And again the whistle cut through the night.
Brian had shifted and taken a pair of the NVGs from Regan. He stood by the tree, watching for any activity past the fence. Ann Marie whistled again, and suddenly there he was, a huge grey and white wolf, limping badly and whining but making his way towards them.
Drew looked up at Ann Marie. “Tell him to shift.”
Brian had already climbed the tree, one coil of rope over his shoulder.
“John,” Ann Marie hissed. “These people are helping us. You have to shift now.”
The wolf stood there as if uncertain what to do. Maybe sensing a trap.
“Shift,” she ordered in a slightly louder voice. “I don’t know how much time we have.”
In an instant, a naked man with shoulder-length brown hair and a sculpted face stood where the wolf had been. On his left thigh was an angry wound, obviously untreated.
“John, I’m Brian. We don’t have much time. When I throw this rope down to you, tie it under your arms.”
John looked confused, but when Ann Marie nodded, he caught the rope and did as he was told. Regan handed a thick blanket up to Ann Marie, and with one toss she covered a part of the fence. Just as the night before, the electrified wire hissed and sparked. With Brian and Ann Marie pulling, bracing himself on the top where the blanket was, John was able to hoist himself up and over the fence. On the other side, Regan and Sierra helped him to land.
Sierra handed him a pair of Drew’s sweats to put on.
“W-What’s happening?” he asked Ann Marie, as they hugged each other.
ANIMAL INSTINCTS
Desiree Holt
47
“Later,” she answered. “We have to get out of here right now. This is Regan and Sierra.
They aren’t shifters but they are married to two of these men who are. You’ll ride back with Sierra so you don’t aggravate that wound.”
John might have argued or asked more questions but the look on his face told them he realised the urgency of the situation. Once he and the women were mounted up and had headed off, Ann Marie and Brian shifted again and the wolves began the return journey.
Back at the ranch house, Cale, the medic of the group, cleaned and dressed John’s wound while Drew made him a thick milkshake.
“You look like you haven’t been fed too well,” he commented. “You’ll need to take it easy with the food. This is good to start with.”
The next hour was filled with questions and answers, as Ann Marie brought her brother up to date, and John gave them information about the preserve.
“What they really like to do,” he said in a bitter voice, “is either trap animals or bring them in from the outside, wound them so they aren’t at full capacity. Then they hunt them from pickups. Usually the shoot at them for a long time, frightening them, before that final shot.”
“How did you manage to stay alive?” his sister wanted to know.
“I’m good at hiding. They were usually drunk so I guess they didn’t miss me.”
From the descriptions he gave them of the men he’d seen, Drew realised it was the people he suspected. It angered him that men could use their power like that and hide behind the faces they put on for the community.
It was a long time before everyone was ready to bed down for the night. But as Drew reminded them, Jesse would be calling in the morning and they’d need to be ready for whatever he’d been able to arrange.
ANIMAL INSTINCTS
Desiree Holt
48
John argued that he should be allowed to go on the raid, but finally accepted the fact that he was weak, and his wound needed to heal. He waited with the women for word of success.
The men rendezvoused with the state
Once she was perched securely, she gave a soft whistle, high-pitched, one that she and John had used to communicate with each other. There was no response, and Drew could sense her distress. He growled low, indicating she should try again. And again the whistle cut through the night.
Brian had shifted and taken a pair of the NVGs from Regan. He stood by the tree, watching for any activity past the fence. Ann Marie whistled again, and suddenly there he was, a huge grey and white wolf, limping badly and whining but making his way towards them.
Drew looked up at Ann Marie. “Tell him to shift.”
Brian had already climbed the tree, one coil of rope over his shoulder.
“John,” Ann Marie hissed. “These people are helping us. You have to shift now.”
The wolf stood there as if uncertain what to do. Maybe sensing a trap.
“Shift,” she ordered in a slightly louder voice. “I don’t know how much time we have.”
In an instant, a naked man with shoulder-length brown hair and a sculpted face stood where the wolf had been. On his left thigh was an angry wound, obviously untreated.
“John, I’m Brian. We don’t have much time. When I throw this rope down to you, tie it under your arms.”
John looked confused, but when Ann Marie nodded, he caught the rope and did as he was told. Regan handed a thick blanket up to Ann Marie, and with one toss she covered a part of the fence. Just as the night before, the electrified wire hissed and sparked. With Brian and Ann Marie pulling, bracing himself on the top where the blanket was, John was able to hoist himself up and over the fence. On the other side, Regan and Sierra helped him to land.
Sierra handed him a pair of Drew’s sweats to put on.
“W-What’s happening?” he asked Ann Marie, as they hugged each other.
ANIMAL INSTINCTS
Desiree Holt
47
“Later,” she answered. “We have to get out of here right now. This is Regan and Sierra.
They aren’t shifters but they are married to two of these men who are. You’ll ride back with Sierra so you don’t aggravate that wound.”
John might have argued or asked more questions but the look on his face told them he realised the urgency of the situation. Once he and the women were mounted up and had headed off, Ann Marie and Brian shifted again and the wolves began the return journey.
Back at the ranch house, Cale, the medic of the group, cleaned and dressed John’s wound while Drew made him a thick milkshake.
“You look like you haven’t been fed too well,” he commented. “You’ll need to take it easy with the food. This is good to start with.”
The next hour was filled with questions and answers, as Ann Marie brought her brother up to date, and John gave them information about the preserve.
“What they really like to do,” he said in a bitter voice, “is either trap animals or bring them in from the outside, wound them so they aren’t at full capacity. Then they hunt them from pickups. Usually the shoot at them for a long time, frightening them, before that final shot.”
“How did you manage to stay alive?” his sister wanted to know.
“I’m good at hiding. They were usually drunk so I guess they didn’t miss me.”
From the descriptions he gave them of the men he’d seen, Drew realised it was the people he suspected. It angered him that men could use their power like that and hide behind the faces they put on for the community.
It was a long time before everyone was ready to bed down for the night. But as Drew reminded them, Jesse would be calling in the morning and they’d need to be ready for whatever he’d been able to arrange.
ANIMAL INSTINCTS
Desiree Holt
48
John argued that he should be allowed to go on the raid, but finally accepted the fact that he was weak, and his wound needed to heal. He waited with the women for word of success.
The men rendezvoused with the state
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