Chapter 1

I keep telling myself that I won't die.

I can't die in the mountains, where scavengers would scatter my bones, leaving them bleached in the rocks and scrub. I can't do that to my parents. My family would search for me, but I was well beyond our territory. My Mom would never know what happened to me.

I know I'm choking on my blood on the side of a hill with an antler tine buried in my chest. I was strong, and I was stubborn. I was a damn Beta in my pack and one badass she-wolf.

No, I was going to make it. I'm not quitting.

My determination did not change the fact that the antler had punctured my lung. I was bleeding out my mouth and painfully coughing up blood, and night would be here soon. I had to drag myself to shelter, or I'd never make it through the cold night. My paws stretched forward, my claws digging into the pine straw and dirt of the forest floor. Every inch of progress towards the deadfall fifty feet away was a struggle. Every movement hurt. I labored to catch a breath. When I coughed, the blood would spray my front legs. I couldn't stand, but my back legs helped push me forward, inch by inch.

I focused on the immediate. Set a target a few feet ahead. Crawl through the pain to get there. Get a new target. Lather, rinse, repeat. Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming. Don't give up. Don't EVER give up. Pain is transitory.

No one will even start looking for me until late tomorrow. I had told my parents I was going for a long run and would be back by morning. They had work, and I had been running these mountains my entire life.

I was home from college, and they knew I needed to let my wolf out for a while. Our house was on the edge of our Pack lands and west of Salmon, Idaho. The Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness Area was a short run away, and beyond that was the biggest remaining roadless area in the Lower 48. The name originated when Lewis and Clark tried to take the Salmon River west. They couldn't get past the rapids and couldn't paddle back upstream either. It's a pack hunting ground for us. Now that grey wolves have protection, we can run without being in danger of a rancher shooting us on sight. There are mule deer, antelope, and other tasty prey in abundance.

The mule deer buck wasn't supposed to hurt me, but I was sloppy and overconfident. I hadn't hunted such big prey alone, but the animal was limping, and I was hungry. I thought the deer would bolt when it saw me leaping for him. I was already in the air before I realized I was wrong. He twisted, his horns slamming into my chest. One tine broke off between my ribs as he flung me aside. I crashed heavily to the ground while the buck limped away.

I thought about the fun things I could do when I finally returned home. I was going to take a long, hot shower. I'd cuddle up in the window seat with a good book while the snow flew. I could gaze up at the moon and dream about the moment I would meet my mate, the one person made just for me, the one who would be with me forever. I'd known his scent since puberty. I'd daydreamed about what he might look like when I saw him. He smelled like oak, leather, and fresh rain. I dreamed he would be strong, kind, and handsome.

We would sense each other. Our eyes would meet, and then we would run together, ignoring everyone around us. I'd visualized myself as I jumped into my broad chest. I'd feel two strong arms wrapping around me as I spun around. Our lips would meet in an explosion of tingles that would leave me breathless. My new mate would carry me back to his room and make me his woman. He would mark me as his by biting my neck, and I would bite him back.

We'd have our happily ever after, raising our children and serving the Pack.

Well, not if I don't get my sorry ass to shelter soon.

It was getting more difficult to move as I lost more blood. Every time I stretched my front paws out, I would whine with the pain of doing so. I was concentrating so much on my progress that I didn't notice the sounds of an intruder.

I smelled him first.

My head snapped up. Oak, leather, fresh rain, it was HIM! My mate!

I held my nose up, sampling the wind as my eyes searched for my destined mate. I could hear his footsteps on the hard ground but could not see anything. I whined, howled, then I howled again despite the pain, but he didn't answer. He was coming closer, though. His smell was strengthening, making my body shiver in anticipation. I could hear him moving through the brush.

Finally, he broke through.

My first thought was how strong and handsome he looked.

My second thought was to wonder why Luna paired me with a HUMAN?

I whined in anticipation as he approached. He was tall, easily over six feet. He wore a plaid shirt buttoned low. The top gave a hint at the bulging muscles underneath the olive-drab t-shirt. His shoulders were broad, his waist flat and narrow, and his thighs and calves were thick with muscles. He carried a large frame backpack with a tent and sleeping bag on shoulder straps and a waist belt. He also wore a big stainless steel revolver holstered low on his right hip. His hair was dark brown, and he had a scruff of beard like he hadn't shaved in a week. I was staring at him with my tongue wagging, thanking Luna for giving me such a HOT male. He was more than I had dreamed.

He stopped about ten feet from me, his eyes hidden by his sunglasses as he sized me up.

I put my head down and whined softly. The last thing I needed was for him to be scared of me and pull that pistol! Even worse, what would I do if he thought it would be merciful to put me out of my misery? I wished I could change back into my human form, but I didn't have the energy. Even for a mate, I couldn't shift in front of a human without risking my own life. I tried to lift my head to keep looking at him, but I was at the end of my energy reserves.

My neck fell to the dirt, and I rolled to my side.

"Damn, girl, that doesn't look good." Blood soaked my black fur, and the antler tine was sticking out. I licked the blood off my muzzle and whined again. He moved closer, and I could see his concern for me as he removed his sunglasses.

His right eye was a striking green color. His left eye was gone, the eyelid sewn shut. An angry scar went from just above his nose down to his left ear. I whined softly, trying to get him to come closer. I watched him pull out a bandana from his back pocket. With one hand on his pistol, he circled in front of me while his other held the fabric out. "Easy, girl, I won't hurt you. I'm going to see if I can help, all right? Just stay calm. Everything will be fine as long as you don't bite me." His deep voice soothed me, and I relaxed as he approached. He looped the fabric and tied it around my muzzle as I looked at him in puzzlement.

"Good girl. I'm sorry about this, but I have to protect myself. This next part will hurt, and I don't want you biting me."

He set his pack down and started to dig around inside. He pulled out a bag, red with a big red cross on it. "Wilderness first aid kit. Don't leave home without it." He smiled and stroked my head and neck as he moved closer. He was kneeling on his right knee next to my chest, looking through the bag for something, when I noticed his leg. His jeans had risen above his boot, and I could see a titanium tube leading to his artificial foot.

I saw him take out gauze, alcohol, forceps, a packet of Quickclot, a scalpel, and a field dressing. He took a powerful headlamp flashlight out and placed it on his forehead. Setting the instruments aside, he took off his plaid shirt and laid it over my head. "Sorry, girl, you don't want to see what I have to do here." I focused on remaining still. He was going to help me, and he was my mate, so I could trust him.

I heard the sound of latex gloves snapping on his wrists. Soon he was probing the area near the antler. I whined softly as his artificial leg gently draped over my neck and his shirt, holding my head down so I wouldn't move. "All right, this will hurt, but I have to do this. If you don't bite me, I'll fix you up. Today isn't the first time I've done field surgery on a sucking chest wound, my wolf. You're lucky I found you in time." I whined as he gripped the antler, moving it slightly, and then he pulled.

White-hot agony in my chest. I passed out from the pain.

I woke up not knowing how long I had been out. It must have been hours because it was dark out. The only light came from a nearby campfire. My mate's scent was strong around me, and that helped keep me calm. Everything hurt, especially breathing, but I wasn't laboring to catch a breath like before.

I looked around without moving my head and paid attention to my senses. The first thing I noticed was that I was warm. I was lying on the top of his sleeping bag, and the soft insulation felt good on my fur. I could see his tent over me. He'd put my head near the entrance and left the flaps wide open. He was wise to do so; if I panicked and ran off, I wouldn't rip his tent up on the way. The entrance faced a small fire that held back the cooling night air. On the side of the fire was a small metal pan. I could smell the rice and beef dish cooking, and it smelled amazing.

I couldn't see or hear my mate. I raised my head and looked down at my body. I could feel the bandage on my chest and an ace bandage loosely surrounding it to hold it in place. I could also tell he had cleaned the blood from my fur. I decided to risk moving around and rolled until I was on my stomach. It hurt, and I closed my eyes until the pain ebbed. My aching body wasn't ready to do it again.

I decided to wait for him to come back. I put my head down on my paws and soon fell asleep again.