“Okay, thanks. Why is…she here?” Dylan asked, motioning to Roxie.

  Charlotte smiled. “I’m sure she wanted to know what had happened to you and why. Just as we all do.”

  He guessed that he hadn’t told anyone what had happened. “Can…can you get me something for my headache?”

  “Yeah, sure. Sorry. I should have asked you how you were feeling first thing. Your vital signs are all fine. I’ll be right back with some pain medication.” Charlotte left the room.

  Roxie stirred and suddenly sat up straight and stared at Dylan. “You’re awake.”

  He smiled at her. “I think I owe you my life.”

  She frowned at him. “Who nearly killed you?”

  “Jim Johnson, a hunter I was tracking and planning to arrest for illegally killing an elk.”

  He heard footfalls coming down the hallway, and then a sheriff and the nurse came into the room. The sheriff was a gray wolf too, to Dylan’s amazement.

  “I’m Peter Jorgenson, the sheriff of Silver Town. You can call me Peter.”

  The nurse gave Dylan some over-the-counter pain medication. “If you need something stronger, let me know,” she said, then left the room.

  Peter said, “If you’re feeling up to it, can you tell us what happened?”

  Dylan was puzzled. “You’re wolves.”

  “Uh, yeah.” Peter smiled. “All of Silver Town is wolf-run. So tell me about the man who hit you.”

  “Wolf-run.” Dylan couldn’t believe it. “I’m a special agent for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.”

  “Yes, we found your driver’s license and your badge indicating you work for the FWS. We knew you had suffered a blow to the head. Doc said you were lucky you didn’t end up with a skull fracture and only have a mild concussion. With our faster wolf healing abilities, you should be good in no time. We also found your gun and discovered you have a license to carry it. I have it locked up at the gun safe at the sheriff’s department for now, but I’ll have it returned to you as soon as you’re released from the clinic. You were awake for a few minutes in your clinic room when I came to see you earlier, but you were disoriented. You didn’t tell us what had happened to you prior to passing out on us and Dr. Summerfield shooing me out of the room. So now what’s the story? Do you remember anything?” the sheriff asked.

  “I was tracking four men who were hunting illegally. They’re armed with rifles, including the one who tried to crack my skull. That’s Jim Johnson.” Dylan gave the sheriff the men’s names and occupations. “Eddie drives an SUV that I found parked at the lodge, which means they could be staying there when they’re not out hunting. Eddie’s Colorado license plate is EJWEST, a personalized one so it’s easy to recognize.”

  “They were hunting out here?” Peter shook his head and texted someone. “Thanks, Dylan. We’ll put out an all-points bulletin on the SUV. When Jim registered for parking at the lodge, he gave someone else’s vehicle’s make and model and license plate number, so this gets us right on track.”

  Man, Jim had thought of everything.

  “Yeah. The four hunters have suspended hunting licenses. They separated, either on purpose or they lost each other in the snowstorm.” Dylan glanced at the window and realized the snow was still coming down.

  “So the one hunter followed you to the lodge?” the sheriff prompted.

  “No, I was tracking him to the ski lodge, but the next thing I knew, I was the prey. I saw his reflection in the swimming pool right before he struck me.”

  Peter rubbed his bearded chin. “We smelled his scent but couldn’t locate him. He’s human.”

  “Right, they all are. I’ve caught these guys before so they know me.”

  “But to go to such lengths to kill you? I mean, hell, that’s taking it to the extreme, don’t you think? They don’t get much time or many fines for hunting illegally, as far as I’ve seen, unless they’ve done it in our territory, on our property. Then we give the max allowable by law,” Peter said. “For attempted murder, that’s a whole other story.”

  “Yeah, I agree. They’d killed an elk, but I had also seen a young wolf. A teen wolf if he was a shifter. They’ve killed wolves before, so I was worried they might hunt him down next.”

  “Hell.” Peter yanked out his phone and called someone. “Hey, we’ve got a problem. Four hunters are illegally hunting in our territory, one of them who nearly killed Dylan, and possibly a teen wolf shifter is on his own in the woods. Check and see if any of our teens are missing. As soon as the weather clears, we’re on our way to apprehend these guys. All right.” He glanced at Dylan. “Yeah, he’s a special agent tracking these men. I’m not sure he’ll be able to go with us. I’m sure Dr. Summerfield will say no.”

  “I’m headed back out as soon as the snowstorm lets up,” Dylan said.

  “Okay, yeah, he’s going with us if Doc says it’s all right. I’ll talk to you later.” Then Peter slipped the phone in his pocket. “All right. So in the morning, or when this storm lets up, we’ll begin a manhunt.”

  Roxie pushed her hair back. “What about the security video on the outside pool? It should have caught the man striking you.”

  “Yeah, we checked, but we couldn’t get a good look at his face. Just the description of what he was wearing. But we can track his scent,” Peter said. “I asked your brother to look into room reservations for the four men.”

  Dylan said, “The hunter who hit me was Jim Johnson, the alpha human leader of the pack, so to speak. He’s a criminal defense attorney. The others just follow him. I’m sure that they also wanted to illegally hunt, but Jim is truly the one who is in charge when they go hunting.”

  Roxie got a call then. “Yeah, Landon?” For a couple of minutes, she didn’t say anything, and then she looked at Dylan. “Jim Johnson. Yeah, that’s him. Did he return to the room?” She let out her breath. “Okay, yeah, I’m with the victim and the sheriff at the clinic. I’ll let them know.” She got off the phone and said, “Jim Johnson had a room at the lodge. So did Fennel. Maybe that’s why Jim returned there. But when my brother Blake and Deputy Trevor Osgood checked on both of them, the rooms had already been cleared out. There was no luggage or anything else at all.”

  “Jim must have run to the room and packed everything in the car right away after he attempted to kill me. Were there any other recent scents?” Dylan asked.

  “Just Jim’s, the same scent near where you were hit at the swimming pool,” Roxie said.

  “Thanks so much for saving me, by the way.” Dylan gave her a lopsided smile. His head hurt too much to give anything else that resembled a more normal smile.

  “You’re welcome. Imagine my surprise to see you facedown in the pool while I was swimming.” She shuddered.

  The sheriff got a call back and answered it. “None? Okay, thanks.” When he ended the call, he shook his head. “Luckily, we have no missing teens.”

  “Okay, so I guess what I saw was just a wild wolf.” Dylan had been worried that a teen wolf shifter could be out in the blizzard while the hunters were still out there and could be hunting him down.

  The sheriff cleared his throat. “Most likely it’s a lone wild wolf out on his own. When we go out, you can show us where you saw it. We’ll try to track him down and see if we can find him to make sure it is just a wild wolf and not a shifter. So tell me all about the men you were tracking.”

  Dylan explained more about the four men, where they were located in Denver, and prior illegal hunting incidents.

  The sheriff shook his head. “You’d think their occupations would suffer because of their arrests.”

  “Yeah, money takes care of everything,” Dylan said.

  “Well, we’re going to get out of your hair and let you rest,” Peter said. “You look like you’re about ready to go back to sleep.”

  Dylan was tired. The pain medicine had seemed to kick in. He glanced at Roxie, wondering if she was going to leave too.

  She rose from the chair. “I’ll go home, now that I know you’re okay and know what this is all about.”

  “I’m taking you home because of the heavy snowstorm,” Peter said. The snow had picked up since Roxie had driven to the clinic. “Or you can stay with me and Meghan for the night.”

  “I have to take care of Rosco and Buttercup.”

  “Your brother can get them.” Peter seemed to be taking his role of friend and sheriff to heart, making sure she didn’t get herself into trouble.

  “All right. I don’t want you to risk driving me home. I’ll stay with you and Meghan.”

  “Have you ever been here before?” the sheriff asked Dylan.

  “No, actually, I haven’t.”

  “Well, since the town is wolf-run, we take illegal hunting seriously. We don’t want anyone like these men here on the loose who might end up killing one of our own kind. You’ve got all of us to help you with this case. Because they killed the elk and Jim tried to murder you in our territory, they’re under our jurisdiction. We get results.”

  “But the men always get off on criminal charges based on illegal hunting.” Dylan hated that they did, though he liked that Silver Town was wolf-run, and having wolves at his back sure appealed. Like him, their enhanced senses would help them track down the hunters.

  “Not this time.” Peter spoke with assurance.

  “Good.” Dylan was glad for that, but he wouldn’t believe it until he actually saw them sentenced for their crimes and getting stiff penalties.

  Then the sheriff and Roxie left Dylan alone, and he sighed. He wanted to go out and look for the men right now while they were stuck some place in the snowstorm. Dylan finally closed his eyes. But all he could envision was being out in the snowstorm, seeing the wolf running, the dead elk, the man in the hooded parka’s reflection in the pool, the warm water as it enveloped him, and Roxie’s pretty brown eyes staring back at him. Her lips had been moving but he couldn’t hear her words.

  “Oh, Roxie, I can’t imagine what you had to go through.” Sheriff Peter’s mate, Meghan, was helping Roxie add a couple of blankets to the guest-room bed for her.

  “I’m just so glad I was able to revive him. Thanks so much for taking me in like this.” Meghan and Peter had a lovely home, but Roxie really preferred being in her own home for the night.

  “Think nothing of it. It’s too dangerous to drive home in this, and though Peter would take you to your place—”

  “It’s too dangerous for him also. I worry about the teen wolf Dylan saw.” Roxie couldn’t quit thinking of him. What if he was one of their kind? Or what if he wasn’t? He would still need to have protection.

  “Dylan had been injured.” Meghan sounded like she thought he might not have remembered the situation clearly about that. She gave Roxie a warm sleep T-shirt to wear for the night.

  “Yes, but he seemed clearheaded about that. Tired, but he seemed to know what he saw. I’m just worried that even though the wolf might not have been missing from anyone’s home here, what if he truly is a lupus garou and was camping or hiking or something? Maybe he was staying at one of the cabins even.”

  Peter joined them and said, “We’re checking at the campsites too. So far, no one has reported a wolf family at one of the campsites that have a missing teen.”

  Roxie sighed. “Okay.” She decided she would also go on the search tomorrow for the wolf and the hunters. “Thanks for everything.”

  “If you need anything, just let us know.” Then Meghan and Peter headed for bed.

  Roxie pulled off all her clothes but her panties, slipped on the soft T-shirt featuring a sleeping wolf, and climbed into bed. She called Blake as she pulled her covers over her. “Hey, I’m staying with Meghan and Peter overnight because of the snowstorm.”

  “What are you doing over there?” Blake sounded concerned.

  “I just went to see Dylan, the man I rescued from the pool.” She told her brother what she’d learned about Dylan. “The weather’s so bad, Peter offered for me to stay here. But that means I need you to take care of Rosco and Buttercup tonight.”

  “I’m on it.”

  “Thanks. Are you going out with the search party tomorrow?” she asked.

  “No. We need to stay at the lodge in case any of those men return there.”

  “Oh.” She hadn’t thought of that. When they said the one man had packed their bags in the vehicle, she figured they hadn’t stuck around and wouldn’t be coming back. “I want to take Rosco on the search for the hunters and the teen wolf. Can you handle any issues we have without me for the time being?”

  Blake was silent for a moment.

  “Okay, listen, I’m doing this.”

  “Yeah, it’s fine. You know I just worry about you, right? I’d go, but that’s fine. I’m glad Dylan is doing well.”

  “Me too. I’m going to sleep, Blake. We have a busy day tomorrow.”

  “We do. We are all proud of you. Good night, Roxie.”

  “Thanks, and night, Blake.” She set her phone on the bedside table and closed her eyes, but all she could think about was diving under the divider in the pool and seeing a fully clothed, backpack-wearing male body sinking to the bottom of the water. And giving him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, praying she could revive him.

  Chapter 4

  In the middle of the night, Dylan woke, sat up in bed, wondered where he was, and realized again that he was at the clinic in Silver Town. He ran his hands through his hair and settled back against the pillow. He hoped he would be able to get out of here shortly so he could head out on the search for the hunters. Though he suspected by now Jim had picked up his friends and the elk and hightailed out of there, if the sheriff and his men hadn’t already arrested them.

  He closed his eyes, thinking it would never be daytime, but before he knew it, Dr. Summerfield was looking at his chart, the nurse on duty was checking Dylan’s vital signs, and Sheriff Peter Jorgenson was getting ready to send out search parties. He was standing at the foot of the bed with his hands on his hips, eager for the doctor’s verdict.

  Hell, Dylan felt fine and sat up in bed, but then he got dizzy and fought cursing out loud. Dr. Summerfield raised a brow and Dylan suspected then he’d voiced the curse for everyone to hear, despite his best intentions.

  “How are you feeling?” Dr. Summerfield asked. “Your vital signs look good.”

  “I’m ready to search for the guys I was after before the one got the best of me,” Dylan said.

  “You appear to still be having a headache. We’ll give you something for it, and I believe Peter wants to talk to you,” the doctor said.

  “I do too,” a man said, coming into the room and looking like he was in charge. “I’m Darien Silver. My mate, Lelandi, and I run the pack here. Well, the whole town actually. My brother Jake, my second-in-command, and my brother Tom, my third-in-command, will be searching with you. One of them will be with you at all times in case you have any residual effects from the injuries you suffered.”

  Dylan really had thought he’d do this on his own—with search parties, sure, but not…with them. From the firmness of Darien’s voice, Dylan knew the plan was nonnegotiable. “Yeah, sure.” He understood why the pack leaders set the rules. They wanted to make sure that no one was hurt unnecessarily while under their charge.

  He suspected Darien was already steamed over Dylan nearly being killed at the lodge swimming pool. Since no one was budging, Dylan didn’t wait for anyone to leave. He climbed out of bed, grabbed his boxer briefs out of a storage closet for the patient’s belongings, and pulled them on under his gown. His clothes smelled like they’d been washed, no chlorine smell.

  “I’ll wait for you in the waiting area.” The sheriff left the room.

  Another man joined them. He looked similar to Darien, with dark hair, dark eyes, and the same tall stature. “This is my brother Jake. I’m serious about Jake and Tom sticking with you,” Darien said.

  Dylan pulled off his gown and slipped on his pants. He assumed that Darien wasn’t as worried that he might collapse from his injuries as he was worried that the attacker who attempted to kill Dylan would try to finish the job. Especially if Jim knew Dylan had recognized him when he struck the special agent at the pool.

  Darien said, “I’ll leave you in good hands. Welcome to Silver Town.” Then he left.

  “If you have any dizziness or feel otherwise poorly, get in touch with my nurses or me,” Dr. Summerfield advised, and then he left.

  The nurse finished her paperwork and followed him out.

  Jake said, “Sorry for such a poor welcome to the town.”

  “It has nothing to do with your town and all to do with the men I’m after. So think nothing of it.” Dylan slipped his sweater over his head, then sat down on the chair to pull on his socks and boots.

  “Well, your savior, Roxie Wolff, is coming with us too. She’s bringing her family’s avalanche rescue dog, Rosco. He actually lay down with you to keep you warm while she went to get help.”

  “Oh, I guess that’s why I smelled of dog and chlorine too. I figure Jim was gone by the time Roxie found me in the pool.” When Dylan had gained consciousness poolside, he had worried that Jim could have still been there, and she could have been a victim too.

  “Apparently she was swimming in the pool indoors when Jim attacked you. When she swam into the outside pool, she saw you sinking facedown and rescued you,” Jake said.

  Dylan frowned. He realized she had to have been freezing when she dragged him out of the pool. He kept rethinking the whole situation over and over again, trying to recall the spotty details of what had happened.

  “She kept you warm too.”

  “She was wearing a wet bathing suit at the time?” He had thought she was wearing sweats when he saw her. But everything had been a bit hazy while his head had been splitting in two.