Her Wanted Wolf Read Online Free Page A

the owl snatch a mouse scrambling through
the dead leaves on the ground a dozen yards away, proof his ears and eyes
retained their acuteness. It was only his sense of smell that had deserted him.
    Drew stuck his muzzle into the ground and sniffed the loamy dirt that
would be rich with the odor of decaying vegetation. At such close proximity, he
should smell something. Nothing. It wasn’t possible. Then it hit him. There was
nothing wrong with him. It was his surroundings.
    The air, the ground, the trees were devoid of all scent, including the
vital trace of the wolf he followed. One question was answered, but he still
had a mystery to solve. What could wipe away the scents of nature?
    Drew trotted forward a few feet and stopped. Concealed by the thickness
of a clump of trees, he hesitated. He sniffed the air again. Still nothing. He
gritted his teeth, fighting the urge to rush forward blindly. Near bursting
with frustration, he conceded neither speed nor brute force would get him what
he wanted.
    Stealth and cunning would.
    Think, Drew, think. He sunk to the ground and pressed his body
into the earth. The vibrations of a four-pawed animal’s steady swift gait
reached him. He zeroed in on his target’s position by the direction of the
reverberations. The wolf he followed was exactly where Drew figured he’d be and
lengthening the distance between them rapidly. He’d lose him soon if they
didn’t find his scent trail.
    Drew shifted into human form.
    The sleek compact sinew of his wolf gave way to the longer, bulkier body
of his man-form. The larger balls of his joints snapped into their sockets. His
paws lengthened and separated into long, tactile fingers. Nerve endings tingled
as his fur receded to expose smooth skin stretched taut over a long frame. The
transformation left him shuddering. His limbs felt uncoordinated and
cumbersome. He’d lived as a wolf for months, far too long.
    Drew paused to reacquaint himself with the differences in his perceptions
and physique. He shivered when the wind caressed his skin like loving
fingertips.
    The kinks in the stiff muscles covering his body eased as he flexed them.
Hunger and weariness weighed him down more in this body. Bare skin was a
disadvantage and a handicap right now.
    Eyes closed, Drew focused. The wolf’s spoor would rise with the heat his
body gave off.
    Taking care not to abrade his skin, Drew clambered up a tree. He wasn’t
about to put the scent of his blood into the air. He inhaled and grinned with
relief. He was right. He could smell. The redolence of autumn filled his
nostrils. Decaying leaves combined with the sweet scent of wild apples drifted
by on a brisk breeze.
    Drew’s head jerked up when he caught a faint telltale whiff of musk. His
lips twisted with wolfish anticipation for the moment he located his sister.
    He separated the piney tang of sap from the dense smell of wet bark, and
the sweet sootiness of moist dirt to focus on the wolf’s spoors lingering on
the air. Drew marked the wolf’s scent-trail.
    Got him.
    Careful not to disturb the leaves, he slid in silence to the ground. In a
single fluid motion, he shifted back into his more efficient hunting form.
    One with his wolf, he used the inherent skills of his kind and slunk through
the thicket. With each lope, he gained ground on the were he pursued. In spite
of his rush to catch up, he took care not to step on any brittle twigs or to
brush against any trees.
    His nostrils flared when the faint hint of another scent mingled with the
were’s. Drew pulled to a stop, his body tense, and listened for any sound of
the wolf backtracking.
    Something was off. The wolf’s scent had changed. The ripe testosterone
vapors blended with something sweeter.
    The beguiling fragrance of a she-wolf drifted down to Drew. Unable to
help himself, his tongue flicked out to catch the invisible airborne flavor of
the unknown female. He tasted and savored her essence. Ambrosia.
    Inhaling deeply, he filled his lungs