Angela inhaled the various forest scents and tried to steady her breathing. She knew she was insane to sneak onto the land of the most powerful werewolf in the United States. But she had no choice.
Her best friend had been taken by these animals and she planned to get her back. She didn't care what her tribe leader, Titus, said. She'd been stuck living with his coven for the past fifty years and while she normally didn't mind his Draconian rules, she'd gladly suffer the consequences to get Natalia back. If she was still alive. Who knew what those animals had done to her by now? Natalia had only been gone about a week but the animosity between vampires and werewolves went back thousands of years. It didn't matter that in a few months their two species would be signing a peace treaty. Right now nothing had been signed and her friend was fair game.
The icy wind whistled through the leaves of the giant red oak trees. Even though it was January, a lot of the foliage was still thick and would help block her scent.
She peered around the giant tree she'd been using as cover. Her eyes narrowed when she spotted the outline of a huge male by another tree about forty yards away. Even though he was in human form, she knew he was a shifter. Of the wolf variety if she scented right.
Luck was on her side since she was downwind of him. Withdrawing her gun, she glanced around the rest of the forest but didn't see or smell anything else unusual. Since his back was to her, she darted twenty yards closer until she hid behind another large tree.
She wasn't sure if she could take on a trained, warrior wolf by herself so she knew she couldn't miss this first shot. Raising her weapon, she held her breath and aimed directly for the spot below his skull.
The small puff of noise the tranquilizer dart made as it shot through her suppresser was enough for him to notice.
He stiffened but it was too late.
By the time he turned toward her, the tranq was already embedded deep in his skin. The giant shifter stumbled once, twisted in her direction then narrowed his gaze at her before he fell face-first in the dirt and grass.
Her friend Mick had been right. Those sedatives did their job fast. Unfortunately it wouldn't last long on a shifter his size. She quickly secured his hands behind his back with silver bindings, took his weapons and his radio.
If others found out about her presence, she'd know about it soon enough. She hooked the radio on her belt and tossed his guns and blades behind a nearby tree before continuing north. She'd been traveling on foot for miles so she knew it wouldn't be long until she reached her destination.
The sound of nearby male voices made her freeze in her tracks. Instead of trying to hide, she crouched down where she was. Until she figured out where the voices were coming from, she didn't want to make any sudden movements or risk anyone scenting her.
"I've been trying to get King on his radio but he won't pick up," one of them said.
Another male chuckled. "He's probably getting a piece of tail... Hey, what the..."
Crap. They'd spotted her. With her heightened night vision she could finally see the two outlines of male figures near a tree line. Judging by their stiff and alert posture, they'd seen her, too. It didn't matter that she wore all dark camouflage, blended in with her surroundings and had a much lower heat signature than they did. All they'd have to do was see something about her that didn't blend in with nature. Like her eyes. They likely looked like freaking Christmas lights to them.
She had two options. One was running. Even if she escaped it wouldn't matter. Her friend would still be captive.
She'd have to take the other option - go on the offensive.
