Anna Keaton - Falke’s Peak

Dakota nodded at Axel’s back and followed as he led her up the sloping hillside.

This woman is impressing the hell out of me .

Gunnar’s thoughts entered his mind telepathically, and Axel nodded. They’d just reached the deeper, denser part of the forest where he promised Dakota they’d stop for another rest. After this break, they’d have about two hours to go before reaching the cabin.

They were making much better time than he’d expected.

Her breathing was only slightly labored from the trek. She’d stopped him several times for a drink of water, following directions well and taking care not to get dehydrated. Of course, if she hadn’t stopped him, he’d have forced her to drink, but that hadn’t been necessary. They’d had a longer break around noon to eat the sandwiches Heidi packed for them.

Axel unfastened his snowshoes and stepped out of them, going up on tiptoe a couple of times to stretch his calves. Then he went to Dakota, who stood still, watching Gunnar with a wary eye.

“He’s harmless,” Axel said for the tenth time that day as he reached for the buckles holding her pack around her chest. “Let’s get you out of this for a few minutes.”

“He’s a wild animal,” she said. “They go crazy all the time. I read the newspapers. Heck, dogs go feral too, and they’re house pets.”

Humph . Maybe just a little bite…

Axel narrowed his eyes at Gunnar. Don’t even think about it, buddy.

Because she might like it and you’re claiming her as yours?

She’s a client , Axel reminded his brother, though he had a hard time remembering that very fact.

He bent to loosen the straps on Dakota’s snowshoes. She was as impressive as hell. There were signs that she was wearing down. The last half hour had been slower than the rest of the day, and he’d seen her stumble a couple of times. He hadn’t been able to keep from pushing her limits, though, just to see where they were, how much she could take. She took it all, even grinning at him when he could tell she was starting to tire. Not a single word of complaint the whole day. Not one. Her biggest worry seemed to be Gunnar.

If she’s a client, why are you staring at her as if she’s a feast?

Shut up, pussy.

The puma hissed at him. Dakota flinched.

Knock it off, Axel warned . She’s nervous enough around you already.

“I have to…umm…” She pointed a thumb over her shoulder at the trees.

Axel shrugged out of his pack and then drew out a roll of earth-friendly toilet paper. She’d used the bushes twice already during their earlier breaks, so she knew the routine. Another good sign that she wasn’t dehydrated.

She grinned at him. “Thanks. Be right back.”

She walked a little stiffly, stopping a couple of times to stretch her lower back, before she disappeared behind a few trees.

“You need to behave yourself,” Axel whispered to Gunnar when he was sure she was out of earshot.

“She’s a client. A damn sexy one, but a client nonetheless. Look all you want, but there will be no touching.”

I’m just a big fucking pussy, remember? Gunnar’s tone was full of pissed off attitude. I’m not the one who needs to remember she’s paid for your company.

We’ve known each other our whole lives. I know when you’re hot for a piece of tail.

“Look, Gun, it’s—” Gunnar let out a savage hiss and dashed into the woods in the direction Dakota had gone.

Axel took off after him. “What is it?” he called to his brother, but Gunnar was already out of sight, too distant to maintain a connection with Axel in human form. “Fuck!” He ran faster.

Dakota screamed.

Axel crashed through the close-together evergreens, taking a swipe to his cheek from one spiky limb.

Gunnar made the cry of a panther on attack, and then snarls erupted. Axel cleared the trees to see Dakota on her back, frantically trying to pull up her pants, with Gunnar a few feet from her, on the other side of the small clearing, in an all-out brawl with the biggest damn gray wolf he’d ever seen.

The two predators tumbled in the snow amid a cacophony of fierce hisses and growls. Bared fangs and sharp claws. Then they broke apart as the wolf yelped like a beaten puppy and ran off into the woods.

Gunnar went after it, but Axel knew it was over. If the wolf was on the run, Gunnar would just make sure it kept running, not hurt it unnecessarily.

Dakota scrambled to her feet, her jeans up but unbuttoned, the ski pants around her ankles. She stared at the trees in the direction Gunnar and the wolf had disappeared, shaking as hard as a leaf in a hurricane.

“Hey,” he said softly as he approached her. “You okay?”

She nodded but didn’t turn toward him.

She raised her bare hand to her face.

He came around her and bent his knees to look her in the eye. Her hand was red where it covered her mouth. Her cheeks stark white except for the apples rosy from the cold. “Falke’s taken care of it. That wolf won’t be back.”

A hard shudder went through her, and she finally made eye contact with him. “I was…squatting…and heard a rustle. I turned my head and it was just…there.”

Axel gripped her arms. She looked like she needed the anchor.

No tears though.

Amazing . Most women would be blubbering messes by now. Maybe that would come after the shock wore off.

“It was probably just checking you out. Probably wouldn’t have hurt you anyway. Odd smells in the woods is all.” He knew better. Wolves avoided human smells when in the woods, unless they were hungry.

But Dakota needed reassurance right now that she was safe.

“You think?” she asked with quite a bit of hope in those two words, which made him smile.

“It’s possible.”

“Or I was lunch with my pants down.” She pulled back then and turned away to fasten her jeans and yank up her ski pants. While she collected herself, Axel picked up her gloves and the roll of toilet paper, shaking the loose snow off of them.

Dakota took a couple of deep breaths before she turned back. A small, strained laugh slipped out of her, and she wouldn’t meet his gaze. “Probably a heck of a sight, huh? Me bare-assed in the snow?”

Axel laughed and draped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her into a little hug. He wanted to wrap both arms around her, hold her for a minute or two, but instead guided her in the direction they’d come. She really was one hell of a woman. He didn’t think there would be any tears forthcoming, and fuck, that was nice. “Damn it,” he joked, “the pants were up before I got a glimpse of anything. Then again, maybe it was good you were doing what you were doing, or you’d have to change your pants.”

Dakota laughed and leaned into his side. She fit there a little too well. “Thank God I was done with that part!”

They made their way back through the twenty feet or so of thick underbrush to the trail where their packs sat. Gunnar was there, lying down, panting. When he saw them, he said, I got a small gash in my right haunch. Nothing serious, but could you check it when you can tear yourself away from her?

Axel dropped his arm. “I gotta check Falke.” To Gunnar he said, Any chance it was rabid? as he went to his pack and pulled out the first aid kit.

“He’s hurt?” Dakota asked, sounding more panicked over Gunnar than she had over the entire wolf incident.

No rabies , Gunnar said. Just hungry, I think. She’s got some babies in the area somewhere. She’s still nursing; I smelled it on her. Dakota probably would have been dinner if I hadn’t been here. Damn, that bitch was huge.