Kayla Gabriel - Winter Lodge Wolves Complete Boxed Set

It turned Harlan’s stomach. Didn’t they realize that the werewolves they were hunting were also human beings a good portion of the time? It was sick. The thought made him even more angry that Chase had ordered the Triad not to kill the hunters if it could be helped.

Apparently killing humans on Chase’s land would only make werewolves look like vicious, untamed murderers… no matter how bad the human hunters might be.

Harlan looked down the scope of his rifle, taking careful aim. He released five quick shots, hitting low hanging tree branches and piles of snow above the hunters’ heads. One dropped right where he stood, hands flying up to protect his head as he dove into a snow bank.

Amateur .

The other two at least had the sense to take cover behind a cluster of trees. One of them gestured to the others, giving Harlan the impression that he was in charge of their little group.

Then again, for all their fancy equipment, these guys weren’t likely to be ex-military. They might have a little paramilitary training, but if they were anything special they’d have caught the Triad unawares in the first place. It would be better for Harlan not to assume that they’d use classic USMC moves.

Just like Syria. Disorganized, disjointed, and even more dangerous. The randomness of it made the enemy deadly.

Focusing on them, Harlan shot around them in a lazy circle, careful not to get too close. Warning them, if they’d only listen. A real soldier would recognize Harlan’s abilities, see that fucking with the Winter Pass wolves was a very bad idea.

Over his shoulder, he heard the softest rustle. He tensed and turned, expecting an animal of some kind, maybe Chase or Pax.

Not the camo-suited goon standing only ten feet away, pointing a sleek black handgun right at Harlan’s chest.

“Slowly,” the man said, cocking the gun. “Put your hands on your head and stand up, shit bird.”

Rage flared bright in Harlan’s chest. His wolf rose, and he let it come, though he didn’t let his wolf pull him into a shift.

Harlan released a truly threatening snarl, his wolf’s voice pouring from his human throat. The hunter stared at Harlan, knowing that Harlan was seconds from shifting and potentially ripping him to shreds. A strong whiff of panic rolled off the guy, and the gun trembled in his hand.

Coward . Wasn’t this the fight the hunter had been looking for?

Harlan sidestepped, drawing the gunman along with him, trying to find a way to weaken him, back him into a tree or make him trip over a rock.

The human surprised him by firing a shot, barely missing Harlan’s right hip. Then another, and another.

If the guy’s hand hadn’t been shaking so hard, Harlan would be in serious trouble. Too quick, the man spread his legs and braced his weapon with his other hand, aiming right at Harlan’s chest.

“Freeze!”

Harlan and the hunter both went still. That voice did something to Harlan’s inside, made him bare his teeth and growl, trying to draw the hunter’s attention again.

Penny stepped out from behind some trees, a shotgun in her hands. She was breathing hard, big puffs of steam rising in the air, her cheeks as pink as could be. She also looked more than a little pissed off, not to mention pretty comfortable with a twelve gauge. Well, well. Wasn’t she full of surprises this morning?

“Drop your gun,” Penny said, cutting to the heart of it. “I am too close to miss, and I have no problem pulling the trigger.”

The hunter sneered at her, but he did lean down and drop his handgun.

“You okay?” Penny asked Harlan.

“Uhh… think so,” Harlan said. He was a little ashamed at getting rescued by her, not to mention overwhelmed by her easy mastery of the situation. A weaker woman would be curled up in the fetal position, scared out of her mind right now. “Keep him in place for me.”

Harlan snatched up his rifle and walkie talkie. He propped the rifle against his shoulder with one arm, turning and finding the other three hunters far too close to the blind for his liking. He fired a few more shots, deliberately hitting one of them in the foot and another in the upper arm.

They turned tail pretty quickly after that, beating feet back the way they’d come in. Harlan whirled back to the final enemy, raising the walkie talkie to his lips.

“Ran three off. Got a live one here,” he reported. There was silence for a long beat.

“Shot four of ‘em, saw them jump in a Humvee and floor it,” came Pax’s voice.

“I got a live one too,” Chase called after a moment. “Tie yours up and leave him in the blind. I’ll come around and collect him. Gonna take ‘em both out as far as I can, let them figure their own ride back.”

“With pleasure.”

Harlan made short work of hog-tying the idiot, stripping him of three more handguns and several fancy pieces of comm equipment in the bargain. Once the hunter’s hands were tied, his face and belly pressed into the snow, Penny leaned the shotgun up against the tree, looking relieved.

“I thought I was going to have to kill him,” she said, worrying her lower lip with her teeth as she watched Harlan tie the guy up.

“Funny, I thought you were going to stay put,” Harlan said without glancing up.

“Not very grateful, are you?” Penny huffed.

Harlan sighed.

“Can we get a little farther from here before we start arguing? I don’t think this asshole needs to hear anything about us or our lives, do you?”

Penny scowled, but didn’t argue as Harlan led her in a wide circle around the main lodge, then toward the cabin.

The whole way to the cabin, Harlan couldn’t stop thinking how impressed he was with Penny. The way she’d wielded that shotgun, threatened the man about to fire point-blank at Harlan. That she’d been brave enough to do that, cared enough to protect Harlan, a man she barely knew…

That spoke volumes about her character. About the kind of woman she was, on top of being beautiful and insanely attractive to both Harlan and his wolf.

“Go on in,” Harlan told Penny, needing a moment to gather himself, keep from pouncing on her and finding out what other surprises she had in store for the right man. “I’m going to grab some firewood.”

He’d just managed to wrestle control from his base impulses when he walked back into the cabin, a load of wood in his arms. When he spotted Penny cowering in the corner by the stove, Paxton glowering down at her, looking like he was about to shift and attack, Harlan saw red.

The firewood tumbled to the ground as Harlan hopped over the couch, ready to go for Pax’s throat. Pax’s hand shot out as he turned on Harlan with a menacing growl.

“Get the fuck away from her,” Harlan warned him, trying to circle and get between Penny and Pax.

Pax didn’t miss a beat, his fists coming up, ready to square off.

“What is she doing here?” Pax fired back. “Did we or did we not just talk about this, you fucking idiot?”

“We’re snowed in, if you haven’t noticed.”

Pax bounced on the balls of his feet, spoiling for a fight.

“I can’t believe you’re doing this, Harlan. I know you. You’re digging your heels in, man. She’s got to go.”

“Guys—” Penny ventured.

“Shut it,” Pax said.

Harlan lunged at him, tackling him to the floor and rolling across the kitchen, away from Penny. His wolf howled with pleasure even as Harlan felt his shoulder start to bleed again from the impact, anything to get Pax away from Penny.

Pax shoved Harlan off and jumped to his feet, backing toward the front door. Harlan was up like a flash, putting himself in front of Penny.

“If you’re going to be stubborn, I’m going to tell her,” Pax said, looking aggravated. “She probably thinks you’re protecting her, but we both know you’re going to fuck her life up, man.”