Wolver's Reward by Jacqueline Rhoades Page B

vacationed in
the same way their human cousins did. Alpha Goodman and his Mate
had gone on several. If their trip came with the full moon, they
usually made plans to be near an open area where they could shift
and run freely when it called. Though River vaguely recalled the
thieves' words, there was a sense of urgency and concern to them
that didn't fit with a trip taken for fun.
    When the answer came to him, he almost
smacked his own head at the simplicity of it. They were headed for
a rendezvous with other wolvers. Wolf's Head regularly ran with
Rabbit Creek. Not only were the Alphas brothers, the two packs
shared the mountain. River had heard of a southern pack that
sponsored a festival each year that drew wolvers from around the
country. Jo, Ryker's mate, claimed it was a relaxed way for wolvers
from various packs to make contact, to network she called it. She
also laughingly called it a meet and greet for prospective mates,
since mating outside the pack was encouraged.
    River was convinced that this was the purpose
of the thieves' journey. They were meeting others at the wildlife
preserve, the perfect place to go over, to shift, when the moon
called.
    "Hurry," she'd said. "We have to get to the
preserve."
    "Are you sure you're doing the right
thing?"
    "Right or wrong, it has to be done. We can't
afford to be late."
    The urgency and fear still baffled him. Maybe
they were going without their Alpha's permission. Maybe he was
already there and expecting them. According to Ryker, different
Alpha's had different expectations when it came to obedience.
    In any event, River was sure the band would
be there tonight and the males would run. If their Alpha was there
to use his power to take them over, the females would run, too.
    River needed to be there when that happened.
He would fight the moon's call and remain human. When everyone else
shifted, he'd be free to steal back his motorcycle and hopefully
his truck.
    He'd counted on five hours. Now he had three.
It couldn't be done. His body lacked the energy it needed for such
a run. He hadn't eaten much for several days and, as he'd just
proven, he was exhausted. His man's body was stronger than a
human's but it wasn't invincible.
    He felt his anger rising and he tilted his
head back, ready to howl out his frustration at the injustice of it
all to the dying light of day. And then he felt it as he always
did; his mistress' call. The moon was filling him with the power he
would need to shift when her glowing face rose over the horizon.
He'd been feeling her pull for days. Each time he ran, he felt
her.
    It was natural to feel the full moon's call
this close to her rising. It was natural to be anxious with
anticipation for the shift that was hours away. What wasn't natural
was the feeling that he was ready to go over the moon now, before
the moon rose.
    His wolf felt her, too. The animal had been
restless since the willowy bitch had stolen his bike. It was
impatient with the rides as if it didn't understand that wheels
were faster than legs. It growled and dug at him to run faster in
between the rides and pulled at him to run overland as the crow
flies. Like River, the animal tended to keep its thoughts to itself
or express them in snarls and growls. When it did speak, its
message was always short and succinct; as it was now.
    " Go. Find. Free ."
    "Fucking easy for you to say," River muttered
angrily. "You have four legs and can run twice as fast."
    His wolf snapped its jaws together so hard,
River winced at the feeling of the massive force those jaws
contained.
    " Shift ," it snarled.
    It had happened twice before when he was so
angry he thought his skin would burst with it. Both times had been
within hours of the moon's rising, once in broad daylight. The
transition wasn't smooth. It came without thought and it frightened
him so badly he tripped over his own paws and skid over the rough
ground on his face. His wolf had been close to the surface then,
too.
    He'd never told anyone