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gasped. Grave robbers.
Hunter grabbed his arm. That box is too square. A casket is long
and narrow.
Well, what the fuck is going on?
I don t know. But I aim to find out.
Damien assumed he meant they were about to hurry back as fast
as they could, but instead, Hunter stripped off his boots and shoes,
pulled down his jeans, and changed into his wolf. Then he was gone,
loping across the desert faster than they could have run in human
form. Also, as a wolf, he d have a lot more stamina than they did right
now.
Damien was torn. He wanted to stay and watch so he knew what
was happening, which might be something perfectly innocent. But on
the other hand, he wanted to be there beside Jaz to protect her in case
it wasn t something innocent. He shoved Hunter s socks and briefs
inside his boots, tied the laces to one of his belt loops, put the empty
water bottle, Hunter s wallet, keys, and cell phone in his own pockets
and then knotted the legs of Hunter s jeans around his waist. Then he
began a brisk, army-style forced march down the side of the hill.
The military was supposed to walk a mile in eight minutes when
they were in a hurry. He was carrying very little so planned to be all
the way back in ten minutes.
Fuck ten minutes. I can go faster than that. Damien began to jog.
Unleashing Seduction 87
His leg muscles were aching, but he refused to slow down. He d
seen the white minivan heading south, but not very fast, and Hunter
must have seen it as well because the wolf had changed the angle of
his run and cut south. He had less distance to run now and would
catch up to the vehicle more quickly, except that once it began to
move faster, it d leave him behind.
Damien continued running back to camp. He had to find Jaz.
He was panting now, sweat pouring down his body and Hunter s
damn boots bashing into his thighs on every step, but he could hear
Phideaux barking, and it wasn t a happy bark. Damien was terrified
Jaz had been hurt. Despite his aching muscles, he pushed himself
harder, racing the last few hundred yards across the desert and into
camp. He skidded to a stop in front of the tent, and it was obvious Jaz
wasn t there.
Jasmine! he screamed.
But of course she d have answered Phideaux s bark if she could
have.
Where is she, boy? Is she hurt? he asked.
Phideaux started to limp down the track, the way the white
minivan had gone.
In the van? Did they take her with him?
Phideaux barked again, and it sounded a hell of a lot like a yes to
him.
He pulled Hunter s keys out of his pants and headed for their
truck.
Get in the truck and guide me, Phideaux, he said, opening the
door. The dog jumped straight up onto the seat and then whined and
whimpered.
Dammit, he d forgotten the animal was injured. Sorry, buddy.
He raced around to the driver s door, climbed in, and started the
engine and then remembered Jasmine s backpack. Likely it was full
of things she d need.
88 Cara Adams
He jumped out again, raced to the tent, snatched it and Phideaux s
water bowl up, threw them in the passenger side footwell of the truck,
and hit the accelerator before he d even shut the door. He was driving
much too fast on the track, but he couldn t slow down. Not with
Jasmine stolen from him and Hunter hell only knew where.
* * * *
Hunter saw the minivan begin to move and ignored it at first. His
whole being was centered on getting to Jasmine. His woman. His
mate. But then logic permeated his brain. The tent was bright blue and
only a couple of dozen feet from where the men had parked their
minivan. If Jasmine had been capable of it, she d have been standing
there talking to the men, watching them, likely even helping them or
maybe offering them some water.
Even if she d been asleep when they arrived, Phideaux would
have heard the van s engine and woken her up. Therefore, she wasn t
okay at all. He couldn t convince himself that she d have just
wandered off with the other people without sending him and Damien
a text message at the very least. Therefore, something was wrong. His
woman, his mate, was in danger or in trouble or both.
Hunter changed direction, heading straight for the minivan now,
and increasing his speed to a flat run. He wouldn t be able to maintain
such speed for very long, but he needed to get closer to the van so he
knew where they were going.
He stretched his entire body out, lengthening his stride, calling on
all his muscles and sinews to revert to his primeval wolf and run
faster, run harder, to find his mate.
The minivan turned south, and he was able to cut the corner again,
heading across the desert and closing the distance between them, but
already he was tiring. Wolves weren t meant to run at top speed for so
long. They could go as fast as thirty-five miles an hour, but only in
short bursts, and his short burst was almost used up.
Unleashing Seduction 89
Hunter refused to slow much. He attached his gaze to the back of
the van, almost willing it to stop, to wait for him. The vehicle wasn t
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