Tuesday Teaser 3/12/19 Gina’s Wolf Part 38

As usual, I will begin this blog post by talking about the weather. Today was the first day since January 7 that we got up to freezing. That is more than two months! It was so warm that the parking lot is like a lake with ice burgs half submerged.

Fear not. It is not spring yet. We are expecting a ‘massive and possibly historic’ winter storm starting tomorrow afternoon and going through Friday morning. If you want to read about it you can click the link. My day job office may close, but since I’m a telecommuter I will work. Unless I lose power. But that won’t be fun either. Hopefully this will be the end of the bad weather. So all we need to do it get through this and then the flood and it will all be good.

I’ve been making good progress on Gina’s Wolf. I’m getting excited as I move into the final act of the story. I spent several hours playing with cover art last weekend. I need to contact my editor and see when she has a slot open. You know what this means? Depending on her schedule, this book may be out in early summer!

Here is today’s snip. I hope you like it.

______________________________________________________________________________

Cole didn’t want to wake up. The pain was waiting to engulf him in flames of agony. He lay on the cold metal floor of the cage and tried to slow his breathing. Was he himself? Or was the wolf out? Very cautiously, he opened his eyes.

A furry leg with less fur than usual was in front of him. Between the patches of fur, the red flesh was blotched with charring. The stench of burned meat made his stomach turn. The wolf was out. Memories thudded into him like clubs. He had been forced into a choke collar like they used on dogs, and it was fastened to the floor of the cage in a way that allowed him to lift his head only twelve inches. The floor reeked of blood, dead skin, and singed fur. Or maybe that was him.

Gerald Todd was a madman. From noon until midnight he had performed what he called scientific experiments on him. He wanted to see if the man healed burns at the same rate as the wolf. He watched dispassionately as coals were applied to man flesh on the left side of his body and waited with implacable patience until the wolf forced his way out in an effort to protect the man.  Then he had the coals applied to wolf flesh on the right. Every reaction was written down.

“No screams?” he asked at one point with mild interest.

Cole hadn’t bothered to respond even though he’d been in his man form at that time. He was a wolf warrior of the Lakota Wolf Clan, and wolf warriors did not give their enemies the pleasure of seeing their pain. At midnight he thanked Cole for his cooperation and told him to get some rest. Tomorrow they would see how he healed from stab wounds.

Cooperation. Cole almost growled out loud. Gerald Todd would die. If Cole himself was unable to do it, his father and kin would. Cole eased his head to the side so he could see the sentry posted a few yards from his cage. The man’s eyes were closed, his body slumped in the chair. Stupid sentry shouldn’t sleep on duty, but Cole was glad for his incompetence. Time to let the wolf go back so Cole the man could get rid of the collar. The collar was tight on the wolf, but a little looser on the man. But try though he might, he couldn’t pry the thing open. He lay his head down again to conserve his strength. Cold didn’t normally bother him, but now he was weak with pain and blood loss, and the cold crept deep into his bones.

A scent teased him. It was there one minute, and then faded, only to return and fade again. He let the wolf out to use his superior sense of smell. The scent was faint. Familiar. Safe. His nostrils flared, trying to catch and identify it.

Dad.

Fierce joy surged through him.

Not just dad. That was … His mate? The cold that weighted his bones was nothing compared to the cold that covered him now. No. No, Gina couldn’t be here. This was the last place she should be. He closed his eyes and dropped his head, forcing back a whine. The heavy chain connected to his collar clanked.

“Hey.” The sentry stood up from his chair, glaring at Cole. “Shut up there.”

The wolf lowered his head and closed his eyes as if sleeping. Was dad here or was Cole just imagining it? And if dad was here, why couldn’t he scent anyone else from the pack? Dad wouldn’t come alone with Gina. The wolf inhaled deeply. That was his little brother. Dad, Wolf’s Howl and Gina? That didn’t make sense.

A quiet sound had the wolf’s eyes open again. The sentry slumped bonelessly in the chair and the scent of blood rose fresh and sharp in the air. A dark shadow separated from the rest of the shadows, too small to be his dad or brother.  It moved in a rush to the cage.

“Quick, Wolf’s Howl,” his mate hissed. “He’s chained up.” She knelt beside the cage, hands clutching the bars. “Oh, Cole.” Tears gleamed in her eyes as she looked him over.

He forced his wolf back and took human form. “I’m alright,” he whispered. He tilted his head to look up at his brother. “Where is everyone else? Dad?”

Wolf’s Howl shook his head. “We’re it. Your mate was coming alone to rescue you. I tagged along.”

He loved his mate, and he loved that she cared enough to come for him, but that was the stupidest thing she could have done. “The guards have a rotation. One will check on me in about thirty minutes. You have to work fast. If you aren’t finished within twenty minutes, you have to leave me. Take her out of here and keep her safe.”

“No,” Gina said.

“Okay.” Wolf’s Howl handed Gina a knife. “Step back, sister. Go search that guard for keys while I work on this. We’ll have him out before any guards come.”

In spite of the pain and horror, Cole smiled to see Gina sheath the knife in the inner sheath in her jeans with one sure motion before she retreated. His mate wasn’t helpless.

Wolf’s Howl crouched, wrapped his hands around two bars, and pulled. His face contorted with the effort. The bars moved a hair’s breadth. His brother released the bars with an explosion of breath, rested a second, then positioned himself again. Every muscle in his bare body bulged as he strained to pull the bars apart.

Cole wanted to help. He was chained in the center of the cage and neither his arms nor legs could touch the bars. If he’d been able to reach that far, Todd would already be dead.  He tried again to pry the steel collar from his neck, but, as with every other time he’d tried, no matter how he gripped it he was too weak to budge it.

The bars groaned as they parted three inches. Wolf’s Howl collapsed against them, shaking. “Almost,” he panted. “One more time.”

Cole forced himself to not order him to hurry.  “Good job, Howl. You are the strongest in our generation. You can do it.”

His mate rushed over. “I can’t find any keys,” she said franticly.

“That’s okay,” Cole said. “My brother has just about got this cage open. Right, Howl?”

His brother nodded, rising again and taking hold of the slightly bent bars. “Ready?

“Wolf’s Howl, you are amazing!”

Cole would have been jealous of the admiration on her face if it hadn’t been directed at his brother.  He couldn’t believe she was here. Once they were back in Omaha he was going to have long talk with her. Not until after he’d covered her entire body with kisses, but they were going to talk.

The bars groaned again and slowly parted another few inches. Wolf’s Howl fell to his knees, gasping for breath. Gina stuck her arm in the gap and then inched her shoulder through.

“Not big enough. Even if I could fit, I can’t pull that chain out of the floor,” she said. “Can you do more?”

Wolf’s Howl nodded. “Just need to rest a few seconds.”

Cole counted every second that rushed by. How much longer until a guard made his rounds? Finally, Wolf’s Howl shook out his arms and took up his stance. He pulled. The bars were bending more readily now.  Another inch. Two. Three.

A lazy voice edged with a sneer drawled, “Well, isn’t that impressive?”