Frostbitten

MISSION

WHAT WE FOUND were two werewolves dressed in full winter walking garb, from boots to gloves to parkas that covered their faces. One whiff told me I'd never met these mutts before. I had, however, smelled them-or traces of them, earlier tonight, in the cottage.

When Tesler told Eddie they needed to call their men in, he didn't mean bring them back to Alaska. They were already here.

It's a testament to my exhaustion that even as we tracked the two mutts downwind, I held out hope that these weren't actually the rest of Tesler's gang. Even when we got close enough to hear them speaking English with thick Eastern European accents, I thought maybe Roman hadn't heeded my assurances that we didn't need help and sent some of his "Russian wolves" to help, and they'd been nosing around the cabin earlier. But why would they be speaking English? That only made sense if their leaders were English-speaking, and insisted on that as their common language. Their next words confirmed that suspicion.

"Fucking Eddie thinks he is such a fucking hotshot. Thinks he fucking runs this outfit."

"That is where you always get into trouble, Marko. You still think it is Travis in charge. It is Eddie… letting his brother think he is leading."

"Travis would have let us steal a snowmobile."

"And that is why he is not in charge. Eddie is careful. Two stolen snowmobiles are enough."

"Because it is enough for the two of them. We have to walk through the fucking snow, looking for some fucking werewolf girl they let escape."

"You can be sure it was not Eddie who let her get away. You are just angry because we did not find her, which is good, or you would be in more trouble than you were when you killed that hiker."

"I just wanted a poke."

"You think Travis would not notice? Would not smell you on her?"

"I have condoms."

The other man, whose accent sounded Ukrainian, snorted. "You think that would cover all the smell?"

We were crouched behind bushes, keeping our distance.

"If they get to the cabin… " Nick whispered.

"It doubles the odds in their favor. We should them out."

I wasn't in top-notch shape, but still feeling no pain, and Nick was fresh and raring to go. With the element of surprise. We could take them. Nick slipped back to cut across behind them and come up on their left.

Marko was still complaining.

"I don't know why we had to come back from the city. We'd have found the hotel, caught this Danvers, brought him back… "

"If Eddie is right, which he usually is, Danvers is already here. You just wanted to stay in the city. You always want to stay in the city."

"Why not? It's warm. The beds are warm. The girls are warm. This-" He gestured at the surrounding forest and swore in Russian.

"Enough complaining. If you do not like it-"

"The money I like. Eddie, I don't. Always ordering us around. Come to Alaska. No, go back. No, come again. Back and forth, back and forth."

The Ukrainian told Marko to shut up before someone heard.

"That's why I'm talking so much," Marko said. "If this girl is out here, she is alone, afraid. If she hears a voice, she'll come running."

I signaled Nick, who swung out into their path. The Ukrainian leapt out of the way, whistling as he did, but Marko, caught in midrant, just stood there, mouth open until Nick shut it for him with a line-drive upper cut.

I caught Marko and slammed him to the ground, glancing back only long enough to check on Nick. He didn't have the Ukrainian yet, but he'd backed him into the thick bushes. The Ukrainian whistled again.

"That's not going to bring anyone running," I said. "Your buddies just sat down to breakfast."

Beneath me, Marko tried to twist and bite. So I broke his arm. I wasn't in the mood for threats. I would have killed him already, but if I needed information, he was more likely to give it than his friend. I could do without the shrieks of pain, though, so I shoved his face into the snow to stifle them.

When he shut up, I wrenched his head back and hissed in his ear, "I hear you like killing humans, Marko. You're on American Pack territory, and do you know how we treat man-eaters here?"

He swore at me in Russian. I smashed his face into the snow again.

Nick was sizing up the Ukrainian, knowing the mutt couldn't run, but that he'd fight as soon as Nick moved. And a cornered wolf fights hard.

"Tester summoned you boys back the minute he got a whiff of trouble, didn't he? Figured he and his brother weren't enough to take on two Pack werewolves? Poor excuse for tough guys, if you ask me. Did you do any man-eating while you were in the Lower 48?"

"Is that where we were?" Marko turned his head and smiled up at me through the blood streaming from his nose.

"I don't really care where you were. I'm just making conversation."

"Oh, you'll care. You'll care very much soon."

Nick feinted left, preparing for engagement and takedown. Then he stopped short, gaze shooting behind me, lips parting.

"Elena!"

He twisted and lunged at me. The Ukrainian grabbed him. As I shot up off Marko, a shadow passed over me and I caught a whiff of werewolf scent. I wheeled to see a strange mutt, with two more behind him.

"Now do you want to know what we were doing?" Marko said. "Bringing fake passports to the rest of our pack, and escorting them here."

It was a short fight.