Free Black Velvet by Elianne Adams Page A

the rest of the way down. He twisted, catching the brunt of the fall.
    She jumped up, hopping around him a little, nipping at him, begging him to play with her. His tongue lolled out the side of his mouth as he pretended to take a swat at her with his big paw.
    Joy listened for the noises around her, but all she heard was a distant growl. Warren must have heard it too because he stopped moving for a second before he took off toward the noise. They ran full out for almost a half mile before she came to a stumbling halt behind him. Her stomach sank at the sight before them. The stumps of what used to be tall, majestic trees marked the graveyard of the forest.
    Off to her right, a wolf howled, and then another, their mournful songs tearing at her until she couldn’t help but join in.
    Greed was destroying the forests all around them. Had those two bastards ever considered what decimating their land would mean for all the living creatures, including humans, in the long run? Of course they hadn’t. It was all about money. Now that they had exploited the property for all that they could, they wanted to sell it to Warren. They had no more use for it. It would take years for the reforestation to take place, and even longer for the trees to mature, and the animals to come back.
    Beside her, Warren growled. The hair on his scruff stood on end as he looked at the devastation all around them. She went to him, nuzzling him, trying to give him comfort in the face of such tragedy. He had just lowered his head, returning her caress when a shot shattered the silence around them.
    Wolves scattered everywhere. Warren nudged her, indicating where he wanted her to go—back to the vehicles parked along the edge of the property. It was clear. It’s what she would have done. She started running, bringing up the rear, watching as the other wolves ran for safety. She counted heads, making sure everyone followed, but someone was missing. She looked back and saw a small female out in the barren wasteland that used to be the forest, cowering in the moonlight.
    She broke from the pack, ignoring Warren’s growl as she rounded back. She ran as fast as her legs would take her, hoping like hell the shot they’d heard hadn’t hit the little omega. Fear curled in her stomach, but she kept running.
    As soon as Joy reached her, the little female whimpered, but looked up at her expectantly. Joy nudged her with her nose, prodding Jamie forward, but the wolf didn’t move. The distant sounds of boots on the dry earth had her ears straining toward the east. The hunters were closer than she expected. She didn’t have time to coddle the female.
    Joy crouched down as low as she could, before shifting. “Listen to me, Jamie. I know you’re scared, but you have to run. See up ahead? Warren is waiting for you. He’ll get you home safe. When I tell you to, you will run, and you will run hard. You won’t look back. Not even for a second until you are safe. As your Alpha, I demand this of you, do you understand me?”
    The little wolf shuddered, but she got onto her feet.
    “Run. Run now, Jamie!” she said before she shifted again and ran in the opposite direction. Joy didn’t try to make herself look small, or even hide in the ravaged forest. She kept running, taking the hunters away from her pack.
    “There, I see it,” a male voice bellowed before another shot rang out.
    She sprang left, and kept on going, never getting far enough ahead of the hunters to lose them. She may have failed to keep her old pack safe, but she’d be damned if she lost even one person in her new one. When she reached a knoll, she leaped to get over it. Another shot rang out. Searing pain stabbed through her right hind leg, and she went down.
    She lay there on her side, panting as she tried to assess the damage. It hurt like hell, but she could move. The wound was deep, but the bone was intact. She forced herself to stand, and took a shaky step. She couldn’t move fast, but maybe