"Your father is right." He frowned. "He should be watching out for you. Coming here was not a good idea."
She couldn't very well tell him her father didn't know and the world as she knew it would probably be over once he found out. "My ankle agrees with you."
He found their base camp unerringly, as if he already knew it was there. He hadn't cast around for signs looking for the site, but seemed to follow a direct—and the shortest—route straight to it.
He came to an abrupt halt. "Where is everyone?"
"Out looking for me, I suppose," Skyler replied in a small voice. Her ankle really was hurting and she was grateful when he put her into a chair. He had been smooth, walking through the forest, but still, movement jarred the injury. "There's only Paul and Josef. The others haven't arrived yet."
Paul strode into camp, a mixture of concern and aggravation on his face. He held a rifle in his hands. She knew it carried tranquilizers. "What the hell happened, Skyler?" he demanded. "We've been searching for you for most of the day. I was about to call for help."
Zev's entire demeanor changed. He ate up the distance between Paul and him with long, fluid strides, nearly gliding. He was on Paul before he had a chance to even bring his weapon up.
"I'm a cop," Zev announced, with a small apologetic glance over his shoulder at Skyler. "I'd like to see your papers now. No one should have authorized work in this area. We closed it off a few weeks ago."
It was the last thing Skyler expected, but she realized his revelation and demands made perfect sense. The Lycans had to have a way to keep everyone away from them while they prepared for war, or tortured and killed their prisoners. Zev probably really did have a rank of some kind in law enforcement.
Paul kept possession of his weapon but went to the locked box and removed the papers giving them permission to set up cameras in this area of the forest. Zev studied their passports and the official documents carefully, taking his time. This was no cursory glance.
Skyler's mouth went dry. Her heart began to pound. Josef was the best, she reminded herself. His paperwork was always impeccable.
Zev looked up suddenly, pinning Paul with his piercing, focused stare. "Who's in charge?"
"He's not here at the moment," Paul said. "He went out searching for Skyler, but we come back to the camp every two hours." He glanced at his watch. "He should be coming back soon."
Zev handed the papers back to Paul. "Everything appears to be in order, but there's been a mistake. I want you to break camp tomorrow morning and get out of here. This girl cannot be wandering the forest alone, nor should you or whoever is in charge. It's too dangerous."
"We're aware there is an active pack of wolves here," Paul said. "That's why we're here. We just study their environment. We don't try to interact. If we're lucky we'll have the cameras in the right places and we'll get a glimpse of them."