Hidden in the trees bordering Rachel’s property, Jake sent a telepathic message to the bear.
The reply was filled with panic.
Jake kept his eyes on the bear as he edged out into the open, closer to the bear.
The bear’s hysteria worried him. He moved a few more steps toward her.
• • •
Rachel looked back toward the mother bear, but then she broke eye contact immediately. She remembered Grandpa Ike telling her that staring at a predator could be interpreted as a challenge. Some challenge. Terror sent cold sweat trickling down her sides.
On the other end of the phone connection, Otis Wilberforce, a Chicago attorney, kept asking what was wrong.
She whispered her response. “Bear.”
“A bear? Well, stay inside, okay? And lock the door!”
How she longed to be behind a locked door. Her heart pumped frantically as all her instincts told her to run. She resisted. Her grandfather had also told her that running was the worst thing a person could do.
Besides, the bear was too close and she was too far from either door to make it safely inside. Maybe, if she stayed very still, the bear would go away. Or maybe not, with the little one on the other side of the path.
Stupid, stupid, stupid! Why hadn’t she looked before she’d walked out the workshop door? But in all the time she’d spent here, she’d never come face-to-face with a bear, let alone two of them.
She struggled to think clearly. What would be the smartest response? Drop and roll into a ball? Lift her arms and look bigger and more difficult to manage? Her paralyzed brain refused to guide her.
“Rachel? Are you okay?” Otis sounded worried. “You’re not outside, are you?”
“Yes. ’Bye.” Locating the disconnect button with her thumb, she ended the call. From the corner of her eye she could see the animal’s powerful muscles bunch. Oh, God. The mother bear was going to charge. Rachel sensed the intent before the low growl came, a growl filled with menace.
She was about to be mauled by a bear with claws the length of carving knives and teeth that could sever an arm in one bite. She might survive and she might not. But either way, she was in for a world of pain.
Gulping with fear, she faced the animal. Maybe if she threw the phone right at its head . . . no, not good. She was shaking so much her aim would be lousy, and besides, the phone was too light. It would just bounce off.
Shoving the phone in her pocket, she lifted the cardboard tube, brandishing it as if prepared to do some damage. The tube might look scary enough to fool the bear. In any case, she’d be damned if she’d go down without a fight, short and pitiful though it might be.
As the bear charged, something black streaked in front of it, blocking its path. Rachel stumbled back, eyes wide. A wolf! Surely not
The bear roared and stood on its hind legs, becoming a seven-foot nightmare of animal rage. It wrapped both front paws around the wolf and raked its claws down one side of the wolf’s body. The wolf didn’t let go. Dropping to all fours, the bear swung its massive head from side to side, flinging the wolf around like a rag doll. The wolf held on.
After what seemed like hours, the mother bear stopped trying to shake the wolf loose. She bowed her head, trembling. Slowly the wolf released its grip and backed away. It was bleeding profusely from deep gashes in its side. Neither creature seemed to have won the battle, but miraculously, it was over.
With one more glance at the wolf, the grizzly walked past Rachel and over to her cub. Both of them padded away as the wolf gazed after them. It was as if they’d agreed to disagree and end the fight.
But the wolf had paid a high price for interfering. Blood soaked its black coat. Its flanks heaved as it watched the bear and cub move out of the area. Rachel couldn’t get her mind around what had just happened. Why had one wild creature rushed in to protect her from another?
Perhaps the wolf wasn’t wild, after all. Although keeping a wolf was illegal, not everyone in Polecat followed the rules. This animal had instinctively tried to save her from the bear, and she needed to make sure it would be okay.
Her cell phone chimed. Probably Otis, worried sick. Keeping her attention on the wolf, she pulled the phone out, turned it off, and returned it to her pocket. Then she spoke to the wolf as she might to a faithful dog. “You’re hurt.” She stretched out her hand. “Come. Let me help.”
The wolf swung its broad head in her direction and stared at her with green eyes that looked disturbingly familiar. Those eyes were filled with pain, but there was intelligence lurking there, too. The wolf seemed to be considering whether to come closer. Seconds passed. Then it turned and walked away on unsteady legs.
“Wait! Don’t leave! Please!” Hurrying after the wolf, she managed to get in front of it. The poor thing couldn’t move very fast, and it paused, panting from the effort of walking. It had no collar, of course. Anyone who was daring enough to keep a wolf around wouldn’t want to be identified as the owner.
She couldn’t even be sure the wolf belonged to someone. It might have been domesticated and then abandoned. Whatever its story, her life had been spared because this animal had come to her rescue. She wasn’t about to let it wander off into the forest, where anything might happen.
Those wounds could get infected. The brave creature could die in agony after throwing itself into harm’s way for her sake. “You’re coming with me.” Reaching out, she grabbed hold of the wolf’s ruff. “You need help, and I can provide it.”
The animal stiffened.
For one heart-stopping moment, she wondered if it would turn on her. That made no sense considering its former protective behavior, but the moment she closed her fingers around that silky black fur, she knew this was no docile house pet.
The wolf controlled its own destiny, although that ability had been compromised by lethal claws that had dug deep. When the wolf staggered, Rachel exerted gentle pressure on its ruff and managed to change its direction.
“This way,” she said softly. “Come with me. I’ll tend your wounds, and when you’re better, I’ll let you go. I’m not going to hold you prisoner. That would be a poor payback for what you did. But I won’t let you die from these wounds, either.”
She kept her grip on the wolf’s ruff all the way back to her cabin. Twice the creature faltered, which told her just how injured it was. And this
“You gave me a career,” she murmured as they navigated the three steps to her back deck. “And you saved my life. I would be an ungrateful person if I didn’t take care of you now.” Crossing the deck, she opened the wrought-iron screen door.
She’d left the reinforced storm door open to catch a breeze off the lake. She hadn’t thought of a bear coming in, but she should have. The screen door wouldn’t stop a bear. She’d allowed herself to get complacent and careless, and the wolf had paid the price.
Once inside, she led him straight into her bedroom. “Stay right there. I’ll make you a spot to lie down.” Pulling the quilt from her bed, she folded it into a large square and placed it in a corner of the room. The wolf might get blood on it, but she didn’t care.
After creating a bed for the wolf, she guided the animal over to rest. Its resistance to her commands was fading as its stamina ebbed. Sinking down to the makeshift bed and lying on the side that hadn’t been injured, it closed its green eyes, which had become dull and lifeless.
“I’ll make you well.” Crouching down, she caressed the large head and once more was amazed at the silky
