Don’t go there.
Indigo clouds blotted out the sun. A cool wind brushed against the treetops, rustling the leaves. A pine cone tumbled to her feet, making her jump. She laughed.
Silly her. One would think she’d never been alone in the woods.
Trouble was, time with Troy had been with her, she’d grown accustomed to his comforting presence.
Well, now you have to adjust to being alone again. Being alone is better than being in a pack with an alpha who could lead you into danger like your last one did. Aren’t all alphas filled with their own egos and rule with an iron paw?
A low wolf howl echoed through the forest. Jenny stilled, and then tilted her head. Might be Lupine, but this howl had a distinctly different tone, laced with a high pitch.
Wild wolf. The same wild wolves she’d heard a few nights ago, calling out into the night.
Curiosity pricked her as the wolf howled again, this time a sound of utter loneliness. The wolf did not howl to connect to pack, but seemed hopelessly lost. She went inside, grabbed her jacket. On second thought, she grabbed a pack of dried beef jerky, then set off in search of the wolf.
Leaves crunched under her boots as she threaded through the fir and oak trees. Dim sunlight dappling the forest floor began to fade, replaced by the darkening thunderheads. Jenny squelched her own fear. If the wolf was lost, or even hurt, she felt a deeply personal reason to help the animal.
The forest thinned, leading to a stretch of green meadow peppered with wildflowers. Small fir trees sprouted here and there, scenting the air with pine. The sight made her smile. It looked like a Christmas tree farm in the midst of the wilderness.
A white wolf sat by one stubby tree, regarding her. Overhead lightning flashed and thunder boomed. Jenny jumped, steeled her nerves and slowly approached the wolf. Female, young, and definitely alone.
“Hey girl, you okay? You look lost.”
The blue-eyed wolf did not growl, nor did she back away. Definitely not a timber wolf. Timbers didn’t have blue eyes or white coats. This was an Artic wolf perhaps, but wrong time of year for the white coat. No snow to blend in.
She could shift to her wolf skin. But in the past she’d dealt enough with wild wolves to know how to approach them. Jenny sat a short distance away, and waited. She removed a piece of jerky, sniffed it.
Then howled herself, a deep, longing howl expressing all her frustration and feelings.
The white wolf’s ears pricked. It wolf loped up to her, sniffed the jerky she held out and then snatched it, gulping it in one giant chew and swallow.
Jenny selected a slice for herself and chewed the hard dried beef. “You know we’re cousins in a way. Not kissing kin, but we share a lot in common. And I sense you’ve lost your pack. Are you hurt?”
She did a quick study of the wolf, which had retreated a few feet away after taking the beef. No open wounds, no smell of blood or fear. Just a lost wolf.
Like me.
Ominous thunder cracked again, this time closer. Jenny shivered and glanced at her companion. “I need to get back to shelter. You’re welcome to join me. I have plenty of food and you can den down on the porch. If you don’t mind sharing space.”
The wolf did not blink.
Jenny rose and began hiking back, turning once in a while to see if the wolf followed. It threaded through the trees, and seemed to vanish, and then reappeared a few yards behind her. The air smelled damp of clouds ready to burst.
Fat raindrops splatted here and there. Her brisk walk turned into a jog, breath rasping in her lungs.
Nothing to fear. Just a storm.
At the cabin, she went inside, selected a small, raw steak from the refrigerator and brought it outside. The wolf paced back and forth like a caged lion.
Jenny waggled the steak. “Come and get it.”
The rain fell faster, and the wolf shook in an attempt to dry herself. Those eerie blue eyes stared at the food, but it seemed the wolf stared more at her. Again, she wondered about this wolf.
“Come on up to the porch. Nice and dry here.”
Doubtful the wolf would, for it had a natural distrust of Skins and even Lupines wearing human skin. To her delight and surprise, the wolf leapt onto the porch and snatched up the raw meat. It gulped it down in two bites.
“My grandma, what nice sharp teeth you have. The better to eat all my stash,” Jenny murmured.
She tossed the rest of the jerky to the wolf. Who could eat during a storm anyway?
Huddling in the corner, she shivered as the rain came down harder and the thunder crackled. Seemed as if it was right overhead. Jenny hugged her knees. The rustic cabin proved a little too rustic for her taste.
Especially in a rainstorm.
No, not a rainstorm. More like a tropical downpour.
Rain, she could handle. But this wasn’t a rainstorm with the gentle patter falling on the porch roof. It was a downpour, thunder cracking overhead. Rain fell in sheets, the gray skies flashing lightning overhead.
To her surprise, the wolf crept closer and then lay down right at her feet. With a trembling hand, she stroked the soft fur. The wolf put its head between its paws and closed her eyes, seemingly content.
Utterly unafraid.
Such lack of fear made her own terror lessen. If this wolf, a primitive creature, didn’t give a howl about a violent thunderstorm, why should she? It was nature, after all. Not a Skin with a rifle shooting at you from a helicopter like aiming at fish in a barrel.
Finally the rain slowed, then stopped, dripping off the overhang onto the ground. Jenny sighed and the wolf continued to nap.
Another howl echoed through the woods. The wolf sat up, alert, its ears pricked.
She went in front of the wolf and looked straight into those beautiful blue
