Page 1 of Rescued By The Wolf

ONE

Sophie

“Isn’t this great, Sophie?” My new stepdad, Roger, asks as we hike up to our campsite.

“Great,” I wheeze, but he’s already turned back around.

My mom is ahead of us, pretending like she loves this and is having a blast, but I know her better. She’s not a hiker. She likes spas, makeup, and modern amenities, none of which are out here in the middle of nowhere, Alaska.

We’re here hiking our way across the Alaskan terrain as part of a tour that Roger booked for my twenty-third birthday. Why he thought that any of us would appreciate this is beyond me.

The tour actually hasn’t been that bad. I don’t mind being out in nature, and the view is incredible. My only problem with this trip is that I’m stuck having to spend so much time around my mom and her new husband.

My mom and I have never been close. My dad died when I was a kid, and I think that she resents me for not being able to party and date because she had to take care of me. She’s always been a social butterfly, and I imagine that being a mom cramped her style quite a bit.

My parents were never married, and I don’t really remember my dad that much. What I do remember is that he worked a lot. I remember him taking me to a park once, but that’s about all the fun memories between us that I have. He died in a car accident right before I turned four.

Neither of my parents are exactly role models, but Roger seemed different. He was my mom’s only boyfriend that I kind of liked. He was also the only boyfriend that stuck around for longer than a month or two.

For the first few months he was dating my mom, I thought that he was going to be different. I mean, he didn’t really drink or party. He actually spent time with me and tried to talk to and get to know me. Most of her boyfriends ignored me so I had been surprised. I thought he was trying to bond with me, but a few things have happened in the last couple of months that have me doubting that.

Boring old Roger seems to be a bit of a creep. It took me a while to put my finger on it, but I could swear that he was flirting with me at times. Even this whole trip seemed like a setup. I mean, he kept saying that my mom didn’t have to come if she didn’t want to, that he knew it wasn’t really her thing, that it would be good to have some time to bond with me, and so many other excuses. I remember praying that my mom would still come, and luckily for me, she did.

Now that we’re here though, I kind of wish I was the one who had been able to stay home.

“We’re almost there now!” Roger says, and I grimace as I trudge to the top of the hill.

The path opens up, and I see a big lake spread out before us.

“Whoa,” I whisper.

The view is beautiful. My breath comes out in short pants, sending a white cloud in front of my face as I try to catch my breath.

“Oh my gosh! It’s so pretty,” my mom gushes, and I nod.

She steps into Roger’s side, and he smiles dotingly at her. It’s moments like this that make me doubt that Roger is flirting with me. He seems to look at my mom like he loves her, and I mean, why would he marry her otherwise?

“Right this way!” Our tour guide calls as he walks closer to the partly frozen lake. “We’ll be setting up our tents over here.”

I follow behind everyone as we make our way over to where the tour guide is laying out his own tent. Roger was carrying both of our small tents and he sets mine down first before he heads over a few feet to where my mom is waiting.

Everyone is busy setting up their area, but I take a moment to look around and enjoy the scenery. We’re in a spot between two small towns, but it feels like we’re a million miles from civilization.

The mountains rise up all around us, covered in trees and snow. It feels like I’m in a snow globe as a few stray snowflakes float down around us.

“Need help pitching your tent?” Roger asks, and I start.

“What?” I squeak out, and he gives me an easy smile like we’re sharing some inside joke.

“I said, do you need help pitching your tent?”

“Oh, um, no, I think I’ve got it.”

His smile turns down a bit and he just gives me a tense nod before heading back to my mom. I shiver and hurry to bend down and start setting up my tent. Someone has started a fire, and our guide is getting started on dinner. My stomach growls, and I hurry to finish setting up my tent so that I can eat.

It’s already starting to get dark by the time I finish my tent and join everyone by the fire. I’m exhausted from hiking all day and collapse by the fire and practically inhale my food. Everyone else is visiting, sharing stories about past trips, and I listen as I finish eating.

The sun has set by the time I’m done and I smother a yawn.

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