Page 51 of Little Etheldreda Riding Hood

“Red? Red? Are you still there?” Zach’s worry comes through loud and clear over the phone.

“Hold on a second. I’m trying to listen.”

“Listen to what?” I hear someone say on Zach’s end.

This time, when the howl dissolves into a whine, it’s loud enough for Zach to hear. “Get out of there, Red,” he demands.

“I’m trying,” I hiss back. I look around and head for the next clump of trees. The curve of the drive is coming up, and without Chad in my wake, I can rush between trees a lot quicker. I head for the bend and come to a dead stop.

“Red? You’re quiet. What’s going on?”

A car is parked a few hundred feet down the drive. The interior lights are on and the driver is on the phone having a heated argument with someone. I step behind a tree so the driver can’t see me.

“I just came across a car parked on the drive out of the trailer park.”

“Do you know them? Can you ask them for help?”

I shake my head even though he can’t see me, dread filling my gut. “I can’t. It’s Willa.”

I stand motionless for a long moment before a truck driving up the winding gravel path forces me to break my trance–Darla of all people is speeding up the trail in her ancient pickup. I take a chance and step closer to the trail, trying to wave her down. Thankfully, she skids to a stop and I am able to hop inside.

“I’m in Darla’s truck.” I tell Zach quickly. “I’m safe. I’m going to let you go.”

“We’re almost there.” Zach assures me.

“Be careful.” I hang up with him and turn to Darla. “How’d you get here so quickly?”

She shrugs. “Porshetta told me—uh, it was a hunch I had.”

She slams on her brakes just inside her drive and hops out, pushing the seat forward and pulling out a shotgun I never knew was there. “Come on, let’s go see who our intruder is.”

“Darla, the sheriff–”

“Will take forever. Half the deputies are at the Wild Hare. Come on, I’m sure we can handle this.”

I follow her, not certain at all that we can handle this. We sneak slowly behind the trailer, Darla walking point with the shotgun ready, until we find the culprit.

There in the half snow-half mud is a wolf laying on its side. It whines pitifully, as if it’s dying. Laying across its flank, pinning it down to the ground, is Frigg. Even in the dark, she looks proud of herself. Porshetta sits nearby, supervising the whole situation while Chad naps at her side.

“Shift back or we’re not letting you up,” Darla tells the wolf.

The wolf whines as a vehicle pulls into Darla’s drive. Doors open and slam, there is a pause, and then Zach’s voice calls out, “Red?”

“We’re back here!” I call out to him.

Darla lowers her shotgun and squats next to the wolf. “I know you’re a shifter,” she tells him. “We can do this the easy way or the hard way. It’ll be a while before law enforcement will make it out here. You can spend that time with a pig on you or without. Your choice.”

The wolf doesn’t respond. Zach and Zander appear around the back of the trailer and head over to us. Without a word, Zach wraps his arms around me, presses his nose to my neck, and sighs. “I’m so sorry, Red.”

I hold him tight against my chest, grateful to be surrounded by people far more capable than I at handling intruders. The wolf’s whine increases and Zach looks to him, then back to me.

“Is it him? Is it Morgan?”

I shrug. “I never saw him in his wolf. He always said the full moon nights were guy’s only nights.”

Zander chuckles. “Well, they could be, if you’re a man looking for other men, but—“

“Be nice,” Darla warns, and I sigh.

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