Page 17 of The Mating Need
Chapter 3
Puttingon a brave face for Troy seemed easier when he was around. Alone, well, her bravado slipped like autumn leaves tumbling down after a strongwind.
Much as she longed to slip into her wolf and race through the woods, she promised Troy to stay in Skin for as long as possible. Getting shot by ranchers wasn’t on her top ten list of things to do,either.
Lightning flashed and thunder cracked in the distance. Shivering, she walked outside, jumping off the narrow porch to study the overcast sky. The little cabin seemed snug against storms, but she hated thunder. Violent thunderstorms had driven her alpha out of the woods to the openmeadow…
Don’t gothere.
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. Shelaughed.
Silly her. One would think she’d never been alone in thewoods.
Trouble was, time with Troy had been with her, she’d grown accustomed to his comfortingpresence.
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 ironpaw?
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 highpitch.
Wild wolf. The same wild wolves she’d heard a few nights ago, calling out into thenight.
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 thewolf.
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 theanimal.
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 thewilderness.
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 definitelyalone.
“Hey girl, you okay? You looklost.”
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 blendin.
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, sniffedit.
Then howled herself, a deep, longing howl expressing all her frustration andfeelings.
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 andswallow.
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 youhurt?”
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 lostwolf.
Likeme.
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 sharingspace.”
The wolf did notblink.
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 toburst.
Fat raindrops splatted here and there. Her brisk walk turned into a jog, breath rasping in herlungs.
Nothing to fear. Just astorm.
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 cagedlion.
Jenny waggled the steak. “Come and getit.”
