Page 5 of Her Big Bad Wolf
Kyle had left to check on whoever he had roaming around my little farm. I didn’t like it and it set my wolf on edge, but there was one wolf in this world that I would not cross, and he damn well knew it.
After a few minutes, he returned.
“We’re rolling out. Thanks for cooperating. I appreciate it.”
Like it was my choice.
Kyle wasn’t showing up to everyone’s house to check like this. He knew it and I knew it. He’d come here specifically to protect his little search team and make sure I toed the line.
It wasn’t like I ever caused trouble. As long as people left me be, I was happy to live my life on the fringe.
Besides, why would any little rugrats come sniffing around here? It wasn’t like I had anything to provide for them. And if I heard them, I’d likely shoot first, and maybe feel bad later.
I didn’t like kids. But I didn’t hate them enough to single them out or want to hurt them either. At least as long as they didn’t provoke me.
What kid would be dumb enough to even try?
I knew damn well there were stories about me around the Pack. Some had grown like horror lore. I was likened to movies like Psycho, Halloween, and other tales of psychotic killers on the loose. I didn’t care. It kept people away. Only the truly sick came looking, or the occasional teenage dare. Lately, even those had seemed to fade away.
It was as if I didn’t even exist, and I was more than okay with that. As far as the rest of the world outside San Marco knew, I’d died more than twenty years ago. It meant no more taxes, no signs whatsoever of my existence.
My paycheck was laundered so deep that no one was ever going to sort it out. On paper it was paid to several overseas charities, like a medical relief group in Uganda. To authenticate that, I did have a charity actively running over there, just on a far smaller budget than would appear on paper. And there were several others scattered around the globe as well.
None of it traced directly back to me. Because I didn’t exist. And that was exactly how I wanted it.
Maybe there was something wrong with me. I didn’t need community the way normal wolf shifters required. I didn’t need anyone but me. Never had, never would.
When I wasn’t working or tending to my farm, I was usually running through the woods in my fur. I spent a great deal of time in my wolf form. There was something so peaceful about it.
Even now as I watched Kyle and his team leave, I wanted to shift and go for a run. My natural instinct was to pee a circle around my property, but even I wasn’t dumb enough for that.
I knew damned well I was inside Kyle’s territory. It would never fully be mine because of it. He was a tolerant and fair Alpha. He put up with a lot of my shit, but marking up his territory wasn’t something he’d tolerate, or at least an understanding I was not brave enough to test.
Certain everyone was gone, I walked outside and checked everything for myself. They hadn’t really disturbed anything. The animals were a little riled up, but not too bad. There wasn’t any sign of any pups around.
Feeling confident in that, I walked back inside to try and settle in for the night once more.
Sleep wasn’t something that came to me easily. I often spent many late hours working because of it. That allowed me to tend to things with more immediate importance.
Twice a month I ventured out and off the mountain to pick up grain and hay for the animals. There was a small feed store that I liked. They didn’t ask any questions and I didn’t give them any reason to. We had a simple exchange. I placed my order. They prepared it. I picked it up. There wasn’t even a need for fake pleasantries. On a regular basis they were the only people I had contact with, and they were humans smart enough not to ask any questions or go prying into my business.
My family had passed on or moved on long ago. I still had a sister out there somewhere. She had mated a Longhorn wolf and moved out of territory. She had a few pups I’d never met before, but she’d send a Christmas card once a year to Kyle to give to me.
I had no address of my own. I had no bills. My home was a hundred percent off grid. I had a well and a combination of wind, solar, and water generators for energy. My internet was the only thing truly connecting me to the outside world and it was a satellite link charged to Westin Force where no one would bat an eye towards it.
I was very good at what I did.
If someone needed to disappear, Archie over at Westin Force would reach out and ask for my assistance. How he got my email for contact was beyond me. I assumed Kyle gave it to him. The guy was almost as paranoid as me, so it all worked out in the end. In some weird way he was probably my one friend in this world and I’d never even laid eyes on the guy.
I’d been offered jobs over there, but I preferred the arrangement we currently had. It worked for me. What I didn’t like was change. I loved my life just the way it was and I didn’t need a damn thing more.
If those little brats Kyle was looking for had a lick of sense in their heads, they wouldn’t dream of coming here.
My wolf didn’t fully relax until every last one of them was a good mile away on their search. I just hoped they didn’t find cause to come back this way any time soon, or ever would be preferred.
Vanessa
Chapter 3
