Total pages in book: 129
Estimated words: 119935 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 600(@200wpm)___ 480(@250wpm)___ 400(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 119935 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 600(@200wpm)___ 480(@250wpm)___ 400(@300wpm)
“I know, I know, you’re right, baby, but this is different. I’ll explain it to you in a minute. Just come inside.”
“No. I can’t believe this!” She threw up her hands. “Why didn’t you tell me before I brought my ass up here, Jack, that you were harboring Wiley Coyote? You’re so blunt and brutally honest about everything else, telling me things that you could have kept inside that demented head of yours, and yet you kept this little tidbit all to yourself. Not a word. Why?”
“Because then, I knew you wouldn’t come…”
The bastard was right.
“Well, regardless of what I think about this stunt you’ve pulled, you are not one of the three pigs.” Her eyes became glued on the door as she heard more—louder—barking. Much louder. “I know I came up here with a basket a long time ago, but you didn’t have to complete the Little Red Riding Hood fairytale by bringing a real-life wolf! You’ve gone too far. I don’t like this version of roleplay!”
“Now you’re just being silly.”
“No, I’m not being silly. He might attack and bite me.”
“He’s not hungry.”
“How would you know that?”
“I just fed him. Besides, he rarely wants dessert,” he teased, no doubt trying to soften the mood.
“You don’t know if he’s still hungry or not. There’s no machine that tells you that. No special psychic animal gadget or do-dad. Ain’t too many Black people around here, either.”
“What does your race have to do with this?”
“We’re seasoned. Like a delicacy. What if he has a thing for dark meat? I could be the caviar in his life. Expensive and rare.”
At this, he burst out laughing, and she tried not to laugh at her silliness, too. The man gently wrapped his hand around her wrist and opened the door. Slowly. Her heart was beating so damn fast, she was certain she’d pass out cold in a matter of seconds. Her eyes immediately landed on a large, jet black, gorgeous yet scary as hell creature—a hulking wolf with fire in his eyes. The beast snarled, showing bright pink gums and glistening white teeth that gleamed with streams of saliva.
“Shiiiid! Boy, bye!” She turned to walk out the door. “You call me when this diabolical motherfucker is gone from Grandma’s house. I’m not about to talk about what big eyes he has. This fairytale is cut short. This is why Black people always die in horror movies first. I’m not about to be another cinematic statistic.”
“Kim, wait! Diesel. Sit!”
She looked over her shoulder before taking her next step to freedom. The animal immediately hit the floor and cowered.
Jack grabbed her elbow and brought her back inside. He reached around and closed and locked the door. Then, as she stood there trying to show no fear but failing miserably, he removed her purse from her arm and waved it in front of the animal. The wolf immediately began to sniff the bag, shoving his nose flat against it, and licking it in a few spots, too.
Get him off of my stuff. He’s slobbering on it. That purse cost a lot of money! She screamed in her head… but kept that mess to herself.
“Diesel. Up. Sit.”
The wolf immediately stood, then sat back on his haunches. Jack handed her the purse back.
“Why. Is. He. Here?!” she whispered, mad as hell as she glared at the wolf, who was staring right back.
“Here is the short version. He was in one of my traps. His injury, though not life threatening, is of a permanent nature. He could survive in the wild, but he would be limited and more than likely have a shorter lifespan. He considers me Alpha. I believe he was the leader of his own pack at one point in time, so this was a pretty big fall from grace. I nursed him back to health, and now, he lives here. He’s pretty protective, but intelligent. Trainable. He can reason. Able to learn rules and remember them. Now, put your hand out in front of him.”
“Nope.”
“Kim…”
“I said what I said.” She crossed her arms.
Jack snatched the rifle by the front door and aimed it at the wolf.
“Put your hand in front of his face. Here’s your insurance policy.”
She swallowed at the sight of the rifle. Shaking, she took a small step closer to the beast. Then another. With a trembling wrist, she winced, prayed, and let her hand dangle about ten inches from the animal’s face. The wolf got on his feet and sniffed her hard. She closed her eyes as the wet nose wandered up her wrist, further up her arm, until she could feel hot breath all around her waist. He was panting. Licking. She kept her eyes shut and suppressed a scream. A cry for mercy.
“Kim… you’re shaking. Relax. He’s just curious. They can pick up on fear. He’s just greeting you. Checking you out.”