Total pages in book: 21
Estimated words: 19786 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 99(@200wpm)___ 79(@250wpm)___ 66(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 19786 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 99(@200wpm)___ 79(@250wpm)___ 66(@300wpm)
A shuffling in the snow. The hair on the back of my neck stands up, and my eyes dart around. I dismiss it as just the wind.
I keep going, trying to enjoy the serenity. There’s more shuffling.
My eyes jolt to the source of the sound. Creeping through the snow is... a dog? All white, except for its eyes and teeth, which it’s baring at me. It dawns on me that it’s a bit too large to be a dog, and it’s unlikely that a stray one would be out here and so remote.
It’s snarl kicks up my adrenaline.
And I run.
And it chases.
Maybe that's not the best idea. There’s no way I’m going to outrun this thing. It has twice the amount of legs that I do and it’s probably a whole lot wiser on how to deal with all this snow. But the other part of fight or flight ain’t on the table here, as no one told me even to worry about wolves when I volunteered to go spend a few weeks with grandma.
So I run, as futile as it might be. All of me, all of my basket-bags, I’m heading right toward Grandma’s house, hoping that she has a shotgun or something.
Only in my panic do I make a wrong turn, because her cabin’s not where I expect it to be. I stumble about and run almost into a wall.
The wolf is right behind me, its stance strong and powerful as it closes in.
“Good doggie. Wolfie? Whatever you are, I don’t have any treats for you.” I shout, backing away, trying to think of the next action I should take. Should I just make a run for it past the creature?
It growls more, snarling. Ready to pounce. I’m worried I’m going to be the first member of my family mauled to death by a wolf in over a hundred years.
“Go on. Go away. I’m not going to hurt you. Please, go away,” I can hear my voice unsteady and wavering. I wouldn’t be able to convince anyone with that tone, even if they did speak English.
As I swallow and start to give up all hope, a man crashes down in front of me. One wearing a long sleeve shirt and no jacket, carrying a towel.
He screams incoherently at the wolf, puffing himself up hugely, pounding his chest and swinging the towel about. It looks absurd, but...?
The wolf growls, steps back, then turns and runs away,, and runs faster when the man starts to give chase.
It’s not too far before the man ceases, and the wolf is darting through the forest, his fur camouflaging it into the snow once more.
The man’s shoulders sink down into just being broad, as he turns to me. “Are you okay there, miss?”
I look up at my savior for the first time. Blue flannel and built like a brick shithouse, the guy in front of me in one word is, well, hot.
In more words, he looks like he’s all muscle, and those kind brown eyes betray the roughness of his jaw and the thickness of his beard.
“Um, uh,” I stammer, a bit more flabbergasted at the fact he’s talking to me to realize that he’s just saved my life on top of it. “Hi.”
“Hello to you too, miss,” He says with a smile, not mocking my response that made no sense.
“I mean, uh, Thank you,” I say, feeling the blood rush to my cheeks. I’ve already made a complete and utter fool of myself in front of the hot guy. Way to go, Red.
He laughs, and smiles. “Think nothing of it. I always lend a helping hand out here to anyone passing by. How else do we survive harsh winters like this?”
My heart’s beat returning to normal, I take a few steps in the snow and look out into the distance. “Here I was thinking wolves hibernate during the winter.”
The mountain man shakes his head. “That’s bears. Wolves stay active all through the winter and keep hunting.”
“Do... do they attack humans often?”
He shakes his head. “Not unless they’re very desperate. It’s a lone wolf too, one disconnected from his pack, so that probably made it harder for him.”
“I thought lone alpha wolves were how wolves acted.”
More head shaking as he turns to me. “Hardly. Wolves are pack animals. The alpha needs his pack, and will go through anything to protect his mate and his pups.”
He smiles my way, and I smile back, before averting my eyes. “Pardon me, I’m a bit of an ignorant city girl.”
The man looks at the bags I’m carrying. “What’s in your basket bags?”
“Oh, this? Just some groceries for my grandmother. I was walking back from Linesworth to her cabin before that wolf started to stalk me.”
“I suppose meat is part of your groceries?”
I nod. “I’m going to make a stew for us. Sounds perfect with how cold it is.”