Page 7 of Twisted Howlidays

His wolf raised his head and sniffed the air. “Don’t underestimate her. She’s masking her scent, she’s as quiet as a ghost and doing a damn good job of staying out of sight. I sometimes wonder if she’s tracking us.”

“Kind of spooky. She’s even started to show up in my dreams.” Ryan still didn’t know what to think of that particular development.

CHAPTER FIVE

“Knock knock.” Daisy said, stepping through the open door of the cottage.

“Come on in. I’m just back off the mountain,” Kendra replied, pulling her boots off.

“How goes the great grizzly bear hunt?”

Kendra slumped into an overstuffed chair, and Daisy joined her by taking the seat opposite from her. “Nothing yet. Not a single sign of any bears.”

“Ask her about the wolf we’ve been seeing.” Her wolf chimed in.

“Hush!”

“What’s that, dear?” Daisy asked, smiling politely.

“Oh, nothing. I was just saying how disappointing it’s been so far. And now the weather up there has taken a turn for the worse. I got down this afternoon before the snow really started to pile up.”

“Sounds like tomorrow will be worse.”

Kendra sighed. “Yeah, I’m already counting on tomorrow being a wasted day. But I suppose it won’t hurt to catch up on some rest.”

“Calder and I would love to have you over for the afternoon. We’ll have a few folks dropping by and there will be plenty of food. It would be a nice break for you.”

“That sounds nice. I could use a break.”

“Then we’ll see you tomorrow. Come over anytime.” Daisy stood and showed herself to the door.

“I will. Thanks again for all of your help.”

“You’re very welcome.” Daisy pulled the door closed behind her as she left.

Wiped out from a full week of scouting the mountains, Kendra quickly fell asleep. The wintery background was always the same in her dreams—like being trapped in a giant snow globe. Her wolf crept through the forest, tracking the elusive white wolf. But she could never corner him. She woke up more frustrated than ever.

“It’s no wonder we haven’t found any grizzlies. We’ve become obsessed with that stupid wolf!”

Her wolf let out a low menacing growl. “Don’t say that! He’s not just some stupid wolf. I’m telling you, he’s more. We should give up on the bears for now. Find that wolf!”

“That’s insanity. I have a job to do. A job that pays the bills. Chasing some rogue wolf isn’t on the to-do list. And who’s to say he’s not just some punk like that last guy I dated?”

“But that idiot wasn’t even a wolf! Besides, I warned you not to get involved. He wasn’t even that hot.”

“Meh, he was hot enough to date. “

“And apparently, plenty of other women thought so too.” Her wolf snarled.

“Okay, smartass, stop beating me up over that one. In case you haven’t noticed, the dating pool of city wolves consists of one wolf—me. Anyway, I need to get ready to go over to see Daisy and Calder.” She was done feeling bad about her dating past and the fact that they lived in the city. She didn’t have the patience to keep rehashing the same old shit with her wolf.

Despite missing out on a full day of bear stalking, she looked forward to spending the day with her hosts. She was also excited to meet more of the Twisted Tail wolves. She’d lived her whole life only meeting a handful of wolves, and all of them were friends of her parents or her brother-in-law. She hated to admit it, but maybe her sister was right. Maybe she did need to get out there and meet some new wolves.

Kendra quickly threw herself together and headed over to meet up with Daisy and Calder.

“Here, let me help you,” Kendra said, picking up the crock pot.

“Oh, thanks. We’ll just set everything up on this table. We do this potluck thing about once a month. Everyone who stops by usually brings something. The downside, according to Calder, is that we’re stuck with leftovers for the next week. Personally, I’m perfectly fine with not having to come up with ideas for a week.”

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