Page 4 of Twisted Howlidays

Daisy disconnected the call and Kendra felt like she was in an episode of The Twilight Zone. “That was freaking weird!” she said, trying to shake off the strangeness of the call. Yet, at the same time, she couldn’t help but wonder what the heck was up with those wolves? Were they clairvoyant or something?

Kendra pushed aside her worries and began packing her gear and clothes, she prepared for her next adventure—while keeping in mind that she needed to keep her guard up. The call and the cryptic message from Willow were just too odd to let go.

It took a day and a half to make the trip, far long enough for her to consider turning around more than once. But she’d never missed a deadline, and she wasn’t about to let a pair of elusive bears ruin her reputation.

Kendra didn’t need to even check her GPS—her wolf immediately knew when they had arrived at the heart of her destination.

“Twisted Tail. We should go for a run!”

“Hush! Keep your coat on. We need to call the Alpha and find a place to stay.”

“But take in the scent of these giant pines and the fresh snow! Just think of all the wolves who live in this area! And who we could meet?”

“Seriously, chill out. We’ll run. Later.”

Kendra should have known her wolf would be running circles in her damn head. It had been far too long since she’d let her run. And even longer since they had been around others of their kind.

She eyed a few cute little cabins distantly scattered along the winding forest road and wondered about the wolf pack who lived there.

“Do you think the Twisted Tail wolves will accept us?” her wolf asked.

“Does it matter? It’s not like we’re here to socialize. So don’t get too attached. We’ve got a job to do, and we are getting it wrapped up by Christmas.”

A lover of the wild by her very nature, she often wondered what it would be like, to actually live full-time in the wild. But despite her frequent treks through the wilderness, she’d always been tethered to the city and happily bounced back to her urban life. Lately, her wolf seemed to be quite vocal in voicing her displeasure about being a city wolf.

Kendra blindly pawed the passenger seat, trying to find her phone while navigating her Jeep along the winding narrow road. Glancing down for a mere second, her gaze was immediately brought back to the road by a blaring horn. Slamming her foot on the brake, she skidded to a stop.

A beat-up looking lifted truck had crossed in front of her and also came to a stop. The driver shouted something before spinning his tires and quickly disappearing.

“Holy fuck! That was close. Did you hear what he said? I bet it was something rude.”

“Oh yeah. It was. Something about what you could do with that phone.”

“Great. We’re making good a good impression already.”

Kendra quickly checked her phone for directions to the Lorensen’s cabin, noticing she was already at the turnoff. And realizing the truck she nearly hit had also taken the turn she needed to take. By the time she made it to the sprawling log home, she spotted the truck again—just as it peeled away from the house and down another lane.

“How about that? He probably told Calder about how we nearly killed him. Expect everyone in Twisted Tail to clear the roads when they see our Jeep.”

“Thanks for making me feel better. Now, could you please curl up and take a nap instead of raising my blood pressure.”

The minute Kendra stepped out of her Jeep; Daisy greeted her with a warm hug. “Hello, Kendra. I’m Daisy. We’ve been looking forward to meeting you.”

“It’s nice to meet you too. I hope that guy who just left didn’t already ruin my name, seeing as how I nearly crashed into him. He seemed pretty upset about it.”

“Oh, that was just Ryan. Calder asked him to help with some job. But don’t worry about him. His bark is much worse than his bite,” she said with a wink.

Kendra’s attention was drawn to the man standing at the front door. “Kendra, come on inside,” he said, shaking her hand. “I hope you had a good trip.”

“No problems at all. It’s beautiful here.” Kendra’s voice wavered as she replied to the Alpha. She could feel his power from where she stood. It was intimidating. She’d never felt such raw power oozing from a wolf. The closer she got to him the greater the power. It was intoxicating.

She stepped inside their home and tried not to gasp in surprise. Their home was everything that a country log cabin should be. Though, she couldn’t quite call it a cabin. It was more like a country log mansion.

Calder directed her into the living room where a roaring fire burned in the stone fireplace.

“Please, have a seat. Can I get you something to drink?” Daisy asked.

“Coffee would be great. Thank you. You have a beautiful home.”

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