Page 49 of Midlife Wolf Captured My Heart

Sadie hesitated and then said, “Sure. Why not.”

They hopped into Talia’s car. “How are things going with Dakota?”

Again, Sadie had the urge to tell her about the baby but kept quiet. “Same as usual, I suppose. You know that I’ve fallen in love with him and I’m certain he feels the same for me. He’s still going to leave and I’m still going to stay.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I’m not. We’ve made some memories that will last me a lifetime. I’ll just be one of those old ladies who has a ton of dogs and people will think of me as the stereotypical librarian.”

Talia laughed. “Dogs, huh?”

“I like cats, too, but dogs tend to cuddle more.”

They arrived at the mountain and Talia parked. Both of them looked around cautiously when they reached the spot where they normally exited the main trail.

After a minute, Talia said, “I don’t see any sign of cameras.”

“I don’t, either.”

Sadie’s heart raced as they walked the familiar, unseen trail up the mountain. Once they reached the spot where they shifted, the women inspected every tree that would have a view of them.

“I don’t see any cameras or drones.”

Talia, who had inspected the wooded area around them reported, “I don’t see signs of humans.”

Feeling safe, they undressed and stashed their clothes and cell phones in plastic bags and stashed them in the tree. Nodding to each other, they shifted at the same time. Sadie briefly wondered if shifting was safe for the baby, but the clan doctor didn’t say anything about it.

For a minute a small grey wolf and grizzly bear looked at each other and took a step toward freedom from the human world.

“Don’t move,” a gruff voice shouted. Five people emerged from the trees armed to the teeth. “Shift back or we shoot.”

Sadie and Talia looked at each other and then shifted back.

“Names,” one of the women yelled.

She had knotted hair as though it hadn’t been brushed in weeks. Her teeth were rotten and Sadie could smell her body odor. The woman was rank.

“Sadie.”

“Talia.”

“What clans do you belong to?”

“None.” Sadie wasn’t about to give them the idea that there were other bear shifters around. Talia echoed her sentiment.

“We’ll see,” the nasty woman said.

A younger woman, who seemed to be a lot healthier than the first grabbed Sadie’s and Talia’s bags out of the tree. The hunters seemed momentarily distracted. Sadie and Talia quickly shifted back and lunged at the hunters.

Talia’s jaw clamped down on an arm and the hunter screamed loudly. Sadie’s massive claw sent another hunter flying back. For a heartbeat, it seemed like they might escape the hunters.

A loud crack sounded in the air and Talia yelped. At the same time, Sadie felt a searing pain in her side.

“Enough,” the tallest man in the group yelled. “Shift back or the next shots will be fatal.”

Talia and Sadie instantly shifted back to their human forms.

“Smart girls,” he said condescendingly. “Now you get to live a little longer. Gives you hope of being rescued.”

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