Page 6 of Wolf Forgotten

"A job? But... huh?"

I smiled at the curl to his lip and his furrowed brows. "Northern Alliance needs a helicopter pilot engineer guy. I overheard them mentioning they’re hard to come by, and I figured I'd offer myself as a volunteer pilot until they find someone." I shrugged as his mouth opened to protest. "It's a way to get more information on the woman, and the facility is just outside the Arbor Falls boundary."

"How long has it been since you flew a helicopter?" Eli frowned at a piece of bacon he held in his hand before he pointed it at me. "What aren't you telling me?"

It had been a few years since I took to the skies, but it was nothing I couldn't handle. I assumed part of my interview would be to actually fly.

I finished my last bite of food and stood with my plate. "We need more information than what you can find online. She's doing something to suppress her wolf and I'm going to find out what she's up to."

"I hope you know what you're doing. The last thing we need is Silas's pack catching wind of you."

I decided not to tell him they already had.

Chapter Three

Ivy

Islammed my car's door as I stepped out into the crisp March air. I was still in a cranky mood after Cole skipped out on his tab, which then became my tab. His name probably wasn’t even Cole. It was possibly Jack, last name Ass. My faith in the male species was reaching a critically low level.

It was Monday, my least favorite day of the week. I liked sleep, and getting up and to work before the sun rose made me unapproachable for the first few hours. Add to that we had no pilot, and my mood was in the dump.

I opened the back door of my car and grabbed my bag that held my laptop, tablet, and cold weather gear. It might have been March, but taking soil samples from a high-altitude location got chilly.

I swiped my coffee mug off the roof and made it to the front door without dropping it. Win one for Monday on the books.

The receptionist greeted me with a smile. “Good morning, Ivy. Did you have a nice weekend?” Bless Stan's chipper mood every Monday. He had more than enough cheer to go around.

I grumbled at him with a small wave, and he chuckled. I guess the look on my face was enough of an answer.

Once I dropped my things off in my office, I headed to the conference room where we met Monday mornings to discuss recent developments and to go over any collection assignments for the week. The week would be light since our search for a replacement for Richard had gone unfilled.

We had known his last day was coming but had not found a suitable candidate that also held a passion for researching climate change. Richard had offered to stay on for longer, but we all knew he had a big trip around the world planned for him and his wife. Who were we to stand in the way of that?

I plopped down in my favorite chair—which was the same as all the other chairs—and sipped on my coffee as the others trickled in. We were a mixed bunch for sure. We ranged in age from twenty-five to sixty, with me being the youngest.

My phone buzzed, notifying me it was my turn in the word game I played with Jessica. I was beating her for a change, and I opened the app, examining the letters at my disposal.

Barbara, head of Northern Alliance, cleared her throat, ready to start our meeting. “I have some wonderful news to share. Yesterday, I interviewed a candidate for our pilot opening. He'll be with us on a volunteer basis until we hire a permanent employee. Let's give a warm welcome to Cole Delaney. He has an impressive resume, including a year as an aerial firefighter pilot.”

What did she say?

My head snapped up from my phone to seehimlooking at me with intense eyes. He averted his gaze to look at Barbara. Jessica, who sat next to me, nudged me with her elbow, knowing exactly what I was thinking. I glanced across the table at Reid, who had a scowl on his face.

They hadn’t been too happy Friday when he left me with a tab of over a hundred and fifty dollars. After Reid flipped out on Mike the bartender, he told us Cole had bought two rounds of drinks for a table of women earlier in the night.

Cole sat down in an empty chair at the other end of the table as Barbara continued with her updates. While swiveling back and forth in my chair, I tried to keep my attention on the meeting, but all I kept imagining was poking out Cole's eyes.

I was half zoned out, planning Cole’s demise, when my name was said with an air of frustration, which meant it had been said several times already. Being caught daydreaming was embarrassing.

“Sorry. What?” I snapped out of my trance and scooted my chair closer to the table. “We should have these meetings on Tuesdays.” The rest of the table laughed, and I even got a small smile from Barbara, who was used to my inability to function on Mondays. Luckily, she overlooked the minor flaw of mine.

“You and Cole will fly out at ten to collect a soil sample. I’ll give you the coordinates after the meeting.”

I bit down on my inner cheek to keep from cursing. She just hired him yesterday, and he was already going to fly? Had she run his fingerprints or called his previous employers?

“Has he had time to train with our helicopter?” Although it was pertinent to our research that we got a measurement, safety was also important. The last thing I needed was to burn up in a fiery crash right before my twenty-sixth birthday.

“I have extensive flight hours with various helicopters. Barbara and I flew yesterday, and I think she can agree my skills are more than adequate. From my understanding, this is a time-sensitive measurement, and I'm prepared to keep you safe.” He kept his eyes on me.

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