Page 9 of Wolf Forgotten

I squatted down next to her as she stuck an instrument in the ground and took a picture with her tablet. She removed the instrument and put the soil she collected at the end of it into a container.

“I’ll be done in a few minutes if you want to go back to the chopper. You can brush up on your nineties pop so we can have a sing along on the way back.” She couldn't be serious.

Rosiness bloomed across her cheek. "What's it going to take for you to forgive me for the bar?"And why do you smell like a wolf?

She sighed and took another instrument from the bin. "I hate Mondays, so it might just take it being Tuesday."

I laughed and stood, brushing invisible dirt off the palms of my hands. "Well, if that's all it takes..." I took a deep inhale as a faint smell of danger hit my nose. "Ivy. Get in the helicopter. Now.”

Her back stiffened, and then she raised her tablet to take a picture of what she was doing. She lowered it slowly, setting it in the bin. "I don't take orders from men."

She pinned me with a glare. Her gray eyes smoldered with anger, but her scent had an acrid scent of fear. Did she smell the other wolves too, or was it my bossiness that made her scared?

My eyes snapped back to the trees and locked on where the scent was coming from. They were close, and in a few seconds two of them, the same two from Friday night, would be coming into view.

"Hurry it up," I snapped. So much for any progress I had made with her.

"You know, Cole. You're a real-" Her head raised to look at the trees as two wolves emerged. "Are those wolves?"

"Yes." She should have known they were. Could she not smell? Maybe something was wrong with her nose.

She quickly pulled the instrument out of the ground and put the soil in a specimen jar. She stood, her eyes still on the wolves who had stopped about fifty feet away. I moved in front of her and started backing up, pushing her toward the helicopter.

"What are you doing? I need to get the bin." She tried scooting past me, but I put out my arm, stopping her.

“This is not a fucking joke. Get in.” My words dripped in warning. I didn't care if she had some deep-seated issue with men telling her what to do. She was in danger.

I corralled her to the helicopter and opened the door. "Get in."

She narrowed her eyes at me. “They’re just wolves. They are more scared of us. It will take me a second.” She darted past me and made a dash for her equipment.

Was she insane?

I pulled the gun I'd stashed in my flight bag and flicked off the safety. I didn't like to carry around a gun, but with Ivy being a question mark and me being out of my own territory, it was an added protection.

She walked back toward me, and her eyes widened. She had no clue that the two wolves were stalking toward us, their hackles raised and their teeth showing.

We were in their territory and they wanted blood.

Chapter Five

Ivy

Ihad never seen something so beautifully dangerous in my life. I'd seen a shark a little closer than I would have liked, but sharks didn't look like man's best friend.

I secured my bin as Cole stood facing away from the helicopter. He was fucking nuts if he thought it was a good idea to shoot at the wolves. I wasn't that knowledgeable about the laws, but shooting a wolf was probably against a protection law.

I was just about to tell him he was an idiot when growling caught my attention. It was stupid to take my eyes off the wolves in the first place, especially since they were now stalking in our direction.

A third wolf that was larger than the other two bounded from the trees and joined them. My breath caught in my throat. If wolves could talk, I was sure it would have been calling me all kinds of derogatory names with the stare it was sporting.

Its eyes were staring right at me, and it looked hungry.

My heart jumped out of my chest and into my throat. I had never seen a wolf up close before, and part of me was fascinated, but still terrified.

Cole walked out several feet and stared down the wolves who had stopped about twenty-five feet away. The bigger one was in front of the other two. How far could wolves leap?

Cole and the wolves were still staring at each other. It was almost like they were having a private conversation with only their eyes. I hoped he didn’t get eaten because I didn’t know how to fly a helicopter.

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