Page 10 of Wolf Forgotten

Cole fired two shots and sprinted for the door. The wolves were hot on his tail as he jumped in, slamming the door behind him. The wolves hit the door with what felt like the force of a small vehicle, and the chopper rocked.

Damn, those wolves had to be on steroids.

“Those fucking-" Cole didn’t finish before the helicopter rocked again. “Son of a bitch.” He slid into the front seat, powering up the chopper. “God dammit!”

Our first day together was going well, I would say.

I slid into my seat and put on my seat belt and helmet without saying a word as the blades stirred up dirt and debris around us. I could faintly hear wolves howl.

We lifted off, and I looked out the window as we rose into the air. The wolves were gone.

After a few minutes, I still heard Cole’s deep inhalations through the headset, so I decided it was best to stay quiet. I was pretty sure I was in some deep shit after the stunt I pulled. He told me to get in the helicopter and I darted right back out into the path of the wolves. Barbara would write me up, maybe even fire me.

As we approached the research facility, Cole finally spoke. “Never do something like that again. It was incredibly stupid. Don't you know any better?” He took several deep breaths. “You told those wolves you don’t respect their territory.”

I took my helmet off as the wheels touched down and turned to narrow my eyes at him. “They are fucking wolves, Cole. I was getting soil samples. You’re telling me they got mad because I collected half a cup ofdirt?”

“You know that sound wolves make? A growl? That's a warning to leave. It was clear as day that those wolves were not happy we were there.” He was speaking in a condescending tone, as if I were a child. “Then you stared the alpha down! To add insult to injury, yeah, you took their dirt.”

He sounded like a lunatic.

“Let me guess, you’re a wolf expert as well? Is that why Barbara so hastily hired you, or was itsomething elsethat got you this job? A little weekend romp, perhaps?” I probably crossed a huge human resources line, but my irritation was higher than it had ever been.

My suggestion struck a nerve, and he violently unhooked his seatbelt. “You almost got yourself killed! Two against an alpha and two others isn't good odds.”

I laughed at his comment and looked at the gun lying on the floor between us. I quickly exited the helicopter after grabbing my stuff. I slammed the door and gasped, my hand making its way to cover my mouth.

The wolves had dented the cabin doors so badly I was surprised it had opened for me. Damn, I was going to be fired now for sure. The helicopter cost well over twenty million dollars.

Tears welled in my eyes, and I walked around the helicopter, my eyes on my feet so I wouldn't have to see Cole's glare. He just didn't understand how important this line of work was.

When I got to the back door of the facility, I stopped with my hand on the doorknob and braved a glance over my shoulder. The cockpit was empty, and Cole was nowhere to be seen. Had he run? If I were him, that’s what I would have done. His first day and he was returning with a damaged helicopter. I should have run along with him.

Before I could investigate further, Cole popped back into the driver’s seat and restarted the engine.

The door opened and Reid almost careened into me as he came out the back door.

“Jesus, Ivy!” He held his clipboard and followed the helicopter as Cole pulled it into the hangar.

They exchanged pleasantries before both began circling the helicopter. As they got to the passenger side cabin door, nothing registered on Reid’s face. I had only stayed outside to watch Reid lose his shit over the damage. Instead, he slapped Cole a few times on the back.

Before either could notice me gawking, I slipped inside and made my way to my office, where I planned on hiding for the rest of the day.

* * *

An hour had passedinto my self-imposed exile when there was a swift knock on my door. Barbara probably had all the information now and had decided my future employment status. Damn it. I liked this job.

“Come in!” I looked back at my computer screen. Despite the past hour being a battle of my willpower not to fake being sick to go home early and the urge to cry, I had gotten a sizeable chunk of my report written.

I should have faked being sick.

Cole walked in, shut the door, and sat down in the chair in front of my desk. My closed door must not have been a big enough sign I didn’t want to be bothered.

The tension hung between us as I continued typing on my keyboard, the clicking sound only minutely working to calm me down. At some point, I had started typing the same sentence repeatedly, just so I would have something to focus on.

A minute passed before he made a noise that sounded an awful lot like a growl. I stopped typing and looked at him. “Did you come in here to gloat that Barbara is writing me up or firing me over the wolf incident?” I steepled my hands in front of me as if I were the one in charge. “I'm curious to know what she will say about the gun you have on our premises.”

“I’m not sure what gun you're talking about.” His expression was blank, and the silence stretched between us once more.

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