Page 16 of Wolfish
“All right, sure.” She was surprised, but glad that he wanted to learn more about the man, so if he encountered him, he would know who he was.
When they arrived at the location, Daniel smelled around.
“That’s his scent,” she said.
“It’s one of the men who came to the Silver Town Tavern when we ate dinner there.”
“The drunk, rowdy guys?” she asked.
“Yeah, the fairer-haired of the three.”
She shivered. “Okay, that’s creepy. He was the one who had thrown the business card down. He was supposed to leave town. What would he be doing at a cemetery?” She hadn’t been near him at the tavern, so she hadn’t smelled his scent.
“Did you have a light on?”
“Yeah, because despite our wolf’s night vision, seeing worn headstones is difficult without a light.” She looked around the area and saw where he had been standing.
“So even though he couldn’t normally see you in the dark, when you had a light on, he could.”
“Right. I wonder where his other friends were.” She began stripping off her clothes.
“I can’t imagine they would have been far away unless they dropped him off in the woods to pee or something. What are you planning to do?” Daniel asked.
“See if the others were with him, but farther from this spot.”
“As a wolf.”
“For sure.” She turned into her black wolf. He quickly stripped off his clothes and shifted into a beautiful, dark-gray wolf with a white mask. He affectionately nuzzled her muzzle.
She nuzzled him back, and she loved that wolfish interaction between them. Then, they sprinted through the woods, trying to find the scents of the other men. They soon found the men’s scents nearer to the highway. The other man had joined them. He had just wandered farther than the others and had come upon an unusual sight—a woman exploring the cemetery at night.
Then Selena and Daniel returned to their clothes, shifted, and dressed.
“I feel better about it. They were relieving themselves, and one saw me. I’m sure they’re gone from here,” she said.
“I feel the same way. Are you ready for dinner?”
“I sure am.”
Then they headed for his SUV and drove to the ski lodge.
Inside the lodge, stone pillars met high timbered ceilings, and hikers and other guests were sipping drinks in the lobby, while a family of four splashed water at each other in a large, enclosed indoor/outdoor pool. It looked refreshing. A two-sided fireplace had a fire going on this fall night while a big old St. Bernard curled up on a dog bed next to it, getting special treatment from a few kids petting him or her.
Selena glanced at the gift shop where skeletons sat in the display window wearing children’s ski goggles. Selena smiled, glad the ladies had bought them and displayed them so cleverly.
They headed for the restaurant, and Roxie greeted them as soon as they entered. “I’ll seat them,” she told the waitress.
Such exceptional treatment by a co-owner of the lodge and restaurant.
“Where would you like to sit? Overlooking the pool or the mountains?” Roxie asked.
“The pool.” Though the view of the mountains appealed to Selena too.
“We have a special membership for the pool so that wolves in Silver Town can swim here, even if they’re not staying at the lodge. Members usually use it when hikers are out hiking or skiers are skiing, and the pool is empty.”
“That sounds great.” Selena thought that once she had a helper at the store, she could go swimming when the pool wasn’t busy.
“Maybe we can go swimming here together,” Daniel said as Roxie handed them their menus.
