Page 2 of Wolves Always Bite

Me:So…I’vebeen thinking.Doyou thinkIhave to call my hero a “werebear”?Orwould “shifter” work?

MyAmazingBFF:Tooearly.Sleeping.

Me:Obviouslyyou aren’t.Youjust texted.

MyAmazingBFF:It’sSaturdaymorning.Tryingto sleep in.

Me:Sincewhen?Younever…Oh…Areyou having sexy times? *eggplant emoji* *water drops emoji*

MyAmazingBFF: …

Me:Sorryto interrupt.Goabout your business.

MyAmazingBFF:Wearen’t having sex.

Me:Ifyou say so…

MyAmazingBFF:Shifterwould be fine.

Me:Okay.Cool.BecausewhenIthink of the word werebear, my brain automatically changes “were” to “care” in some kind of weird word association.Thoselittle cartoon bears are cute, but not the right fit for my story.Atall.

WhenAshdidn’t respond again,Itucked my phone away.Perfect.Iliked the wordshifterbetter, but it was good to have someone agree with me.Man,IlovedAsh.Hewas the bestest best friend a guy could ask for.Iwas about to tellBabettehis heroic bullet-ridden story when she veered west onto a rutted gravel road and headed straight into the foothills.

Weusually stayed on the highway, so this was new.Ileaned forward, curious about our little detour.Icould totally picture a luxurious off-grid hotel tucked away in these trees.Arustic resort would be the perfect client forBabette’sproducts.Ifthey had a spa,Iwould totally grab all the info.AshandIwere due for aBFFsweekend away.

Themountain peaks in the distance were just visible through the cut line in the trees.Theearly morning light lit them in warm golden hues.Gorgeous.Withall the warm weather we’d been having, the snowpack was melting, but the tops of the mountains were still capped in white.I’dalways loved looking at them and, as soon asIsaw them,Iwas captivated.Allother thoughts slipped away.

“Oh, look at that.Sopretty,”Imurmured, mostly to fill the silence in the van.Isnapped a couple of pictures on my phone through the cracked and dirty windshield.

“Stopthat.”Babettewaved her hand at me as if to swat my phone from my hand.

I’dgrown up with six older brothers, though, so my reflexes were wickedly fast.Therewas no way she was touching my phone.

“Putit away.Idon’t want to see it again until after we set up.”

WTF.Imean,really?Shewasn’t my mother, andIwasn’t doing anything wrong.Ihadn’t expected her to share my joy at the view asIcrooned over its beauty, but banning my phone seemed a bit harsh even for her.Howdare anyone look at that vista andnotswoon in delight?Itwas like the woman was an alien or something.

Ishoved my phone in my backpack.ThenIcrossed my arms and glared through the windshield.WhydidIwork for her again?Oh, yeah, becauseIdidn’t want to move back in with my parents.

Ihated my life sometimes.

Bythe timeBabetteslowed the van, indicating we were getting close to our destination, my anger had fled.MostlybecauseIwas wildly distracted by two overwhelming problems.One,Idesperately needed to find a bathroom.Andtwo,Ialso desperately needed a coffee refill.Thosetwo things may have been connected.

Myhand was on the door handle, andIwas ready to jump out and hunt down whatIneeded as soon as she stopped.Whenwe rounded a bend in the tree-lined road and our destination was revealed,Ihad second thoughts.Arundown two-story house in the middle of the forest was definitely not the rustic spa hotelI'dbeen envisioning.Icouldn’t see anyone staying here by choice, certainly not me.Whateverthis place was,Ididn’t need to come back any time soon.Andif anyone started playing a banjo,Iwas out of here with or without my boss.

Myfull bladder and my need for more caffeine may have made me more critical than normal, but the place was weird with a capitalW.Abunch of tiny houses—and that description was incredibly generous to the dilapidated shacks—were tucked into the trees around the house and there were people everywhere.Thepeople scowled and flashed their unusually long eyeteeth at us as we drove down the driveway.Ithad to be a genetic trait.That’sthe only explanationIcould come up with for why so many people in one community would all have that same dental problem.

“Babette?Ithink you took a wrong turn.”

Ididn’t get an answer, not even another grunt.

Shedrove to the large old farmhouse.Thecloser we got, the tighterIgripped the door handle, not to throw the door open, but to make sure no one else could get in.Thehouse leaned to the side a bit, had more than a few broken windows, and a couple of shrubs were growing in the eavestroughs.Idoubted evenJoannaGainescould save this place.

“Stayhere,”Babettesaid as she parked the van.

“Yep.Totally.”Inodded rapidly.Ihad no desire to interact with these people.Theylooked like they’d love nothing more than to chase me through the woods for sport andIreally hadn’t worn the right shoes for that.

Mybladder would be okay.Icrossed my legs.Thepiercing ache was barely noticeable.Andmore coffee?Pfft.Whoneeded coffee?Notme.Iwas suddenly wide awake.BesidesIcouldn’t fit any more liquid in my body at the moment.Iwas all full, right to the brim.