Page 11 of Midlife Animal Rescuer Wolf

He’d clearly been in these woods enough times to know his way around. And after they rescued the foal, they’d be out of here. A thought occurred to her then: was he going to take her back to Everland or to Sylva? He wasn’t from her town, after all.

Suddenly, Bryon stopped in his tracks, causing her to look at him in alarm.

He pointed ahead. “There’s a creek up there just beyond those trees. We’re going to have to cross it.”

“Oh. You sure you can? I mean, your foot...”

He stared down with a grunt. “Damn shard. I’m practically useless to anyone this way.”

At least it made him a little less of a threat to her. “You’re not. You’ve got a great sense of direction. Without you, I’d still be completely lost, probably even worse, and...”

She trailed off. Bryon held up a finger to his lips, his eyes widening slowly. A tense look slowly crawled across his face as he turned to face her.

“What is it?” she breathed.

His eyes narrowed then. “We’re being followed.”

Chapter Four

“I Would Not Have Survived the Trip to Mordor”

Bryon wanted to kick himself. Then he remembered he had only one good foot.

How had he not noticed that they were being followed? Even in human form, his senses were sharper than most. He should’ve picked up on their stalker minutes ago. But no, he’d been too distracted by his own thoughts, not to mention that almost kissing the woman next to him had all but addled his brain.

His inner wolf’s fur bristling, he glanced over his shoulder. The sound of a few twigs snapping in the distance reached his ears. They were being followed alright. And whoever it was, it was closing in on them.

“It’s Jerry,” Miranda said, her eyes practically bulging out of their sockets. Her grip on his arm tightened almost painfully. “H-he’s found me.”

Bryon ground his teeth, scowling in the direction of their stalker as the approaching footsteps grew louder. He’d been counting on her ex-boyfriend getting lost in these woods, but maybe he’d been wrong. Leaves rustled, and he caught sight of a dark shape moving through the greenery. Then their stalker came into full view.

Only it wasn’t a man; it was an animal.

“What in the...?” he muttered.

A wolf, to be precise. It was about as tall as his waist, a few leaves and some dirt in its black fur. The wolf’s eyes shifted from him to Miranda and back, and its jaw parted to reveal a set of yellowing teeth.

Next to Bryon, Miranda shuddered visibly. “One of your kind?”

He shook his head. This wasn’t a wolf shifter; it was a regular wolf, and it looked hungry.

The wolf took a step toward them, a deep, menacing growl rising from its throat. Miranda gave a whimper and gripped Bryon tighter.

“Oh, my God,” she breathed. “I’m going to die.”

The creature did look like it was planning to lunge at them in an attempt to secure its lunch, but Bryon wasn’t about to let that happen. He might be injured, but he’d do everything within his power to make sure no harm came to this woman. Scowling, he growled back at the newcomer, summoning as much of his inner wolf as he could without shifting.

The black wolf growled again. Then, after what felt like a minute-long staring contest between wolf and shifter, the creature turned and headed back through the woods. Bryon stared after it, not wanting to let his guard down again, until he was certain it had retreated far enough.

“What the hell just happened?” Miranda wanted to know. Confusion, amazement, and fear flickered across her face. She was still trembling a little, her mouth hanging open.

Somehow, he suspected she’d have had a worse reaction if their stalker had turned out to be her ex-boyfriend. Just how dangerous was this guy, anyway? Bryon couldn’t help picturing a star quarterback with the broadest shoulders known to man.

He shifted his weight off his injured foot. “It’s gone, but I’ve got a feeling it’s just going to call the rest of its pack.”

“Wh-what?”

“Just a feeling,” he assured her. He stood a little straighter. “But I’d rather not wait to find out if I’m right. We need to cross that creek now.”