Page 24 of Big Bad Wolf

But instead of teeth tearing the flesh from her bones, she felt soft fur beneath her fingers. She looked up to find the wolf nudging her hand with his big head. He blew a warm breath over the skin of her wrist, and the sensation skittered up her arm. Holy shit.

Ruby sat up. She was vaguely aware of being covered in dirt and of the dull ache in her back, but the looming animal in front of her robbed her of all coherent thought. The wolf cocked his head, and the movement was so dog-like, the fear constricting Ruby’s lungs loosened. Maybe he was tame? A pet?

Ruby’s gaze took in the dark shadowy animal. Pet or not, he was huge.

How in God’s name had the craziest townsfolk actually been right about this? How was this creature in front of her not fictional? She could almost hear Sal cackling in vindication.

The wolf leaned down again and nuzzled Ruby’s hand. She lifted it from the dirt and ran her fingers through his thick fur. He made that breathy sound again like he was pleased. He certainly felt real.

“Good dog,” she whispered. The wolf seemed to narrow his eyes at that, in a look that was almost human. “Uh … good wolf.” He huffed again. Ruby got slowly to her feet, dusting the dirt from her butt and legs. She moved cautiously, afraid any sudden moves would upset the beast beside her. But the wolf sat patiently on the edge of the trail while she gathered her things.

“Okay, well … I’m going to go home now.” Ruby straightened, glancing at the wolf, not quite believing she was still talking to it.

She took a few tentative steps along the path, and the animal fell into step beside her. His head reached her upper arm and every few steps she could feel his fur tickle her skin. She couldn’t help but reach out and sink her fingers into the thick fur at his neck. It was coarse on the surface but delightfully fluffy underneath. She gave him a scratch, and the wolf let out a low growl of contentment. Or she assumed he was content anyway when he didn’t try to kill her.

As they reached the end of the path, the light from her windows illuminated the creature beside her. He was beautiful. Gray and black fur with white around his face. He cocked his head again, and she scratched between his ears the same way she did with Lucifer. He pushed his head against her hand, and a disbelieving laugh escaped her lips.

“Oh, you like that, huh?”

Was it possible for wolves to smile? She didn’t know, but she was pretty sure this one just did. If this was the wolf her neighbors claimed to have run-ins with, it was no wonder they survived. This big bad wolf was actually just a very good boy from what she could tell.

But maybe Rafe was right and she was bad at assessing these things, because seemingly out of nowhere the wolf’s ears flattened against his head and a low growl emanated from his throat.

“What—” Ruby backed away, but the wolf was staring at the trees behind her. He wasn’t growling at her.

He was growling at another shape in the woods. One she could have sworn was a man, tall and leaning against the closest pine.

The wolf beside her continued growling while Ruby tried to piece together what she was seeing.

Definitely a man.

“If that’s how you want it,” the man said, and Ruby didn’t know what the hell he was talking about. That voice, though, sounded so familiar.

Who was out there? Had he followed her here from work?

She didn’t have time to figure it out before the man was no longer there.

In his place was another wolf, emerging from the shadows.

And this wolf lunged right toward her.

The wolves met in a clash of fangs and claws. The big gray wolf, the one Ruby had already started to think of as a friend. or at the very least friendly, pounced on the other wolf and managed to roll him onto his back in the long grass of Ruby’s backyard. The white wolf beneath him growled, exposing his huge fangs. Ruby’s wolf’s claws dug deeper into the white wolf’s flesh, pinning him to the earth. Ruby had to admit he looked much less friendly this way.

The other wolf struggled to get up, but Ruby’s wolf grabbed his neck with his teeth and thrashed his head.

Ruby must have whimpered out loud because her wolf turned to look at her. He let his guard down for a moment too long, and the other wolf reared up and latched on tight to his shoulder, tearing through fur, skin, muscle.

Her wolf howled in pain.

Ruby felt it in her own flesh.

They twisted and snarled, lashing at each other. The other wolf was still bleeding profusely from the neck, but now her wolf was wounded too.

What the hell was she supposed to do?

She should probably go inside, away from the deadly animals in her yard.

She should call Animal Control.