Chapter One
Greer Kimble brushed back her honey colored hair, her warm breath rushing between her lips. The cold air turned foggy in front of her face while she jogged, ignoring the tingle in her cheeks as the fall wind stung her skin. It was October in Twilight, Idaho, and while most of the town was gearing up for the Autumn Festival, Greer had needed some time to clear her head, especially after what she’d found in her boyfriend, Sam White’s pocket last night.
A bright, big diamond engagement ring.
It wasn’t that she didn’t like Sam. She did, a lot. She just wasn’t sure she loved him. They had only been dating for six months and hadn’t even had sex, let alone tried living together yet! Not that she didn’t enjoy getting frisky, but for some reason, she kept putting Sam off. It could also have something to do with the last guy she’d dated, who had pressured, and whined until she’d finally given in. She hadn’t wanted to, and he’d dumped right after.
So, she’d decided to hang onto her resolve, no matter how much a guy pushed. She wanted to take that step on her own terms. Plus, she had apprehensions about it with Sam, and she definitely wasn’t anxious for marriage.
Especially not the death do they part requirement.
It wasn’t that she didn’t believe in love and commitment, but she wasn’t sure she was even interested in marriage. Couldn’t two people build a life, have children, and a happily ever after without a binding legal contract? She’d never had the overwhelming desire to pour over bridal magazines or make a scrapbook of her future wedding.
She jogged up the trail, ducking under low hanging tree branches. The woods behind her house were dense and beautiful, shining white with the freezing fog that had passed through that morning. It was supposed to snow later in the week, and she was not ready for it. It seemed as though Summer, Fall, and Spring kept getting shorter and shorter for the small mountain town, while winters were long, white, and blistering.
Coming back down the hill, the bottom of her shoe slid over a rock and she went tumbling down. She tried to tuck herself into a ball as her side, back, and then, her knees scraped across the rough ground. Her head snapped as the back of it connected with a tree trunk and she screamed.
When she finally stopped, she was on her stomach, groaning at the throbbing pain in every muscle of her body.
This is why I should not try to think and run at the same time.
Greer took deep breaths, trying not to cry as she climbed up onto her hands and knees. She winced at the zing of pain the motion caused. Sitting back on her butt, she examined the damage. Her sweats were ripped and she could see red, angry scratches on her knees and palms. Her head ached, and when she reached back and touched a large lump, warm wetness covered her hand. She hissed and stared down at the blood.
This was definitely not shaping up to be an awesome day.
The snap of a twig made Greer jump and when she looked up, her heart raced in fear.
Not ten feet from her was a large, gray wolf.
The beast stared at her with bright blue eyes, just watching her. The rapid thump of her heart drowned out the sound of her hoarse breathing. She was sure he was ready to launch himself at her any moment. Greer reached slowly for the bear mace in her sweatshirt pocket but it was gone. She glanced back at the trail, keeping one eye on the wolf, and saw her small red and black container lodged against the base of a tree, too far away to reach before the wolf went for her throat.
Fan-freaking-tastic.
She turned her attention back to the wolf, who hadn’t moved. He lifted his head and sniffed the air, before a large pink tongue rolled out.
Did the thing just lick its lips?
“Okay, wolfy,” she said in a calm, soothing voice. “I’m just going to climb to my feet and go home, and you’re going to run back to your pack.” Oh God, she hadn’t thought of a pack until now. What if there were more? What if one was right over her shoulder, ready to chomp down on the back of her neck?
Is that why he was just standing there? Because he knew that any second his buddies were going to converge on her? She could only assume it was a boy, because, good God, if it was a she, Greer didn’t want to meet a male wolf. They were supposed to be bigger than their female counterparts.
Which just showed how sexist mother nature really was.
Stay focused, you idiot!
She glanced around, keeping one eye on White Fang, but didn’t see any other furry foes.
Maybe he was a rogue wolf or whatever you called them.
“Well, I would love to sit here and stare at each other because you are gorgeous, but I really need to be getting home. Unlike you, I don’t have any fur to keep me warm, and right now, my hands are freezing.”
To her horror, the wolf took a step toward her. She scrambled backwards until her back hit a tree, but he kept coming, slowly.
Greer clenched her fists, ready to punch his snout if he attacked…or was that just a shark thing?
Only she noticed his tail was wagging low, and he wasn’t snarling. He actually seemed rather friendly.
Maybe he belonged to someone. Lots of people in Idaho had wolf hybrids.
Suddenly, he crouched down with a thunderous growl, and Greer cried out, she couldn’t help it. As the beast lunged toward her, she threw up her hands and closed her eyes, waiting for his teeth to tear into her flesh.
Instead, she felt the brush of his fur as he flew past her left shoulder into the woods behind her.
She turned, searching for a flash of his gray coat in the forest, but there was nothing.
Taking her chance, she climbed to her feet gingerly. When she finally thought she’d gotten her bearings, the whole world tilted. She lost her balance and tried to keep herself upright by leaning against the trunk of a tree, but her head was throbbing. Her vision blurred around the edges, and she knew she was going to pass out.
Great. I’m going to wake up being eaten by wolves because I was scared of my boyfriend proposing.
The ground came up to meet her and then she was out.