Chapter Six

 

 

The day had been busy, too busy for his liking. All day long Peter had been putting out proverbial fires all over the community.  If it wasn’t a problem with the electricians, there was an issue with a plumber. Despite his title of the lead carpenter, he seemed to be taking on project manager more and more every day.

If he had more than a second thing breathe he probably would’ve called Jerry to complain but, even that would have allotted for time he didn’t have.

He’d seen Jane only once. Her curvy legs had stepped out of the golf cart as she pointed toward a prime lot on the hill overlooking the city skyline. With Denver in the distance, Pete studied and admired the way the sun cast her in dark silhouette.

Her tan skirt and white blouse looked like she should be anywhere else than on a construction site. But, the gorgeous sales associate who had kept him up the past two nights had a way of making her white collar look work in a blue-collar world.

As the workday came to a close and the different tradesmen were beginning to clear out, he had every intention of going up to the office to pick up where they had left off the night before.

He’d slept only a short time by the lake, his sexual frustration kept just barely below the surface after the swim in the cool waters.

Tonight, he wasn’t sure he would be able to walk away so easily.

At a quarter past six, he had waved goodbye to the last of the workers while he did a final walk-through of the properties. It was, like so many other things he’d done that day, Jerry’s job. But, hell if he had been able to get a hold of him.

By midday, he’d ended up leaving the second of three messages. Short and to the point, he’d just asked for a callback. Still, his simple request was ignored, and his phone didn’t ring once.

A half an hour later, and nearly seven o’clock, he was finished checking the grounds and ready to head down the street and up to the pathway which led to the office.

The air was pungent. A musty and dry heat hung in the air as he approached the finished side of the community.

He’d just been about to head up the windy path when he heard a scream coming from the parking lot.

A piercing chill shot through his body.

Without a moment to lose, he sprung into action, racing toward the lot in the darkness, knowing that scream could be from only one woman.

A second scream echoed through the air, slicing through him as he felt his primal urges forcing him to shift.

He tugged at his shirt, pulling it over his head while he fumbled with his jeans.

With a trail of shoes and clothing in his wake, he stripped down to nothing just before he lurched forward.

His four legs pounced on the ground, running with the speed that a normal man couldn’t keep up with.

He reached the parking lot and saw Jane lying on the ground. Huddled up by her car, she held her scuffed hand over her face while a large and fierce creature towered over her.

If his instincts hadn’t taken over he might have stood frozen and in shock by what he was seeing. The large hairy beast wasn’t like anything he’d seen before. It wasn’t a shifter kind that he was familiar with, and it certainly wasn’t the most common of the Rocky Mountain large predators, the Grizzly Bear.

No, whatever this was, it was much larger. Its roar foreboding and its smell atrocious.

Without hesitation, Peter bit into the back of its leg. His stomach churned at the rotten taste of flesh that hit his taste buds.

A painful and wrenching cry shot out into the night. It echoed around the silent mountainside. Filling the otherwise quiet and serene piece of the prime real estate that surrounded them.

The creature swung around at Peter, snarling at his attack.

With a growl, Peter lunged forward. He was determined to get the being as far away from Jane as he could. It was all he could do to not go to her right then.

The animal, whatever it was, finally pulled away. Taking a few steps back before quickening his pace and disappearing into the forest.

Peter waited, making sure that it stayed away before he turned toward Jane.

Her wide eyes nearly broke his heart as he approached her. Her lower lip trembled as he came close and gently nuzzled her hand.

“Peter?”

He wished he could talk. But, shifter or not, words were not in his vocabulary while he wore his whiskers and fur.

With a nod and a quiet chuffing sound, he let her know that she didn’t need to be afraid. Making sure she knew that she was safe. That whatever had just attacked her was gone. And that he wouldn’t let it hurt her again.

She touched his face with her scraped and bloody palms and kissed the tip of his nose. It may not have been the second kiss he’d hoped for. But, for tonight, it was enough.