Chapter Seven
Trying hard not to cry, Gabrielle blindly stared out her bedroom window, replaying everything that had happened between her and Jaeger. It wasn’t fair that she could fall for someone so fast and have him hurt her just like Dendy had. The same exact way. And the question why zinged through her head. He wasn’t in the scientific world. He wasn’t even in the cryptid community. So why would he steal her fur?
Was he working with Dendy? Was that why the asshole was here in Alaska?
The thought made her sick to her stomach. A movement outside caught her attention, a form heading away from the lodge. The low visibility made it hard, if not impossible, to identify who it was, but she didn’t think it was Jaeger. The person was too short. Was it Dendy? If so, why was he there?
Spying on her?
Making up her mind, she grabbed her coat from the foot of the bed and hurried out of her bedroom. The lodge was dark except for a fire burning in the fireplace. She hurried to the front door and left, running down the porch and out into the snow before logical thoughts could settle. It was dark and cold, but she was determined to get to the bottom of why Dendy was following her and if Jaeger was helping him.
She soon entered a spattering of dense forest trees. Once in the treeline, all light ceased reaching her. Gabrielle halted and looked around. She saw something move off to her right and she took off running, trying to catch up, but once she reached the spot, there was nothing. More movement, this time off to her left, and once again she chased after it. A moment later, she came to a dead stop and looked around. The slow realization that she had no idea where she was hit her, and fear spread through her already very cold body.
Then laughter came trickling from behind her. Gabrielle spun and saw Burt Dendy, watching her with a nasty little smile on his face. She wanted to rush up to him and hit with all the pent-up fury she still held, but the rifle hanging by his side made her hesitate.
“Why are you here?” she demanded. “Why are you doing this to me?”
“Because your fucking assistant posted those pictures of you in that tribe!” he yelled. “It shows you getting that pelt. You! Not me! And now there’s an investigation into my claims of discovery.”
The admission stunned her. For a moment, she didn’t know what to say, and then all the rage that she’d bottled up for years came pouring out.
“It was my discovery, you bastard!” She thumped herself on her chest. “You stole my research and took all the accolades for your own.”
“I gave you this career. I showed you the thrill of hunting the Yeti. And yet you find a new species of bear? I don’t think so! This was under my watch. My fucking expedition!”
She stared at him for a moment because his words were so incredulous they bordered on stupidity. In fact, she was a little flabbergasted.
“You never even wanted to hunt down that nomadic tribe,” she said. “It was my decision and you told me to go. Your exact words were if I wanted to waste my time then go. So I did. You had nothing to do with it.”
“I can still break you, little girl,” he muttered
“You can’t hurt me, Dendy,” she said, and was suddenly surprised to realize that it was true. He had hurt her, but he had not broken her heart. She had never loved him. Perhaps all she needed, after all, was to confront not just him, but her own emotions. With that knowledge, the anger ebbed, leaving her feeling light and free.
“When that idiot friend of yours posted you were coming here and that picture, I knew I had to get the jump on any evidence you might find,” he said.
That was when Gabrielle realized Jaeger had nothing to do with Dendy. She rethought the scene she saw earlier, with him holding the pack of fur and wondered if perhaps he was simply looking at it. He lived in this frozen world, so maybe he was helping her try to identify it. Relief surged through her heart.
“So you followed me to steal more of my work?”
“Steal? You should thank me for giving you direction. A purpose. If it wasn’t for me, you’d still be floundering in academics, moldering behind a desk and kissing the asses of your parents.”
“You’re so delusional,” she said. “And karma is a bitch. Good luck with your future reputation, because I’m pretty sure you’re going to need it.”
A growl floated across the wind and Dendy spun around, bringing his rifle up. Another noise came and Dendy took off running.
“Wait!” she cried, trying to run after him. But the snow drifts were high and her limbs were uncoordinated from the cold. In seconds, she was alone in the woods with no knowledge of where to go or where to turn.
It dawned on her that she had made a very bad decision. Perhaps if she just followed her own footprints back… Gabrielle turned and followed the tracks the way she’d come. With each step, however, she grew colder and colder until she couldn’t really feel her feet. She stumbled and fell, and it was difficult to get back up. Her teeth chattered from the force of her body shaking, but the next time she stumbled, she couldn’t move. Gabrielle lay in the snow until her body stopped shaking. Suddenly, she began to get warmer.
She knew that was a big problem.
“J … J-Jaeger,” she called out, knowing that it was impossible for him to hear her. It was impossible for anyone to hear her. It flashed through her mind that she was going to die in the cold, because of Dendy. That really pissed her off. Too bad she couldn’t move a muscle to kick the shit out of him.
Gabrielle closed her eyes. She didn’t want to die of exposure, but she’d been in the Himalayas enough to know the drill. In the next moment, however, two strong arms picked her up and cradled her against a warm body. She opened her eyes and stared at a long snout, white fur, and pointed ears. Had she died? Was she now in cryptid heaven?
The creature held her tightly, and soon the ice within her thawed. Pins and needles tingled all over her arms and legs, especially in her feet. But with warmth came clarity, and she blinked a few times to make sure she wasn’t seeing things. Fear blossomed through her first, then shock, and finally a mixture of wonderment and disbelief. She slapped a hand over her mouth in an effort to stifle a scream, because in all her travels, in the years she searched for the Yeti, never once did she ever think she’d be in the arms of one. The last thing she wanted to do was frighten the beast and have him attack her. Was he taking her to his den? Was he going to eat her?
Then the lodge was there, and the creature set her on her feet on the first porch step. Her first instinct was to scramble away from him, and that was exactly what she did. She backed up until her heel hit the next step and down she sat heavily upon her bottom. That left the creature staring at her with huge, dark eyes. Gabrielle didn’t blink, didn’t breathe. She simply stared at the … the … thing … she didn’t even know what to call it.
It cocked its head and waited. For her? What did it want? Why did it bring her to the lodge? Was it intelligent?
Her fear began to drain away as curiosity took over. Slowly, she stood back up. The creature didn’t move. Its eyes were wide, intense. Slowly, she extended a hand, palm up, holding it out for him to sniff. It was what she’d do to any dog, and being this close to the animal, she saw the wolf traits shining through. The creature dipped its head low since it stood as least six feet tall, and stretched toward her hand. She touched the fur. Soft, but with an underling bristly coat, and pure white in color. It was the same as the fur she’d found on the tree bark.
She ran her hand down the side of his face, toward his ear. It tilted its head toward her caress, so she petted him again. The fur was too thick for any gender identity, but something told her it was male.
Then he took a step back, and before her eyes, it mutated. Or shrunk. Or something, because bones cracked and popped and he fell onto four legs. It transformed from a humanoid cryptid to an ordinary arctic wolf. Then it whimpered and sat on its haunches, and Gabrielle suddenly understood that was how it hid in plain sight. She smiled and held out her hand, and the wolf came right up to her to let her pet it. Knowing it wouldn’t hurt her, she wrapped her arms around the neck and hugged the animal.
“Finally,” came a nasty whisper from the darkness. “It’s mine.”
Gabrielle spun around and saw Dendy, rifle raised and aimed at the wolf.
“No!” she cried and jumped forward to protect the wolf just as the rifle exploded. All she heard was a menacing growl as pain engulfed her.