Her White Wolf: Wolves of Gypsum Creek (A Paranormal Romance Story) Read online

  Her White Wolf: Wolves of Gypsum Creek

  (A Paranormal Romance Story)

  Serena Meadows

  Copyright ©2019 by Serena Meadows - All rights reserved.

  In no way is it legal to reproduce, duplicate, or transmit any part of this document in either electronic means or in printed format. Recording of this publication is strictly prohibited and any storage of this document is not allowed unless with written permission from the publisher. All rights reserved.

  Respective authors own all copyrights not held by the publisher.

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Epilogue

  Dragon Secret Society

  About the Author

  Exclusive Offer

  Chapter One

  ***The White Wolf***

  As the white wolf streaked through the forest, he kept an eye on the car he was following. His senses on high alert, he didn’t need to watch his surroundings; he could sense the trees and undergrowth when they blocked his path and avoid them easily.

  The car wasn’t moving very fast, but even if it had been, he would have had no problem keeping up. At nearly twice the size of a normal wolf, his long legs carried him quickly over the ground, his endurance not even tested as the car drove away from Gypsum Creek.

  The storm that was brewing over the mountains was unexpected, but he was sure that they could use it to their advantage. It was already slowing the car down, making it a breeze to keep up with it, but he knew that they were approaching the rest of the rescue party and hoped it would hold off.

  Wind was one thing, but rain could be a real problem, confuse things and make the rescue that much harder. But they were all prepared, including Bethany, who was sitting between her father and a bodyguard, her eyes focused on her lap.

  Just looking at her dejected posture made him want to leap at the car and save her right then, but he had to stick to the plan, so he continued to follow the car. As he ran, the storm began to intensify, to gather right over them, the wind howling through the trees making it hard even for him to see. But then they rounded the corner, and just as he’d expected, the road was blocked by a huge boulder.

  The car came to an abrupt halt as the driver put on the brakes a little too hard, making the car skid sideways in the gravel. Melting into the trees, the white wolf watched as the driver finally got out and walked up to the boulder, looking at it and then at the forest around him.

  “This wasn’t here before,” he said, looking back at the car. “Where did it come from?”

  “Just move it out of the way, and let’s get out of here,” the other man in the front seat yelled.

  The driver stared at him open-mouthed. “You want me to move this by myself?”

  “Get out and help him,” the man in the backseat, growled. “You idiots are wasting time; they might be following us already.”

  The wolf snorted, thinking that he was the only one following them; the rest had been patiently waiting for them, and now their patience had been rewarded. All three bodyguards got out of the car, leaving only Bethany and her father inside, and he was tempted to spring right then.

  Instead, he waited in the trees, knowing his only responsibility was making sure that Bethany got away safely. It was a job he’d taken on gladly; he’d already been watching her, keeping her safe on Swensen’s Mountain for weeks, so tonight was just an extension of what he’d already been doing.

  The men walked over to the boulder and walked around it, looking for an easy way to move it, then stood staring at one another. “This thing must weigh a ton, at least,” one man said, looking at the dense forest around them. “No way we’re going to be able to drive around it; we’ll have to try and move it.”

  “No duh,” the driver said.

  They put their shoulders to the boulder and pushed, but the colossal rock didn’t even move a millimeter, so they moved to a different place and tried again. “It’s not moving,” the driver said. “Go tell Mr. Mathews that we can’t budge it.”

  The other two men looked at each other, then together they walked over to the car and passed on the message, both a little scared. There was a roar of frustration from the back seat, and then Bethany’s father jumped out. He grabbed Bethany by the arm, jerked her out of the car, then pulled her with him over to the boulder.

  “If you idiots shift, you’ll be twice as strong,” he screamed at them over the howling wind.

  Just then, Jessie stepped out of the trees. “That’s not going to help; the only thing that’s going to move that boulder tonight is magic, which, by the way, is how it got there, to begin with. You didn’t really think we were going to let you take Bethany, did you?”

  ***Bethany***

  Bethany knew that Jessie had just given her the signal, but it took her a second to raise the courage to do what she needed to do. Then she slammed her elbow into her father’s side with as much force as she could, enjoying the sound he made when she connected with his ribs. He let go of her, and she turned to run behind Jessie like planned, but her father recovered too quickly, grabbed her and slapped her across the face.

  Stunned for only a second by the blow, she began to fight her father, clawing at his face, her anger fueling her desperate attempt to get away. Surprised by her attack, her father let her go again; she turned and ran, followed by her father who was screaming at her over the storm.

  He was only a few steps behind her when the skies opened, and the rain came pouring down in sheets so thick, it was nearly impossible to see. She heard the growl of the shifters hidden in the trees as they advanced on her father and his men but kept running straight into the dense forest.

  She knew that she’d run the wrong way, but didn’t stop, wanting to put as much distance between them as possible, afraid that she’d turn around and see her father there. The sounds of fighting could be heard in the distance, and for a second, she thought about going back but rejected the idea.

  Jessie had told her that if things went wrong, to get as far away as possible and then wait for them to find her, and that was what she was doing. When she began to tire, and nearly collided with a tree in the dark and rain, she slowed to a fast walk.

  Looking over her shoulder, all she could see was the forest around her, and she began to hope that she’d gotten away. Still moving fast, she was looking over her shoulder when the ground suddenly gave way, and she went sliding down a steep mountainside.

  The rain had turned the bare rocky soil into slick mud, and she couldn’t stop sliding. Putting her arms in front of her face, and closing her eyes, she relaxed and let the mud take her all the way to the bottom, where she landed with a splash. Relief washed over her, but then she heard a loud crack and saw a full-grown tree come crashing down across the mountainside.

  The impact sent a wave of large rocks and small boulders rushing down the slippery slope straight at her. Stumbling to her feet, the mud sucking at her, she tried to run but didn’t quite make it out of the way before the rocks came crashing to the bottom.

  One large rock struck her ankle, knocking her to th
e ground, as a torrent of small rocks rained down on her. She felt a stabbing fiery pain in her ankle just as the last of the rocks came tumbling down on her, the last big one striking her on the head.

  Her vision wavered, going dim, then brightening, but when she reached up and touched her head, the pain became so intense that everything went black. The rain splattering her face woke her a few minutes later, her head was throbbing, and it felt like she was moving.

  Then she realized that she was moving, was being dragged across the forest floor by something with big teeth. Trying not to scream, she glanced over her shoulder and gasped when she saw the big white wolf whose teeth were clamped onto her hood.

  The wolf looked up, his eyes meeting hers, then sat back on his haunches and waited. She tried to scramble away from him, but only managed to turn herself around so she was facing him, thanks to her ankle which began to throb and burn as soon as she moved.

  Panting with pain, she stared at the wolf, trying to figure out what to do. She couldn’t run, wouldn’t get more than a few feet before the creature was upon her, so she sat perfectly still and waited.

  The rain was still pouring down, and she began to shiver when suddenly a voice seemed to fill her head. “We should get out of this rain; you must be freezing,” the voice said.

  “Help, where are you, I need help,” she screamed, her eyes still on the wolf, who she’d swear looked surprised.

  “Can you hear me?” that same voice asked, and she finally looked away from the wolf hoping to see the owner.

  “I can hear you, but I can’t see you,” she said, her heart pounding in her chest, sure that rescue was close.

  ***The White Wolf***

  The white wolf was so shocked that Bethany could hear him that he just sat staring at her for a long time. Then he asked again, “Can you hear me?”

  Bethany nodded, and yelled, “Yes.”

  “You don’t have to yell; I’m right here,” he said, “sitting in front of you.”

  Bethany stared at him, her mouth gaping, then sputtered, “That’s not possible; animals don’t talk.”

  He studied her for a second, then said, “I’m not an animal; I’m a werewolf.”

  Bethany’s eyes got big. “You’re Jessie’s brother, his opposite,” she said, looking as if she was going to faint. “I heard them talking about you, but this is...” her words were cut off when she sank to the ground with a slight splash.

  Walking over to where she lay in the mud, he took hold of her hood again and began dragging her across the forest, wondering what it meant that she could hear him. She wasn’t a shifter, and even if she were, he would have only been able to communicate if she’d shifted.

  Only Jessie could communicate with him in his human form, and it both thrilled and scared him that Bethany could hear him like Jessie. It scared him because it brought a strange kind of hope to life, the kind of hope he’d long ago pushed from his life as just too painful to harbor.

  It thrilled him because there was something about Bethany that drew him to her, something that drove him to be near her, an instinct that told him she was important to his future. He couldn’t explain the feeling, but couldn’t shake it either, and now to discover that she could hear him made that feeling all that much stronger.

  She stirred once and opened her eyes as he pulled her through the forest. But her eyes fluttered shut and didn’t open again. He finally managed to get her inside a cave where it was dry and a little warmer, but Bethany still hadn’t opened her eyes, and the shivering had gotten worse.

  He wasn’t sure what to do, so he sat by her side, feeling frustrated as always that he was trapped in a body that couldn’t do even the simplest of human tasks. Finally, when Bethany’s shivering began to worry him, he quietly laid down next to her and surrounded her with his body, hoping to warm her with his body heat.

  It wasn’t long before she stopped shivering and began to stir, so he carefully got up and walked over to the other side of the cave. When she finally opened her eyes and saw him sitting there, he saw first disbelief, then wariness on her face. She sat up slowly, and looked around the cave, then tried to get up but the pain in her ankle make her wince and suck in a deep breath.

  Chapter Two

  ***Bethany***

  As the pain in her ankle began to fade, Bethany forced herself to think logically. The enormous white wolf in front of her looked scary, but he talked to her, brought her here to safety. If he were going to hurt her, he would have already.

  Taking a deep breath, she said, “Thank you for getting me out of the rain.”

  She waited for a response, but the wolf only looked at her, cocking its head first one way and then the other. Deciding that she must have imagined the wolf talking to her, she wondered just how bad her head injury was, but then that same voice filled her head.

  “Your welcome, but you must still be cold.”

  Bethany’s heart sped up. “I umm, I guess I am a little cold,” she said, trying to come to grips with what was happening.

  “You should build a fire if you can,” the wolf said, getting up and walking over to a pile of wood in the back of the cave. “I’d do it for you, but well...”

  She looked at the stack of wood, thinking of the heat a fire would produce, but her ankle was still throbbing, and her head was still spinning. “I don’t think I can put any weight on my ankle,” she said, flexing her foot experimentally.

  Pain radiated up her leg, and she gasped, then shook her head. “I hope it’s not broken.”

  “If you can move it, it’s not broken, but I’d guess you’ve got a bad sprain,” the wolf said, then stood up. “You could lean on me.”

  Bethany hesitated, the thought of being that close to such a creature made her tremble a little. But she was freezing, and the lure of a fire was stronger than the fear she felt. “We could try that,” she said, her voice shaking.

  The wolf got up, crossed the cave, and stood next to her. She could feel the heat coming from his body and noticed that his fur looked soft and warm. When she reached out with a tentative hand and placed it on his shoulder, he leaned down just a little so she could reach his shoulder better.

  His fur was just as soft as she’d expected, and when she touched him, all her fear seemed to drain out of her, replaced by a sense of well-being. Sighing as the feeling washed over her, she took a deep breath and pulled herself to her feet, careful not to put any pressure on her ankle.

  She stood there for a second as a wave of dizziness washed over her. “Are you okay?” the wolf asked.

  “Just a little dizzy,” she said, “but it’s going away.

  When her head felt clear enough, she carefully lowered her injured foot and put a little pressure on it. “It hurts, but I think I can put a little weight on it,” she said, then experimentally took a step.

  She managed to hobble over to the woodpile with the help of the huge white wolf. But when they got over to the woodpile, she realized that they had a problem. “I don’t have any matches,” she said, disappointment making tears come to her eyes.

  “There’ll be some in the emergency box over here,” he said, leading her away from the wood pile and to the back of the cave.

  The box was tucked into a back corner; she hadn’t seen it before then, but her heart soared when she lifted the lid. “Oh, there’s blankets and food in here,” she said, digging around in the box, “and matches.”

  She held up the box of matches triumphantly, then put them in her pocket, glad they were in a waterproof container since she was still soaking wet. “Okay, let’s try this again, but I don’t know how I’m going to carry wood,” she said.

  “Pile it on one of the blankets and I can drag it over to the fire pit,” the wolf said.

  It was a bit of a struggle, but she managed to get a fire started, relieved when the cave began to warm. “I, umm, need to get out of these wet clothes,” she said, suddenly embarrassed, but not sure why since her only companion was a wolf.

  But
he wasn’t a normal wolf she realized, understanding where her embarrassment came from. “You could use the blankets,” he said, making her face flame. “I’ll just look the other way.”

  He helped her back over to the emergency box, left her there, then walked to the front of the cave and looked outside. As quickly as she could, she pulled off her soaked clothes, then wrapped the blanket around her, feeling the cold hit her skin, but relieved to have the wet clothes off.

  She rifled through the box again, thrilled when she found a huge pair of socks. Pulling them on, she sighed as her frozen feet felt the first warmth of the socks. Knowing she probably looked stupid, she said, “Okay, I’m decent.”

  It never occurred to her that a wolf could laugh, but she could have sworn that he did when he saw her. Looking down at herself, with the ugly brown blanket wrapped around her like a towel and the big red and grey socks pulled up to her knees, she couldn’t help but laugh herself.

  “I look kind of ridiculous,” she said, grimacing when she put too much weight on her ankle.

  “You look adorable,” the wolf said, making a strange feeling wash over her.

  “I don’t know about that, but I’m getting warmer,” she said.

  “Let’s get you back over to the fire, but first there should be a first aid kit in the box,” he said. “And some food; you need to eat.”

  ***The White Wolf***

  It took several slow trips to get everything Bethany needed out of the emergency box, but when they were finished, she had everything she needed within reach. He settled down across the fire from her, relieved to put some space between them because a strange feeling had begun to fill him every time she touched him.