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Wolf Mountain
K.R. Morrison

I passed my hand wearily over my closed eyes and sighed as we wound further and further up the road. Civilization was a mere memory; we had passed the last lights some half-hour ago.

“What?” He glanced over at me, but kept one eye on the darkness ahead of us.

He really had the temerity to ask that question? I had told him that we were going the wrong way even before we’d headed up this poor excuse for a road. Was he really that clueless?

I clenched my fist. Some first date this had turned out to be.

“Um, Don…do you have any idea where we are?”

“What does your GPS say?” He rapped on the screen on his car’s console. “Mine seems to be out.”

I suppressed a groan. “That’s because there is no coverage up here. My dad hunts these woods, and he always uses a paper map—that he created years ago—in order to get around.” Okay, that last bit was a fabrication. But he did hunt here.

His eyes lit up. “So you know where we are?”

“Yes. The wrong way up a mountain I have never wanted to explore.” I had to suppress a smile. Yeah, right…

He pulled over abruptly. I had no idea what his intentions were, so the clenched fist came up a little higher. To my relief, however, he just sat still and stared out the window.

“You’ve never been up here.”

I rolled my eyes. Brilliant man. “No. His tales of what he’s seen up here pretty much kept me off it my entire life.”

“Such as?” He was developing a keen interest now—not in me, but in what the mountain had to offer in the way of mystery.

A sudden howl interrupted our conversation. I pointed through the windshield. “Such as that.”

He looked where I was pointing, and a small shriek escaped his throat.

There in the headlights were two very large wolves.

“Um…I think we should go back,” Don whispered. His voice was shaking. He shifted the car into drive and started to turn around.

A new noise, this one mechanical—and the car stopped dead.

He got out his phone—the ninny—and tried to call out. Of course, no cell coverage…

He glanced out the window again, and sighed with relief to see that the wolves were gone.

“Maybe if we’re really quiet, I can walk back to town and find someone to help us.” He didn’t sound as if he really wanted to do that, but he was trying to put on a brave face.

“Or we can stay here until morning and start down then,” I suggested, adding hastily, “But I’ll take the back seat. You take the front.”

He seemed uncertain. This was definitely not how he had expected the evening to turn out. Well, me either.

I rolled over into the back seat, thankful that he didn’t have a lot of belongings back there. No blankets either, but I would survive. I always did.

We got as comfortable as we could under the circumstances, and waited for sleep. Well, he did. I was waiting for something else to happen.

“Glory?”

“Yes, Don?” Here it comes, I thought.

“I gotta pee. Will you be safe enough here without me?”

Dumb question. “Safer than out there.”

I felt the car bounce as he straightened himself out and opened the door. Once he was out, I sat up myself and eased my door open as well. Soundlessly, I crept out of the car and followed at a distance.

It was much easier for me to be stealthy, now that I had four paws instead of two feet. Those clothes—how did humans stand them?

There was the tiniest rustle of leaves as I was joined by one of the two wolves we’d seen earlier.

“Nice job,” the alpha whispered.

I shrugged as well as a wolf could. “Best I could come up with. I only hope the car is far enough up the mountain so that no one comes looking for it for some time. That way we could live off him for a few days. By the way, where’s Mom? I thought she was with you a few minutes ago.”

Dad smiled a toothy grin. “She’ll join us soon.”

Without another word between us, we crept through the underbrush towards the unsuspecting Don. Yes, this was a date that would end wonderfully well.

Fiction © Copyright K.R. Morrison
Image courtesy of Pixabay.com

More from Author K.R. Morrison:

Be Not Afraid (Pride’s Downfall Vol 1)

Lydia’s faith in God is strong – at least on paper. But what happens when that faith is tested? Turned into a vampire by the worst – Vlad Drakul – she feels that God has abandoned her. But the opposite is true. God rescues her from a fate worse than death, and brings her into the plan He has for global redemption. With the help He sends, she feels like nothing can stop her. But when Vlad torments her again, and then her family, the temptation to run and hide is almost too strong to resist. Her answer to God’s call is the deciding factor in the battle that pits the angelic powers of God against the demonic powers of Hell.

Available on Amazon!