“You bitch!” Vinnie shouted. “Are you calling my husband a liar?”
“I. Did. Not. Say. That.” Ryan admired how Maya spoke slowly and with determination. “I’m sure the circumstances were very difficult for him and may have affected his memory of what happened. But—”
“You’d better watch out!” That was Morton, who’d come around his wife to confront Maya. “I told you what happened and that I was curious, yes, but didn’t purposely get near a damned wolf.” He was getting too near Maya, though, his fists clenched as if threatening her.
Ryan hurriedly put himself between Maya and the others. “I think we’ve gone as far with this as we’re going to. We all know the situation. Everyone feels bad about what happened to Morton.”
Although it couldn’t have happened to a more appropriate person, Ryan thought. He deserved to be whipped by a wolf, shifter or not. But what had happened not only put the influx of wolves into the spotlight, but also potentially endangered them even more.
“But,” he continued, “we’re through here. Morton is unlikely to identify the wolf, and there’s not going to be a change in their protected status because of this incident.” Especially since Ryan wasn’t convinced that Morton had explained it truthfully in the first place. “We are all sorry, but glad that Morton is recovering.” He glared from husband to wife, then turned to Maya, grabbed her hand and began walking to the area at the far side of the podium where Piers stood with Rocky.
This afternoon’s event had definitely come to an end.
Or had it?
Piers asked Maya some questions about what she was planning to do next on WHaM’s behalf, and as she began answering how she would keep her organization informed Ryan looked around. The Sharan group remained at the edge of the park area nearest where the forest began and rose up the hillside.
He focused his attention on them, wishing his hearing was as acute now as when he was shifted. Multiple conversations also made it harder to hear.
But Ryan believed he caught a few words—like careful. And avoid. And protect.
Interesting and appropriate, but inconclusive.
It was time to pay another visit to the Corner Grocery Store. He had more conversations to conduct with the Sharans, and a lot more to learn about them.
*
What was going to happen now? Maya wondered as she walked back toward the hotel with the two men and their dog.
She hadn’t planned on staying in Fritts Corner for long. All she had intended was to visit on behalf of WHaM and try to rev up all the locals she could about the wonderful situation they had here, while she determined the best way to conduct a census.
Now, she wished she had a way to ensure the wolves’ protection.
Could she count on Ryan and Piers and the Fish and Wildlife Service?
She wanted to. She liked Ryan, in particular. A lot.
But his being a sexually attractive guy who also cared about wildlife didn’t mean he could work miracles. And ensuring the wolves’ survival, their thriving, could wind up requiring a miracle.
“Will you join us for dinner again tonight?”
That was Piers, who walked on her right. The men had been kind enough to let her hold Rocky’s leash again, and the dog was on her left.
They followed Ryan, who took the lead. Again. She had the sense the guy was always happy to be in charge.
This time it had been a good idea.
At Piers’s invitation, she looked forward toward Ryan. Had he heard? Did he want her with them?
He kept walking at first. But when she hesitated and said, “Well, I’m not sure—” Ryan turned.
“Of course you’re sure,” he said. “You’re joining us. We wolf-lovers need to stick together.” The warmth in his gaze suggested that he wanted them to stay in each other’s company for more reasons than because they were wildlife aficionados.
Or was she reading too much into it?
In any event, they made plans to meet at six o’clock in the hotel lobby, where they parted now after reaching their inn midafternoon.
Maya headed upstairs, exhausted and needing time devoted to something other than her beloved job. Or did she? She got on her computer a short while after reaching her room and found herself searching the internet for all she could find about the US Fish and Wildlife Service. And when she got onto the site, she tried searching for Ryan Blaiddinger.
She didn’t find him, which wasn’t a big surprise since many directorships and positions were referenced but seldom those who held them.
But when she Googled him next, she learned something very interesting.
Not that it made any difference, but she decided not to mention it immediately. But it amused her…and made her wonder.
Maya decided she would at least attempt to rest before dinner, but a while after she’d reached her room, as she tried to relax, the hotel room phone rang. She stood from the chair she had planted herself in and picked up the receiver from the small desk next to the TV monitor. “Hello?”
“Hi, Maya? This is Trev. I was at your talk before.”
And he hadn’t done or said anything helpful in favor of protecting the wolves.
“How did you find me here?” she asked.
“Well—” He sounded rather sheepish. “I…I wanted to talk to you so I kind of followed when you left the park.”
She wasn’t surprised. “Okay,” she said, though she wasn’t particularly pleased. “But why? And why are you calling?”
She half expected him to fumble around but ask her for a date. She felt half-sorry for him. Maybe the other woman he’d been talking to had shown no interest, or had dumped him.
But Maya wasn’t about to make him think he had a chance with her.
“Would you mind coming down to the hotel lobby and grabbing some coffee with me? I really want to find out more about WHaM. Maybe I could even come up with some suggestions for dealing with that guy who was mauled by a wolf.”
Really? She couldn’t imagine how, but she didn’t know this guy’s background. Maybe he actually could be of some use. After all, he’d said he had come to town to hear her speak about WHaM.
“All right,” she said. “I’ll be down in a minute.”
*
“So what are your intentions regarding Ms. Everton?” Piers was in Ryan’s room along with Rocky, waiting for a call back from Drew. “You seem to be watching and talking with her a lot. Any reason beside her love of wolves?” His eyebrows were raised, and Ryan’s aide seemed amused.
“That’s the main reason,” Ryan said. “And don’t start reading anything into it other than I want to make sure she remains safe. Sure, she’s hot, but the thing that concerns me is that she’s willing to stick her nonwolfen nose into anything that—”
His phone rang, relieving Ryan a bit. Piers was right. Ryan felt much too attracted to Maya, even though he hadn’t acted on it. Not yet, at least.
The caller ID identified Drew Connell. “Hi, Drew,” he said, pressing the button to turn his phone’s speaker on. “Just called to give you an update.”
And confirm with their commanding officer that they’d be hanging out there, under the circumstances, potentially a lot longer.
*
“So what did you think of what happened at my presentation?” Maya asked.
She sat across from Trev at a tiny table for two at a coffee shop attached to the hotel. A few of the tables around them were empty, but the shop was fairly busy for being this late in the afternoon.
“I didn’t know what to think of it.” Trev lifted his cup of frothy latte to his narrow lips and took a sip. His small brown eyes were trained on her face, though, making her feel uncomfortable.
She reached down for her cup of plain black coffee and just held it for now. “Well, I’d heard about Morton Fritts’s injuries before,” she said. “And I can understand his being upset by it. His family, too. But I gathered from what he said that he wished he had shot that wolf—and maybe that all wolves
in this area should now be killed. That’s definitely too much. Don’t you think? Do you agree with that other guy, Pete, who came up on the podium, too? I do. Despite what Mr. Fritts asserted, we really don’t know the full set of circumstances, and no one should rush to conclusions that the wolf was at fault.”
Trev at least appeared to be pro-wildlife before. And if he wasn’t, why would he have come here just because he had heard Maya was giving a talk on behalf of wildlife for WHaM?
“I sort of understand the Frittses’ position,” he said plaintively. “Pete’s, too, and yours, and that Ryan’s. But mostly—well, what is WHaM’s position when someone, a person, is hurt by a protected wolf, or another wild animal that it is in favor of protecting? Or was in favor of protecting before the injury? Do you always assume the animal wasn’t just a vicious and dangerous creature?”
“It depends on the circumstances,” Maya stated. “As I’ve said since I got here, wildlife is wild. People should understand and respect that, and stay out of the animals’ way. Allow them to flee if they’re scared, rather than challenging them. I still don’t completely understand how Morton and that wolf wound up confronting each other, but my assumption is that Morton should simply have recognized that a wolf is a wolf and backed off. Don’t you think?”
“So that’s WHaM’s position?” Trev put down his latte and looked at Maya. His expression was almost accusatory.
Not that she knew the guy at all, but she was a little surprised. He’d seemed to be a wildlife advocate, or so she’d believed. And so far, he’d just seemed like a nice, nerdy guy.
On the other hand, it wouldn’t be surprising if he liked people better than the animals and was torn by this kind of situation.
“Yes,” she said, “although no one at WHaM is in favor of animals attacking people, or even attacking other animals except as prey for food. But the reality is that those kinds of things happen. Even animals recognize that others in or out of their species may be prone to attack or kill in some circumstances. People certainly should recognize it.”
Trev leaned back a little, once more lifting his latte to his mouth. He appeared a bit pensive now. “So your position, and WHaM’s, is that animals are just that—animals. And they can do what they want, without people having that right, too?”
“In a way, although like other animals, people have the right to protect themselves in dangerous situations. What we don’t like is the idea of simply hunting down animals like wolves because they have a reputation of being dangerous sometimes.”
Maya wondered what Ryan, as an employee of US Fish and Wildlife, would think of this conversation.
She suddenly wished he was here with her, helping her explain to this guy the best way to react to this kind of situation—or at least the best way from her, and the government department’s, position.
She had no doubt that Ryan would back her position.
She also wondered why Trev was asking all this. She asked him. “So what’s your position on this? Are you on WHaM’s side?”
“Yeah. Sort of. I certainly understand what you’re saying. Anyway, how long will you be in town? I’m really glad we got to meet this way.”
“Me, too,” Maya lied. “And I’m not sure how long I’ll be here. I don’t have any more talks planned, not now, at least. But I do want to be here long enough to make sure that nothing inappropriate is done to the wolves, despite the attack on Mr. Fritts.”
“Me, too,” Trev said.
And Maya determined that to be an appropriate end to their conversation.
She also hedged and lied a bit when Trev said how much he’d enjoyed talking with her and hoped they’d get a chance to do it again.
Chapter 13
That night, Ryan pondered whether to go right to bed, or return to the forest and shift and…well, just explore. Wait. Look to see what feral wolves might be hanging out there.
No shifters should be, at least.
He’d said good-night to Maya right after dinner, then done the same with Piers a short while ago. His aide had taken Rocky and headed to his room. Now, Ryan was alone, which should be good for letting him relax and fall asleep.
He was, in fact, in bed, looking up some things about the area on his tablet computer, mostly stuff he had already read. But he hoped to find more on the history of wolves around here.
Also, out of curiosity, he tried looking up that guy he’d met and Maya had mentioned, Trev Garlona.
Maya had said Trev had invited her downstairs for coffee that afternoon, after her talk. They’d discussed what had occurred in the park, she told Ryan—what Morton Fritts had said and how he’d wanted to kill all wolves, and how Pete Sharan had confronted him about it.
Maya indicated that Trev seemed a bit confused, even though he was a wildlife lover and claimed to have come to Fritts Corner mainly because he’d heard that she, as a representative of WHaM, was coming here to talk about the influx of wolves and how wonderful that was.
Was, perhaps, being the operative word now.
Well, Ryan hadn’t been able to find anything about a Trev Garlona, his background, where he’d come from, whether he’d ever done anything to help protected wildlife.
And Ryan realized that he’d looked mainly because he felt irritated that someone, even a wildlife aficionado, would invite Maya out for coffee. A dumb irritation. She was here to talk about wildlife protection, particularly wolves. And of course she’d be thrilled to talk to anyone else who felt the same way. It was her job. It was her passion.
Although…well, no, it was totally wrong to even consider her thinking of Ryan as her passion…
He gave up soon on Garlona, figuring he’d check the name in the morning. Instead, he did some more research to locate any additional posts about wolves in this part of Washington State. He did find a couple of social media posts about the apparent attack on Morton, some anger by people who weren’t on the side of protected wildlife, but nothing indicating they intended to do anything about it—a good thing.
Starting to nod off, he shut down the computer, turned out the lights and settled in.
Until—a howl! It interrupted and ended his twilight sleep status. Was it real? Or had he dreamed it?
Another one. He jumped up and reached for his phone to call Piers. They needed to find out where this wolf was. What it was. It had to be feral since the moon wasn’t full. And Ryan would need to chase it away before its life was endangered…any more than it already may be.
That meant he had to shift.
But before he pressed in his aide’s number, his phone rang. He looked at it.
Maya.
“You heard that howl, right?” he said immediately after pushing the button to answer. “I did, too. Piers and I are going to check it out so you can just stay safely in your room. Got it?”
“But—I want to come with you.”
“You’ll only slow us down.” And no way was he going to allow her to see him shift. “You’re slowing me down right now. Promise you’ll stay in your room. Now. So I can leave.”
“But—”
“Promise.”
A silence for a beat, and then she said, “Okay, I promise, if that’s the only way—”
“It is. Bye. I’ll call you later and let you know what we find. Now, stay in your room. You’ve promised.”
With that he hung up—hoping that the woman would actually do as she’d said.
Then he called Piers—who turned out to be in the hallway outside his room.
And when Ryan opened the door he wasn’t surprised to see that Piers was without Rocky—and wearing his heavy backpack.
“Great,” he said to his aide. “Let’s go.”
*
Maya stayed in her room for all of a minute, staring at the walls. The windows.
The door.
Sure, she had promised…but had crossed her fingers to take some of the sting out of her lie. She’d had to promise, and she knew that Ryan’s heart was in the right place.
<
br /> He wanted to protect her.
Well, she wanted to protect him, too—but at the moment that wolf was on her mind. If they’d heard the howls, the likelihood was that a lot of other people in this town had, too.
Possibly including the Frittses and their cohorts who wanted to get rid of the newest visitors to Fritts Corner.
The wolf’s life was undoubtedly in danger. Also undoubtedly, Ryan, of US Fish and Wildlife, would do all he could to protect and save it.
Well, so would she.
With a sigh, she dressed quickly in dark clothes and athletic shoes, issued a silent apology to Ryan and sneaked her way into the hotel parking lot, which was filled with cars but no other people. She didn’t see the rental car Ryan and Piers used. They were undoubtedly already on their way.
Thanks to the direction from which the howls had emanated, she would assume that this latest wolf incursion was around the same location as the last—on the forested slopes beyond the park. The two of them—Ryan and Piers—couldn’t cover the entire area, although they had one advantage: Rocky, whose nose could help them find the wolf more easily than people could.
But her advantage was that she thought she knew where the guys would at least start out: the location where they believed Morton Fritts had been attacked, where she’d spotted the stain on the ground that they’d assumed to be blood.
She would head there.
Sure enough, their rental car was parked in the nearest lot to that location. She exited her car and looked around. She didn’t see anyone else, though there were a few more cars in the lot. That could be the situation every night, as far as she knew.
She headed toward the path she had taken before in daylight. She hadn’t heard any more howls. Did that bode badly for the wolf?
She wished she could run toward her target area, but that would be foolish. First, despite the beam from her flashlight, it was too dark. She might trip and hurt herself—and make herself more vulnerable in the event that wolf truly was ready to chew up some more people.
Second—and probably more critical—she’d most likely make enough noise that not only wolves would be able to hear her. She didn’t want Ryan or Piers, or anyone who might be hunting that wolf, to know she was around, even though she might prefer being somewhere near them in case she got into trouble.
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