Lone Wolf (First in Lone Wolf Series)

Chapter One

“Yes I am.” Dawn replied proudly. She saw that he was about to offer his two cents and so she quickly offered a smile and tipped her head.

“I thank you for your help, Henry. I must be going now.” she turned and walked away, feeling more than a little defensive. Why must she be doubted simply because she was a woman?!

She let out a sigh and then pushed the thought away, deciding that it wasn’t something that was going to change and worrying and stressing over it wouldn’t help the situation.

She walked into the crowded diner and looked around for an empty seat. While this was a frontier town, it was a fairly well off town with the lumber, mines, farming and plentiful water. There were hundreds of residents that called the town and the surrounding land home and it was Dawn’s hope that a lot of them would appreciate good baked goods when they tasted them.

She took her seat, ordered soup and bread, and after eating she walked back out in the springtime sun and headed for the lumberyard. She hoped that Grange Michaels would be there as she was eager to get started readying the building for her bakery.

She thought about what Henry had said about Grange being odd around those he didn’t know. The same had been said in the past about Dawn herself so she hoped that he was just a bit of a loner just the way she was. She truly hoped she wouldn’t be forced to try to work with and do business with a crazy man.

***

Grange was restless. The wolf in him was still agitated by the innocent blood he could smell in the air. He hoped they would find the girl’s body soon, though he wasn’t going to be the one to show it to them. There were enough whispers in this town about the quiet man who kept to himself and didn’t seem to age.

He swung the heavy ax through the air and split the large log in two before putting one half on the stone and splitting it as well. Cutting firewood was a common thing for him. He cut it for everyone in town who needed him to. It helped burn off the energy and restlessness that came with being a werewolf.

“Oh you mean Grange?” Grange’s attention went to the mill owner as he heard him speaking his name, though he continued to chop wood. “He’s back behind the mill, cutting wood. A lady such as yourself really shouldn’t be back here….”

“I’ll be just fine, I assure you. Thank you for your concern.” Grange heard a feminine, eastern accented voice reply. What in the world would some woman from the east want with him? He heard her footsteps coming, they were confident and steady. He sat the axe aside and then rose to his full height of just over six feet and turned to look at her.

***

Dawn had been building herself up for this moment. The moment she would come face to face with Grange Michaels. The man who held her dream and her future in his hands. She had been confident, sure of herself and not in the least nervous…. She had been that is until he turned around and she laid her eyes on him.

He was tall, clearly over six feet. He was lean and hard bodied. His black tunic styled shirt was sweaty and clung to his broad chest. His brown buckskin pants hugged his thick thighs and long legs. His well muscled forearms were bare and gleaming with sweat and he had big hands. Dawn had always been a sucker for big hands…. But it wasn’t those things that had her suddenly swallowing her tongue and forgetting how to speak. It was that face… Those eyes.

There was nothing exceptional about their color, though they were the deepest, truest blue she had ever seen. It was the way they seemed to pierce into her. There was an almost predatory light in them that made her feel small and in danger.

His face was rugged and dark. He was tanned from the sun, his cheekbones were solid and his jaw strong. His face was covered in a thick dusting of black stubble and the same color hair was in a messy, careless pile on his head.