Crissa's Mate

Chapter Seventy-One

Crissa went back into the bedroom and David lifted his head as she approached. His eyes were warm and expressive to her. He seemed to be telling her not to worry, but also conveyed a familiar feeling she got from him as both man and wolf—that he truly cared for her in a deep and meaningful way. She reached down and stroked his head affectionately. And giving him an encouraging smile, she went back into the kitchen and brought out his full water bowl and placed it next to him. He struggled to sit up on his injured legs, but then lapped the water loudly until the bowl was empty. He then laid back down with his jaw resting flat on the floor, his eyes still attentive to her.

Crissa used this time, as the sun was now fully up, to relax upon her bed and try to recoup some of the lost night--stolen through anxiety and terror. Both were silent for several hours, sleeping off and on, when almost imperceptibly, Crissa began to hear the sound of a vehicle coming up the dirt driveway toward the cabin. As the sound became more clear, she could tell it was not one, but two powerful engines disturbing the morning silence. Getting off her bed she walked into the front room and peered out through the curtained window.

She could see clearly approaching a Jeep and a pick-up truck, with what appeared to be one passenger in each. As she ran back into the bedroom, David's ears were up and alert. He sensed that something outside was affecting her.

"David . . . just stay," she said to him in a calm voice. "Just stay here, my love." She then gave him a tender pat on the head to signal all was well.

As she heard the vehicles now arriving at the cabin, and their engines suddenly shut off, she went back into the living room and waited, too frightened to look again out the window. Her hand reached down to feel the handle of the knife and it was comforting to know she was still lethally armed. She heard the door of one vehicle open and then shut, and a few moments later, a loud knock on the cabin door.

"Hello? Anyone inside?" a stranger's voice asked.

There was a pause.

She anxiously waited for the next move or comment, seriously wanting to know what the visitor wanted.

"Hello?"  the man's voice asked again. " We're here to give you folks some information . . ."

She paused again, silently.

"About wolves," the voice loudly added.

Crissa's curiosity, but at the same time fear, were strong now. She slowly pulled the chair back and opened the door slightly.

"Oh. Hello Miss." It was a bearded man in his thirties who had spoken, and he was a bit surprised to suddenly see her peering out at him.

"What? What do you know about wolves?" she asked, trying not to reveal that she was terrified by his presence.

"Well, me and my partner here, are on sort of project. To clear this area of gray and timber wolves."

Crissa's heart was now pounding.

"What kind of project?" she asked calmly, but also as confidently as she could.

"Well you folks probably noticed these past nights. How close they've gotten to town. And out of control they've been with the moon full and all up here . You must have heard them near your cabin last night? And the night before?"

"Yes. But is that a problem?"

Crissa tried to keep the door blocked as best she could while speaking to the man. She then heard another vehicle door open and shut. A second man, about the age of David came up and joined his partner.

"Hey," he said in a more cordial voice. My name is Rick and this here is Jim."

The young man—blond, and taller than the other, looked as though he could have been from the university. But to Crissa his parochial speech and rustic dress—military pants and boots, just didn't add up to being a student.

"There's a few things about these wolves up here you need to know," he said in a respectful and cautioning voice.

"Like what?" Crissa boldly asked, feeling more at ease and less intimidated by the younger man.

"Well they've been coming into the city these past months . . . and one was seen right over at UBC a few nights ago.

Crissa knew that had to have been Julie, spotted by someone while she left the girls' dorm and became fully transformed while running for the countryside.

"What kind project?  What are you doing up here?"

The older man put his hand on the younger's shoulder and spoke.

"Come out here with us, young lady and see. Over to the back of my truck. We'll show you what we've done . . . It's for all the folks out here . . . and in town, too."

Crissa's heart stopped. Was he implying that he had either captured or killed a wolf? The idea sickened her. It was obvious to her now that they were hunters.

"Come on . . . take a look," the younger man said. "You'll feel safer when you see this. There was a certain element of pride and self-serving authority in his voice that disturbed her even more.

The two men turned and started back for their vehicles, making it easy for Crissa to simply step out to follow and see what they were referring to. Fearing the worst—that Julie had been either captured or killed, ran rampant over her senses. For the moment her own protection and better judgement was eclipsed by her desperate desire to learn the truth.

As the men walked back to the rear of the pick-up, Crissa left the cabin door ajar. Almost trance-like she followed them to look at what they had done. Stepping up close to the truck bed and peering in, she could see the bodies of two adult wolves laying unmoving and apparently dead, both lying in pools of blood.

Crissa quickly put her hand up to her mouth to keep from screaming out in horror and anger. Her eyes quickly perused both carcasses closely, recognizing that they were a large male and female—but not with the same markings or coloration of Julie. They were clearly a pair of the local wolves, possibly mates, belonging to the pack that roamed the mountains nearby. She was deeply saddened, shocked, but strangely relieved it was not Julie. 

Speechlessly, Crissa put her hand on the knife she wore—both to hide it and make its access lethally easy if either of the men approached her. She then turned, looked at each man and unemotionally nodded. She did this to prevent drawing them into further conversation with her. She then walked back in the direction of the cabin and turned to face them while at the door.

"My boyfriend and I will be very careful," she said as a ruse.

Both men looked at each other a bit mystified by her subdued response and just gave a simple wave before they re-entered their vehicles. Crissa stood a moment and watched as they drove down the hill and out of sight.

As she was about to step back through the doorway, she saw David clearly at the entrance, sitting alert and just out of sight. He gave a low growl, signaling that he had been watching the movement of the men through the open door, and more critically, their proximity to her. Crissa suddenly had the feeling that, had either of them come closer, her wolf-lover would have charged and engaged them both in an attack. Through this subtle communication, Crissa became aware of the cunning and guilefulness of the wolf at its silent best.

For this, she led David back inside to the kitchen where she rewarded him for his brilliance and protection with a sumptuous portion of fresh meat.

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