While the Wolf's Away, page 18
When they returned to dry off, they grabbed their towels in their mouths and went into the woods. Two well-trained white dogs, if anyone were watching from a distance. Then they shifted back into their human forms and dried off.
“Did you want to stay the night? Out here?” she asked. Away from the pack. Just the two of them. She hoped he would.
***
“I was hoping you might like to. I brought some oatmeal and brown-sugar oatmeal bars for breakfast, just in case. Bottles of water, no coffee or tea, but we can get that when we paddle the canoe back in tomorrow.” David thought she might like to, but he hadn’t wanted to ask her until she had a chance to see the island for herself first. He remembered taking a girlfriend camping—when he was still human—and she’d abhorred the whole camping experience. The smoke from the fire. No mattress to pad the earth. It had been a bit buggy, hot during the day, rainy, and then cold at night, and she’d only brought a silky nightie. She’d immediately wanted to go to a hotel. So he wasn’t taking it for granted with Elizabeth that she would love the great outdoors, even though she was part wolf.
She smiled, took a deep breath, and let it out. “This is why I like you so much. You and I truly do think along the same lines.”
“We do. We can set up the tarp to cover the tent in case it rains. It’s not supposed to, but we can set it up anyway.”
“Sure, that will protect us from the wind too. I noticed the place you set the tent up was incredibly smooth, not rocky, no twigs, soft even. I was expecting some lumps and bumps like when I normally would go camping in the parks around Yellowknife.”
David was so glad she was used to camping. “Yeah, we have several ‘bedding’ areas that we made so we can sleep out here without bringing air mattresses or anything. I didn’t want to let on how we like to have the comfiest spot while sleeping out in the wilderness. It’s not wolf-like at all.”
She chuckled. “Even wolves like to get comfortable.” Then she glanced out at the lake. “You don’t think the bear will come back tonight, do you?”
“I doubt it. They’re usually out at dawn and dusk. But I’ll hang the food in a tree anyway, so we don’t have to worry while we’re sleeping.”
They dressed inside the tent, then started to collect some kindling to build the fire. They piled it on top of the log in the firepit, and David got it going with a lighter.
He pulled out the bag of marshmallows and the extendable forks, and they sat down next to each other to roast marshmallows.
“Do you do this often with the others?” she asked.
“Sure. A few times during the summer. But we also give each other the space to do this on our own. Even Faith and Cameron come here without the kids, just to get away and have time to themselves. We are all happy to babysit.”
Elizabeth’s face turned thoughtful, almost sad, and he wondered if she was thinking of him out here by himself, when everyone else would have their mates with them.
Whatever she was thinking, she shook it off. “Have the kids been here, though? I thought I smelled a faint scent of them.”
“Yeah, we’ve brought them a few times. We have to pack more for the trip, and we take all the canoes, and then it’s a fight about which kid gets to go with which adult or adults.”
She chuckled. “The kids fight over the adults or the adults fight over the kids?”
“Oh, it’s a back-and-forth thing. The kids love it. But we plan to bring them out some more this summer since they’re getting older.”
They poked their marshmallows into the fire; hers caught fire, and she quickly blew it out, laughing. “It’s still good that way, nice and melted on the inside.”
He agreed.
They ate about three apiece and shared a bottle of water between them. Before it got too late, he called Cameron. “Hey, we’re safely at the island, but we’re staying the night.”
Elizabeth washed their forks and packed them away in the backpack when she was done.
“Okay, let us know if you get into any trouble. Did you take anything with you for breakfast?”
“A little bit. We’ll be fine.”
“Well, we can remedy that in the morning if you would both like.”
David smiled. “You guys are the best. And thanks. Oh, and we spotted a male black bear on the island. He swam off earlier, but just to let you know.”
“No chance of it returning tonight?” Cameron asked, sounding concerned.
“I doubt it.” David appreciated his friend’s concern. “But if he does, we’ll shift and chase him off. Night, Cameron.”
“That sounds like a good idea. Night, David.”
Even though the early night sky was clear, he and Elizabeth set up the tarp over the tent just in case. Then he hoisted the backpack high into a tree nearby to keep the bear, if it should return, from getting it.
The camp secure for the night, they crawled into the sleeping bag together, and with the tent flap open so they could see out through the screen door, they watched the sun set, the sky darkening, the stars appearing.
“This is magical,” she said, his arm behind her neck, and his other hand behind his head like a pillow.
“With you here, it truly is.” And though he’d had a lot of memorable experiences with his buddies camping over the years, this one topped them all.
***
A shooting star raced across the midnight-blue sky, and Elizabeth made a wish. That she and David would be mated wolves before long and they would be together for a very long time. “Did you make a wish?” she asked, her voice soft. She didn’t want to chase away the magic or wake him if he had chanced to fall asleep before she did. This was just too nice, and she didn’t want to close her eyes and sleep for anything.
“Yeah. You?” His voice was dreamy.
“Absolutely.” She had texted Sheri earlier to tell her that they were staying on the island tonight, and of course her friend told her just to mate already, which had made Elizabeth smile.
For a long time, they just lay there watching the beauty of the sparkling lights, their fire slowly dying. The water lapping against the shore, swimming, hiking, canoeing, and being out in the sunshine during the day and making love, of course, had made Elizabeth sleepy. Though she wanted to live in this moment forever and watch the twinkling stars all night long, she finally curled up next to David and fell asleep.
***
The next morning, David heard the paddling of canoes headed in their direction and laughter from the kids, Angie saying “There they are! Right there!”
David smiled and glanced over at the other half of the sleeping bag where Elizabeth had been when she’d gotten a little too hot snuggled up next to him. She was gone! Suddenly, he thought of the bear dragging her away and he jumped up from the bedding, even though he smelled no sign of the bear in the tent. “Elizabeth!” He was throwing on a pair of boxer briefs in a hurry and leaving the tent.
“I’ll be right there. I was just getting some business out of the way on the other side of the island,” she called out, and he heard her moving in his direction, but still out of view. “Don’t worry. I didn’t return to Yellowknife.”
He sighed with relief, his heart returning to a normal beat. “You didn’t take the canoe. I was more worried about the bear coming back.”
She came into view and she was as lovely as ever, even though she looked like they’d made love all night long last night, her pretty hair tousled. She began braiding it, as if she knew just how she looked.
“You would have heard a lot of racket if that had happened. Wolf growling, biting.” She smiled at him and he gave her a hug and a kiss.
“Yeah, and I would have been there with you to chase him off. Did you have a good night’s sleep?” He slipped back into the tent and finished getting dressed.
“Yeah, the best. And you?”
“I did. Listening to the water lapping at the beach, snuggled with you, it was the best. I can’t believe you slipped away without disturbing me though.”
“We were all tangled up together, but I was very careful to untangle myself, one limb at a time, without waking you. I think you were dead tired though.”
“Oh, I thought you had gotten hot and moved away from me.”
“No. I just had to go to the bathroom.”
“Have you been up for very long?” He still couldn’t believe he slept through her leaving him.
“Yeah, for a while. I left my clothes in the woods, shifted, and ran along the trail to check for any more bear signs. I didn’t want any surprise attacks. Then did my business.”
He nodded out toward the lake. “The crew is coming. I’m going to find where you went and—”
“Scent mark over my spot. I know how possessive you males are.”
He laughed. Yeah, they were, and when it came to Elizabeth, he definitely was. He headed into the woods.
When he returned to the campsite, he found that Elizabeth had rolled up their sleeping bag and set it outside. She had started the fire too. She was the perfect camping mate. He helped her take down the tent and secure it; then they went in search of more kindling and firewood for when the others arrived.
“I saw everyone coming, the kids excited to see us. Do you always do things like this?” She was picking up more twigs.
“It’s kind of a ritual, I guess. I hadn’t thought of it, but in the past, after we had our homes built and during the summer, Cameron and Faith came to spend the night at the island. We asked if they would like breakfast, and they thought it was a lovely idea. They were already mated way before then, of course. Then when Owen and Candice were together, they wanted to wait until summer and then they paddled out and stayed overnight. When we asked them if they wanted us to bring them breakfast, they said no way!” He grabbed up some fallen branches.
Elizabeth laughed.
“They told us to wait until lunchtime, so that’s what we did. By then it was a tradition, and Gavin and Amelia expected it of us. Of course with you, this time is different because we’re not mated. But they still want to show us a good time.”
“And maybe hope we mated during the night?” She arched a brow.
He smiled. “I’m sure there is that.”
“Well, if things keep going the way they are, I’m guessing that won’t be long. We can do this again, and they can bring breakfast, or lunch, to a newly mated couple.”
“Hot damn, yes!”
She chuckled.
The canoes arrived at the shoreline, everyone yelling greetings, the kids not bothering to wait to jump out, getting their feet wet and not caring one bit.
David was glad to see Slade and Sheri in one of the canoes.
“No flight this morning?” David asked.
“One of our standby pilots took over for me since I said we had a really special event planned.” Slade glanced at Sheri as if to say she was the reason he wanted to do this, more than anything else.
“The other standby pilot took over for me,” Amelia said. “This is important.”
Elizabeth smiled. “Well, this is super fun.”
“We want to see where the bear was,” Corey said.
“We’ll take you for a run on the island after we fix breakfast,” Faith said, everyone helping to carry food and cooking gear out of the canoes. They’d brought everything. Bread to make toast, eggs already scrambled and ready to cook, sausage links and bacon.
“So no more bear signs?” Sheri asked.
“No, I checked it out this morning,” Elizabeth said.
“I did too. Once he left last night, that was the last we saw of him. Though once we start cooking, he might return to see if we left anything behind,” David said.
Before long, they were eating around the campfire, drinking coffee and hot tea, and telling campfire tales.
“You should have seen the time Owen and I were chased up a tree,” David said. “It was as if the bear had known we had hunted bears—unsuccessfully, I might add. Payback, you know.”
“I agree. I thought we were goners,” Owen said. “He was on us before we could even blink, no time to get out of our clothes to shift so we had to run for it. Now, we’re talking a grizzly, too, not a black bear. They’re known to be more unpredictable. I swear he was like some furry monster from a horror show where the critter is bigger than life, stronger, more determined to kill the poor screaming humans trying to escape him.”
The kids were listening in fascination, though they’d heard the story before. Sheri and Elizabeth hadn’t.
“Were you screaming?” Corey asked.
“No way,” David said, winking at Elizabeth. “That’s what happens in the movies. We were just trying to make it to the closest climbable tree and get up it before he got either of us. I swear I don’t think I’ve ever climbed a tree that fast in my life.”
“Yeah, me either. Though grizzlies can climb too, if they are determined, so even there we weren’t safe. He did make it up a little way, but he lost momentum or decided he wasn’t that interested in us and slid back down to the ground.” Owen took another bite of sausage.
“We were out of breath, hearts pounding, smelling of fear,” David said. “The bear wasn’t done with us though. He circled the tree, pawed at it, even pushed at it with his paws as if he could shake us out of the tree. He stretched up to reach us, but we were high enough he couldn’t get to us. He was grunting and snorting, irritated, aggressive. We sat in that tree for an hour before he finally sauntered away. Our cell phones weren’t picking up any reception either so we couldn’t warn the others to stay away.”
“We still didn’t leave after that. Even though he didn’t come back to the tree, we could hear him snuffling and making noise in the underbrush some distance away. We figured he was scouting for grubs or berries, and we didn’t want to risk it,” Owen said.
“Where was this?” Elizabeth asked.
“Montana,” Owen said.
“I was with them,” Faith said. “We had no idea the trouble Owen and David had gotten themselves into. We didn’t even think about it until they didn’t return for lunch. At that point, we went into search mode.”
“Oh, no,” Sheri said.
“Yeah, well, we had bear spray and a rifle with us—not to shoot a bear, if that was the trouble—but to be prepared, just in case. We never expected to find Owen and David in a tree.” Cameron smiled, having never let them live it down.
“That would have been you, too, if you had been with us.” Owen poured himself some more coffee and refilled everyone else’s mugs.
“I’m glad you were all okay. What about you, Faith?” Elizabeth asked.
“Oh, I thought I was the smart one. I stayed at the cabin. So while the guys were following David and Owen’s scent trail and discovering that a grizzly had been after them, the grizzly had left their area and come to the cabin where we were staying. Darn cell phones weren’t working at all,” Faith said.
“Oh, no,” Sheri said again.
“Yeah, well, it worked out in the end. The guys came back, scared it off, and we ended up reporting it to the park rangers. We didn’t want anyone to hurt it, knowing what it’s like to be wolves that people want to hunt, but we didn’t want innocent campers to be hurt or killed either. That bear was hungry. At some point, it was going to hurt someone.”
“Okay, then, that decides it,” Sheri said, slapping her hands on her thighs. “No going to Montana.”
“I’m flying out there in a couple of weeks and thought you might come with me, Sheri,” Slade said.
She smiled brightly. “Hmm. If I’m flying high above the danger, I suppose I can make an exception.”
He chuckled. “We’ll have to land, but not in bear territory.”
Chapter 19
Once the pack members finished eating and cleaning up, they walked around the whole island looking for any other bear signs, a science lesson for the little ones. Angie found the bear’s scat. Nick discovered bear fur caught on a couple of brambles. Corey located the bear’s paw prints in the sand.
The kids loved exploring and learning how to track and be wolves, even when they were in human form. Still, while they were on the island, all three kids and Faith and Sheri ditched their clothes, shifted, and raced around the island as wolves—until they heard paddlers on the water talking to each other. Corey swore he heard one man say, “Damn, did you see the Arctic wolf on the island?”
“No, let’s head that way,” the other man said.
The pack members wearing their wolf coats hurried back into the woods, shifted, and dressed; then they all met at the shore where the pack members’ canoes were. They loaded up their canoes and got ready to paddle back to the mainland and their homes, done with their fun outing.
They were already on the water when one of the men shouted out to them, “Hey, did you see the white wolves on the island?”
“No wolves!” David shouted back. “But we saw a black bear. He swam back to the mainland, though, or we wouldn’t have hung around.” Unfortunately, like the bear had left fur, and footprints, the wolves did too. Most people would chalk them up as dog prints though. Hopefully, that would be the case with these guys too.
But it did worry them—how could it not?—that these men might say they saw the wolves, and wolf biologists or others would descend on the area to see if wolves had returned to the mainland. Which gave David an idea.
All the canoes were paddling toward the mainland in a unified force, and David said, “Hey, Amelia, since you have sources for rehoming dogs, can you find us a couple of big white dogs that look similar to Arctic wolves that we can take in?”
Everyone smiled at David, and the kids shouted, “Yay!”
“Good idea. We should have done that a while ago. I’ll begin a search right away,” Amelia said, dipping her paddle in the water.
