Free Werewolf in Alaska: A Wild About You Novel by VickiLewis Thompson Page A

right calling her Rachel, he’d decided on Miss M, and Rachel was honored to share a nickname with Bette Midler.
    “I’m fine.”
    “Just wondered, because you don’t usually come out to meet me. Is there a problem?”
    “Sort of. Well, I hope not.” She’d discovered early in their relationship that Lionel picked up on her moods very quickly.
    He had an artist’s soul, and she’d encouraged him to try carving as a way to express his creativity. So far she’d seen no evidence he was doing it, but he could be working in secret. That would be like him, to want to surprise her.
    “So what’s going on?”
    She took a deep breath. “I have a wolf in my bedroom.”
    His face turned a dull red. “I don’t think you should be telling me that, Miss M. I know you’ve been going online looking for guys to date, but—”
    “Not a guy-type wolf, Lionel. An actual wolf. A big black wolf.”
    His embarrassment was replaced with alarm. “Wow. Did you kill it?”
    “No! Would I do something like that?”
    “I didn’t think so, but I can’t see how you’d get a real wolf into your bedroom unless he was dead, and I thought maybe you needed help getting rid of the evidence, which I would totally do for you, even if it meant we’d get in trouble.”
    “I could still get in big trouble for not notifying Fish and Game that I have him. I took him in the house because he’s hurt.”
    “Bad?”
    “I think he’ll make it.”
    Lionel exhaled noisily. “Good. That’s very good. But listen, you should call Fish and Game right now and make up some story about why you didn’t contact them earlier. I’ll back you up.”
    “I’m not calling them, Lionel. Last night this wolf came swooping in and attacked a grizzly that was about to chew me to bits.”
    “No way!”
    “That’s how he got hurt. He might be a hybrid, but I’ll bet he once belonged to someone, because he’s used to people and obviously thought he should protect me. But I think he’s on his own now. I plan to turn him loose once I’m sure he’ll be okay. That’s only fair.”
    Lionel gazed at her, his dark eyes filled with concern. “What if he has rabies?”
    “I’ve seen no evidence of that. Remember, I worked with a vet.”
    “Okay, maybe he doesn’t have rabies. I suppose you’d recognize the signs. But he’s still a wild animal. Wild animals can seem like they’re friendly until bam! They turn on you. There was this guy in India whose pet hippopotamus ate him.”
    “This wolf saved me from a bear. He’s not going to turn around and eat me.”
    “You can’t know that for sure. Has he ever growled at you?”
    “No.” She realized that wasn’t exactly true. “Well, once, but I think that was because I tried to shave his fur so I could dress his wounds. He’s afraid of either the scissors or the razor, or both.”
    “But he
did
growl. You say he’s in your bedroom?”
    “Yes.”
    Lionel’s eyebrows rose. “Did you sleep in there last night?”
    “I did. So what?”
    “So
what
? He could have attacked while you were sleeping, that’s what!”
    “Well, he didn’t, and I don’t expect him to.”
    “Meaning that you’re going to sleep in the same room with him again tonight?”
    “I was planning on it.”
    Lionel shook his head. “Bad idea, Miss M. Maybe he was too weak to attack last night, but with another day’s rest, he might be a whole different wolf.”
    “I’m not worried.”
    “Well, I am. Can I see him?”
    “All right, but you have to promise me you won’t tell
anybody
about this.”
    Lionel looked genuinely offended. “Like I would.”
    “I’m sorry. I know you wouldn’t. But . . . I feel protective of this wolf. I’m sure it’s the same one I saw years ago.”
    “You mean the one you took a picture of? You’re absolutely sure? Because wolves can look alike, you know.”
    “This one’s very distinctive. His black coat’s the same, and his green eyes are exactly like the one in the picture. Plus