Free Jessica Coulter Smith by Her Wolf Savior

Chapter One
    Brianna woke up in a cold sweat.  The dream was the same as it always had been—her running through the woods.  Someone, or something, was chasing her, crashing through the underbrush, tracking her, hunting her.  Her heart raced and pounded so loudly she could hear it.  A deep growl came from behind her and right before she was attacked, she woke up.  In all of her twenty-four years, she had yet to see what, or who, was attacking her.
    She pushed her short blonde hair out of her eyes and stared at the clock on the bedside table.  With a curse, she leapt out of bed and ran for the bathroom.  It was already after nine o’clock and she was late for work – again!  On the plus side, she was her own boss.  The downside was that if she didn’t open the store at ten o’clock, she would have angry customers griping at her all day and lose some much needed business.
    Jumping in the shower, Brianna quickly washed her hair and body.  Any other morning she’d have enjoyed the hot water and would’ve been loath to get out so quickly, but there was no time for luxuries this morning.  Turning off the water, she quickly dried off and threw on a pair of khaki Capri pants and a pink knit top. 
    Brianna looked at her reflection and fought her inner demons.  She hated her hair when it dried naturally, but did she really have time to dry and style it?  Biting her lip, she decided to forgo fixing her hair and grabbed a clip. It would just have to do for today.
    After pulling out her make-u, she applied a light layer of blush to her cheeks, some neutral eye shadow to her lids, and a little mascara.  Her eyelashes were long, but they were so pale you couldn’t see them if she didn’t put on mascara.  Applying some sheer pink lip-gloss, she put her make-up away and washed her hands.
    The woman staring back at her looked better than she had fifteen minutes ago, but there were still days she’d like to change things about her appearance.  Her nose was a little longer than she liked, but it went well with her prominent cheekbones.  She had a strong jaw and a small chin.  Her eyes were large and expressive, with gracefully sweeping eyebrows.  She was a little pale, but summer was just beginning.  Once she got the initial sunburn out of the way, she’d turn a nice golden brown.
    Sighing, Brianna turned off the bathroom light, slipped on her brown sandals and grabbed her purse.  It was a good thing her apartment was above her store or she’d never have made it to work on time.  As it was, when she reached the bottom of the stairs and let herself into the store, she had less than half an hour to get everything prepped for the first customers of the morning.
    Storing her purse in the backroom, Brianna rinsed out the coffee pot and started a fresh batch.  It not only helped get her going in the mornings, but the customers always enjoyed a fresh cup as well.  She knew it was a gamble to allow people to drink in her bookstore, but so far, the accidents had been few and far between.  Usually it was the floor that took the hit and not the books on the shelves.
    Once the coffee was percolating and the Styrofoam cups were out on the table with the sugar and creamer, she went into the back to take the money out of the safe.  She always set up her drawer the night before, which made it easy to get the register going in the mornings.  Pulling the money from the safe, she carried it up front.
    The register drawer was already open.  Her small store had been broken into the first month she was open.  They hadn’t taken any money because the register had been empty, but they hadn’t known that at the time. Now she left the drawer open so everyone could see there was no money and would hopefully refrain from breaking in again. 
    Slipping the cash into the drawer, she closed it.  Brianna grabbed the duster out from under the counter and quickly dusted the shelves and flat surfaces around the store.  She liked