Free The Reluctant Wolf: A Paranormal Romance (Werewolves and Shifters) by Susan G. Charles Page B

hallway to her dark kitchen. She ran straight to her sink, stuck her hands into the icy dishwater, looking for her sharpest knife, retrieving a large butcher knife, as she speed dialed Morgan’s number with her other hand.
    His phone kept ringing and ringing – but no answer. Just then she noticed the wolf’s big head had popped up right in front of her kitchen window, his red eyes closed as he sniffed the air. He knew she was there but still hadn’t seen her directly – yet. But she did get a much more detailed look at him – he was covered in thick dark brown fur, red eyes, loads of sharp teeth, large claws – definitely not a dream. And she was scared!
    But she was also very distracted. Why wasn’t Morgan answering his stupid cell phone? But she didn’t know who else to call. And even with all her first responder training, 9-1-1 never even occurred to her. So, she ran to her spare bedroom, quickly pulled down the stairs to the attic, climbed them as quickly as possible, then closed the foldable stairs up right behind her, hiding her from the intruder outside. She hoped against hope that the wolf, or whatever that thing was, wouldn’t be able to reach her up there.
    She held the knife ready in front of her just in case the monster did find her, listening intently by the trap door and holding the ladder string as if that would make a big difference. She set her phone to silent mode as soon as she entered the attic. Seconds later Bailey heard glass break in one of her windows followed by another, much closer, howl. Then she heard other noises as the wolf followed her trail straight into the bedroom, and started tearing it apart because he couldn’t reach her.
    She fought off tears knowing all her favorite antiques in that room were being ripped to shreds. She didn’t have a lot of belongings but those were among the first she had bought once she got away from her ex. She did her best to remain silent because she didn’t want to encourage the beast to double it’s efforts at getting in to her. Hours passed as she sat in the dank, dark attic all alone, hoping that Morgan would call but too afraid to risk the noise of pushing the buttons to dial herself.
    By the time sunset rolled round, Bailey ached from sitting in one tiny, dark spot for hours. Her hands, legs and back especially ached. The sounds of growls, howls, and breaking objects could still be heard but no where nearly as often as before. She heard another window break – the crash of broken glass let her know it was from her other bedroom window. Taking care to not be found, she continued to stay hidden for another hour or so after the last window broke. Finally, hours later still, she dared open the attic door to peek out.
    The wolf, at least that’s what she thought it was, appeared to be gone. She sat there from the safety of her hiding place and listened intently to see if she might hear anything else as she surveyed her second bedroom. The walls were ripped, the carpeting shredded, her bed in splinters – the floor was covered with hair, splinters, feathers from pillows, bedding, curtains – you name it. The entire bedroom was broken. Scratch and bite marks covered several things – it was a total and absolute mess. She had no idea what the rest of the house looked like.
    So she decided it was safe enough to come down. She stood and stretched her tight muscles, still holding the knife in one had and the cell in the other and carefully climbed down the folding ladder. She left it down just in case… first things first, she carefully made her way to the bathroom to relieve herself and then put her cell in her pocket deciding to hold the knife in both hands just in case she needed to use it. Then she left the sanctity of the second bedroom to see how the rest of her house looked.

Chapter 3
    Hours passed and still no Morgan! Bailey was super worried by now but kept herself busy by cleaning up most of the mess the wolf had left. Eventually she got