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I set my bags down on the bed and stretch.
Time to get to work.
TWO
Vera
“Mila! I swear to God!” I yell as the young wolf takes off, running away from me.
I could swear that she’s laughing at me as she goes, and I chuckle, shaking my head. I head back towards the four-wheeler, grabbing the rest of the wolves’ food and heading to the feeding area.
The rest of the wolves are already eating, and I head a few feet away from them to spread out the rest of their food. All of the wolves here have been brought to this place because they wouldn’t survive in the wild by themselves. Most have been injured in some way or were born with defects, and we took them in.
I check the area, making sure that everything looks right as I feed the wolves. This whole thing is so routine that I think I could do it in my sleep. I grew up here at the Wolf Valley Wolf Sanctuary. My parents inherited it from their parents, who inherited it from their parents, and so on and so on.
I inherited it six months ago when my parents passed away. My mom went first. She died of breast cancer. It seemed to happen so fast, and I was still reeling from losing her when my dad had a heart attack. I came back to find him on the kitchen floor. He was already gone.
As if that wasn’t enough of a gut punch, I started looking through the books after the funeral and was shocked to see just how broke we were. The sanctuary relies on donations and a few grants, but those have been drying up over the last decade. I needed to figure out a new way to keep this place running. I’ve tried social media, and it’s brought in a few donations and some attention, but it hasn’t really helped. I need more money, but it seems like the only way to get it is to sell this place.
I’ve gotten a few offers to sell the sanctuary, but I’ll never take them up on it. Or I thought I wouldn’t…
Times have gotten harder and I’m desperate. I need to come up with a plan and fast.
The stress of running this place is probably going to kill me, but watching the wolves calms me. They’ve always had that effect on me, even when I was a little girl. They’re so smart and loyal.
“Alright, be good. I need to run into town and grab food for myself now,” I tell the pack.
They ignore me, but I still smile as I head back to the four-wheeler and take off back towards the house. It’s quite a drive. The Sanctuary is close to a thousand acres, and my house is situated on the western side, closest to town.
I park the four-wheeler and climb off, picking up the empty food buckets and carrying them over to the barn. I stow everything there and rinse off in the sink in the barn before I head out to my car.
The drive into town isn’t long, and I park outside of the market. I grab my wallet and phone and head inside, pulling up my grocery list as I go. I guess that’s why I don’t notice the giant man as I run right into him.
“Whoa,” he says, his deep voice washing over me. My head jerks up and I look into a pair of dark green eyes.
We stare at each other for a moment, and I realize that I’m staring, but I can’t seem to look away. This man makes me feel… so many things.
Interest, attraction, and curiosity flare inside of me. All things that I’ve never felt for a man before.
I step back, trying to get myself under control.
“Hey,” the man says, and I shiver at his deep voice.
“Hi,” I answer lamely.
I should be asking him questions, trying to flirt with him or something. I’m not very good at any of this, and suddenly, I regret spending most of my time around wolves instead of people.
“Sorry about running into you,” I finally say, and he nods.
“It’s not a problem. Truly,” he insists, and I smile slightly.
“Are you visiting or a local?” He asks me, stepping out of the way of the grocery store doors.
“I’m a local. You must be a tourist though.”
“I must be?”
“Well, yeah. I mean, I’ve never seen you around before.”
