Forever Home (Sawtooth Shifters, #1) Read Online Free PDF Page B

here.”
    All the wolves whined from their crates as I followed Trina to the door. We were starving for freedom. “It’s going to be your turn soon, I promise,” Trina called over her shoulder, trying to calm everyone down. “I only have room for one right now.”
    Trina led me to her pickup truck. Primer black and battered, it didn’t start the first time she turned over the engine. “Frigging hunk of junk.” She slammed her fist against the steering wheel. It worked, the truck started on the next try. She looked at me and smiled. Her hair almost looked blonde in the fading afternoon sun. I often wondered what she’d look like as a wolf, with a golden coat and green eyes. Gorgeous. “What a fucking day. And I haven’t even given you a name. You’ve got such beautiful gray fur. Smoky? No, that’s not right. But it works for now.”
    In six days, I’d be able to tell her my name and so much more. If she’d listen. Maybe I should run, if I had the chance, so Trina wouldn’t. After six months, our shifts could be messy. If we shifted at all. We’d all be strong enough for the metamorphosis this month, but none of us had ever remained wolf this long. It couldn’t be without side effects.
    She drove to a small log cabin on the edge of the forest. Damp earth and tree sap flooded my nostrils. I could run right into the forest and she’d never be able to catch me. I’d be free.
    If I did that, I’d never see Trina again. Or I would, but there’d be no convincing her I was the wolf she’d so lovingly nursed back to health. This wasn’t going to be easy, but nothing good ever was.
    The cabin had a front porch that faced the valley. Bright colors blazed across the rippling hills, reflecting in the lake below. A cool breeze bit through my fur, and we’d be seeing snow soon.
    “Welcome home,” Trina said, her arms spread wide. “It’s not much, but I love it here.” She only had the necessities: a couch, a kitchen table, and a TV. I trotted through the house. One advantage of being a wolf was that I didn’t have to wait for a tour or figure out boundaries like a house guest. I stopped short in her bedroom, not expecting the pink sheets on the unmade bed. Hopping up onto it, I inhaled her warm apple pie scent.
    “Oh no, you don’t.” Trina laughed, swatting my ass playfully. “You get your own bed.”
    Trina never sat still. It was pretty clear her whole life was the shelter. She had no idea how to relax. Putting on the same radio station she listened to all day long, she made dinner, belting out the words to all her favorites. Realizing she’d forgotten to bring food home for me, she put more hamburger in the pan. This cabin was heaven.
    After dinner, she settled on the couch with her computer and a beer. “Don’t tell anyone,” she said with a giggle. Oh shit, she had trouble with drinking. Maybe I could knock it off the table. Or maybe I could just let her relax. The woman never stopped. I crawled up beside her, nestling into the crook of her warm body. She leaned against me, jerking as she fell asleep, a pile of adoption paperwork falling off her lap.
    She yawned as she shuffled into her bedroom. “Let me show you the guest suite.” A fuzzy dog bed lay in the corner. I sniffed; I wasn’t the first one to use this. This wasn’t anything special to Trina. It was just something she did before she gave her dogs away to their actual forever homes. Or sent wolves out in the forest. “The girls didn’t think I should bring you home, since you’re not exactly a dog, but I’m glad I did. I feel safe with you here. Sweet dreams, Smoky.”
    I lay on the lumpy dog bed, listening to her breath deepen as she fell into oblivion. So many things were going through my mind and I couldn’t sleep. Maybe if I watched her, I’d figure out how not to scare the shit out of her when I turned into a man. She wouldn’t feel so safe if she saw that.
    “No!” Trina tossed and turned in her sleep. Was she crying?