Wolf Bride Read Online Free PDF Page A

I was about to pop a squat in the side yard, there it stood around the back of the house. The chills that found my skin when I stepped through the door and into the night hadn’t eased up, but they were happily ignored in my private celebration of a pot. The outhouse had a few spiders and I was pretty sure there was some sort of snake trapped down in the deep latrine beneath it, but I’d been in much, much worse and the physical relief I felt was almost tangible. Closing the door behind me, I smiled as I made my way the distance back to the house.
    It wasn’t until I was about halfway to the back porch that the shivers in my spine went from a low warning to a scream. Instincts long buried by city life sprung into existence when a low snarl sounded behind me. Fear froze me into an immoveable being. I couldn’t even breathe as I searched the edges of the lantern light. The noise tapered off to a bone chilling sound that tore at the edges of my frayed mind. Slowly as a stream in frozen winter, I turned.
    A pair of glowing eyes danced just outside of the light, so I backed toward the house. I had no weapons, save the lantern, to fight whatever had found me. I turned the nob on the side of the lantern until the light was as bright as it would go, and the muzzle of a great gray and white wolf with gleaming bared teeth greeted me. I swallowed a scream and ran for the back door. It was right on my heels and the gnashing of its teeth sounded like cannon fire. I nearly fell on the porch steps but caught myself and flung my frame into the back door.
    It didn’t budge.
    “Help!” I screamed, as my fists pounded against the thick wood that barred me from asylum. “Help me, please!”
    Any moment, the wolf would be on me and I’d die a horrible death within inches of safety. Pounding harder, I fell into the opening door. I hit the ground hard and shoved the door closed with my bare foot. “Latch it. Latch the door!”
    Jeremiah did as he was told and squatted in front of me. “What’s happened? What were you doing out there at this time of night?” The anger in his tone made me want to scramble away from him.
    Heartbeat thrashing against my ribs, I squeaked, “I had to use the outhouse.”
    He spared a glance for the door and then offered me a hand. “Tell me, were you bitten?”
    Bitten? I replayed our small conversation but I definitely hadn’t given away what had chased me.
    “Bitten by what, sir?” I said carefully.
    A frustrated noise escaped his throat and instead of answering, he lifted the hem of my nightdress and scoured my legs.
    I snatched my dress and retreated. “I beg your pardon! What on earth are you doing?”
    Unapologetically, his eyes searched the bare skin of my arms.
    “I’m telling Luke of your atrocious handling of me.”
    “Be my guest,” Jeremiah offered. “He’s sleeping out in the barn, so have fun getting there.”
    He turned and disappeared into his room in the back of the house and I stood there, filled to the brim with fear and fury and with no outlet to release it. Rushing for the window, I pulled back the daffodil colored curtains far enough to glimpse the outline of the barn. A graceful movement loped across the area in between, and my blood went cold as winter. What if the wolf got in the barn and hurt Luke? And why was he sleeping in the barn when he had a perfectly good bed inside?
    The curtains slid out of my fingertips. I knew why. Because he couldn’t stand to sleep in the same house as me.
    I creaky stomped loudly back to my room. How silly had I been to think when I answered that advertisement things would just come together? I’d imagined a hundred different ways my mail order marriage would work out, and none of those imaginings offered an involuntary husband or a wolf attack. And this was day one! I flung myself in a very star-like shape onto the lumpy bed and, for lack of either Dawson brother, glared at the ceiling instead until I tumbled into a fitful