Shadows at Sunset: Sunset Trilogy ~ Book 1

by Tonya Royston

  ***

  Before leaving for work that day, I placed a bowl of water next to Dakota’s bed. He slept soundly, not even cracking an eye open as I moved about getting ready for another day of serving pizza. He growled a few times in his sleep, and I watched curiously as his lip curled up while his eyelids fluttered. Perhaps the golden-eyed wolf haunted him, too. There was no doubt in my mind that the wolf I had seen in the woods at the party had bitten him. I was grateful that my parents hadn’t asked me what I thought had hurt him. They seemed to accept that it must have been a bear or a lynx or another animal indigenous to these mountains.

  The pizza shop wasn’t quite as busy as the day before. The gray rainy weather seemed to keep the tourists away. The lunch rush passed quickly, and Mike dismissed me as soon as the last customer left. I returned home to find Dakota exactly where I had left him, sleeping comfortably on his bed.

  Still wearing my smelly jeans and white polo shirt stained red near my waist from pizza sauce, I knelt beside his bed and gently stroked him. He flickered his eyes open with a sleepy sigh, stretching out his paws. Then rolling up onto his belly, he rested his big black chin on my knees as I continued rubbing between his ears.

  “Hey, boy,” I whispered. “How are you feeling? Did you sleep well?”

  A soft knock suddenly tapped at my bedroom doorway and I turned to see my mother. “I don’t think he moved since I left for work,” I told her.

  “I think you’re right. I’ve been home the whole time and I haven’t seen or heard him. He must have been exhausted, but he looks more alert now. I wonder what did that to him. Whatever it was, hopefully he’ll have the sense to stay away next time.”

  I nodded, acting as though I agreed with her when I was really wondering if he had a choice to stay away from the other wolf. “I hope he at least got up for a drink.” I glanced at the water bowl I had left for him, noticing that it was still quite full.

  “I put some frozen chicken legs out to thaw,” she said. “They might be ready by now. I figured he’d be hungry soon.”

  “Thanks, Mom.”

  When we fed Dakota, which wasn’t often since he preferred the local game of squirrels, rabbits, and deer, we gave him the closest thing to his natural diet we could get, raw meat.

  I had offered him dog food when he first came to live with us, but even as a pup he had turned his nose up at it. When he had climbed up on a kitchen chair to steal a hamburger off the table, we realized a wild animal like him needed a wild diet. Fortunately, except for the winter when food became scarce for him to find on his own, we rarely needed to supplement his diet.

  “We’ve been invited to the Wilson’s for a barbeque tonight. Your dad and I are going. Would you like to come?”

  “No, thanks,” I replied quickly. I didn’t even consider the invitation. There was no way I wanted to leave Dakota tonight. “I just want to take a hot shower and stay with him.” I nodded toward Dakota. “But you guys go and have a good time. I’ll be fine here tonight.”

  “Okay. Your dad went grocery shopping today, so there’s plenty to eat in the refrigerator.”

  “Sounds good. Thanks, Mom.” I looked over at her, meeting her gaze before continuing. “I mean for this morning. You were so calm. How did you know exactly what to do?”

  She chuckled, her brown curls swaying next to her face. “I’m a mom. I used to clean up your scrapes and cuts all the time. Of course, I didn’t have to find them buried under thick fur, but it’s the same protocol. Clean, disinfect, and cover.”

  “Well, I really appreciate it.” I looked down at Dakota’s neck. “Do you think we need to change his bandage?”

  “I would wait until tomorrow.”

  “Okay. Well, have fun tonight.”

  “We will. Call me or send me a text if you need anything while we’re gone.”

  “I’m sure I’ll be fine, Mom.” I watched as she disappeared down the hallway, leaving me with Dakota. When I gazed back down at him, his honey-colored eyes were alert and bright from his day of rest. “Listen, now that you’re better, I have a bone to pick with you. All I wanted was for you to stay safe yesterday when you chased me back to the house. You didn’t keep your end of the bargain.”

  Of course, he hadn’t really agreed to the promise since our communication only went one way, from me to him.

  He sighed, his tongue swiping my hands as if to apologize.

  I grinned. “Okay, you’re forgiven. As long as it doesn’t happen again. Now let me get cleaned up. Then I’ll take you out and get you some dinner.” That earned me several more big licks on my hands before I stood and headed for the shower to wash the greasy pizza smell off my skin and out of my hair.

  Thirty minutes later, after a hot shower and dressing in clean jeans and a black hoodie, I helped Dakota limp down the stairs to the kitchen. Once he was on level ground, he still limped, but he managed on his own without being lifted around his chest to help take the weight off his injured leg. I opened the back door and followed him outside, my tennis shoes squishing in the small puddles on the patio. The gentle rain from earlier in the day had subsided, but a cool, damp mist lingered. Low clouds hovered, hiding the tops of the tallest trees in their gray foggy cloak.

  I pulled the black hood up over my head, my damp hair spilling out over the front collar. Tucking my hands into the front pockets, I stood on the patio since everything was too wet to sit on. Dakota wandered through the yard, his nose buried in the grass as he sniffed along the tree line. He would need a few minutes to go to the bathroom, and I didn’t want to lose sight of him in his condition. I paced slowly along the edge of the patio as he limped around the backyard.

  Suddenly, he raised his muzzle from the grass and growled. I stopped instantly, my spine stiffening as my pulse quickened. I followed his stare to the side of the house only to see Noah walking through the wet grass. Dressed in jeans, a black T-shirt, and a denim jacket, he froze in place as soon as he saw Dakota’s stare locked on him. Dakota continued to growl, the hair on his back ruffling upward.

  I relaxed for a moment, relieved to see it was only Noah. However, his timing couldn’t have been any worse. Dakota would have run off before being seen if he hadn’t been injured. Now I had to explain Dakota to Noah. I wondered how Noah would react to the fact that the sheriff allowed his daughter to keep a wolf.

  I turned to Dakota, his lip still curled up, his sharp fangs gleaming in the mist. “Dakota, it’s okay. Easy boy.” Then my eyes locked with his. ‘It’s only Noah. He’s not a threat,’ I told him silently as I held his gaze. After a few seconds, he stopped growling and the fur settled back into place along his spine. He reluctantly resumed sniffing the ground, watching Noah out of the corner of his eye as he dropped his nose.

  I turned back to Noah and grinned sheepishly. “Hi.”

  The apprehension on Noah’s face faded although it didn’t completely disappear. He started walking toward me again. He glanced nervously at Dakota as he approached me, amazement and fear shining in his eyes. “Hi. He’s not going to attack me, is he?”

  “No,” I said with a reassuring smile. “You’re safe, as long as you don’t hurt me.”

  Noah stopped about three feet away from the patio. “I’ll still keep my distance, just in case.” His gaze darted from me to Dakota and back to me.

  “I guess introductions are in order here. That’s Dakota, my stray dog.”

  Noah raised his eyebrows. “Dog?”

  “Okay, he’s not exactly a dog. You have incredible timing, you know. How is it you always show up when I’m out back?”

  Had he come by when Dakota and I were inside, Dakota would have stayed upstairs, unnoticed.

  “What can I say? You’re outside a lot.”

  I couldn’t disagree with him on that. I was outside a lot.

  “So you have a wolf?” Noah asked slowly, almost as if he didn’t believe it.

  “Yes. And right now, he’s an injured wolf.”

  “I see the bandage. What
happened?”

  “Animal attack. He was bitten on his neck, and I think he sprained his right front leg. He’s got a pretty bad limp.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that. I hope he’ll be okay.”

  “I think he’ll be fine.” I watched Dakota hobble across the backyard and patio. He stopped at the door, waiting patiently for me to let him back inside. As he stood, he turned his head, studying Noah. “Come on,” I said, gesturing to Noah. “He’s ready to go in, and I don’t know about you, but I’m not in the mood to stay out in this dreary weather.”

  Nodding, Noah jogged over to the steps and up to the patio where I stood. We had only taken a couple steps toward the door when Noah stopped and grabbed my arm.

  “Why is he staring at me like that?”

  “Don’t worry. He’s just getting to know you.”

  “Who else has he gotten to know? Do your friends know him? What about the town?”

  “Only Ethan, Brooke, and my parents know about him. It’s really important that we keep him a secret.” I paused, my eyes silently begging him to understand that no one else could find out about Dakota. “And it would probably be best if you didn’t let my dad know you know. He’s been really worried about anyone finding out we have a wolf after recent events.” We resumed walking across the patio.

  Noah’s gentle brown eyes met mine. “Consider it done.”

  “Thank you,” I replied quietly as we approached the door. I reached out for the handle and opened it to let Dakota limp back into the house. After Noah and I followed him inside, I shut the door and pulled my hood down to rest behind my neck. “Have a seat,” I offered, waving my hand at the kitchen table. “My parents went to a barbeque, but I’m not sure how much fun that’ll be in this weather. Do you want to stay for dinner? I was going to make a salad, but we have lunch meat and I can make you a sandwich.”

  “That would be great.” Noah slipped into a chair at the table, his worried eyes still studying Dakota who stood in the middle of the kitchen. “What about him?”

  Dakota stared expectantly at the package of raw chicken drumsticks on the counter, hunger in his eyes. Drool hung from the corners of his mouth. I crossed the kitchen and held up the package for Noah to see. “He’s ready for dinner, too.”

  “Raw chicken? No dog food?” Noah asked as I pulled a plastic bowl out of the cabinet.

  I grabbed a knife from the silverware drawer and poked a hole in the wrapper. “I think he’d rather starve than eat dog food,” I explained as I peeled off the plastic and dumped the drumsticks into the bowl. “I tried feeding him dog food when we first got him, but he refused it. The only thing he would eat was meat. But it has to be raw because cooked bones can splinter.” I handed one of the drumsticks to Dakota who snatched it from me quickly, but carefully, avoiding my fingers. Then he hobbled over to the stairs where he stopped and looked at me. “I’m just going to help him up to my room where his bed is. Then I can make our dinner,” I told Noah as I carried the bowl with the remaining drumsticks to where Dakota waited.

  Holding the bowl under my left arm, I leaned down to help Dakota up the stairs. But I had barely been able to help him with two free arms when I didn’t have something to carry. As I tried to lift him onto the first step, I lost my balance and nearly spilled the chicken all over the floor. I stood up quickly, catching the bowl with two hands. Then I looked over at Noah. “I hate to ask you this, but would you mind helping? He’s really heavy.”

  Noah jumped to his feet and walked around the table to us. “Sure. Is he going to be okay with this?” Worry lurked in his eyes as he studied Dakota.

  Dakota watched him, his expression seeming to say, “I don’t like this any better than you.”

  “Just reach under his chest right behind his front legs. Every time he steps down with his right paw, lift him up to help him take his weight off of it.”

  “Got it,” Noah said, but his eyes didn’t look so sure. Hesitantly, he leaned down, wrapped his arms around Dakota’s chest, and helped him limp up the stairs. He made it look a lot easier than it had been for me.

  I followed behind them with the bowl of chicken in my hands. As soon as Dakota reached the top step, Noah let go of him and stood up. Dakota headed into my room and we followed as he made his way to his bed, settling onto it with the drumstick still in his mouth. He slid the bone between his front paws to hold it in place as he started gnawing on the meaty end.

  “You’re going to let him eat raw chicken in your bedroom?” Noah asked curiously.

  I set the bowl down next to Dakota and walked over to my dresser. “First of all, he won’t leave as much as a crumb by the time he’s done. And secondly--” I held up a book of matches and struck one against the grainy side. It flared with a hissing sound for a split second before diminishing to a small flame. “I have a scented candle to keep my room from smelling like raw meat. In a few minutes, it’ll smell like baked cookies up here.”

  I lit the wick, blew out the match, and carefully moved the candle jar to the other side of the dresser near the wall. Then I turned to Noah who stood with his back to my closet door. I suddenly noticed my purple lacy bra hanging from the closet door handle, and I felt heat flush through my cheeks. My heart raced as I hoped he hadn’t seen it when he had walked into my room a few seconds ago. Needless to say, I wasn’t accustomed to bringing guys up to my bedroom, except for Ethan, and he didn’t count.

  “Okay. I’m done up here. We can go back downstairs now,” I announced.

  Noah swept his gaze around my room with sincere interest. “I like your room, especially your wolf picture.” He nodded toward the picture that hung over my headboard.

  “Thank you.”

  As I tried to think of a way to get him to leave my room, he walked past me between my bed and the wall across from the window, studying my photographs. “Wow. These are really cool. Did you take them?”

  “Yes,” I admitted. “I got into photography a few years ago when I got a digital camera for my birthday. And not some little matchbox camera, either. A real good one, see?” I pointed at my desk where my Nikon D3200 sat beside my computer keyboard, the thick strap dangling over the edge.

  Noah followed my stare, immediately noticing the camera. “Nice. That looks pretty fancy. But how did you get such up close pictures? Do you have a telephoto lens, too?”

  I shook my head with a shrug. “No. This camera has a zoom that’s pretty good.” Please don’t ask any more questions. Please, I begged silently. It had been hard enough to get my parents to understand how I’d gotten most of those shots. I didn’t want him asking, too. As we both paused, Dakota’s teeth crunching on the raw bone the only sound in the room, I inched toward the doorway. “Come on. You’re hungry, right?” I hoped I could get Noah out of there before he noticed my bra. It almost worked.

  Noah started to follow me, but stopped and turned back to look at Dakota one last time. When he glanced into the room, I noticed his eyes stop to rest on my closet door. I was absolutely mortified, and I held my breath as my heart raced.

  Dakota must have sensed my apprehension because he started growling. Noah jumped back, gently knocking into me. “I think I’ve overstayed my welcome,” he said nervously.

  I laughed at the wide-eyed fear in his eyes, realizing how silly I was to worry about him seeing my underwear when he probably just wanted to make it out of my bedroom alive. “You’re fine. I think he just wants us to let him eat in peace.”

  I instinctively grabbed Noah’s hand, but dropped it when our eyes met. My heart fluttered as I turned to head downstairs, his footsteps echoing close behind me on the hardwood floor.

  Once we had returned to the kitchen, Noah shed his jacket and hung it on the back of a chair. His black T-shirt stretched tightly along his broad shoulders, revealing his strong muscular arms. I wondered what it would feel like to have him sweep me into those arms, but I forced myself to look away and focus on making dinner.

  We both went straight to the sink to wash
our hands. My shoulder gently bumped his, and I quickly moved away as heat rushed through my arm. After we took turns drying our hands with a kitchen towel, Noah asked, “Can I help with anything?”

  “Nope. I’ve got it. Have a seat.” I gestured at the table, and he walked across the kitchen to sit down. Then I side-stepped over to the refrigerator and opened it. The cool air felt refreshing against my hot, flushed skin. “What can I get you to drink? We have Coke, ginger ale, Sprite, juice, milk, iced tea, and water,” I said, taking inventory of everything on the shelves.

  “I’ll have a Sprite.”

  I grabbed a can of Sprite and filled a glass with ice. As I approached the table with them in my hands, Noah asked, “So how did you end up with a wolf?”

  Placing his drink in front of him, I shook my head. “It’s really not a very exciting story. My uncle who’s a cop in Boston found him chained up in a backyard during a drug raid. He took him and brought him up here to us. The only other options probably would have been a zoo or a wolf sanctuary.”

  “And your parents let you keep him?”

  “Only after days of begging. And I had to take an oath that I would get good grades and basically stay out of trouble forever.”

  “Did you?”

  I laughed. “Ha, ha. Seriously though, I don’t think my parents can complain.” I leaned against the table. “You’re still hungry, right? What would you like? We have ham and turkey for sandwiches. And there’s some Swiss and cheddar cheese.”

  “Ham and cheddar would be great.”

  I returned to the refrigerator and pulled out sandwich and salad ingredients. Ham and cheese for him, lettuce, hard boiled eggs, and cottage cheese for me.

  “I still can’t believe you have a wolf. And he seems so tame, at least with you. I can tell you’re really in control with him.”

  I briefly thought of yesterday morning when Dakota chased me back to the house. I wasn’t in control then. “It’s not as much control as it is a bond. I’ve done a lot of research on wolves and they are very social animals. Basically, I’m his pack.”