Chapter 1
Everything had been looking up for Sierra Redding, a retired army finance officer, since she’d moved to the Portland, Oregon, area before Christmas. At least she thought that. After a day working in a mixed-media-collage intensive workshop for teachers, she was excited and looking forward to setting up “official” art assignments for wolf kids of all ages in the red wolf pack, starting on Monday. The job was just a part-time one, but she had her army retirement pay, and that was all she really needed.
She wasn’t sure if she could do this since she’d never taught kids before, but she’d had so much fun at the workshops that she knew this was just what she wanted to do. Initially, she hadn’t really thought of what she wanted to do once she retired, but her pack leaders, Leidolf and Cassie Wildhaven, had hired her immediately to teach art classes to the pack-schooled kids. Cassie was eager to find someone trained in art already and who had a talent for it since a couple of the students showed real promise and needed someone who could teach them more skills.
After the long day of art-teacher-training workshops, Sierra entered her Portland hotel room, ready to order some seafood from room service and chill while watching a movie on TV. As soon as she shut the door, she got a call from Cassie. She hurried to answer it while dumping her bag of notes and art supplies on the extra queen-size bed. “Hi, Cassie.”
“Hey, how’s it going?” Cassie was a wolf biologist, the perfect occupation for a wolf who already knew all about wolf biology on a personal basis. She was often on tours educating people about wolves, when she wasn’t home helping her mate lead the pack.
“It’s going great. I’m having a blast. I’ll be all set for starting classes on Monday, and I already have some adults lined up for art classes at night.” Sierra appreciated that Cassie had called to see how she was doing. She hadn’t expected to hear from anyone.
“I’m so glad to hear it. I’m thrilled you’re all settled in. We couldn’t be more pleased that you’ve joined the pack.”
Sierra knew part of the reason was that there were fewer females than males in the pack, and they were always on the lookout to entice new females to join them. It helped when the wolf had a skill the pack needed. They’d even paid for her workshops and her hotel, which was really nice of them.
“I am too.” Though Sierra wasn’t really settled in—yet. She wouldn’t be until she began working and felt she had a mission and purpose in life. She’d loved creating sketches and paintings when she was a kid, and through the years while she was in the army, she’d won a few contests with her wolf portraits. She loved that she’d had such cooperative wolf models. She was always learning new things, and her next great adventure was creating digital paintings from photographs and sharing how to do that with the kids.
“I’m so glad that you haven’t changed your mind.”
Sierra laughed. She was sure Cassie and Leidolf worried she might still return to Texas to be with her boyfriend. “Yeah, we’re good.” For now. She had to see how teaching went, how she got along with the pack members, and decide about Lieutenant Colonel Richard Wentworth, the army officer she was still dating back at Fort Hood, Texas.
“Okay, well, I’ll let you go now. Leidolf is fixing dinner, and I need to help him with the kids.”
“Thanks for calling. I’ll talk to you later.” Afterward, Sierra called in an order for shrimp scampi at the hotel restaurant and was watching an espionage thriller on TV when her twin brother called. She paused her movie.
“Hey, how are you doing at your workshop?” Brad asked.
Loving her brother, she smiled. He had retired as a Navy SEAL and had mated one of the Portland pack members, which was one of the big reasons she had come here. When they had kids—and often wolves had more than one at a time—she wanted to be here to help out. While she and her brother had both been in the military, they hadn’t had a lot of time to see each other, though they’d always been close, so it was time to bond again.
“Great. I love it. Why aren’t you busy making little Redding wolves?”
He chuckled.
She teased him about that all the time, though she knew he wasn’t waiting to have kids with Janice. She also knew he had called because he wanted her to love what she was doing and stay in the area. Her parents were waiting for her to say if she was going to remain in Portland before they made any move from Texas to join them.
“Okay, well, I just wanted to check on you, and I’m glad you’re enjoying it. See you soon.”
“Thanks, Brad. Sounds good.” They ended the call.
She started the movie and then her phone jingled again. Now who was calling?
She paused the movie and grabbed her phone. Her boyfriend. She sighed and answered the phone.
“Hey, Sierra. I hope you’re getting tired of the rain there.”
Not “Hey, honey, I missed you”? Something was seriously wrong with their relationship.
She was starting to get used to the rain as she listened to it softly hitting the window. “I’m glad to be here.” She’d met so many wolves in the pack who were friendly and welcoming, something she had certainly been hoping for.
“I miss you.”
“I miss you too. I’ll be seeing you.” She’d told herself she had to give herself time to learn how much she liked it here before she made any decision to return to Texas. Sure, she felt somewhat conflicted about leaving him, but he was doing what he wanted to do, and this was what she wanted to do. Not only that, but she hadn’t missed him as much as she’d thought she would.
“All right. I hope that means you’re coming back for good.”
“We’ll see.” She was beginning to think that for him, absence made the heart grow fonder. Though she also suspected he was afraid she might find a new wolf to interest her and Richard would be history. He was doing a lot more checking up on her than when she lived in Killeen, Texas. She was really trying to be objective about this and not let any bachelor wolves sway her from her mission: settle in, work with the kids, and see if this was what she really wanted to do.
But she had to admit there were some real bachelor male hotties in the Portland-area wolf pack that she was interested in seeing more of if things were going to work out for her here. Police Detective Adam Holmes with the Portland Police Bureau was on top of the list. He had been all smiles, welcoming her to the pack as if she were staying for good, and had made her feel really great about being here. She supposed another reason he was on her good list was he’d been the first one to sign up for her adult art class for Monday night, though—according to him—he couldn’t even draw a stick figure.
Someone knocked at the door, and she figured her shrimp scampi dinner had arrived. “I have to go. My meal is here.”