Chapter Four

Three days had passed since Constance's nude, giant of a visitor had run away into the Montana snow. She had attempted to forget about him but, honestly, she had thought of little else. Constance simply could not, for the life of her, make any sense of what had happened. How had the man been alive? He should have frozen to death quickly out in the frigid winter weather but, instead, he had seemed hot but not with fever. He had felt as if he was his own furnace, producing heat more efficiently than a woodstove. And why had he been nude and torn to pieces? An animal attack would explain the wounds but not the lack of clothing. Then there was his reaction to her. She had seen fear, plain and simple, etched across his rugged features--shining in his dark eyes.

Why would a man so large, and judging by the scars he'd been covered in, so accustomed to danger, be afraid of her? It certainly was a mystery--and Constance hated mysteries. She was someone who wanted to solve them. She liked to know the why of things. She needed all the information and to truly understand the world around her. The stranger had definitely presented one hell of a mystery and it was a mystery she simply couldn't see any way to solve.

Thankfully, today would not be spent simply attempting to keep herself busy at home with nothing but her thoughts for company. The weather had broken in the last couple of days and the snow had melted enough for her to put on her snow shoes and make the trek to town to open the schoolhouse. Constance wasn't sure if any children would show up but she could knock on several doors and at least invite those that lived along her route.

Donning her thick wool coat over her gray plaid long sleeve dress, Constance then slipped on gloves, a warm red hat and matching scarf and left her cabin with a basket slid over her arm that contained her lunch as well as her revolver because a woman could never be too careful.

Once outside, Constance walked the cleared path to the shed, slipped into her snowshoes and began the trek to town. It took nearly twice as long to reach the schoolhouse but when she did, Constance had several students in tow. Once she had gotten the fire roaring and brought heat into the tiny one room building, a few more had arrived, including Lily with a squirming burlap sack on her arms.

"Miss Masters! Miss Masters! Look what I brought! I remembered!" A furry head popped out of the sack, giant ears flopping over a soft, black muzzle, before moving aside to reveal big brown eyes.

Constance felt her own smile grow at the adorable sight. "I love it, Lily." She reached out and let the pup sniff at her hand which led its squirming to increase and Lily to lose control of the sack as the puppy leaped out and into Constance's arms.

"He likes you, Miss Masters!" Lily exclaimed, leading to a chorus of agreements from the other young students. Constance had always had a soft spot for animals but because of her mother having an allergy to them, she had never had one of her own. Now that she was in her own home maybe it was time to get herself a dog. It would help her to feel a little less alone.

"Okay," Constance took the puppy who was busy attempting to kiss her face and placed it back in Lily's waiting arms while the girl was swarmed by her classmates. "Did anyone else remember their show and tell items?"

A chorus of both elated assents and regretful denials filled the room. "Don't worry. If you forgot today, simply it bring it tomorrow. We can have show and tell month until everyone has had a turn. Now, everyone take their seats and Lily you can come to the front and tell us about your new puppy."

"He's amazing!" Lily exclaimed as the puppy squirmed and wriggled in an attempt to gain freedom from her grasp. "His name is Rufus and he loves it when I give him bones after dinner!"

***

At the end of the day, the students happily burst from the schoolhouse to begin their treks home. Lily and Constance were the last to leave the school and Lily locked up the door behind them. The girl had fashioned a lead from bit of rope and was letting Rufus bounce around in the snow drifts as they made their way down the path toward town. Constance had also given Lily her warm wool scarf because the girls threadbare coat had offered her very little protection against the cold air.

"Thank you for sharing your lunch with me today, Miss Masters." Lily said as she held onto Rufus' leach with both hands, her braids swinging every time the pup tugged her in a new direction. "Sometimes my pa gets so busy he forgets to shop."

Constance bit her tongue hard to keep her true thoughts to herself. Lily's pa didn't forget to buy food--the man simply chose to keep himself supplied in liquor and gambling instead. She took a moment to collect her thoughts and offered Lily the best comforting smile she could manage. "I will share with you anytime, Lily. Would you like me to walk you to your house? We can stop by the mercantile and I could pick you up a few things so your father won't have so much to worry about."

Lily laughed as Rufus faceplanted in a drift and came out shaking his head, those big ears flapping against his face. "I don't think that would be a good idea, Miss Masters. Pa doesn't like it when people help. He said he would buy us some food tonight."

Constance hoped against hope that the man would keep that promise. Lily was such a bright, innocent young girl. She deserved so much more than the life she'd been given. Constance wanted so badly to help the girl but there wasn't much she could do. Their town marshall would not step in to a family matter that he saw as none of his business and any aid that Constance attempted to give to Lily would only serve to anger the girls father and possibly make things worse on her. The last thing Constance wanted was to have Lily's father start refusing to allow the girl to attend school.

The two went their separate ways as the path split. Lily on the path that would lead toward her home at the edge of town and Constance on the path that would take her on her long walk toward her cottage in the woods.

During winter months the school day ended at around one in the afternoon to ensure everyone had time to get home and have a bit of time before darkness fell. The sun was shimmering brightly off the crystalized snowflakes covering the trees and high drifts. Constance found herself humming a light tune as she trudged along. The snow was beginning to melt a bit under the sunlight and it made her going just a bit tougher than it had been that morning as her snowshoes sank a bit dipper into the snow.

The day truly was a beautiful one despite the cold. The cold, however, had nothing to do with the chill that suddenly raced down Constance's spine. Bumps covered her flesh. She was being watched--she was sure of it.

But by who.... or what?

Out in the wilderness it wasn't only other people with bad intentions you had to watch for. Wolves, bear, moose, elk, and even wolverine could be a threat. She was most worried about bear. While they should still be in hibernation, that slumber could sometimes be disturbed and with spring barely a month away, the beasts would be hungry and grumpy if they'd been awakened.

Constance took her gun from her basket and actively scanned her surroundings as he hastened her pace. The air around her felt heavier. Something was wrong.

Suddenly out of the woods and to the right, three tiny balls of fur came tumbling onto the path. They were growling at each other and swatting snow and clearly having fun in the winter wonderland around them.

Baby grizzlies. They were quite adorable and nearly enough to have Constance oohing and awwing as they wrestled and bounced around. But Constance knew where there were babies, mama was sure to be near. And mother bears were notoriously protective of their young.

Her back stiffened when she heard a deep grunt from behind her.

Constance's heart thundered and her hands shook as she turned slowly toward the sound. There stood a grizzly only about ten feet from her. It was raised on its back legs and easily eight feet tall. Constance would have screamed had she been a screaming woman. The bear fell back onto all fours, shaking its head and letting out a roar that she felt in her very bones. Constance had just found herself in the most dangerous place a person could ever find themselves; between a mother bear and her young.

The gun nearly fell from her quaking hands. Constance gripped it tighter and aimed it at the mother bear--though she did not want to have to pull the trigger. This was simply a mother, hungry and desperate, awake far too early, and naturally wanting to protect her children.

Contance did her best to ignore her own instincts to protect her life with a bullet, and simply tried to look small. She bent low, sinking into herself and dropping her gaze to her snow shoes, though she kept the bear just inside her peripheral vision. If she could simply make herself seem as little of a threat as possible to the cubs, the mother may decide not to attack and simply leave.

The bear stomped its front feet on the snow and shook its head again. Constance attempted to shrink even further. And then the mother charged.

The attack could have been a mock charge but Constance would never know because at the time the mother made a move toward her, something massive and black came leaping from the woods, hurtling through the air and slamming into the side of the bear, throwing her sideways and causing her to flip several times before she finally came to a stop.

Constance stared in a mind clouding mixture of shock, fear, and awe at the massive black creature now standing between her and the bear who had been ready to attack her moments before. The wolf was easily twice as large as any wolf she had ever seen before. Long black fur glistened in the sunlight and she could see the power in its body as muscles bunched and coiled, ready to spring at any moment.

The giant beast was facing the bear. It let out a growl that caused Constance's entire body to quake and her knees to turn to water beneath her as she fell unceremoniously onto her backside in the snow. The wolf spared a look back at her--eyes nearly as dark as the fur it was covered in and a scar running through its right eye and down its cheek. Lips pulled back to reveal massive, flesh ripping teeth as it turned back to the bear and snarled.

What in the hemlock trees was going on? Lone wolves did not attack angry bears. They did not protect humans. Is that what this wolf was doing? Protecting her? The very idea seemed absurd.

The bear wasted no time in adjusting to the new threat. As soon as she had regained her feet, she charged and the wolf met her halfway. Constance could hear the thud of bone and muscle as the two animals collided. They quickly became a tangle of fur, teeth and claws. Blood splashed on the snow. The sound of their mingling growls was deafening.

Constance regained her feet and began to back away slowly. She realized the baby bears were gone--they had fled back into the woods and away from danger. Which was exactly what she should do.

Just as she was about to though, she heard the bear let out a cry of pain and look forward to realize that the wolf was winning. It had the bear flipped and was about to tear out her neck. That would sign the bears death warrant. How was a wolf so strong?

Constance couldn't let the bear die. If she died, her babies would never survive without her. She reached in her basket and grabbed the empty pint jar that had contained her canned apples from lunch. With all her might she threw that jar directly at the wolf's head. It hit the creature in the cheek with a thud before falling and sinking into the blood-soaked snow.

"Stop that! Don't kill her! She has children! Give her the option to leave!"

The wolf stiffened, his ears swiveling toward the sound of Constance's voice. Then, in a moment both miraculous and completely unexplainable, the giant beast released the bear and backed away, stopping with his tail only a couple feet from Constance herself. Constance got the impression that if the bear chose to continue the fight, the wolf was ensuring it would still be in a position to keep Constance safe.

The bear got to her feet once again. Blood dripped from several deep injuries--though none of them appeared deadly. She sniffed the air and glanced toward where her cubs had been. Realizing that they were gone and safe, the mother bear simply let out a grunt and turned, lumbering back into the woods to find her children and nurse her wounds.

Now it was just Constance and the wolf.

The wolf was bleeding as well. She noticed he wasn't putting all his weight onto his left front leg and saw the deep lacerations running own it. She was sure there were more wounds on the beast, though the thick black fur kept them hidden. The wolf turned to face her, blood dripped a bit from it's muzzle, dotting the snow beneath it.

The wolf's head was nearly level with her neck. That was absurd. Wolves simply did not grow that large. And yet, standing in front of her was proof.

"Um.... thank you?" she offered as the wolf simply gazed at her, its head tilted as it studied her. Her grip on the gun tightened, though she did not aim it at the creature. It defied logic that this animal had just fought a bear to protect her. Had it simply been chasing off the competition for the food source it had decided that Constance was?

"Are you okay?" she asked, feeling ten kinds a fool for speaking to this animal as if it could understand her. It continued to stare at her, those dark eyes seeming to look into her very soul. Crystalized breath swirled around its head as it panted lightly, still slightly winded from its fight with the bear.

Constance took a step backward. "I'm going to go...to go home now."

The wolf suddenly turned and went back to the scene of the battle. It sniffed around in the snow a moment before grabbing up her jar between its massive teeth and limping back toward her. Constance's hands were shaking and her brain was jumbled and confused as she opened the basket, held it out, and the wolf dropped the jar into it.

"Uh...thanks?" she muttered.

With a snort, the wolf nodded--nodded? Had she gone completely daft? And then he began limping his way past her and down the trail toward her cabin.

Juniper berries.

The creature seemed to be escorting her home. She saw the blood trail he was leaving behind and felt worry worming its way into her confused mind. The last twenty minutes made no sense. Yet another mystery. Constance felt that nagging in her brain. She had to solve it. She had to know where this wolf had come from.

And so, with a sigh, she placed her gun back in the basket finally coming to the conclusion that she would not need it any more on this walk, and followed after her furry savior and trail guide. 

A/N: I'm back for real this time. No forcing myself to write necessary. I am writing up a storm for the first time in a long long time. I have so many story ideas and characters that are just dying to meet you!