THE LAST WEREWOLF

CHAPTER 3 (Dorian Steele)

Dorian Steele arrived up on the west ridge where the hikers had encountered the wolf at one o'clock, after he'd eaten a light lunch at the Pinewood Diner. He wasn't hungry after the hearty breakfast he shared with Avery Lane, but he was a creature of habit. Whenever he found himself in town during the day, he always ordered one of the diner's club sandwiches with water. If he wasn't starving, he found it a versatile option considering he could pick off some of the bread and not eat it, and if he wanted to save half of it for later, he could get a to-go box. Today, he took a few bites and left the rest on his plate, seeing he wasn't going back home anytime soon to put the leftovers in the fridge. He didn't want the smell overwhelming his senses inside the Jeep later this evening.

As soon as he switched off the ignition, he thumb-typed the coordinates into the map on this phone and dropped the pin, then he sent it in a text message to Avery. To go along with the pin, he thought he'd tap out a few words of greeting, something that didn't sound too formal or too personal. Something that would put her at ease. But every time he started off with some sort of line beginning with 'Hello' or 'Hi', it gave him a cringy feeling, making his nose scrunch up. So, he chose the mysterious route and just sent the pin. She would know who it came from.

The sylvan road snaked through the lower elevations of the mountainside, but it was still high up. Dorian had parked the red Jeep Gladiator on the narrow shoulder on the higher side. Across the two-lanes of asphalt, past a guardrail, the other shoulder fell away and plunged down a steep ravine studded with pines, spruce, and cedar. The same held true on his side of the road, trees pressing in to form a dense forest that continued up for thousands of feet, leading to a snow-capped rocky peak. He felt the dark tree canopy whispering to him, even on this bright sunny day, as he opened the crew cab's backseat door to retrieve his field equipment case. He passed the time waiting for Avery to show by combing through the CSI equipment and the weapons he might have to use if they got themselves into a pinch. Of course, he wouldn't show Avery the silver dagger or the Glock with the silver bullets. He kept those weapons hidden under the top foam, which held the CSI gear. After a careful inspection, he spent the rest of the time staring into the forest, a nervous energy surging through him in expectation of what they might find, not to mention thoughts of Avery turning circles in his mind, wondering if she really believed him, hoping she did, and praying he could protect her. Not so much today, but in the days and nights to come.

In the next few minutes, he contemplated all the possibilities of what he might find in the area surrounding the hikers' wolf encounter. He wasn't so much interested in the precise location as he was in the paths leading to and from it. The path the wolf had taken to stalk its prey and the one it took to flee.

In the last six months, he had sharpened an innate ability to focus on any one thing — an object, a person, or a thing — and zero in on it until he blocked everything and everyone else out. That focus helped with investigations and various other tasks. He had always had that gift, but lately, he felt much more aware of it. Able to wield it with more skill.

He whipped his head around at the sound of an engine in the distance. That must be Avery.

Five minutes later, he discovered his intuition was correct. She drove up in a blue Ford Bronco, day-running headlights aglow as she pulled off the road and parked behind his Jeep. She had come alone, which surprised Dorian. He expected her to have talked one of her coworkers into coming with her, maybe an editorial assistant or some other lower-ranking rookie like a mail boy. Someone to discourage him in case it turned out he had improper motives. But she hadn't brought anyone. Why? Maybe it was because she trusted him? Or more likely, it was because she felt embarrassed telling someone, anyone; they were investigating something of supernatural origin. Maybe she was afraid her editor-boss would find out what she was up to and shut it down? He respected her for taking a risk, but it didn't mean she had made the right decision to come here. It all became a moot point when her SUV door opened.