The headlights of the oncoming car veered straight for Nicole Matthews. She slammed on the breaks of her Bronco and jerked the wheel. The Bronco skidded and slid into a steep, muddy ditch.

Wheels screeched as the other driver battled to regain control.
Abruptly, the car stopped in the middle of the road.

Fighting the terrible ache in her chest, Nikki crawled out.
“What happened?” She stopped as she saw a still form a few feet away. The blood soaked body of a huge gray wolf lay across the pavement.

The driver got out of his vehicle, swearing violently.
He swayed and lurched toward the creature. Nikki knew instantly he was drunk.

“You screwed up my car!”
He kicked the wolf.

She heard a soft yip and anger burned within her.
“Stop! It’s still alive.” Quickly she ran to the injured wolf.

“God, not another tree hugger,” the man said and staggered back to his car.

“Hey, wait. This wolf needs help.”

“Then you help it.”
He slammed the door and the engine roared. Wheels spun, and the car sped away, leaving Nikki alone on a dark road with a wounded animal.

She sighed and slowly crouched next to the wolf.
Rain began to fall in icy splatters and Nikki’s throat tightened. The wolf was beyond help - dying before her eyes. She knew from her experience working with groups that reintroduced wolves into the wild. The wolf’s amber eyes gazed up at her, blazing with intelligence and pain.

Nikki knew she shouldn’t touch the animal but couldn’t resist.
Her empathy of its pain was too great. “I am sorry,” she whispered. The wolf seemed to relax under her touch as she wove her fingers through its thick ruff.

Movement caught Nikki’s eye and she jerked her head around.
Ghostly shapes hovered just beyond her headlights. Nikki swallowed hard. The creature’s pack-mates?

She blinked as a giant man stepped into the light.
He wore only jeans and hiking boots, his powerfully muscled torso bare. His face boasted clean lines with prominent cheekbones and a strong jaw with a slightly aquiline nose. His arms reminded Nikki of tree trunks. Dark hair tumbled around his perfectly defined shoulders with a hint of reddish-blonde, but in the dim light she could not be sure of the color.

What in the world was he doing in the middle of nowhere?
Freezing drops of rain chilled her skin and the air smelled of snow.

The man strode toward her, his pace measured and balanced.
His handsome face twisted into a scowl. Nikki’s heart lurched and abruptly she realized her vulnerability. The man may have been attractive, but he wasn’t right in the head to be traipsing around the backwoods only half clothed in this icy weather.

“What have you done?” he growled, his voice low and deadly.

Nikki sprang to her feet and stepped back. “I didn’t do anything.”

The man took a menacing step toward her.

Nikki boldly stood her ground. “The skid marks speak for themselves. Another car hit him.”

The man looked at the ground then at her Bronco, his shoulders relaxing slightly.
Slowly, he crouched next to the wolf. “Her,” he said. Without fear he touched the wolf’s head, speaking softly.

“Excuse me?”

“Another car hit
her
. This wolf is female.”

Nikki stared at the man, her fear melting into amazement.
He caressed the wolf with reverence. The words he spoke to the wolf were soft and guttural. She did not recognize the tongue but it sounded vaguely like an Indian dialect.

The wolf whined and the man squeezed his eyes shut, anguish lining his face.

“Is she yours?”
Nikki knew some people raised wolves in sanctuaries in this area.

His eyes flew open and he glared at her.
Nikki took another step back. In the headlights of her Bronco his eyes looked as amber as the wolf’s.

“No,” the man rumbled, his lip lifting in a snarl.
Slowly, he moved to pick up the creature.

“Wait, she might bite.”

“She won’t bite me.” With great care he lifted the animal into his arms and started to walk away.

“Hold on a sec,” Nikki said, her feet moving after him despite her caution.
“Put her in my Bronco. Maybe a vet can do something for her.”

He stopped but did not turn around, his spine rigid.
“There is nothing anyone can do for her except let her die in peace.”

Nikki stared after him as he vanished into the forest carrying the wolf.

“What a nut case,” she muttered and got back in her Bronco. Nikki started the engine and put it in four wheel drive. She traveled the lonely road to Shadow Mountain, Colorado, in order get away from the insanity of the city. Talk about jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire. Nikki shook her head. It didn’t matter, she would probably never see him again.

She tried backing out and cringed as the wheels spun in the mud.
Nikki let the vehicle rock forward and tried again. Blast - the mud and the incline of the ditch were too much even for a Bronco. She drove forward, but again the vehicle only lurched.

Her chest ached, suddenly feeling as if someone stood on it.
Nikki gritted her teeth and dropped her head against the steering wheel.
Not now!
Taking a deep breath, she fought the threatening coughing fit, her hand automatically reaching for her rescue inhaler. It was the stress, that’s all. She had to calm down.

Slowly the pressure eased and Nikki glanced around.
Shadow Mountain, her ultimate destination, was a good five mile walk. In this cold, her lungs would rebel completely. But she couldn’t wait for someone to happen by on this deserted road, she’d freeze before then. She dug through her purse and found her cell, touching the screen.

NO SERVICE.

The words on the glowing screen mocked her.

As if to
add insult to injury, a fat, wet snowflake dropped on the window. Nikki groaned then turned to the back seat to grab her heavy jacket. The faster she started walking the quicker she could get help.

The knock on the window nearly scared her to death.
She snapped her head around, reaching to lock the door. The stranger stood next to her Bronco, still half naked.

Nikki willed her pounding heart to slow.
Timidly, she rolled down the window only an inch.

“Stuck?” he asked softly.

His nearness seemed to charge the air. Everything about him bespoke power and wildness. She could more clearly see his eyes; definitely amber. But his mouth pressed into a hard line, destroying his attractiveness.

“Yes,” Nikki said, fighting to calm her shaking voice.
“That idiot nearly hit me head on. If I hadn’t made for the ditch, he would have.”

The man nodded.
“Are you in four wheel drive?”

“Of course.
I’m not completely helpless.”

“Helpless enough,” he snapped and moved to the front of the Bronco.

Nikki gritted her teeth.
Nothing like rubbing it in, I guess I should have let the drunk hit me.

The stranger put his hands on the hood.
“Put it in reverse and start backing up slowly.”

She stared at him.
He was nuts. There was no way he could push her out. But instead of arguing, she dropped the stick in reverse and pressed the accelerator.

The man lowered his head and pushed.
Nikki stared in amazement. The strength of his body became more evident. Muscles protested their confinement under his smooth skin. The Bronco lurched back.

The stranger threw his weight against the vehicle, his face twisting with the effort.
The Bronco’s wheels spun then bit into solid earth. Abruptly, it jumped backwards. Nikki turned to watch where she was going, coming to a stop on the street.

“Amazing
—” she began and faced him.

The man was gone.

Nikki’s gaze traveled unwillingly to the pill bottles in her purse. The doctors never said anything about hallucinations. She scrambled out and looked at the hood. In the dust was a faint hand print. She stretched out her fingers and shuddered. Her hand appeared as a child’s, engulfed by the outline. Nikki shook her head and returned to her vehicle, driving quickly toward town.

Chapter One

I came here to die.

Nikki leaned against the door frame of the motel room and squeezed her eyes shut.
The coughing fit seized her with such force it almost brought her to her knees. She fought to control her breathing, willing it to stop, fumbling for her inhaler. Two blasts eased her aching lungs. She then grabbed a Kleenex and wiped the bloody flux from her mouth. Finally, she was able to breathe again...partially.

Slowly
, Nikki straightened and wiped her tears away with the back of her hand. The motel stood on a small rise overlooking the town. The Rocky Mountains loomed before her, all but their bases shrouded in the dark gray clouds. They stood like silent sentries, welcoming her to the sleepy town of Shadow Mountain. It was beautiful here. The town had a population of about three hundred, a place where Main Street was the only street.

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