Among Wolves
Book 3 of the Wolf-Shifter Series
G.A.HAUSER
Smashwords Edition
Copyright © G.A. Hauser, 2013
AMONG WOLVES
Copyright © G.A. Hauser, 2013
Cover Photography by Tuta Veloso
Cover design by Adrienne Wilder
Artwork by G.A. Hauser
Cover model: Andre Luis
ISBN Trade paperback: 978-1492-7556-0-9
© The G.A. Hauser Collection LLC
This is a work of fiction and any resemblance to
persons, living or dead, or business establishments, events or
locales is coincidental.
All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this may be used
or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission,
except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical
articles and reviews.
WARNING
This book contains material that maybe offensive to
some: graphic language, homosexual relations, adult situations.
Please store your books carefully where they cannot be accessed by
underage readers.
First The G.A. Hauser Collection LLC publication:
October 2013
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ABOUT THE PHOTOGRAPHER
Tuta Veloso was born in May 1969, in Minas
Gerais, Brazil. Since childhood Tuta has connected with arts
reciting poetry in first grade and acting in children's theater and
teaching Lambada dance in his teens around his hometown, Patos de
Minas. At age of 18, he moved to the capital city of Minas Gerais,
Belo Horizonte, to study art restoration. To pay for his studies he
worked with fashion designers where he helped photographers create
catalogs for the fashion industry.
His own awakening as a photographer was in
August of 2001 after moving to the United States and shooting the
Twin Towers in NYC. That photo was the beginning of his passion.
Tuta has been influenced by such artists as Mark Seliger, Andrew
Suckerman, Stephen Wilkes, Scavullo, Sebastião Salgado, Marcos
Prado, William Wegman and Vik Muniz.
Tuta has continued to hone his craft and has
shown his art work at Storks Bakery, 101 Art Gallery, Art
Expression Gallery, Stonewall library, ArtServe Fort Lauderdale,
The Firm Fitness Center, The Naked Grape Wine Bar, Dennis Dean
Galleries, Tom Rossetti Art Gallery, Fort Lauderdale Art Museum,
The Projects, Gallery Jenner, and Sheuat and Green Art Studio In
2011. He was nominated for the best Visual Artist at The Brazilian
International Press Award.
TUTA' S AWARDS
"BOY TOY" Peoples' Choice Award United and
Proud 2009
"ABORTION" People's Choice Award
Artexplosion' 10 2010
"BEST COFFEE" First place "Urban Realism" at
Dennis Dean Galleries Photo Contest. 2010
http://www.tutaveloso.com/biography.php
Charlie Mosby, reckoned himself to be just a
cowboy who loved his home, his horses, and his man; ATF Agent Roman
Burk.
But Charlie was anything but…just a
cowboy.
He entered the stable which was one of the
outbuildings on his and Roman's two hundred acre ranch in Washoe
County, Nevada. It was close enough to Reno for Roman to commute to
work, yet kept Charlie and their friend and ranch hand, Butch
Crowell, happy. Happy to be in the wilderness, near the Anaho
Island National Park.
Since it was December, Butch was wearing his
beige cowboy hat and brown boots, blue jeans, and a heavy fleece
jacket. He was cleaning the ice and snow from his horse, Scout's
hooves. They hosted trail rides in the countryside, and also bred
horses for auction.
"Hey, boss." Butch smiled at Charlie as he
walked in.
"Damn cold." Charlie folded the collar up
higher on his coat, his breath a puff of vapor as he spoke.
"Ya know the weather's all screwed up." Butch
released one of his horse's back legs and stood straight, adjusting
his hat. "I think this year we'll break records for cold
nights."
Charlie began feeding the horses, using a
bucket to fill with oats and going stall to stall.
"Is Roman going to be home on time?" Butch
asked, refocusing on cleaning the packed snow from his horse's
shoes.
"I assume so. I haven't heard from him."
Charlie set the bucket down and took his phone out of his pocket.
"Nope. No text. So he should be home for dinner."
"Vernon wants us all to go to his place for
Christmas. You up for it?"
"I am. I miss him and Connie." Charlie
thought about his old boss. He was a manager of a horse ranch in
Heber, Utah. Strange things happened on that ranch. Very
strange.
"Good. I wouldn't mind seein' him and the
boys." Butch finished tending Scout, and put the painted horse into
a stall, patting its hind quarters.
"It's easy to lose touch," Charlie said,
continuing to make sure the horses' water was not frozen and they
had plenty of food.
"Yeah, Hal and JP ain't much for texting."
Butch laughed and swept the cement floor.
Charlie smiled to himself and then glanced at
the twenty-one year old young man. He and Butch had their
differences in the past, mostly over the running of Vernon Norman's
ranch, but things were different now. Better. "Why don't you call
Dan from down the way and see if his boys can keep an eye on things
here while we're gone."
Butch nodded, setting the broom aside. "How
long ya think we'll be away?"
"Just three days. I can't ask his boys to do
everythin' around here for us."
"We could hire some of our part time men to
stay at the house while we go. Seems a waste visitin' for such a
short while."
"Ya know you can always go by yerself and see
them anytime." Charlie adjusted his black cowboy hat and brushed
his leather gloves off, seeing the dry dust of the oats forming a
cloud as he clapped.
Butch smiled sweetly. "What? Go without you
an' Roman? What fun would that be?"
"Oh, I don't know." Charlie approached the
handsome young man and patted his rump. "I think you can get into
plenty of mischief without us."
"More with you." Butch kissed Charlie's mouth
and smiled as he walked out of the barn.
Charlie watched him leave, seeing the snow
falling around him, just light flurries. The trees were bare except
for the evergreens, and snow hung heavily on their boughs from the
last snowfall.
Going back to Heber.
Charlie shivered and it wasn't only from the
chill. He finished tending the horses, his mind drifting to the bad
old days.
~
Agent Roman Burk checked the time on his
watch and finished typing on the computer. His supervisor, Nick
Hoffman, walked behind his desk. "You still here?"
Roman glanced at him and replied, "Just
finishing up a request for a warrant for phone records."
"It's Friday. Go home."
"Yes, sir." Roman gave Nick a playful salute,
and logged off the computer. Lights began to shut off in the larger
offices which surrounded the cubicle he was working at. He stood,
nudged his chair under the desk and took his black leather jacket
from a coat stand nearby. After he put his coat and scarf on, he
checked his phone. Nothing from Charlie, so he assumed everything
was all right.
Roman headed out of the building which housed
the ATF branch in Reno. He had been on the department for nearly a
decade and was only thirty-one years old. That meant he had a long
way to go to retire.
As he found his keys for the commute home, he
felt very tired. And he knew why.
His sleepless nights. He felt as if he could
not rest. Dreams, odd dreams, kept him from getting any real solid
shuteye, so day after day, he became more exhausted.
He located his SUV in the employee parking
lot and sat behind the wheel. Before he left, he turned on the heat
to warm up the interior and called home.
"Hey."
"Hey." Roman smiled at the sound of Charlie's
voice. "Anything you want me to pick up on my way home?"
"Naw, we have everythin'. Butch and I went
food shopping earlier."
"Okay. See ya in an hour."
"Or less if ya speed…and it's snowin' over
here. You get hit yet?"
"No. But by you it usually snows more."
"Be safe, babe."
"I will." Roman disconnected the call,
backing out of the spot. As he drove from the lot to the main road,
he jammed on his brakes, thinking a dog had darted out in front of
him. A horn sounded behind him from an irate driver, but Roman
could not see the dog now. He gave a good look around and kept
driving, feeling a shiver down his spine.
Distracted, trying not to think disturbing
thoughts, Roman turned the music CD louder, ironically, listening
to Snow Patrol in the impending snowstorm. The winter nights were
long and dark, and as he hit the highway, and advanced towards the
mountains, he could see the snowplows coming and going.