Jessica Coulter Smith Read Free

rough hands jerked her into an alley and pressed her back against a brick wall.
    “Well, what do we have here?” Her wasn’t much taller than she was; he had a long thin face with dark, cold eyes.  Just looking into them made Brianna shiver.
    “What do you want?” She tried to sound calmer than she felt.  Why didn’t I take that stupid self-defense class?
    The man licked his lips and eyed her from head to toe. Looking into her eyes, he smiled, showing his crooked yellow teeth.  He reminded her of a rat; a loathsome, mean, disgusting rat.
    When he pressed himself closer to her, she whimpered, terrified of what he was going to do.  Then her fight or flight instinct kicked in, and she tried to knee him in the groin.  She missed and only succeeded in pissing him off.
    Slapping her across the face, he knocked her to the ground. “Stupid bitch!”
    Brianna looked up at him, terrified.  Before either of them could move, a large furry object hurtled through the air, landing on the man’s back.  He screamed and tried to knock the creature off.
    In wide-eyed amazement, Brianna watched as a large sable wolf bit down on the man’s arm, ripping his shirtsleeve, but unfortunately not breaking the skin.  The man shrieked in terror, scrabbling backwards and trying to avoid the animal.  He managed to climb to his feet and took off running down the alley.  The wolf looked poised to give chase, but stopped and looked in her direction.  Brianna cringed against the wall, eyes closed, unsure if the wolf meant her harm.  Was she about to be on his dinner menu?
    A cold nose against her neck and soft whine made her eyes fly open again.  She looked at him in shock.  He was rescuing her!  Maybe he was a tame wolf, someone’s pet. Tentatively she reached out and ran her hand along his neck.  The fur was thick and coarse; he smelled musty and wild.
    “Thank you for saving me.” Brianna felt slightly ridiculous for talking to an animal in an alley after being attacked by a madman.  Maybe she was in shock.
    The wolf licked her cheek and cocked his head, as if waiting for her to do or say something.
    Brianna unsteadily climbed to her feet, bracing herself against the wall.  She reached down for her purse, making sure nothing had spilled out, and then patted the wolf on the head. She slowly walked out of the alley to head back to her apartment.  Her appetite was long gone, and she needed to get cleaned up.  Looking down at herself, she realized her clothes were stained and only hoped they weren’t ruined.  Her face was sore and felt swollen on the side where she had been struck.
    It only took her a moment to realize that she was being followed.  She looked over her shoulder and noticed the wolf trailed behind her like a lost puppy or maybe more like a guardian considering he'd just saved her life.
    “If you’re going to come along, you might as well walk beside me,” she told him.
    The wolf loped closer to Brianna, slowing his pace when he reached her side.  Glancing up at her, he almost looked concerned. She quickly shook the ridiculous thought from her mind. When they reached the door to her apartment, she unlocked it and let the wolf go in first.  Once they were inside, Brianna locked it again. Everything seemed smaller with the large beast standing in the middle of the living room.  He took up so much space!
    “Make yourself at home,” she told him, heading for her bathroom.
    Stripping out of her clothes, Brianna turned on the shower.  When she looked in the mirror, she groaned.  She had a bruise forming on her right cheek, and the whole area was swollen.  She’d be lucky if she didn’t have a black eye by the morning!
    After testing the water, she stepped under the warm spray and scrubbed her body, trying to wash the horrid man from the alley off her skin.  Suddenly everything hit home, and she started shaking.  Brianna sank to the bottom of the tub, letting the water run over her skin as she