Legend (A Wolf Lake Novella) Read Free

voice in her head, not surprised when it didn't answer.
    Surveying the landscape below her, Sam marked a spot near the water's edge and went to make camp. It took her another hour to work her way down to the lake. Douglas-firs, the giants of the forest, grew close together, forcing her to squeeze between their trunks. Finally, the trees began to thin, the underbrush giving way to shorter shrubs and eventually rocky beach.  
    Stepping out from the cool shade of the trees, Sam turned her face up to the late afternoon sun, taking a moment to enjoy its warmth after so many days in the shade. She was tired, covered in dirt and dried sweat and her knee was starting to swell. She was also happier than she had been since her first salted caramel mocha.
    It didn't take her long to set up camp. She'd had to carry everything in, which meant packing light, her minimalist skills coming in handy. Of course, might have been worth lugging in the hand-cranked blender, Sam thought. She could definitely celebrate with a margarita or two.
    Wolfing down an MRE (no pun intended), Sam enjoyed Yankee pot roast, finding it better than most of the meals she cooked for herself at home, and watched the sun set behind the lake. Too tired to build a fire, she used a pen light to check her GPS coordinates, making final notes on her map of the area. She had the prospector's map in her bag, but had been recording her search for the lake on a current map of the area. She wasn't surprised to see Wolf Lake missing from it. This area of the mountain range was sparsely populated, not much detail known. There were no logging roads or hiking trails nearby. In fact, this area appeared completely untouched by man.  
    Shaking off the sudden sense that she was trespassing, Sam slipped into her tent and into climbed her sleeping bag. The night was already cold, and the ground beneath her hard, but she didn't think it would matter. She was beyond exhausted, her eyes already growing heavy as she reached to turn off the light. Tomorrow, she planned to explore around the lake. Not that I'll find anything , she thought, before sleep took her under.  

    * * *
    Shrouded in the shadows at the edge of the forest, Roland watched the woman zip herself into her tent. A moment later, the light went out and the campsite grew quiet and still. Foreigner , he thought. Prey , his wolf corrected. Roland agreed.
    He lingered, his eyes never straying from the tent and the woman that slept inside, unsuspecting. In the dark, his eyes began to glow gold, the low light illuminating his face and revealing a jagged scar running from temple to chin.  
    Turning, he loped off into the forest.  

    * * *
    When she woke, Sam's first thought was that she hoped someone had gotten the license plate number of the truck that had run her over. Groaning, stiff and sore muscles protesting violently, she slowly crawled out of her tent.  
    "Oh, wow." The sun was just starting to rise up from behind the ridge line to the east, its early morning rays reflecting off a low level of fog that blanketed the lake. As she watched, the fog slowly receded, leaving the lake to sparkle in the sun. It was an amazing transformation, one that had happened countless times before with no one there to bear witness.  
    Boiling some water, Sam made herself a cup of instant coffee. Choking back the bitter brew and wishing for her espresso machine, she listened to the sounds of the forest waking up. There were bird calls and insects buzzing that she couldn't identify and somewhere a chipmunk chattered noisily. She was out here alone, she thought, but for the first time in years, she wasn't lonely.  
    There was too much life for the place to be quiet, but it was peaceful. She felt relaxed, in harmony with her surroundings. In harmony , she thought, mentally snorting at the thought. Sam had never been in harmony with anything, not even when she sang in her car. It wasn't something she strived for. She existed in her world, moving