Once Touched Read Free Page A

had happened to send the globe-trotting photojournalist to a military hospital, but before she could say anything her mother spoke again.
    “You know, Daniel, we could ask Estelle to meet Ethan at the airport.”
    “We need Estelle to help with the Sunday checkout.” Estelle Varga worked the front desk.
    “Or I could go—”
    “Adele,” her dad said.
    “Fine. Quinn will pick him up.” Her mom looked less than delighted.
    Quinn sat straighter in her chair. Well, this was different. Usually her matchmaking-prone mother was all for her spending time with a member of the opposite sex. Logically, she should be doubly eager since the male in question was the child of old friends. But here she was volunteering to drive all the way to the airport on Sunday herself, rather than have Quinn spend time with him. Weird.
    But this much was clear: whatever had happened to Ethan Saunders, both her parents were deeply concerned about him.
    And that made Quinn even more curious.
    —
    Quinn sat cross-legged on the rocky ground, her binoculars trained on a gray she-wolf that was pacing inside the eight-foot-high enclosure. It was Una, a wolf Quinn had adopted several years ago, during her first trip to Wolf Peak, a sanctuary owned and run by Joel and Ruth Meyers, former hedge fund managers turned wolf protectors.
    The scars that crisscrossed the wolf’s body were no longer visible, but Quinn remembered them to this day. Una had just arrived when Quinn came to Wolf Peak as a college student writing a paper on the differences between dogs and wolves for her animal behavior class. Introducing her to the wolves in their care, Ruth had told her about Una.
    The she-wolf had been raised in captivity because some less than bright individuals believed that owning a wolf was kind of like having a wicked cool dog—mistake number one of about one hundred that humans repeatedly made when it came to understanding the nature of these animals.
    Una’s owner, in addition to having slop for brains, was a fucking sadist. When Una didn’t behave like some souped-up husky, shaggy pit bull, or whatever canine he’d envisioned, the guy didn’t attempt to place her with a rescue organization. No, he took her to the woods, chained her to a tree, beat her, and then shot her, leaving her to bleed out.
    Hikers, hearing her howls of pain, had called animal protection services, which in turn had contacted Joel and Ruth. They’d arranged to have Una admitted to the animal hospital and footed the bill for the operations to remove the bullet, mend her broken bones, and repair her internal injuries. Afterward, they’d arranged to have her transported to Wolf Peak.
    The vet did an amazing job fixing her battered body, yet to this day Una was terrified of humans. But because she’d been raised in captivity, to release her into the wild would be to write her death sentence. No pack would accept her, and she wouldn’t be able to survive and hunt on her own. Her true nature was forever crippled.
    Una’s story had cut Quinn to the quick. When she’d discovered that there were ways to sponsor wolves at the sanctuary, she’d chosen Una. Quinn was now responsible for paying for her food and future veterinary care.
    “She’s looking great,” she said quietly. Today was the first time she’d caught sight of the skittish female.
    “Mm-hmm.” Ruth Meyers’s voice was pitched equally low. “Una’s found love. She’s caught the attention of Griff, the newest pack member. See how he’s come to stand over her now that she’s lying down? He’s guarding her.”
    “Good for Una.” Quinn focused her binoculars on the large male wolf. His coat glinted silver in the sunlight. “Griff looks like a healthy male.”
    “Not only that, he’s a movie star.”
    “Seriously? What’s he doing here?”
    “His trainer came down with an aggressive bone cancer. Died within weeks. His widow was hoping to place Griff with another trainer, but no one could take him and she