Shared By the Cowboys by Cassie Cole
41
Rebecca
The wolf stood between a pair of trees fifty feet away. Dark fur against the snow-covered ground. It was perfectly still, ears facing forward and staring at me. Wildfire whinnied loudly, stamping his hooves while fighting the rope. The wolf remained as still as a shadow.
Before I could process what I was looking at, there was movement to the left. A second wolf stalking around the side. Flanking me. It stopped as soon as I turned toward it. The two wolves were totally calm as they faced us. Like predators stalking their prey.
Us, came the stomach-quivering thought. We’re the prey.
I reached down for my walkie-talkie. It was gone. It was back behind me, where I had thrown it. I chanced a look over my shoulder and spotted the disturbance in the snow where it had landed. Maybe thirty feet away.
I wanted to run to it, but I didn’t dare leave Wildfire tied up.
Think, Rebecca, I told myself. You grew up in Montana. What’s the protocol for dealing with wolves?
Don’t run.
Don’t act scared.
Don’t fall down.
Make a lot of noise.
I waved my arms in the air above me and shouted at the top of my lungs. “I’M NOT AFRAID OF YOU! YOU’RE JUST AN ANIMAL! I’M A HUMAN! I’M DANGEROUS!”
My voice echoed off the mountains and snow drifted down from a tree branch.
A third wolf appeared to my right, stalking through the snow perpendicular to me. Coming around behind without drawing closer.
They were surrounding me.
I need to get out of here.
I untied Wildfire from the branch and gripped the rope tightly. I wanted to mount up and flee as fast as possible, but I knew the wolves would be faster than us in the snowy, rocky terrain. They would wear Wildfire down and kill us both.
I needed to get to the radio and let the guys know what was happening. That was my only chance.
Slowly, I pulled Wildfire. He didn’t want to turn away from the wolves, and neither did I, so we walked backwards in the snow. The Mustang wanted to sprint away, but I held the reins tightly and kept him in control.
The first wolf I had seen, the one I imagined as being the pack leader, began pawing toward us slowly. Like it had all the time in the world. The one to the left began moving too, closing a noose around us.
I glanced behind me. The radio was twenty feet away. I hoped it still worked after hitting a tree, because if it didn’t…
My foot caught on a root underneath the snow, and I fell.
I tried to keep hold of the reins, but they slipped from my grasp and I hit the ground hard.
The wolves charged.
The sight terrified me in a primal way: black fur shooting across the white snow, lightning-quick. I scrambled on my hands and knees through the snow to the radio, finding it under the snow. I jumped to my feet. Wildfire was still standing above me, I saw with surprise. He hadn’t sprinted away.
I raised the radio. “HELP! Wolves in the mountains, three of them surrounding us—”
Wildfire whinnied in terror and whipped around to face one of the wolves, his backside slamming into my arm and knocking the radio away. The first wolf was on us then, eyes yellow and teeth snarling. Wildfire reared back and kicked at the air with his front legs. The wolf darted away at the last moment, cautious of the hooves.
Another wolf made a cautious approach, bent low to the ground as it stalked forward. It darted forward one yard, feigning an attack to see how the horse would react.
They’re testing us.
I abandoned all hope of the radio and threw myself up into Wildfire’s saddle. He was eager to sprint and needed no convincing, turning me around and sprinting back the way we had come through the forest.
The wolves loped along behind us.
It was dangerous for a horse to gallop this fast in the mountains. He could turn an ankle in the rough terrain that was hidden beneath the layer of snow. If we fell…
The wolves continued their chase. Two followed directly behind us, while the third sped up and ran alongside to the left. It darted in, nipping at Wildfire, causing the terrified animal to run faster.
The wolf darted in again, snapping its jaws at Wildfire’s front leg. I slipped my boot from the stirrup and kicked at him when it tried a third time. The wolf ran alongside us like it was a game, leaping into the air, baring its yellow teeth.
I kicked again frantically, and lost my balance in the motion. I slid sideways from the saddle, hands scrambling for the pommel and reins, anything to keep me upright but it was too late, there was nothing to do as I fell from the horse and tumbled into the snow.
