Vivian Arend - Wolf Sings

Turning in a circle she noticed the cabin facing the lake had been fixed up since the last time she’d been out. Someone had repaired the front-porch supports and added a series of hooks along the north wall. Snow shovels and axes that had been buried under a good four feet of snow last February hung in plain sight, easy to access.

Continuing her visual scan, Robyn was surprised to see a new building a little ways down from the cabin. It was too small to be another sleeping area, and there shouldn’t be a need for more storage here.

The temperature was warm for February, twenty-seven degrees, but the chill sank into her bones the longer she stood in one place. She trudged back through her footprints to ferry her gear to the cabin. The new building would be her treat to explore once she got set up for the night.

Soon her backpack rested on the low platform covering the back of the tiny one-room cabin. There was space for six sleeping bags to lie side by side, with an extra three-foot extension at their feet that was used as a bench. Robyn considered for a minute before placing her pack along the sidewall near the window. She doubted anyone else would show up at the cabin, but she’d better stake her claim just in case.

The second trip, she carried up the cardboard apple box filled with groceries. Because of the helicopter, the food this trip was different than her usual light dry goods. She had fresh fruit and veggies for at least four days, some nice French loaves, and the dreaded Mocha Chocolate Cheesecake. Flying in had some definite fringe benefits. She left the box on the small kitchen counter that ran along the left-hand wall up to the wood-burning stove. The cabin was so compact there was barely room left for a table and four chairs on the right side and a narrow bench beside the solid plank door.

Returning to the lake, she used the ice auger to cut a hole in the ice before carrying the tool up to the cabin and finding an empty hook to hang it on. Robyn grinned as she stared at it for a minute. She’d bought her contribution to the “leave it better than you found it” policy in a garage sale the previous summer for twenty bucks.

Lake trout for dinner. She could hardly wait.

But first she would check out the new addition to the area. Making her way through the knee-deep snow, she climbed up the last couple of steps that rose above the snow line, undid the locks and peeked in. There was a small open area with two windows and a snow-covered skylight overhead. Wood dowels lined the walls at head height with a low bench running around the wall space. Another door was set in the center of room.

Good heavens, was that a shower in the corner? Robyn walked to the enclosure in amazement. Someone had brought a shower stall up to Granite Lake and installed it in this small cabin. Her heart leapt for a second, wondering if her guess of what was in the other room was correct.

She hurried back, opened the central door and walked into the smell of cedar and wood smoke. In the corner was an old potbellied stove with river rocks piled all around it. Two levels of benches were built into the walls and a couple of large buckets graced the top of the stove.

A sauna. Someone had built a sauna.

She’d died and gone to heaven.

Tad was going to be pissed he’d missed this. But the real debate became whether she wanted get the fire going in here or if she should still go fishing for her dinner.

Robyn ran her hand over the smooth wood and breathed in the rich scent. Actually, it was an easy decision. She’d do both. Getting the fire going wasn’t a big deal and she’d have time to fish before it warmed up properly.

The next hours passed quickly while Robyn set up her fishing line, laid out her camping mattress and bag, and got the two stoves going.

By six it was dark and Robyn lay flat on her back on one of the upper benches in the now-toasty sauna. She had enjoyed pan-fried trout for dinner along with a glass of merlot, and she was on the edge of feeling very, very good. Her frustrations were slipping away with the sweat pouring off her body.

This was roughing it.

She sat up, scooped some more of the melting snow from the pot on the stove and poured it with care over the hot rocks to build up the steam in the room. Noticing the pot was close to empty she slipped out into the annex and pulled on her boots. Propping open the outside door Robyn walked into the darkness with a bucket in either hand.

And slammed into something solid that hadn’t been there before. Something tall and hard and covered in…Gore-Tex?

Spinning around TJ saw a naked woman, metal buckets flying from her hands as she bounced off him and fell backward. He reached to catch her before she could hit the snow and spoke calmly as she struggled frantically in his arms.

“Whoa now, settle down. I’m sorry I surprised you.”

She continued to twist and scramble, one hand reaching down toward her boots. He wanted to release her but was afraid with how much she squirmed she would hurt herself. A sharp jab in the ribs made him gasp and loosen his grip. Another blow landed closer to his groin and his hands grew looser still.

“TJ, let her go, she’s freaking out,” Keil called from a short distance away and distracted, TJ dropped her. Suddenly he swore.

“What the… Damn it, put that away, you little hellion. I told you I’m not going to hurt you.” He stepped back from where the woman crouched, a fixed-blade hunting knife extended between them as she scurried backward toward the safety of the sauna house. She slammed the door shut and they heard her dragging something heavy in front of it.

“What is going on? Hey, lady, we’re not going to hurt you. We’re just—”

“Stop.” Keil joined him at the door. “There’s something happening here that isn’t normal. We surprised her but something else is wrong.” He lifted his hand to touch the door, leaned forward and sniffed a couple of times, concern drawing his face tight.

TJ stopped as well and sniffed the air. “Oh shit, she’s a wolf. Try and get away from pack for a few days and look what happens. It’s like a conspiracy. Do ya think that someone out there has a spy camera keeping track of us when we leave Haines? That would be kinda cool if it was a hot group, you know, like the KGB, FBI, CSI, SEALs and all those letter guys. But not the SPCA or PETA. It would be scary having them on our ass.”

TJ shuffled up to where his brother concentrated on scenting the air. He watched Keil lean his forehead against the door and close his eyes while continuing to draw long, slow breaths. Moving closer TJ sniffed again, hard. What was making Keil act so weird? He was like a kid in a candy store. Mr. In Charge, Super Wilderness Man, always totally with it and in control, sniffing like a dog after a long-buried bone.

Something was up, but for the life of him TJ couldn’t figure out what. He shrugged and turned away, hitting his brother’s arm as he moved, letting a wicked chuckle escape. “Of course, she was rather sweet. Think she’d be interested in—”

A violent push sent TJ flying backward into the snow.

“Hey, watch it!” TJ sat up in the waist-deep snow and brushed off his hands. A low menacing growl made him pause from his fussing. Glancing up he saw that Keil had begun to stalk toward him, eyes dark, teeth showing. The hair on the back of TJ’s neck stood up, and he scrambled backward through the thick snow trying to keep a safe distance away.

“Damn it, what is wrong with you? I was joking around.”

Keil paused. He dropped his head, and TJ watched his brother’s body shake as he took some calming breaths. Long heartbeats later Keil’s hand reached to help pull TJ to his feet. They stared at each other before Keil turned back toward the sauna.