"Krinard, Susan - Prince of Wolves" - читать интересную книгу автора (Krinard Susan)

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Joelle Randall didn't think she'd ever seen anything so beautiful.
The long slope, carpeted in wildflowers, released a heady perfume on the cool air of late summer. Conifers bordered the meadow like the watchful sentries of a vast army, marching up the slopes of surrounding mountainsЧsharp peaks streaked with the white of perpetual ice. Just out of sight were lakes of perfect crystal blue, fed by streams that cut their way over jumbled rocks and through forests almost as pristine as the day they were created.
Joey drew in a deep breath and closed her eyes. It was hard to believe so much beauty could conceal, somewhere among its secret corners, the tragedy that had left her alone in the world. Somewhere in these mountains and valleys lay the key to freeing her heart of its long-held burden.
Freedom. Joey took another deep breath of scented air. That was all she had left, the hope of resolving the old sorrow at last. It could never be finishedЧnot until she found the place where her parents had died.
Even now, that word was hard to acknowledge. They'd left her, without a good-bye, without giving her a chance to tell them how much she loved them. She'd only been a kid then: sixteen, still at that vulnerable age, so close to her parents when they'd left on their final journey.
If it hadn't been for a freak storm, the kind of accident even the most experienced pilot couldn't always avoidЧJoey clenched her fists, feeling the sudden sharp twist of painful memory. Her father had been careful, she knew that, he'd been flying for years, and the small plane had been meticulously kept up. Not his fault that they'd gone down in these mountains they'd loved, never to be found.
Opening her eyes, Joey pushed back the sadness and focused on the resolve that had kept her going during the past months.
This was the turning point, the time that she would take back her life at last. She would find the place where they had been lost, confront that crippling sorrow, let the clear mountain winds carry her good-byes over the wilderness. There was nothing, now, to hold her back.
She looked down at the half-finished sketch in her lap. She knew she'd made the right decision to leave her architect's job in San Francisco, no matter how comfortable and lucrative. There'd been too much waiting, too much wasting of her life in a vain effort to find the security her parents' death had taken from her.
Even RichardЧwhat she'd had with Richard had been a desperate grasp at replacing something of what had been lost, restoring some meaning to her life. She'd still been young, vulnerable, so full of need, he'd seemed strong, controlled, everything she thought she'd wanted then. But she'd grown up, found that security could be an illusion, control a trap. And all the empty places in her heart had not been filled.
She tossed her head angrily. That was behind her, and well left behind. There could be no more dull security to cover the hurt. No, she wouldn't think of Richard. No regrets. From now on she'd be in control of her own life.
Absently she set down her sketchpad and caressed one of the vivid blossoms at her feet. It was a deep pink shooting star, one of many wildflowers that turned the mountain hillsides into brilliant canvases from late spring through early autumn. She'd had ample time to study just about every kind of wildflower from the very first blooms after the snowmelt, but now the summer was fading, and all the beauty of Nature couldn't change that unalterable fact.
When she'd come to these mountains in the spring, she'd been confident of finding what she sought before midsummer. But after searching several of the most likely areas in this stretch of the Rockies, she faced the very real possibility of failure. This was her last hopeЧthis town, this valley, and the wild stretches of surrounding mountains. If they weren't here... She bit her lip, hard.
She had to find them. They had to be here. Time was running out. Here in the north, the time of blue skies and green growing thingsЧand passable trailsЧwas all too brief. City-bred she might be, but she understood that once the first snows fell, her quest would be over for the year. That was simply a thought she could not bear.
In an effort to clear her head, Joey focused on her breathing and steadied it until her pulse had slowed again. No smog hereЧno fumes, no constant racket of cars and human clamor. Here, away from the town, it was easy to pretend you were the last person on earth. Joey grimaced to herself. She might be savoring that feeling if it hadn't been for the constant worries that hung over her. She'd been waiting for her local guide nowЧone she'd hired in the last townЧfor over a week. If he didn't show up soon...
Her brooding thoughts were interrupted by a pale flash of movement among the trees at the foot of the slope below. It wasn't a deerЧthat much she was sure ofЧbut it wasn't something immediately recognizable to her unpracticed eye. She reached down to the binoculars at her belt. Fixing the location of the elusive shape in her mind, Joey unhooked them and focused on the blue-green blur of trees that marked the lower boundary of the meadow.
Close up, the details leaped to life in her vision: individual Douglas fir, spruce, and pine with a scattered understory of shrubs and brush. She almost passed over the pale shape the first time she caught it in her sights, hurriedly readjusting until she had it in focus again. Her breath tangled in her throat.
A wolfЧa great gray timber wolfЧstood absolutely still in the half-concealment of a larchberry bush. Joey's hands tightened on the binoculars to steady them. Her first wolf. All this time in the mountains and she'd never seen one, though she'd heard them in the summer nights, shivering in spite of herself at their eerie chorus. She knew they were elusive, uncommon even in protected areas. But to see one here, alone, in broad daylight...
Joey studied the wolf intently. It was hugeЧeven from this distance, she could tell thatЧand its coat was lush and heavy, pale on the belly and legs, shot with silver and gray and black across the back and masking the face. The triangular ears were alert, the bushy tail slightly raised. It seemed to be watching, or waiting. For prey, perhaps? Joey moved the binoculars to get a clearer look at the pale, tilted eyes. She nearly dropped them in astonishment. The wolf seemed to be staring straight at her.
Fascinated, Joey stared back. She knew it was impossible that the wolf could be looking directly at her through the binocular lenses, but the sensation persisted, all logic to the contrary. Perhaps it simply sensed her presence with the uncanny ability wild animals have. That seemed reasonable, but Joey wasn't feeling very reasonable at the moment. Those eyesЧpale and slanted and oddly intelligentЧhad a very strange effect. She almost got the feeling that the wolf not only saw her but was studying her in turn. The longer she looked, the stronger the peculiar feeling grew. Those eyes...
It took a long moment for Joey to realize she had been lost in that wild stare for a frightening length of time. Unnerved, she dropped the binoculars. She blinked as her eyes adjusted, and without intending to, she found herself searching the forest edge again for the pale shape of the wolf. For an instant she caught sight of it, its head still raised as if to watch her. And then it moved, disappearing silently between one blink and the next.
Joey bit her lip and hooked the binoculars back to her belt. She realized her back and arms were taut with tension. True, it was the first time she'd ever seen a wild wolf, but that was no reason to get quite so worked up. She knew healthy wolves weren't dangerous to people, and that wolf had certainly kept its distance.
But she couldn't quite shake the weird intensity of the wolf's gaze, or the bizarre way she'd almost gotten lost in it. There was something in this mountain air and ancient wilderness that made a person feel not quite earthbound. But such flights of fancy were useless to her and could only distract her from her purpose.
Joey flipped her braid over one shoulder with an irritated toss of her head. She'd just have to make doubly sure from now on that she didn't let this countryside hypnotize her into complacencyЧor turn on her with the treachery it had shown her parents.
Sighing deeply, Joey lay back and stretched out into the bed of grass and flowers, allowing the soft scent of crushed blossoms to soothe her. She concentrated on the distant chatter of birds from the trees at the meadow's edge, the soft soughing of a breeze through the fir and spruce, drifts of air idly teasing the pale hair that had escaped her braid. She smiled experimentally into the sun, eyes squeezed shut, and decided to live for the momentЧat least for a few minutes.
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Joey came to full, sudden wakefulness with an odd, distinctly unflowerlike odor assaulting her nose. In the moment it took her to realize she'd relaxed enough to fall asleep in the grass, she knew that something was different. As she rolled over, her body tingled with a primitive urge to run and hide. She froze instead. It was then that she saw the wolf.
Her fingers dug deeply into soft earth as she stared at the animal. It was the same wolfЧthe very same wolf, but this time considerably closer and much, much larger. It sat on its haunches no more than a few yards away, and its gaze was locked on hers. She could see every detail in the cool depth of its pale eyes, the dark round pupils, the black rims, and the masklike markings of its facial fur.
For a moment she distanced herself from fear by studying the wolf dispassionately, as if it were simply one of her architectural designs, a living construct to be classified and assigned its proper place. The coat was thick and heavy and woven of many subtle shades, ranging from nearly white to nearly black in the fur across the broad shoulders and back. The bushy tail rested half-curled behind the haunches, and the pawsЧeach toe tipped with a thick black clawЧwere huge. The neat ears were cocked forward, and there was no doubt that the animal's attention was most definitely focused on her. She could hear the soft puff of its breath as it regarded her, glimpsed menacing white teeth and curled pink tongue as it panted. But it was the eyesЧthose strangely intense eyesЧthat caught and held her just as they had before. This time she didn't have the protection of binoculars and distance.
It seemed to be an impasse. Joey bit her lip and held herself very still. She was not quite prepared to test the theory that normal wild wolves would not attack human beings. Even if this one did seem rather friendly and not particularly threatening. She had the sudden, absurd desire to hold out her hand and say "Nice doggy," an image that immediately provoked a gasp of stifled laughter. She choked on it as the wolf stood up on all fours and moved a step closer. Its gaze never wavered.
Joey knew the wisest course would be to stay in place until the wolf got bored and went about its business; if it hadn't been for the cooling air and darkening sky, she would have been resigned to an indefinite wait. But the sun was settingЧand if this wolf had friends likely to join it after dark, she wasn't particularly keen on being here to meet them.
There didn't seem to be much point in prolonging the confrontation. Joey drew in a deep breath, gathered her courage, and decided to risk it. "Look, wolf," she murmured as it regarded her in grave silence, "I don't know why you're here or why you're so interested in meЧbut it's getting late, and I really have to be going."
The sheer absurdity of the situation made her tremble and choke back another inappropriate giggle as the wolf tilted its head to one side. She moved experimentally, gathering herself to rise. The wolf went very still.
And then, almost as if it understood, the wolf looked off in the direction of the town. It was the first time it had broken eye contact, and Joey felt a profound sense of relief to be free of that unwavering stare. She rose cautiously to her knees. The relief was short-lived, for within a moment the wolf looked back and moved several steps closer, putting it within easy leaping distance. Joey braced herself.
But the wolf didn't leap or make any threatening move. Instead, it crept forward and pushed its nose toward her handЧalmost tremblingЧand touched the backs of her fingers ever so gently. The contact was surprisingly warm, not cold and wet as she'd expected. She didn't have time to flinch or react in any way, for almost immediately the wolf retreated, barked once, trotted a few yards in the direction of the town, and looked back at her. Stunned by the oddly intelligent behavior, Joey watched as the wolf repeated its action with something unmistakably like impatience.
Joey shook her head, forcing her muscles to relax one by one. This had to be one of the strangest experiences of her lifeЧbut she was as sure as she was ever likely to be that the wolf would not attack. Eyes fixed on the animal, she got slowly to her feet.
With a soft yip that sounded strangely like approval, the wolf waved its plumed tail and opened its mouth in a toothy grin. As she began to move forward, the wolf kept its distance, always ahead, always turning to look back at her in encouragement. At last Joey gave up trying to figure it out and set off with a determination aided by her awareness of the fading sky. If she were lucky, she'd make it back to town by dark. Of course, she might be able to rely on the wolf for protection. Her half-hysterical giggle turned into a gasp as she caught her foot on a rock hidden in the thick grass .Absurd amusement fled, and her mouth set in a grim line.
Perhaps she'd been too casual, too certain of her own competence. This was not her world, and it might send her warningsЧbut it would never defeat her or scare her away. She would win. She'd set a goal, and she always did what she set out to do.
She almost didn't notice when the wolf disappeared, just short of the light cast by the windows of Lovell's first outlying cabins.
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The warm wooden paneling of the O'Briens' guest lodge was a welcoming sight as Joey pushed open the heavy door and entered the common room. It was deserted, but the rich smells of recent cooking hung in the air, and Joey felt her stomach rumble in response. She'd probably just missed dinner, but even after so short a time she knew Mrs O'Brien well enough to expect that a sizable portion had been set aside for her return.
The O'Briens had been attentive hosts during the past week of her stay in Lovell, guests were sparse this late in the summer, and they'd taken a great deal of trouble to make her feel welcome. In turn Joey had spent the quiet evening hours regaling them with tales of city life, much to their amusement and fascination. Lovell, B.C. , was a very long way from San Francisco, California.
As Joey shut the door behind her, Mrs O'Brien swept into the room, her arms full of clean linen. Her faded gray eyes peered over the stack as she caught sight of Joey and hurried to put the neatly folded cloth on the nearest table.
"There you are!" she exclaimed "We were wondering what happened to you."
Joey smiled and made her way across the room to a worn easy chair, settling into it with a sigh It felt like heaven.
She looked up at Mrs O'Brien. "Nothing too exciting by local standards, I suppose," she said, deliberately casual. "I was out on the hillside, and I managed to fall asleep. When I woke up, I had company." Her smile turned to a wry grimace. "I know I should have been a lot more careful, but I never thought a wild wolf would come right up to me andЧ"
"A wolf?" Mrs O'Briens friendly voice went strange, her expression drawing tight and closed.
"Yes," Joey affirmed, watching the older woman's face in puzzlement. "A lone wolf, a big gray oneЧit just sat there and stared at me It didn't try to attack, or threaten me in any way. After a while I tried moving, and the wolf actually seemed to... " She broke off, embarrassed. Mrs O'Brien's reaction was very odd, and Joey felt rather foolish. "I know it sounds pretty ridiculous, but I would almost swear the wolf was trying to lead me back to town."
Mrs O'Brien shook her head. "That wolf," she muttered. "That damned wolf." For a moment she seemed lost in her own troubled thoughts, and then she pursed her lips and turned back to Joey with a frown ."You want my advice, Joey? You watch out for those wolves. Can't trust 'em." Still muttering and shaking her head, the older woman retrieved her linens and bustled out of the room. "I'll go heat up your dinner. Those damned wolves..."