Embracing the Wolf

By Racine Lavelle

Summary


Rachel Miller moved to Bitter Root for a relaxing life. She found anything but relaxing. She meets Ian McCord an alpha werewolf who has a pack right in Rachels back yard. Its through her relationship with Ian that she becomes aware of her dormant inner wolf. They awaken this creature by accident. Rachel finds theres no undoing what she and Ian did to awaken the wolf. As it turns out her wolf become her savior, without the strength and stamina of the wolf she and her young would have perished. Rachel learns to love, trust, and embrace her wolf.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: May 31, 2012
• ISBN: 9781477118078

Racine Lavelle

Racine Lavelle is a native born Texan. She has lived in Texas for fifty- five years and currently resides in Texas. She spends her days writing and her night’s dreaming about her next book. She has a passion for the mythical creatures of the paranormal kind. When Racine is not writing, you can find her watching anything that’s unusual.

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Copyright © 2012 by Racine Lavelle.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

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CONTENTS

DEDICATION

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 6

CHAPTER 7

CHAPTER 8

CHAPTER 9

CHAPTER 10

CHAPTER 11

CHAPTER 12

CHAPTER 13

CHAPTER 14

CHAPTER 15

DEDICATION

I dedicate this book to my father, Jack Neely Batey, though he’s been long gone; he’s greatly missed. Thanks to him for the countless hours of true-life stories, and some I’m sure were, like mine, all fictional. He taught me to tell my own stories. Thank you, Dad. This one’s for you.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Since this is my debut book, I want to say thanks to the staff at Xlibris. I wrote the words, but without them walking me through and cleaning up my mistakes, I would have never got it published. Thanks to you all. To my sweet sister, Debs, for the countless hours she spent pouring over my mistakes. Thank you, Sis. I love you. And, to my wonderful mom who believed in me when I didn’t and who encouraged me when I didn’t have the courage. Thank you, Mom, for just being there. I love you. In addition, to all who buy and read my book, thank you each and every one.

INTRODUCTION

New Beginnings

Rachel Miller is an immensely capable young woman. She is a freelance photographer. She has traveled all over the world, seeking the best in wildlife and nature shots. It had been a wild ride for this smart, beautiful woman.

Rachel is a twenty-six-year-old woman with long red hair. Her acquaintances know her as a green-eyed, five-foot-four-inch, one-hundred-five-pound spitfire.

Having accomplished her goals in photography, Rachel is now ready to step back.

She is ready to slow down and live life at a slower pace. She is ready for the challenge of finding her soul mate. Rachel still believes in love ever after for better or worse.

Will a move to Bitterroot Valley give her what her heart desires? She hopes it will.

This is her beginning, a chance at love and a slower pace of life, no more long cross-country flights or rugged road trips to the most remote parts of the world to get that one memorable shot. She worked hard to get here.

The premature death of her only living relative, her aunt, came as a total surprise and shock. However, her passing had provided the push she needed to take the big step to slow down and move to Bitterroot.

Rachel made the trip to Bitterroot much faster than she had expected. She left Spokane earlier that morning, stopping a couple times to walk and to stretch, then later on stopped for coffee and fuel.

Rachel drove for another hour when she saw the sign proclaiming she had reached Bitterroot. She took a deep breath her trip had come to an end.

Rachel watched carefully for Rollin’s road. It ran in front of the farmhouse. Seeing it, she made a right, following it about two miles. She then turned into the driveway that led up to the farmhouse.

Parking her Jeep, she turned the engine off and sat staring at the old house with its cracked and peeling clapboard siding. It was in serious need of a coat of paint.

It was an unusually large plantation-style house with a porch wrapping around three sides. A small porch off the kitchen in the back. The old house had been a real beauty in its glory days. Now lack of care had taken a toll on the old farm.

Stepping from her Jeep, Rachel looked around and noted the overgrown shrubbery. The weeds were choking the lawn out as well. Rachel wondered if the insides were in any better condition; she hoped they were.

Climbing the steps, she unlocked the front door. Stepping through the doorway, she looked around remembering all the happy times she had had here with her aunt and uncle.

She walked through the entry hall to the living room. The living room had a large fireplace with windows on each side. To the right of the fireplace, there was another door that led to the dining room. The dining room led to the kitchen; there was also a large pantry and utility room.

The bathroom was back at the end of the entry hall. Her uncle’s office was right off the bathroom, under the stairs. There was another large room with a private bathroom to the right of the front door that her aunt and uncle had used as their bedroom.

The upstairs revealed five more bedrooms and two bathrooms. It was a house built for a growing family, although a large family had never lived in it. Her great-grandparents had given birth to one living child, her grandfather. He and Granny Rollins had two children, her uncle, and her mother.

Rachel’s aunt and uncle had no children while her parents had only her. Rachel was the end of their family line unless she had children. She did not expect that to happen anytime too soon.

Taking off her coat, she sighed, as it was time to unpack the Jeep. She would go into town to the general store for a few groceries and other items that she needed right away.

She had not actually brought that much with her except personal items and photographic equipment. The house was full of her grandparent’s, her aunt, and uncle’s furniture.

Driving into town, she admired the scenery. It was always so beautiful here. She had forgotten just how incredible this area was.

Rachel pulled into a parking space along the only street in the tiny town. She turned off the engine of the Jeep Commander and looked around from where she sat.

In front of her was Owen’s general store. Next door to the general store, on the right, there was a small diner called Mel’s diner, with café-style curtains.

Then to the left off Owen’s general store was Tony’s barbershop. Across the street, directly behind her, was a small service station with only two pumps: one, unleaded fuel and the other, diesel. Rachel chuckled to herself, thinking, There is not much of a choice here in Bitterroot.

Then about half mile to the south was Joe’s bar, while to the north, about a quarter mile, sat a small community church and a parsonage.

All the citizens of Bitterroot got their mail from a cluster box located next to the barbershop. Rachel thought looking about the small town, if she could not relax and find the laid-back life she wanted here, she would never find it anywhere.

In the store, she gathered the items she had on her list, plus a few other items she had not thought about until looking around. At the counter, Marty’s daughter began checking her out, saying, You are new to town, aren’t you? My name is Shelly Owen.

Well, hi, Shelly, it’s nice to meet you. I’m Rachel Miller. I just moved into the old Rollin’s farmhouse.

I’m not exactly new to the area. It’s been a few years since I’ve visited Bitterroot. Things look pretty much the same though.

Shelly said, Not much ever changes around here. When I graduate from high school, I’m moving to a bigger city. I’ve had enough of small town living to last me a lifetime.

Rachel just shook her head and smiled back at the cute young woman, not wanting to burst her bubble about the city life. She began to gather the sacks of groceries when Marty walked up gesturing he’d get them for her. Suddenly, realizing who she was, he set the bags down and gave her a hefty hug, saying, I heard you were in town. It’s so good to have you back here. I hope on a permanent basis?

Yep, I am staying this time, Marty. I just met your daughter, and she is a beautiful young woman, looks just like your wife, as I remember.

Why, thank you, Rachel. I think so too.

Having got the bags loaded, she thanked Marty for his help and drove back out to the farm. She was unloading her purchases when a large black one-ton pickup truck drove by the drive unusually slow. She could feel that whoever was in the truck was staring at her. She wondered if they could see her any better than she could see them from the distance between the house and the gravel road… Thinking about it, she mused it was most likely her neighbor, who bought the land several years ago from her aunt.

Rachel had stayed pretty close to the farm all next week, unpacking, cleaning, and making the place her own, with her own unique touches here and there. She did not do anything too drastic, as she loved the old homey look that the antiques gave the place. She felt it was saying to anyone that entered the house, Come on in, make yourself at home.

CHAPTER 1

She had been in Bitterroot area for three weeks, only venturing out to buy groceries.

She placed an order for paint to paint the house. She needed to find someone to do the painting or at least to help her. It was too large a job for her alone. After all, she was not a house painter.

She was a photographer by trade. She would ask Marty. Surely, he would know someone she could hire. According to Marty, the paint would be in on Wednesday.

Wednesday had come before she knew it. She got up at 6:00 a.m., took a shower, got dressed, and after that, made her bed. She afterward went downstairs for a breakfast of coffee and toast. She was not feeling particularly hungry.

Sitting at the small kitchen table located in front of two large pane windows, she admired the view of the woods located not more than one hundred feet from the back of the house.

She spent her mornings sitting at the table drinking coffee, studying the woods, and watching the sun as it rose up above the trees. She even took a few photos of the thick, tall trees with the sun sneaking up above them.

This morning was not much different, watching the sun slowly rise above the beautiful wooded forest. Except this morning, she saw a large black wolf staring back at her. She stood up from her chair, leaning closer to the window. It was standing perfectly still staring back at her.

Suddenly, she said to herself, Quickly get your camera. She quickly grabbed it off the counter and ran out the back door, but the wolf was not there. Had she imagined it?

No, she was sure of what she had seen. Rachel went back, sat down, cocking her head a little to the left. She gave thought to what had just happened. Could the wolf be real? Rachel made the decision to walk out to the woods. She examined the ground and vegetation area closely, where she had seen the wolf standing, being careful not to disturb anything that might be present. Then she saw the tracks right where she saw the wolf standing. Looking around, she saw more tracks and vegetation flattened from where it had spent some time… She took photos of all the tracks. Looking up at the back of the house, she decided to take pictures of the view from every location that she found the tracks. She was puzzled as to why a wolf would keep coming back to this spot. She was certain she had never seen a wolf anywhere that large. She has seen some of the largest ever seen. Rachel was puzzled by what she saw. What was drawing the wolf back to this spot? She did not have time to study the photos now; she would do that later as she had to get into town.

She climbed out of her vehicle and went into the general store.

Rachel said, Morning, Marty.

Marty replied, Morning, Rachel, are you here for the paint?

Yep, did it come in?

Marty said, Sure, did you bring a trailer with you? The Jeep is not large enough to haul this load of paint. He told her that he had one delivery to make. Can you wait until I get back?

Sure, I’ll go ahead and pay you, if that’s all right with you, Rachel said.

That’s fine. I’ll load it up for you when I get back. Are you going to be in town for a while? he asked.

I was planning to have lunch at Mel’s diner, she said. See you in a bit, Marty.

Rachel headed to the diner. She was starving. Her meager breakfast did not last long. As Rachel entered through the door, she was greeted by the merry jingle of bells. Rachel looked around. The small diner was buzzing with patrons.

It was a square-shaped room: a row of booths along three walls, tables down the middle between the booths, and a long counter with stools. She chose a booth up front, where she could look out into the street. In a few minutes, the waitress, Linda, brought her a cup of black coffee. Linda asked, How are you doing?

Good, Rachel replied. How about you?

Now that I see you, I’m better, Linda said.

When are you getting a phone so I can call to check on you occasionally? Linda asked Rachel.

I don’t know that I want a phone, Rachel told her. Linda said she’d be back in a bit and handed her a menu. Looking over the menu, Rachel thought about the phone. She was right: she honestly did need a house phone. She also needed to get another cell phone. She had dropped her cell and, not realizing it, ran over it with the Jeep, killing it. Linda came back to take her order. Rachel ordered a cheeseburger with all the fixings and a side of fries.

Bringing Rachel’s order, Linda said, I think we could both use a night out this Saturday. What do you think?

Rachel replied, That sounds good. Where would we go? There’s not much around here.

Have you been to Joe’s yet? Linda asked.

No.

Well then, let’s go… There’s a lively crowd always on Saturday’s, Linda was saying.

It sounds fantastic. I will meet you there at six thirty. Will that work for you?

Um, you bet! See you then.

Rachel finished her meal, paid her bill, and waved bye to Linda saying, See you Saturday.

Linda said OK with a loving, happy grin on her face. Linda was one of the sweetest individuals she had ever met. Rachel truly liked her. She felt she would be a close friend. They hit it off the first time they met.

Rachel had been busy the rest of the week. She called scheduling the phone installation and getting a new cell. She kept on hearing noises in the attic, sounding like rats or squirrels. She went up into the attic armed with a broom and a flashlight, knowing she would do more harm to herself than to the varmint. Very quietly opening the attic door, she climbed up. Rachel turned on the flashlight, looking and hunting around, and then she saw a little beady eye staring back at her. It was a squirrel. Rachel chased it with the broom until it ran back out the way it came in. It had gnawed a hole in the eave. Looking around up there, she realized