Total pages in book: 38
Estimated words: 34185 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 171(@200wpm)___ 137(@250wpm)___ 114(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 34185 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 171(@200wpm)___ 137(@250wpm)___ 114(@300wpm)
But when he turned back to Notalus to thank him for his help… he was gone.
Dustin
Oh Damn. Not Again
“Boss, you gonna open the barn door or what? Time is ticking away.”
Dustin had spaced out for most of their walk across the field. He rubbed his palm over the center of his chest and took a deep breath to clear the vivid memories from his mind. He couldn’t allow himself to get lost in the past when he had storm preparations to oversee. Dustin stuck the key in the padlock to the tool shed that held their most expensive equipment and ushered the guys in before him.
“Looks like the eye of this damn storm won’t hit us dead-on, but we’re gonna get a lot of the outer bands, boss. The wind gusts have surged to over a hundred and forty-five miles per hour, putting the storm at a category four,” Jerry rumbled. “Damn near the opposite of what was first predicted.”
Dustin patted Jerry on his shoulder as he walked past. The young wolf was vibrating with nervous energy, and Dustin knew that one firm touch from his own beast had the ability to appease his friend’s meek animal. “Stop acting defeated already. What do I always say?”
Jerry practically sagged into his grip. “I know, I know. Panic causes tunnel vision.”
“Exactly.” Dustin gave them all a serious glare. “Stay focused.”
Mark—his second—clapped his big hands together as if to rile up the others. “Come on, fellas, we got this. Let’s make our alphas proud.”
Dustin got to business and began to issue his instructions. “Alright, we know what to do to protect the more sensitive crops, and we’ll stack the weighted hay bales around the corn and wheat fields. Jerry, you find Macy and the rest of the hands and start to board up the greenhouses.”
His crew was already looking tired, and Dustin was also feeling the fatigue from working all day and now having to work through the night as well, but he put on a brave front regardless of how he truly felt. It was going to take them until dawn to get to every single field, but they would work until they couldn’t move another muscle if that’s what it took to protect the pack’s primary food source. By the time Dustin and his guys had all of the equipment pulled out of the storage sheds and sorted, more shifters had come to volunteer and offer help to the farmhands and the stable managers. Surviving off the land wasn’t easy, and it came with its challenges, the elements being the greatest one. Living high up in the White Mountain Forest, Dustin had battled his fair share of hurricanes, lightning storms, and blizzards to last him his entire lifetime, and it never got easier. Each disaster was just as terrifying as the last and came with its own wave of dread.
By the next morning, Dustin and his crew had erected the sturdiest fortress they could and secured every field and greenhouse to the best of their abilities. At six forty-five, all of them were dragging ass, including Dustin, but he kept it well hidden. With his dirty face and hands caked with grime, Dustin tilted his head toward the sky, hoping to see the fall sun rising over the ridge of the Oreck Mountains, but instead, dark, angry clouds thundered toward them from the south.
The betas of the pack ordered everyone back to their cabins to hunker down with their families and ride out the storm. But Dustin didn’t have a mate or children to protect, only his crops, so he made himself a thick pallet on the dusty, wood floor of the barn closest to his delicate muskmelon patch. He was so exhausted every muscle in his back and legs was screaming for relief or maybe for a soak in a hot tub, but the unforgiving floor would have to do.
The dawn transitioned to midmorning, and Dustin could feel it in his bones that the worst of the storm was approaching. Animals howled in warning as the storm thundered along the mountain slopes and rustled the trees, hurtling twigs and brown, rain-soaked leaves across the property. Overhanging tree branches scraped the roof of his shelter as the wind escalated to a frightening speed that made him too restless to lie still. The rushing pattering of rain on the roof soon morphed into tiny hailstones that clattered to the ground like marbles spilling from a box. The barn roof creaked and popped like the wood wasn’t going to hold much longer as Dustin glanced up, hoping that it stayed put.
He stared transfixed out the small window at the true force of nature, praying the gods spared them. It sounded like they were getting more than just the outer bands of this thing as the barriers around the property struggled to hold up. Even the mighty trees bowed and revered against the onslaught. Streaks of lightning flashed across the sky, illuminating the black clouds with a sliver of radiance a split second before it plunged the lands back into darkness. Dustin wanted to cover his ears as the wind gusts sang a strange song, wishing the chaotic howling had a calmer melody.