The Cynic and the Wolf by Julie Steimle (ebook voice reader TXT) 📕

The staff members looked back at her.

"He's out there somewhere waiting for his friends to arrive," one said.

Audry nodded sharply.

"What’s got you all riled up?" one shot back after her.

"Never mind." Audry tromped through to the other door, going into the main lodge.

She marched out, her eyes raking over the dining area, then the book nook, and then beyond it. She finally spotted him in the main lodge. And of course he was surrounded by his Brown University friends. He was on crutches, looking sheepish while explaining to them, "…on the ice outside this morning. Mrs. Gruber wrapped me up. So I am sorry, but I won’t be able to ski with you guys at all this trip."

"That sucks," one of his friends said. "We came all this way, and now you can't ski with us."

"I'm sorry," Rick said with a shrug. And then he saw her. His face broke into a wide smile. But as she got closer, storming up with all her anger burning off her like fumes, his stare twisted down into confusion and he instinctively pulled back. 

Audry shoved the bullet into his hand, shouting at him—"Hypocrite!"

"Ow!" Rick immediately dropped the bullet as if it was on fire. Massaging his palm, he stared at her. "What'd I do?"

"What is that?" one of his other friends called out, pointing to the bullet on the floor.

Audry also pointed at it, her other hand on her hip. "That is the bullet which I took out of the leg of a wolf who got shot last night!"

Rick pulled back, blinking.

"Your family's name is on it!" Audry shouted.

He turned his gray eyes to the thing, cringing as if it also offended him. He was massaging his palm as though that one small push had hurt.

"Rick!" a cheerful voice called out from the entrance.

"Wolf boy!" another shouted.

A gust of cold wind blew in as a crowd of people entered together though the main doors. Most eyes turned on them, though it took a little longer for Audry to look. But when she did, she stared.

These were the oddest bunch of people Audry had ever seen. These newcomers were mismatched with various winter coats probably from secondhand stores, except for maybe two of them. One of the newcomers was a tall guy with platinum blonde hair and sunglasses, wearing a neat winter jacket. He had the most mischievous grin on his lean face that she had ever witnessed, giving the impression that he was going to turn the establishment upside-down just for kicks. Next to him looked like a pair of brothers, both with dark hair and blue eyes and ratty worn coats, carrying an almost cursed feeling about them. Their eyes spoke volumes and kind of gave her chills. Then there was this Chinese man, an Italian guy, and then the infamous Selena Davenport. She was even more beautiful in real life, like Penelope Cruz only more American. And she was dressed in the perfect snow bunny outfit. Selena looked like she was enjoying all the attention their group was drawing.

However, Audry was not finished. She snapped at Rick, "You manufacture bullets yet you claim to be against hunting?"

Taking his eyes off his friends who had just come, Rick pulled back defensively from her. "We don't manufacture bullets."

"Then explain this!" Audry swiped the bullet off the ground, holding it out to him.

Quicker than a snap, the man with the platinum blonde hair swooped in, plucking the bullet from her fingers. He held it up to his eye, lifting his sunglasses to look at it. "Holy cow. It does have your name on it. Look!"

He held it out, dropping his sunglasses over his eyes again. But Audry stared at that man's face. His eyes were orange. Bright orange. She was sure that was what she had seen. To an untrained eye, she would have assumed he was an albino, but she knew real albinos, and they did not look like him. Their eyes were pink. And his skin had color. He was just pale.

Rick stepped back from him, hands up as if to say 'Keep that away from me'.

Audry snatched the bullet from the blonde guy's hand. She turned back on Rick. "See. Explain that."

His other friends rushed up to see the bullet also. The Italian grabbed at it, taking it for himself to see. His friends peered over his shoulder. One of them scraped at the black on the metal with his fingernail.  

"Where did you get that?" one of them asked.

Rick looked to the ceiling, cringing. Clearly he didn't want to talk about it.

But one of his Brown friends explained, "She said she dug it out of a wolf's leg last night."

"You dug that out of a wolf's leg?" All Rick's other friends surrounded her, all of them genuinely shocked. Their eyes raked over her as if she were superwoman or incredibly crazy.

"She's an animal rights activist." Rick huffed, backing away on his crutches from the bullet. "She does animal rescue and stuff."

That entire crowd nodded together with an "Oh…" accepting that answer a little too quickly than most people. They really were weird.

Though, his Italian friend peered at Audry, looking rather thoughtful… as if a lot more had been said to him.

"So that's a bullet with your name on it," that Italian said, peeking to Audry while giving it back to her.

His words struck her funny. She looked to him. A cold realization that she had been entirely mistaken ran over her. Rick was not acting guilty. He was acting repulsed. And that bullet, as she peered at it, she realized it did not make sense to write a name on something like that, unless…

She stared at Rick whose eyes revealed he was hurt that she had suspected such a thing of him. She really didn’t know what his family's company manufactured. She had just jumped to conclusions and assumed they had made that bullet. It struck her in a sick way, realizing now that the bullet was not made by the Deacons but was made to shoot at the Deacons.

Audry went pale. "I'm sorry. When I saw… I thought…"

"He was just some snotty rich guy, huh?" that Italian friend said. But he was smiling kindly at her, urging with his eyes for even Rick to forgive her. He said exactly what she was thinking, but didn't think polite to voice. 

Audry shrugged, her face going hot. "Sorry. I shouldn't have…"

"It’s ok," Rick said, though he still looked a little hurt. "A lot of people jump to conclusions about me and my family."

She averted her eyes. That moment, Audry just wanted to vanish. But the Italian had positioned himself next to her so she could not quietly slip away. He was smiling at her like someone who understood, and even liked her.

"But why would his name be on a bullet shot at a wolf?" Amber from the Brown University group asked.

"To frame him?" suggested Brittney.

The Chinese guy said, "Maybe someone thought Rick was the wolf and wanted him dead."

Audry stared at him.

The two brothers swatted the guy, hissing at him to shut up.

Yet, hearing that, Rick's Brown University friends busted up, laughing.

One of them called out to the Chinese guy, "You don't actually believe that crazy story that says the Deacons are werewolves, do you?"

Audry massaged her forehead, closing her eyes. She had once heard that rumor way back at the convention where Rick had signed her permission form. It was absurd then and it was absurd now.

But Rick's other pals from Gulinger laughed as if it was a funny joke, but not as hilarious as the Brown folks thought. They were shaking their heads as though they knew a great deal more about the origin of that rumor.

"Are you saying there are people who actually believe that?" Audry asked with a groan, looking to the Chinese guy.

He shrugged, peeking at Rick who cringed like he was hurting and wanted to sit down. Audry stared at his foot, realizing it was wrapped for a sprained his ankle. He had been talking about some incident on ice before all this has started up. Had he slipped? It was ironic, considering he had come all that way to ski and had waited for his friends.

The Italian guy nodded to her. And so did his other friends, including Selena whose eyes inspected Audry carefully while sneaking peeks back to Rick like a mildly jealous ex-girlfriend. Audry knew she had to make it clear to that woman she was not involved with Rick at all.

"Crazy people," Rick's Brown friends interjected, also regarding Rick's New York friends with confused interest. They were most likely just as weirded out as Audry was.

Of course. Crazy people believed in anything and everything. Mental confusion was being normalized in the modern world.

Audry decided to go. Her anger was gone. And she had no desire to linger with the group now knowing what a fool she had been. So she turned to leave, pocketing the bullet.

"Don't go yet," one of the brothers said, smiling at her.

"I… I have packing to do," Audry explained, trying not to blush. "I need to get my things out of the room before the afternoon. My time here is up."

"I can extend your stay, if you want," Rick offered, sounding a little hopeful.

She halted, blushing. She was the most embarrassed to face him. The false accusation still burned her with shame. Yet she turned to meet his gaze, and shook her head. "I really do have to go. My brother is waiting for me, and I want to leave before it gets too cold and roads freeze."

He nodded, honestly dismayed. But then his eyes lit up as he said, "Can I at least introduce my friends to you?"

Audry blinked at him. She blushed. Why? Why did it matter?

And yet as he pointed to each of his friends from Gulinger Private Academy, he smiled with pleasure as if her making their acquaintance was important to him. He pointed to the platinum blonde man first. "This is my old roommate, Tom Brown—the one who messed with my cell phone."

"Hey!" Tom laughed, hopping toward Rick as if he were lighter than air, and wrangling his arms around Rick's throat. "When did that come up?"

"Long story," Rick said, with a light look to her. Audry was glad he did not bring up Harlin.

But he did point to the Italian who was staring at Audry as if he was learning more about her than everyone else there just in the silence. "This is Matthew Calamori." Then he pointed to the 'brothers', "Randon Spade, and Troy Meecham—Randon is studying veterinarian medicine and Troy is…" He stared at Troy. "What is your major anyway?"

Troy laughed. "Medicine and Occult Folklore."

Who studied that? Audry stared at him, realizing he only looked like Randon because they had the same hair and eye color and ratty level of dress. The rest really was completely different.

Rick's Brown friends also stared, the same question on their minds.

"This is Bai Nian Chen—or in the American way, Chen Bai Nian."

"Nice to meet you," Chen said to Audry, winking one eye at her.

"And Selena Davenport—in the flesh," Rick said.

"In the flesh?" Selena pinched him on the arm.

 "Ow!" Rick pulled away from her. "I'm just sayin' she already knows about you."

Selena perked up. "You talked about me?" She glanced over at Audry.

Rick shook his head. "No… Well, not here."

"Oh my gosh!" Matthew laughed out loud, his eyes widening. He looked at Audry, now really intrigued.

"What?" Tom hopped to him, then to Rick.

Moaning, Rick looked like he wanted to clear his head by banging it on the wall. Yet he said, "Everyone, his is Audry Bruchenhaus—a vegan."

Somehow that sentence spoke volumes to his friends. Their teasing eyes relaxed. It was like he was saying, 'We're just friends. Don't get any ideas.' She liked that.

Only Matthew smirked. She could tell he knew she had tried to convince Rick to be a vegan, and clearly he knew that was impossible for some