Phoenix Rising: From Heartache to Heroism

Chapter 26

Chapter 26 Taking Away the Little Wolf Cub

After another forty minutes, Violeta paused on a small hill, gazing into the distance where a red flag marked the finish line.

"See that? The finishing line is just over there. A mere two minutes, and we'll make it!

"That's a relief Kaylee plopped down on the ground, massaging her tired legs.

Meanwhile, Jezebel, seated nearby, heard a soft whimper. Turning, she spotted a furry little pup in the grass

"Look! A puppy!" Little did she know she mistook the wolf cub for a domestic pup.

Eagerly, she lured the cub with her food and water, cradling it in her arms.

The cub's whimpers caught Violeta's attention. "What's that sound? Did you guys hear it?"

Kaylee swiveled around and spotted Jezebel trying to stash the wolf cub in her bag.

"Hey, Jezebel! What on earth are you doing?"

Jezebel hesitated. "I don't know who left this little guy here. I felt sorry for it, so I considered taking it back with me."

Upon hearing Jezebel's harebrained idea, Violeta was on the brink of unleashing a torrent of

curses..

"Are you out of your mind? That's not a puppy! It's a wolf cub! Didn't I warn you? There are wild wolves in the mountains

During the hike, Violeta was on this wild wolf hunt, carefully looking for any traces of those

creatures in the area.

You'd see wild wolves in Mount Wilson from time to time, but not often. People would hike up the mountain regularly to scare them off, so the chances of bumping into them were pretty low for regular folks. But guess what? In Violeta's dream team, Jezebel turned out to be a bit of a scatterbrain. She mistook a wolf cub for a fluffy little puppy! Seriously?

of wolf territory upon catching a whiff of their distinctive scent. The fact that

sniff around where wolves have left

did a shaky dance, causing the wolf cub to hit the ground with

bag with one hand and said, "Hurry

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up following the scent trail later, the girls didn't dare to dawdle, hastily trailing

rear, giving out

hollered immediately, "Oh sh*t, Violeta, it's

howl from Mama Wolf sent shivers down

Jezebel, "What the heck were you doing back there? Hugging the wolf cub?

who dragged us down this path. It's on her! We wouldn't deal with wolves

eyes just for show? You can't even tell a wolf from a dog, and yet you're blaming Violeta?

T..."

"Enough! Let's keep moving! We're almost there, and then we'll be

by a wolf pack

safety, but she couldn't guarantee

shut their mouths and followed Violeta, hustling to distance

take twenty minutes in a rush took them only ten, fueled by adrenaline. They hit the finish line, collapsing

stopwatch, "Wow! Two hours and seventeen minutes, we've got a new record! But why'd

and Sonya were going to complain to the instructor about Violeta. Still, before they could say anything, the head instructor spoke up, and their eyes

are you leading,

record!"

Sonya exclaimed together, their excitement

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rewards, right? An extra

instructor nodded, Exactly too, you're looking at sixty

spot"

my god!" Kaylee was pumped, too, but she wasn't as over-the-top as Jezebel

Sonya