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?

guided by their instincts, would steer clear of wolf territory upon catching a whiff of their distinctive scent. The fact that Jezebel failed to discern the difference is a perplexing twist in this wild

dare sniff around where wolves have left their

causing the wolf

her bag with one hand and said, "Hurry

1/4

13.09

following the scent trail

out

sh*t, Violeta, it's following us.

Wolf sent shivers down the other three

heck were you doing back there? Hugging the wolf cub? Now,

me? Violeta's the one who dragged us down this path. It's on her! We wouldn't deal with

a wolf from a

T..."

off their bickering, "Enough! Let's keep moving! We're almost there, and then

surrounded by a wolf pack

to safety, but she couldn't guarantee

mouths and followed Violeta, hustling to

would normally take twenty minutes in a rush took them only ten, fueled by

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

going to complain to the instructor about Violeta. Still, before they could say anything, the head instructor spoke up, and their eyes widened, "What! We're

not only are you leading,

record!"

Jezebel and Sonya exclaimed together,

2/4

right? An extra ten grand on top of the

too, you're looking at sixty grand and

spot"

was pumped, too, but she wasn't as over-the-top as

Sonya