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?

catching a whiff of their distinctive scent. The fact that Jezebel failed to discern the difference

where wolves have left their

dance, causing the wolf cub

and said, "Hurry up!

1/4

13.09

Mama Wolf might show up following the scent trail later, the girls

wolf cub took up the rear, giving out a few whimpers before

"Oh sh*t, Violeta, it's following us. What do

and just then, a distant howl from Mama Wolf sent shivers down the

Jezebel, "What the heck were you doing back there? Hugging the wolf cub? Now, we're all gonna end up wolf

us down this path. It's on her! We wouldn't deal with wolves if we took

for show? You can't even tell a wolf from a dog, and yet you're blaming Violeta? She already warned us about the wild

T..."

Let's keep moving! We're

surrounded by a wolf

how to run herself to safety, but she couldn't guarantee the

their mouths and followed Violeta, hustling to distance

fueled by adrenaline. They hit the finish line, collapsing onto chairs, letting the tension

their lives depended on it and hit the stopwatch, "Wow! Two hours and

Violeta. Still, before they could say anything, the head

confirmed, "Yep, not only are you leading, but you also smashed the

record!"

exclaimed together, their excitement making them jump up

2/4

record means extra rewards, right? An

too, you're looking at sixty grand and

spot"

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

Sonya