Priorities. Coffee. Something to eat. Find Yard. Get phone.
The sun had climbed the eastern ridge of the mountains, flooding the property with light, by the time two of those priorities were accomplished. Remembering the January chill, he grabbed a hoodie from his pack, wrapped Lily’s leash around his waist, and picked up his car keys. Just in case.
Ahead of his footsteps across the lawn, the grass glittered with diamond-bright crystals of frost. The sharp wind trying to invade every exposed area of his body, including his nostrils, annoyed him. He was damn tired of the cold. He was supposed to be where it was warm and sandy. The things he did in the name of friendship.
Once he entered the training area, Kye jogged his way toward the training structure where he could hear Yard giving voice commands. Lily kept pace, clearly enjoying the freedom. She’d tolerated the long plane ride and then two hours in the rental without a complaint. But being a toller, she needed lots of exercise to be happy. Otherwise, things got chewed or eaten, or occasionally disappeared altogether. Like his underwear. So far, nothing alarming had ever come out of her rear end. But he suspected it would, sooner or later.
Finally, Lily stopped short as they neared the buildings to sniff the frosty air.
Kye knew that Yardley had the Czech wolfdog with her. Belatedly, he wondered if Oleg was off the leash.
Before his thought ended the dog, lean, wolfish, and silver, shot out from behind the building. Oleg was moving full-out, straight at him.
Yelping in surprise, Lily turned and shot like a red-and-white rocket back toward her handler.
“Fuck.” Kye grabbed Lily as she leaped up and twisted to angle his body so that she was protected. At the same time he braced for what he suspected would be at least one bad bite.
Yard appeared from behind the building. In relief he heard her voice, high and clear, giving orders.
“Oleg! Fuj!”
The wolfdog stumbled to a halt within a few feet of Kye with head lowered and hair lifted along his spine. Unable to ignore his handler’s command, he simply growled low in his throat as he watched his quarry. That’s when Kye realized he was muzzled.
Yardley’s voice broke the silence again. “Oleg, ke mne!”
The dog disengaged and rounded back toward her with bright barks and high yips.
Kye felt like a pork chop that had been dangled before the maw of a hungry wolf and, at the last second, snatched back.
Yard had the leash but Oleg wouldn’t come the last few feet to be leashed. Instead, he came to a stop half a dozen feet away, turned his back on her, and stared off into the wooded area in the distance, always the outlier watching for trouble.
Yardley followed the wolfdog’s intent gaze but didn’t see anything unusual in the distance. Probably, the dog was still getting accustomed to his surroundings. The breed was very sensitive; a new environment could be overstimulating. Their attentiveness made them great guards in unfamiliar territory. Oleg had most likely heard a deer snapping twigs and breaking branches as it slipped unseen through the underbrush. “Oleg, nech to.”
The Czech wolfdog’s erect ears twitched, the only indication he’d heard the command to leave alone whatever had his drawn attention. But he didn’t move.
Satisfied that he wasn’t about to run off, Yardley stalked toward Kye, her face pinched with anger. Without even another word from his handler, Oleg moved forward as she did, keeping his advance position in front of her like a VIP bodyguard.
“Are you a complete idiot? Bringing another dog out here without warning me!” She was finally able to leash Oleg.
Kye put up a hand. “My bad. I didn’t stop to think you could be working him off the leash.”
“That just proves you weren’t trained by me. And don’t try to sneak up on me again. I might not be so quick to call him off next time.”
“Copy that.” He knew she didn’t mean it. She wouldn’t misuse a dog for her own ends. He didn’t correct her, either, by pointing out that the dog was muzzled and so couldn’t harm him, though he might still have been able to injure Lily with his paws. “What are you working on? I wouldn’t mind playing decoy but I’d prefer to be suited up.”
Mischief sparkled in her eyes. “You probably won’t fit in our suit. But you can hide if you want. Let them work at finding you.”
“Them?” Somehow Kye suspected that wasn’t a free-lunch offer. She had something in mind. Still, he hadn’t come up with any better way to spend time with her while working on getting her to open up. “Sure. What are your objectives?”
“Oleg needs companionship. Wolfdogs are hardwired for pack. He’s beginning to show signs of separation anxiety. That almost-attack just now was the first time I’ve seen him work effectively.”