Seaside Wolf Pack, Tome 1: Finding Somewhere To Belong

Chapter 1

The morning my life changed forever, there was no warning, no omen, no signs of the dark events on the horizon. I woke up to a bright, sunny bedroom and two puppies happily licking my face. I groaned and wiped off my now sticky face. They were ready get out of bed, and that meant I was, too, whether I liked it or not.

I rolled out of the bed and landed on my feet. My two wards for the weekend wagged their little tails, eager for me to let them off the bed so that they could run free. Luckily for me, they were too small to jump off themselves, otherwise I could see them getting into trouble during the night. I was too soft-hearted to lock them in their kennel and listen to them cry until they went to sleep at night.

I stretched out my back and followed them as they ran ahead of me to the kitchen. I couldn’t help but grin as I watched them slipping, sliding, and scrambling to be the first one to the door. Their excitement was infectious. It was impossible to be grumpy when those two little guys were so joyful at the simple fact that the sun had come up for another day.

When I opened the back patio door, they gleefully bounded out into the fenced in backyard, ready to explore. I was not ready for my day to start just yet. Coffee was needed. I made my first cup like a zombie and brought it out to the patio so I could watch the puppies. I started to come to life as the scent of coffee drifted up to me, and I wrapped my hands around the mug, blowing gently on the top so I could get it cool enough to drink.

Kelsey was coming back into town later tonight. I needed to tidy up her house and give her puppies a bath before being relieved of my housesitting duties. I honestly looked forward to the weekends she went out of town, whether it be for business or her man of the month. She had an awesome house two blocks from the beach, two adorable little shih Tzu puppies going on 8 months old, and a fenced in backyard to provide entertainment for them.

I inhaled the delicious aroma as I brought my mug up for the first sip of the day. I also had lunch planned with Evelyn today after she got back from church. My plan for this morning was to take the pups for a walk on the beach to tire them out so I would be able to escape the house for a couple hours this afternoon while they napped.

Barking caught my attention, and I looked up to see the puppies had chased something up a tree and were intent on getting it to come back down. Since they were finished doing their business for the morning, I decided to call them back in.

I leaned out the door and glanced around to see if anyone was within hearing range, then winced before I shouted, “Tigger! Eeyore! Breakfast time!” Yes, Kelsey had named her pups Tigger and Eeyore, which is why I referred to them most of the time as “the puppies” or “the pups.” It could be worse; she could have gone with Piglet.

Eeyore could be as serious as his namesake sometimes, but he was very smart and would stop and think before jumping into anything new. He had a pure black coat and dark eyes that added to his sometimes somber appearance. Tigger, on the other hand, was always happily bouncing from place to place and had a white and gold coat. He wasn’t as cautious as Eeyore and had to be watched more closely so that he didn’t get in trouble.