Wolf’s Gift
By
Anastasia Rabiyah
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This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters, and events are fictitious in every regard. Any similarities to actual events and persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. Any trademarks, service marks, product names, or named features are assumed to be the property of their respective owners, and are used only for reference. There is no implied endorsement if any of these terms are used.
WOLF’S GIFT
Copyright © 2009 ANASTASIA RABIYAH. All rights reserved worldwide.
ISBN 978-1-936165-18-6
Cover Art Designed By Anastasia Rabiyah
Edited By D. Thomas-Jerlo
Published by Purple Sword Publications, LLC, Smashwords Edition
Except for review purposes, the reproduction of this book in whole or part, electronically or mechanically, constitutes a copyright violation.
For Cory
Chapter One: The Gray One
Levinia listened to the wind howling outside, and thought she heard the wolf. She shivered and set another piece of wood on the fire, her loose blonde hair falling in her eyes. Brushing strands away, she struggled to turn her thoughts from her missing husband, Borys. They’d not been married a year. Today would have been their first Christmas together. A small present wrapped in brown cloth sat unopened beside the Yule near the hearth. She glanced at it and frowned. Her gaze settled on the chair next to hers, empty, missing the one gift she wanted, the one thing she could never have again. She sat up and started to pace the hard-packed earthen floor once more.
Outside, the sun began to set. Soon the moon would bulge over the hills in a pale orb. She thought she ought to check on the sheep at least one more time before she crawled into bed. Gathering her coat over her shoulders, she hurried to the hewn door and pushed it open. Cold air rushed in to pinch her exposed cheeks and hands. She stepped out into the winter feeling alone.
“Why did you leave me now?” she asked the emptiness. Glancing across the snow-dotted meadow where the sheep normally grazed when the weather was not so harsh, she frowned. A shadow moved along the trees, but it could have been her imagination. She kept dreaming Borys would come home, that he’d walk through the door like he had day after day since they moved in to the thick-walled house atop the hill. At first, she’d not wanted to live so far from the village, but his dark eyes and warm kisses changed her mind. She’d given in as she always did to him. Levinia would do anything he asked.