Wolf Games: Granite Lake Wolves, Book 3 by Vivian Arend

maybe.”
    46
    www.samhainpublishing.com

    Wolf Games
    He kissed her one last time, just to drive himself insane, then led her to the tent. Morning would come
    soon enough.

    www.samhainpublishing.com
    47

Chapter Seven
    “We’ve got a problem.”
    Maggie groaned as she sat up from where she’d sprawled on the side of the trail. The past two hours
    had been sheer hell as they slogged their way to the top of the Golden Stairs and over the Chilkoot Pass.
    She hadn’t hiked so much vertical ascent since she was a teenager, and every muscle screamed in protest.
    “What’s wrong, Jared?”
    “Did TJ lose a page of the puzzle when he was goofing off last night?” Jared frowned as he flipped
    through pages. Erik reached out and Jared handed them over. Maggie watched in concern as Erik examined
    the set. Jared growled in frustration. “If King Klutz—”
    “That’s enough.” Erik cut in sternly and Jared had the grace to look sheepish. “There’s nothing
    missing. What’s the issue?”
    “There are no additional clues for the last few spaces,” Jared pointed out. “There are also no landmark
    clues. Three completely blank columns—it’s like we’re going in blind and have to find a needle in a
    haystack.” Maggie crawled closer to look over Erik’s shoulder at the papers. She leaned against his strong
    back, the warmth of his body drawing her like a magnet. The whole day she’d forced herself to stay away
    from him but now gave in to the need to recharge her batteries with a brief touch. He glanced at her and
    winked, and she blushed. Their sexual attraction was normal for wolves, but her continued denial of their
    mating and his patient response confused her. She felt like a broken fan, running hot then cold.
    “I noticed the first day. We’ll figure it out tonight.” Erik handed the papers back to Jared. The young
    man stared in shock.
    “How can we fill in the missing answers without clues or landmarks? Why didn’t you say something
    earlier?”
    Erik shrugged. “There was no use in panicking. The challenge must be solvable, so I decided we’d
    figure it as we went along.”
    Jared shook his head. “You really are too cool and collected at times, aren’t you?”
    A muffled howl rose from up the trail and they turned to see TJ racing back. His loping gait tore up
    the rocky terrain as he returned to drop a rock at their feet. Erik picked it up, running a hand over TJ’s head.
    “Well done. I wasn’t looking forward to hunting for this answer.”
    “Where was it?”

    Wolf Games
    He pointed to the mountain spine extending another mile off to their left, the razor edge jagged
    against the skyline. “The puzzle clue was Cutting you off and the map shows the location to be along the far
    ridge. I sent TJ ahead in the hopes the answer would be something obvious, and save the rest of us the trip.”
    Maggie swallowed hard. Imagining having to hike the ragged rocks to the spire made her even more
    grateful for TJ’s wolf. “I would never have made that.”
    “What symbol do I add?” Jared asked.
    Erik handed the rock over to Maggie and she turned it over carefully. “There’s nothing carved on it.”
    Her stomach fell. Were they going to have to do the dangerous climb after all?
    “Don’t worry, this is what we need. It’s not always simple like having the answer written on the
    surface. Remember the answer to the sixth clue involved a math formula.” Erik nudged her arm. “What
    kind of rock is it?”
    TJ pawed at her feet and she knelt to scratch behind his ears as she stared at the stone chip. “You
    wouldn’t have brought it unless you thought it was the answer, so I’ll assume it wasn’t in a normal setting.”
    She wrinkled her nose. “It sparkles, so I’ll guess it’s fool’s gold. There’s got to be a lot in these parts.”
    Erik laughed. “Remind me never to go panning with you. You’d miss out on a bonanza.”
    She gaped at him. “It’s real gold?”
    “Yup, and