I stumbled back over my own feet and fell on my ass. Those eyes never blinked but they started to move and I saw a massive wolf come out of the trees. The fur was a sandy black color but it was larger than any wolf I had seen. It easily towered over me and I tried to scramble back but my movements had its eyes narrowing on me and it pounced.
I couldn’t stop the scream that left my throat. I scrambled to my feet as fast as I could and started to run to the door of my car. I had read something somewhere about never turning your back on a wolf or running and at that moment, I knew that whoever had written it had never come face-to-face with an actual wolf before. The fear was paralyzing and my body had kicked into fight of flight mode but I was smart enough to know I couldn’t win a fight against a wolf.
As I reached the door to my car, I felt the hot breath of the wolf against my skin. I knew it would catch me before I got in and I had mentally prepared myself to be bitten when I felt a rush of air and I heard a loud sound. I didn’t wait to figure it out, I rushed into my car and locked the doors and that was when I saw it- another wolf.
This one was larger than the first one and its fur was midnight black. It was almost nondistinguishable from the night sky and I could only see it if I peered hard enough. It had pushed the other wolf to the ground and was growling in its face. The two wolves struggled for dominance but the black one easily pushed it to the ground and bit it hard. I couldn’t help but wince at how badly the other one was hurt but I didn’t feel bad because it had tried to kill me.
The black wolf howled loudly and the other one whimpered then limped into the forest with blood dripping down its side. I didn’t know what would happen to it but I hoped one of the hunters was able to catch it before it hurt anyone else or itself. The air was quiet and still and the black wolf started to move towards my car.
I held my breath hoping and praying that it wouldn’t find its way into my car. There was some noise and somehow the wolf managed to close my trunk that I had popped open. Its front paws were larger than my head and they were currently resting on my car. Its eyes were intelligent and it felt like it was analyzing me and trying to check if I was okay.
My heart was pounding as if I had run a marathon and as I stared at the beast, I knew it wasn’t a normal forest wolf. No normal wolf was that big and none of them looked intelligent. I had heard stories of large wolves that moved under the moonlight, wolves that were as large as humans and had the same wisdom that we had. I had dismissed them as fairytales that my father had told me to get me in bed but staring at this wolf; I couldn’t help but wonder if the stories were true.
The black wolf howled once more and then it disappeared into the woods where it came from. My entire body was shaking and I felt like I was in some sort of dream. I pinched myself hoping it would wake me up but I felt the sharp sting of pain. I managed to swallow down the knot in my throat, lifted my shaky hands to the keys of my car and turned praying the car would start. The car roared to life as if sensing my distress and I sped home faster than I ever had in my life.
When I got to my house, it took a lot of coaxing to get myself out of the car. My legs were still wobbling and I had barely taken a step before I fell to the ground in a heap. There was some commotion from inside and the porch light came on then Grandma and Chris came rushing out. They saw me on the floor and I saw the worry coating their faces.
“I fell,” I said dumbly unable to say what was plaguing me. “I am so clumsy.”
Grandma had sympathy in her eyes as she held out a hand to me but I couldn’t bring myself to take it. It was Chris who hooked his hands under my pits and helped me to my feet. I leaned against my car while trying to catch my breath as Chris went into the car to pick out my bag and the plastic bag from the store. I had completely forgotten about it.
“We should get inside. It isn’t safe.”
For once I did not argue with Grandma. I leaned against Chris as he helped me into the house and the moment the door was bolted, I allowed myself to fall onto the couch. I heard Grandma barking orders but I could not make out the words. My mind was spinning on an axis and I could not understand what had just happened. I had come face to face with the jaws of death and I had lived.
Grandma’s eyes hadn’t left me the entire time. She walked over to the couch I was lying on and ran her fingers down the lapels of Darius’ jacket. I had forgotten what I was wearing. I had momentarily forgotten my name. I tried to close my eyes but whenever I did, I saw the wolves; I smelled their breaths and I felt the fear that permeated the air- my fear.
“Whose jacket is this?” Grandma asked and I shrugged. “I asked you a question, girl. Where did you get it? It smells like a man.”
“Darius,” I mumbled finally and she hummed.
“Is there a reason Darius Lunar gave you his jacket?”
“He said I was dressed indecently in his club.” I didn’t know why the words were flowing so freely out of my lips but they were helping. The more I spoke about the club and Darius, the easier it was for me to push the thoughts of the wolves into the back of my mind. Now that I think about it that may have been her intention the entire time.
We spoke for a few minutes until my breathing had calmed down and I did not feel like I was going into cardiac arrest. I sat up straight and that was when Chris returned with a glass of chilled water. He placed it in front of me and I muttered a small thank you to him.
He looked worried and opened his mouth to speak but Grandma held up a hand. “I think it is time for you to leave, Christopher.”
“What are you talking about? She is my sister and she looks freaked. I deserve to know what’s happening.”
“Leave, Christopher.”
“It is fine,” I cut Grandma off and she turned to me with confusion. “I’m just tired and I want Christopher to stay with me.”
To say Grandma was shocked was an understatement. I had never refused her before, not even when I was in my rebellious phase but I wanted my brother. I wanted a familiar face that I could lean on and would not tell me that I was going crazy.
“Alright then,” she smiled softly at me. “I’ll go heat something up for you to eat.”
She stood up and walked over to the kitchen. As soon as she had disappeared, Christopher turned to me. “Tell me everything.”
I told him.
I started with how everyone at the bar was acting strangely and how the woman at the store was in a hurry to leave. I told him about how my car had randomly broken down and about the wolf I saw in the forest. As soon as the words started spilling out of my lips, they did not want to stop.
I kept my voice in a whisper because I didn’t want Grandma to hear but I made sure that Christopher got every single detail. When I was done, he sighed. He did not look surprised at all but he looked concerned.
“You know about the wolves,” I deduced. “Why didn’t anyone tell me about them?”
“There was nothing to tell because they are just wolves,” he tried to assure me but I didn’t believe him. There was no way those were just wolves. “Look, we know there is a wolf infestation and they tend to come out into town on the full moon. No one knows why but that is why everyone locks up early.”
“None of you thought it was something I deserved to know.”
“I didn’t think you would be attacked or I would never have asked you to go to the store,” he ran his hands through his hair in silent frustration. “Listen, Leindra, I am sorry you were attacked by wolves but that is all they are. That is why we train every day so we can hunt the wolves. They have been killing a lot of the town’s livestock lately.”
“What happens now?”
“I will talk to my team leader and he will speak to Darius. Darius is in charge of everything that goes on in this town. He will be able to figure out something.”
The thought of Darius knowing what happened to me made me slightly uncomfortable but I stayed silent because I would rather let him be informed than allow the same thing to happen to someone else.
I ran my hands down my face with a sigh. My head hurt and I felt tired. I looked up to see Grandma standing in the doorway and the way she was staring at me led me to believe that she had overheard our conversation. There was a look in her eye, it resembled fear but there was something more.
“Is everything okay?” I asked and she quickly wiped the look off her face and plastered on a smile.
She walked over to me and placed a bowl of chicken soup and garlic bread in front of me. “You should eat up and regain your strength. You had a very long night.”
“Grandma, is there something you know?” I asked and she froze.
It was a subtle move and if I was not watching her so intently then I would never have noticed it. She straightened and shook her head as if I had said the most absurd thing ever.
“You’re tired, Leindra. Eat and rest.”
She walked out of the living room faster than I had ever seen her move before and as I watched her retreating figure, I knew there was something she wasn’t telling me and I promised myself I was going to figure it out no matter what.