Wolf Girl (Book 1) REWRITING

Chapter 3: Carys

Carys' POV

I'm asleep. I must be, because I've only seen this meadow in dreams. Tall flowers in every colour of the rainbow. They sway gently with the breeze. I'm running, in wolf form. My dad is here. My mum is here. Must be a dream.

When my eyes become unstuck, I am expecting to see my mother's face, hear her voice telling me I'm going to be late for school, but instead I am greeted by Mr. Jeffries dangling an slab of raw processed meet in my face. Jana told him about me after I specifically asked her not to. It's not just Mr Jeffries here, but my dad walks through the door. I look at Jana, ready to have a go at her, but she drops to the floor, out cold.

I instantly feel guilty for my five seconds of anger. "Jana?" I sit up, still dizzy and crawl to Jana's side, "Jana, wake up, I'm sorry!" I say. My dad takes me by the shoulders and pulls me back.

"Give her some room," he says, I thought he'd be angry, but he's only mildly irritated, "Are you okay?" He makes me turn to face him and looks me over.

"I'm fine," I shove him away gently.

"Jana, can you hear me?" He dangles the raw burger in her face this time, and she wakes. 

I kneel beside her again, "Jesus, you scared me."

She rubs her eyes, smiling, "You started it."

We both start laughing, and Tom and Shannon join in, even Mr Jeffries cracks a smile, "I'm glad you're both alright, maybe you should take the rest of the day off?"

My dad is not impressed, pouting that he was dragged out of bed on a Dark Moon for a false alarm, "I'll drive you both home."

"No, we're okay now, I swear," I say, stifling another yawn and helping Jana to her feet. This is exactly why I didn't want Mr Jeffries to know about me, I don't want to be treated as if I have some kind of sickness. 

"We're alright sir, really," Jana says, I have to hold her steady so she doesn't stumble.

"Okay, well drink plenty of water. You have History in 10 minutes," he leaves the darkroom.

Dad lingers by the door, staring at Tom and Shannon. I'm sure all he can think about is why three humans know about the existence of our species.

"We'll get back to PE," Tom and Shannon can feel the tension, and leave quickly, closing the door behind them.

"Why do those humans know?" My dad growls, cornering Jana, but she stands her ground and bears her teeth back at him. We have only known her a few days, but he was starting to come around to her, and now I doubt he'll ever trust her.

"Dad, calm down!" I stand between them, shielding Jana from his snarling, "Look, If Jana trusts them, we can too," Dad growls again, and I'm worried he'll swipe at her with his claws, so I push him back. 

He's heavy, and barely moves when I push him away, but he looks down at me, "How can you trust any humans?" His fury quickly fades, and a tear comes to his eye, "After what their kind have done to our pack?"

I'm not so sure I do trust them if I'm being honest with myself, but regardless of her telling Mr Jeffries about me, I know can trust Jana. I also know that this is not the time or place to discuss his vendetta against humans. "Dad, don't start this here. Go home," I point at the door. He huffs in my face, his darkened veins pulsating, then takes a deep breath as he pushes the wolf beneath the surface. He stomps out.

Jana sighs, sitting down, "Sorry, I didn't know Shannon would call your dad, I was just so worried, and Mr Jeffries caught me skipping PE to go and find red meat for you," she says.