Dream Wolf

21: The Reunion

"But how did you get out?" Ali asked. "You said you couldn't see the hole."
"Get out of where?" Maria replied, just as confused as her friend.
"The dungeon."
"What dungeon?"
Ali gave Maria her best you-know-what-mean look, and Maria gave the opposite back.
"Look. This is what happened. You disappeared, we all looked for you, I got kidnapped, and some girls in the dungeon told me you'd been there and gone crazy. Which reminds me, you were mumbling about a traitor. Who was it?" Ali said that as fast as an Olympic sprinter, and Maria looks as if she could barely keep up with her.
"Are you okay?"
Ali put her head in her hand. Maria should know this! It's not like...
The queen, Ali thought. She must have done something to Maria.
"Do you remember the queen?" Ali blurted.
Maria opened her mouth to respond, but Cocoa beat her to it. "Shouldn't we go find the others? They were looking for you two, you know."
"Okay, okay," Ali said. "Where might they be?"
Cocoa shrugged, and both Ali's and Maria's shoulders fell.
"Hey," Cocoa said, trying to brighten the other two up, "we're back together! Let's just celebrate for a bit!"
Ali glanced over to Maria, who shook her head. "We need to find them. Now."
"Let's go to the castle."
Ali took the first step.
•-•-•
It took a while before she saw the wolf. At first he was just blending into the shadows, watching them with no intent of the opposite. Ali didn't even see him until that uneasy feeling came over her and she glanced around, half expecting the queen to leap out at her.
Then she saw the eyes.
Ali looked over to see if the other two had spotted him, but they were too focused on their journey.
"I need to go to the washroom," she stammered, hoping her excuse to slip into the woods would work.
"We'll wait."
Ali still snuck a glance behind her to make sure they weren't following her.

A/N: Maria's back! Yay! And, though Jaspcat360 already knew this, she (unless Maria's lying) has no idea where she's been! Fun with amnesia!
Anyways, thanks for reading, yet again. If you liked it, don't forget (like Maria did...) to vote!