When the Wolves Howl

1. "He's my brother. Twin, actually. A bit of an ass to be honest."

Chapter I: "He's my brother. Twin, actually. A bit of an ass to be honest."

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There were wolves in that forest, and they weren't afraid to get close. They weren't afraid of her either. Alyssa had seen one the night before. She had gone to close her curtains right as the sun began to set over Oakridge—a dull, gloomy town with little excitement and even less to do—and paused when she saw a pair of bright, sunlit eyes staring up at her from the forest's edge right behind her new house. She knew it wasn't human, obviously, and when the eyes got closer, with it stepped out a large black wolf almost as tall as her. Panic began clawing at her but she remained still, and watched it the same way it watched her.

It stood there behind the treeline, just staring at her, and she got the faintest feeling of deja vu. It was strange because Alyssa had never seen a wolf before. She'd always wanted to, but neither of her parents had the time to take her out to the zoo or wherever else she could have gone to see one. So why the wolf seemed so familiar, she couldn't tell.

It left then, as quickly as it had appeared, and Alyssa could finally breathe again. She didn't wait there and closed the curtains immediately. She didn't see it again for the rest of that day.

That had been her first impression of the gloomy town that was always so grey and heavy with clouds about to burst with rain and thunder. It was in the middle of nowhere, far up and close to the mountains, and surrounded by thick forests on all sides. Not the usual place her parents usually moved to, but Alyssa couldn't complain. It was quiet and the people didn't seem to enthusiastic about anything in general. That was fine with her. It meant things would be peaceful for once, and Alyssa could only see that as a blessing.

***

Alyssa pulled her bag over her shoulder and gripped it tight. Her Monday morning had begun uneventfully and her parents were already gone by the time she woke up. The drive to Oakridge High was nerve-wracking. The school building seemed to stare down at her, scrutinising every move, and she shoved her other hand into her pocket to hide the shaking. She was being idiotic, she knew, but she'd never had a great experience moving schools, and she doubted this school would be an exception. Oakridge High was as foreboding as the rest of the town, and she regretted driving to school immediately. She should've stayed home and studied online for her final year instead. She had done enough by agreeing to move across the country—her parents could have compromised on her educational choices.

With a long exhale, Alyssa straightened her shoulders and headed in.

The hallways were buzzing with loud chatter all around her and she shrunk into herself a little more. She should have come earlier, she thought bitterly. Finding the office in a sea of moving bodies was near impossible, and when she did ten minutes later, she almost fell to her knees in gratitude. Getting acquainted with the secretary and her timetable was the easy part—Alyssa had no idea how she'd find her classes next. The school was surprisingly big for such a small town and the layout puzzled her. None of the directions on the map made any sense and by the time she reached her class, she was two minutes away from being late.

The only upside to her whole situation was that the new school year had just begun and there were a few other transfer students with her too. Oakridge High was having some sort of expansion and needed new students, her mother had said during the car ride over to Oakridge. It did little to quell the anxiousness she felt, but it made her feel just a little less unsure and awkward now that she sat in a class with three other students who looked just as lost as she did.

Alyssa sat toward the back of the class, with two seats open on either side of her. She didn't expect anyone to come anywhere near her since she sat hunched over her desk like some awkward loner, but then the chair to her right was pulled back and she looked up to find a smiling girl plopping into the seat and dropping her bag to the floor with a thud.