I don't know what time it is or whether it's day or night. My bedroom is dark, the air inside fresh and crisp and my pillow feels gritty, smelling like dirt. Something nuzzles its nose on the side of my neck, my hair and the spot behind my left ear. My cheek's wet. Did Mom and Dad let a dog in the house again? I open my eyes. I'm not in my bedroom; not even close. I'm in a clearing, the old dirty playground a few feet away. I lay on my back, a scream frozen in my throat. All I see is a light brown nose bigger than both of my round eyes put together and gleaming white fangs.
The wolf. I remember. The wolf with the glowing yellow eyes. It's got me. I'm under its control. I really try not to scream now. It'll just make his killing that much more quicker, though that sounds tempting. But the wolf lowers his head and I see big beautiful blue-gray eyes. I'm completely under it, its body covering all of mine and then some. It whines and licks my face again. I can't help but laugh. Looks like I got a new friend but where's the other wolf and its friends? I look around. Not another wolf in sight.
I spot yellow eyes peeking at me from under the 2 foot long slide. Spoke too soon. I guess my friend saw him too, his growl so powerful and deep that I feel its vibration.
The wolf that attacked me-or at least tried to-before I blacked out shows itself, flanked by its friends. The one on its left black and the one on its right a reddish brown. I look up at my friend worriedly. He can't possibly take on all three of them by himself. He has to know that...right?
Slowly, my friend takes the hood of my jacket in his mouth and picks me up off the ground, placing me behind a tree before going back to where he was. None of the wolves make even a shred of noise. It's like their doing all of their talking through their intense-looking eyes. My friend huffs and two wolves break through the trees, landing perfectly on either side of him. One is pitch black, its fur longer than the other two while the second one is a mixture between blonde and dark brown, its fur length in the middle. I cover my mouth in shock. The wolves that attacked that man. Now they're trying to protect me. I scramble from the ground and press the front of my body against the tree, my head peeking over one side. The tense, anticipating moments where you know something bad or memorable is going to happen but don't know when hanging in the air. Next thing you know, all wolves run toward each other and go at it, growls and tearing sounds piercing the air. I'm tempted to cover my eyes, but I can't even rip them away from the scene. The pitch black one goes after its twin whose shade is a little lighter while Two-Tones takes the reddish brown wolf and my friend takes the one with the vibrant yellow eyes. For a while it looks like the bad side is going to prevail, but my friend's group turns it around and sends the group scurrying away, the leader growling at them before disappearing with its friends. My friend looks at the wolves that helped him and nods gratefully. They return the gesture and disappear into the woods. The pitch black one stops right next to me and stares for what seems like forever, blood dripping from the gash across his face. I wrap tightly my arms around the skinny tree I was put behind but it meant me no harm. It just follows its companion into the darkness of the woods. I look back at my friend and he's still standing there, looking at the place his opponents retreated to. Next thing you know, he collapses. I run towards him and put his head on my lap.
"Wolf?" I ask gently. I really need to come up with a name for him. I think off of the top of my head, "Lucas?"
He whines but I'm not sure if it's because he's in some sort of pain or because he doesn't like the name.
I check for any wounds and hiss sympathetically when I see a huge gash in the left side of his body from his rib cage to his hip. I whimper, knowing this was all my fault.
"Poor baby," I whisper, kissing his head. "Let's get you back to my place."
I help him up even though it takes all of my energy and lead him out of the clearing. He pushes the back of my legs with so much force that I fly back and land on his. He starts walking again while I grab a few handfuls of his fur to keep from falling. Before long we break out of the woods and he trudges around my house until we've reached the back patio. I get off his back and sink into one of the lawn chairs while he drops on the newly painted planks onto his right side, wound up, making them creak a little.
"Stay right here," I tell him as I scratch the back of his ear. His leg twitches a little and I giggle. "I'll be right back."
He whines when I slide the glass door open and disappear inside. I stop at the hallway closet door and burst through quickly grabbing antiseptic wipes-I'll need about 10 of them, a bottle of hydrogen peroxide-I'll need the whole bottle, and 7 big square bandages. I quickly hustle back outside. As soon as I quietly slide the door close, a wolf howls in the distance making Lucas' head jerk up.
"Down boy," I soothe and he lays his head back down.
I kneel in front of him and wipe the blood away before pouring the whole bottle on his wound. He tensed for the slightest of a second before it hit his gash but relaxed when he saw it didn't sting. I then cover it up with the bandages and run my fingers through his silky messy fur.
"Come on," I say as I stand. "I haven't slept outside in a while."
I lead him to the "campsite" and pat my thighs to get him to hop onto the couch. The cushions are pretty wide and can therefore hold him and I comfortably. I press my back against his warm stomach and sigh happily.
"This is nice," I whisper as I stroke one of his paws. He has no claws.
YOU ARE READING
When the Wolves Howl
Romantik"One of the guys, the driver and seemingly the biggest of the group, has pitch black hair that stops past his shoulders. The guy that rode shotgun has messy dirty blonde hair that curls around his ears. The third man who rode in the back seat, has b...
