Escape | ✓

11

I sat on the living room couch, clutching a small, black panda teddy bear in my hand as I stared up at the blond-haired couple with large, disappointed eyes.

"We're sorry, Ellas," the man, Mr. Henry said, but his eyes couldn't meet mine.

"Why?" My tiny, squeaky seven-year-old voice questioned.

Why were they getting rid of me? I thought they liked me. I did everything! I helped with the chores, I kept my room clean, and I did well in school. Why didn't they want me?

Mrs. Sarah's blue eyes softened as she stared at me with that all too familiar pitiful gaze as if I were some dog she found abandoned in a cardboard box. I hated that look.

"Oh, sweetie, it isn't you," she told me softly. "Listen, there are just some things that are beyond our control and sometimes things don't go the way we want them to. That doesn't mean we don't care."

I could hear her words, but they weren't registering in my mind as I fought to desperately keep my tears at bay. The sight of a familiar white car appeared in the window and my tears broke free and poured down my face like a bursting dam.

"Elias..." one of them called out, but it was futile. No matter what they said or what they did, it didn't change the fact that at the end of the day, I was utterly and completely alone.

...

My eyes opened and I shot out of the bed like a Jack in the Box. My breath was labored. I ran my hand through my dark hair and closed my eyes.

"Shit," I muttered to myself.

Why was I thinking of them now? It had been years. Fifteen fucking years since I last saw the Donaldson family at that! I was meant to be past this. It should have meant nothing to me, so why was I thinking of them? Why?

"Come on, Eli," I scowled and reached over to grab my phone. It was two in the morning. I should be sleeping, however, I doubted that I'd be able to after that.

My hand instinctively moved toward Dad's contact. I stared down at the profile picture I had set eons ago of the two of us smiling into the camera and sighed. I couldn't call him, not this early. Besides, I was meant to be proving to both him and Papa that my leaving the pack wasn't a bad choice; that I didn't need to be under their watchful gaze twenty-four-seven.

"You're okay," I told myself and inhaled deeply. "You're okay."

The chances of me going back to sleep were close to none, so I climbed out of bed and stretched before looking out the window. Unsurprisingly, Oakwood was dead. There were no people out and the town was silent.

I bent down and grabbed a pair of shoes and a drawstring bag. I figured that now was as good as any time to see if I could find the brown wolf. I'd been preoccupied with Reuben, but I still had a mission to complete and if luck was on my side then I'd make some progress tonight.

Once I had my shoes on, I first stopped in the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water and an apple before making my way to the apartment door and quietly unlocking it. I moved quickly, yet tried to remain as silent as possible. The last thing I needed was to accidentally wake someone up and draw more attention to myself.

This continued until I was safely outside. Only then did I pick up my pace and take off in the direction of the woods. As I did so, I thought about the brown wolf. Specifically, I thought about the best way to catch it. Clearly, the wolf was distrustful of others. Chasing it like last time wouldn't work when the wolf knew the layout of the woods much better than I did. If the wolf was frightened by just the sight of another wolf then I'd have to get creative. That's where the apple and water came in.

The wolf was emaciated which meant that there either wasn't a lot of prey around or for whatever reason, it was struggling to hunt. I doubted the wolf would come trotting toward me at the first sight of food, but maybe I could use it to start gaining its trust. It would take longer than simply capturing the wolf, but if it worked then it'd be worth it.

I set the bag down against a tree once I reached the woods along with the water and apple. I glanced around and after making sure the coast was clear, I stripped and tucked my clothes away into the bag before shifting. I grabbed the apple in my mouth and started walking around in an attempt to find the brown wolf. I tried to move quietly so I didn't scare it.

I paid close attention to the floor as well, watching for any signs that the wolf was near. So far, the brown wolf had been the only one I'd seen, but I was curious to know if there were any more around. I also wanted to know how the little wolf had gotten here and more importantly, why was it alone in such a bad condition.

I stopped walking and listened carefully when I heard the faint sound of shuffling in the distance. I sniffed around before continuing to move but slower this time. The more I did, the louder the noise got until I saw it. The brown wolf was lying under a tree, its eyes were closed but it was moving around as if it were trying to get comfortable but couldn't.

I took another step forward and the wolf's eyes immediately snapped open. They darted around until they reached me. The wolf stood up; its ears flattened and it bared its teeth in warning, however, it looked more afraid than anything.

I didn't want to scare it off so instead, I crouched down and got as low to the ground as I could and let out a low whine as if to say that I wasn't a threat. I released the apple and nudged it toward the wolf with my nose. Its eyes flickered to it and I could see the hunger in them, yet it hesitated. The wolf took a few steps back despite the low grumble that echoed from its stomach. I nudged the apple a little harder and backed up to put some space between it and myself.

Still as expected the wolf didn't take the bait. I doubted it would as long as I was near so even though leaving it was the last thing I wanted to do, I slowly stood up and backed away slowly. The wolf's eyes never left mine; they stared at me until I was out of sight. I tucked myself behind a tree and carefully waited. At first, there was no sound. I figured the wolf was waiting to see if I'd come back so I stood there and listened until I heard the familiar sound of someone biting into an apple.

A small amount of pride swelled inside of me and while it was eating, I trotted back toward where I left the water bottle and picked it up, careful not to puncture it with my teeth. I carried it back to where the wolf was and unsurprisingly, it was already done with apple. Its guard raised once again when it saw me, but rather than trying to get close again, I sat the water bottle down a short distance away before turning and leaving.

Tomorrow—well, later today—I'd come back and check to see if it was still there, but I didn't want to overwhelm the wolf.

I headed back to where my stuff was, shifted back, and got dressed. I grabbed the bag before starting back toward my house. I took one last glance at the wolf and quietly sighed. Every part of me wanted to go back and get the wolf, but I knew that rushing would only cause more harm in the end. So, as much as it pained me, I started to walk away—but not before making a promise to myself. A promise that I wouldn't abandon that wolf like whoever had in the past; a promise that I'd get it to safety.

I had to.