Once Upon a Wolf

Chapter 34

CHAPTER 34

What the hell do you pack for three days at a werewolf festival in the middle of the freaking mountains?!

I bit my bottom lip and glanced between two dresses that were the last item to pack on my list. One black and satin and the other midnight-blue silk gown vied for my attention. The black was daring and beautiful. A sexy little number that would show off my curves. While the blue was the shape of beauty that seemed to shimmer with its flowy length.

"Decisions, decisions," I breathed, my eyes narrowed with inexperience. "Do I dare to be bold with black or blue for a touch of mystery?"

Poppy said to pick a dress for the last night of the festival. Apparently, there was to be some kind of dance to end it off for wolves mated and unmated. I huffed out a hot breath. I didn't do well with dances, clubs, or any sort of social dancing affairs. First of all, I couldn't dance to save my life. That was what Brian said as I stepped on his toes at Spring prom. But I promised Poppy we'll go together, and she urged I should choose between the two dresses.

"Gosh, when last did I even wear a fancy dress?" I mumbled. The last time was at Aunt Faith's wedding I attended with my grandmother. 

Suddenly, I felt sad.

"Gran," I whispered with a heavy heart. 

I hoped she was doing okay without me in Hopkins. I hoped she remembered to water her pot of ferns. I was always the one to do it every morning. But I knew she would. She was still sprightly for sixty-two and fiercely independent. I guess that's where I get it from. I closed my eyes. I missed her very much. Her chocolate chip cookies with extra chips in them. Her flower garden filled with all kinds of blooms. Daisies we picked for every Sunday lunch, the yellow rose bush where gran would sit and read, and the forget-me-nots that she dried up the day I left for college.

My eyes began to burn with suppressed tears.

I hated looking at the flowers around on the pack grounds. It reminded me too much of her. She was probably worried sick about me and thought I joined a freaking cult with Alice. That's what the letters said when Alice and I wrote out to gran and her parents.

We're staying at a retreat and don't know when we'll be back.

Yeah! An weak ass lame excuse. I thought with irritation. 

Unknowingly, I found myself by the drawers. My fingers brushed the silver necklace from my grandmother, but I hissed, taking in the pain — Heaven knows I deserved it for abandoning her, even though this wasn't my choice. Each touch singed my fingertips. It was silver, and I was a wolf. I couldn't touch the mineral any longer. Couldn't wear it around my neck that brought me comfort. I could only look at it now. Tears brimmed the corner of my eyes. It felt like a rift further away from her.

Abruptly, the knock from the door thumped me out of my thoughts. "Hey, Zoey!" I heard Mike call out from behind my door. "You better be packed and ready. We're leaving any minute for the treacherous journey."

I could hear the chuckle in his voice when he said treacherous. Knowing that it made me anxious.

"What?!" I yelled and sucked in a deep breath. The back of my hands quickly wiped the tears while I shut the drawer closed with the necklace inside it buried deep.

Dashing to the door, I swung it open and saw Mike lean against the frame of my door with his left arm, looking like he was ready to take a run through the woods. His shirt was annoyingly off again, showcasing ripples of abs and in khaki Bermuda shorts with sneakers. His t-shirt dangling in his back pocket.