Rayonnante - Paul Lahote

Chapter 16

The wolf who used to be Paul Lahote was standing protectively in front of Lena, as if to warn Bella that she wouldn't touch her again without losing a hand. He was gigantic, bigger than any animal she'd ever come across and definitely not the size of the wolves she'd seen in documentaries. His fur was a beautiful silver grey that seemed to reflect the sunlight. It reminded her of her favourite painting of a wolf howling at the moon, the one she'd proudly hung in her bedroom. Wasn't it ironic that this beast looked like a larger version of her favourite art piece? His teeth, from what she'd seen, were absolutely ginormous and currently bared in a snarl that would've made even the bravest man cower in fear. Lena should've probably felt the same terror, but her brain had long ago stopped working. She just felt... numb. Like she was far, far away from her body and observing the scene at a distance.

Huh. She could've sworn she'd just seen the guy she was quickly developing intense feelings for turning into a wolf.

Huh. There was now a massive monster standing on four paws right where he'd just been.

Huh. How odd...

"Bella!"

She turned back towards the house and noticed that Jacob was now awake and looking absolutely panicked. The boy barely stopped to take in the scene that was currently happening in his backyard before jumping over the porch railing. Bella, noticing that her friend was about to be directly in the middle of danger, started running towards him at full speed. The reunion would've been touching had Lena been able to feel anything other than numbness.

"Run! Jake run!"

But Jacob didn't run away. Instead, he started sprinting right towards Bella, who tried to jump into his arms but ended up falling on the ground. Because right there, in the air, Jacob Black turned into a russet coloured wolf just as tall as the grey one.

Huh.

This morning's horoscope had promised her an eventful day, but she never would've guessed that it would involve two of her friends turning into giant hairy beasts.

When Lena was five years old, her teacher, Mrs Woodruff, had taught the class about sleepwalking. She remembered going home crying, terrified at the idea that people around her might be acting awake when they were actually still dreaming. It seemed so far-fetched to her, but also so awfully scary, to not have control over your own body and act in ways that you wouldn't had you truly been awake. For about two years, a few times a day everyday, Lena used to pinch herself to make sure that she truly wasn't dreaming. It had taken a long while before she'd truly gotten over that fear and understood that, unlike a few of her friends who sometimes recounted their sleepwalking adventures of falling asleep under a table or peeing in a closet, she probably would not deal with this sleeping disorder. But today, as she watched what used to be two teenage boys violently fight with their massive teeth and claws, she wondered if maybe, just maybe, she was still dreaming. Hence why she slowly raised a shaky hand towards her arm and pinched it violently. Still, the scene didn't change. She tried harder, to no avail. If this was a dream, then she was truly stuck in it.

She flinched as she watched the russet coloured wolf take a huge bite of the grey one's... out of Paul's neck. Were they going to kill each other? Was this horrifying scene going to turn into an even worse kind of nightmare? While she still couldn't get a grasp on reality, the thought of Paul getting hurt made her heart ache in a way that was almost too painful to stand.

She almost let out as scream as he was sent flying towards a small wooden boat that instantly broke in half. The noise was deafening. She wondered if anyone was going to intervene. But what could they truly do against these two giant beasts? Anyone who stood in their way would surely end up dead. She watched them barreling towards the tree line until their forms weren't visible anymore, only the sounds of their growls and snarls confirming that they were still close.