Just the Wolf Next Door

Chapter 1

I checked the time on the alarm clock on my bedside table.
Almost 12:00.
11:58.
11:59.
I jumped out of bed, throwing the covers off of my body I pulled on my worn down brown boots. I took my faded forest-green sweatshirt and pulled it on as I made my way down the stairs to the living room.

I came to the back door of my house and pulled it open quietly. I stepped outside into the crisp autumn air and took a deep breath.

I shifted into my light brown wolf form and walked a little ways from my house. Then I bolted.

I ran straight into the dark forest, until a came to the old treehouse. The illuminated windows told me he was already there. I shifted back into my human form and walked slowly up the ladder. A opened the sturdy wooden door to see him huddled in the corner, holding the lantern we always kept in the treehouse.

"Fletcher," I whispered. I walked over to him and sat down, throwing my arms around his neck. "Jade," Fletcher hugged me back. My eyes grew moist and a tear slid down my cheek. I had to keep reminding myself that it was not a nightmare, that this was real life. That my best friend in the world was being ripped away from my life. And this was the last time I was ever going to see him.

"Jade I'm sorry."
I said nothing. I knew why he had to move, why he had to go. Fletcher's dad had gotten a promotion, and it wasn't a thing a family like Fletcher's could ignore. But nobody ever said I couldn't be sad my best friend was moving halfway across the country.

I pulled away from the hug and wiped the tears away from my cheeks. Fletcher's misty gray eyes met my green ones. His dark strands of hair fell in front of his eyes, and I brushed it away. He smiled sadly.

"I'm going to miss you," he said.
"Don't replace me."
Fletcher laughed. "Nobody could ever replace you, Jade."
I smiled and leaned back, resting my head against Fletcher's shoulder. "When are you leaving?"
He sighed. "One o'clock."
I looked up at him. "That soon? I thought you were leaving at six this morning?"

He shook his head and my heart fell. "We have to get on the road," Fletcher said. I had less than an hour to spend with my best friend.

Fletcher sighed. "Did your mom tell you about my house?"
I gulped. From the tone of his voice this couldn't be good. "No, what?"
"A family's already bought it," Fletcher sighed.

My heart sank. I didn't want a new neighbor this quick. "What about the tree house?" The old wooden treehouse had been shared between our families for years. Fletcher and I had come here all the time when we were little. We met when we were six, when I moved to the neighborhood. Now we were both seventeen, and Fletcher was leaving. For good.

"The treehouse will belong to your family."
I nodded.
We sat there for a while, my head resting on Fletcher's shoulder, in a comfortable silence.
Fletcher pulled up his sleeve and looked at his watch. I peered at it and saw that it was already 12:54. Time had passed too quickly. I started crying again, and Fletcher took my face in his hands softly. "Hey, don't cry. I can still visit, you know." I knew that wouldn't happen. At least not more than once.

I nodded and stood up. We walked down the ladder and stood at the foot of the ladder, under the stars. "I'd better get going," Fletcher said. I looked over at his house. The lights were on and I saw a man and a woman's shadow inside. I nodded and bit my lip. I looked back at Fletcher and leaned in to kiss his cheek. The gesture wasn't romantic, just friendly. Fletcher and I agreed when we were twelve that we were friends, and it would always be like that. Besides, he wasn't my mate, and I looked at him like a brother.

Fletcher kissed my cheek as well. "Goodbye, Fletcher Cage," I said to him.
"Goodbye, Jade Noble."
I watched as Fletcher shifted into his handsome dark wolf and ran towards his house.

Numbly I turned and started walking back to my own house. I tried not to think of Fletcher. I didn't shift into my wolf form, but kept walking until I reached my back door. I walked in and up the stairs to my bedroom. I kicked off my boots and threw myself on the bed. Happy memories of Fletcher came flooding back to me. I remembered the times we walked down to the creek further in the forest behind our houses and swam there. I remembered when we were fishing and he got a fish hook stuck in his nose. Maybe it wasn't the happiest memory, but after it happened we laughed about it. I remembered how we camped together when we were thirteen, first begging our parents to let us then setting up camp not too far from our house. I recalled all of the happy times Fletcher and I shared, but soon sadness overcame me and I cried myself to sleep.

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Hello! I hope you are enjoying the book so far! I hope to update at least once every two weeks, but school gets in the way of a lot of stuff, so I apologize in advance. If you have any ideas for the book, don't be a shy reader and tell me! Thank you for reading!
Don't forget to~
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