The Wolf Girl

Chapter Ten

  Molly's POV
  "D-demon camp?" I stammer. "N-no, you can't be s-serious. I don't know who you are. I d-don't know if you're telling me the truth."
"I am," she says sympathetically, her voice still muffled and seemingly deeper. "If I weren't telling you the truth, why would I be here? I could be doing other things."

  I take a step backwards, shaking my head so violently that I wonder if it will fall off. "I- when- wha- how do I help?" I ask, consistently tripping over my words.
"You have one month to figure out whether or not you will be willing to help find him," she replies, perching atop a branch on a tree. I have no clue how the thin branch doesn't rip under her wait.

"I want to do it," I say firmly.
"You need to think about it a bit," The Dreaming Wanderer says, sitting cross-legged on the branch and closing her eyes, beginning to meditate. "The information Penny gave you is true, for the most part. I have a map leading to him. If you choose to accept after thinking about it, we can use it."
"What is you association with my father and my family?" I blurt. She opens her eyes, and they have a glint in them.
"Your father has helped me at some point in the past decade," she says. "I forget when, but it may have been ten years ago, before he left you." Her eyes soften when she realizes what she said. "He left with reasoning, Molly. Penny is right. He left so you'd be safe." Tears sting me eyes, but I try to ignore them.

"I want to try and find him," I whisper. "Why do I have to think about it?"
"Think of the risks," she says. "You could be injured, anyone traveling with you could be injured, something could happen to your companion... the list goes on."

She has a point. Something could happen to me or Starlight.
  Or Alex, or anyone I brought with me.

  I sigh. Why does finding my own dad have to be so complicated?

Alex's POV
The pained expression on Molly's face makes me ache slightly. She used to be so cheery. Then, everything happened with her mother, and the angel discovery, and now we're here.
I think I like her better when she's happy. It's not as heart-wrenching.

  She takes a deep breath and nods. "Where can we find you if we need to tell you our decision?" she asks shakily.
  "I'm staying on this branch until you decide," The Dreaming Wanderer says, shifting her position on the branch.
  "How will you li-" I start, but Molly just looks at me.
  "Just... drop it," she sighs quietly. "I'll make up my mind as soon as I can."

  She looks into the trees, her hair gently swaying in the breeze. "We should get back to camp," she says. "I'll be here as soon as I get get out of there again." She positions her bow so that the string is over her front side and the material is on her back, and she leads me into the trees. I have my sword out, just in case anything jumps out of the trees and attacks us. After all, we did just have a potentially deadly encounter with a wolf. Molly looks down at the map every once in a while, but never lets her guard down.

We arrive at camp to see Xavier, looking around. He sees us and rushes in our direction. When he reaches us, I see anger in his eyes.
"Where were you?" he demands.
"Lost in the woods," I say truthfully.

"I need to see Penny," Molly says. She meets my gaze and moves her hand. I look down and see her pointing to the vial of pink liquid. Penny's medicine. I nod ever-so-slightly and she turns to Xavier. "Where is Penny?" she asks.
"Follow that trail to her cabin," Xavier replies, pointing to a dirt trail leading into the trees. "She's got a sudden sickness, so be careful. She left and came back completely pale, and she vomited earlier." He frowns. "She's got a high fever as well."
  "I'll be careful," Molly promises before sprinting into the woods.

You'd better be careful.

  Molly's POV
  I make my way down the path that Xavier pointed out to me, my feet pounding on the packed dirt. After a while, I can see the cabin in the distance.

I knock quietly and get a cough as a response a moment later. I open the door gently, taking the medicine from my pocket. Penny lies on her mattress, her face pale and her eyes shut.

"Hello," I whisper, and she opens her eyes, peering over at me.

  "Molly," she says in a hoarse whisper. "What do you need?"
  "Well..." I start, and explain everything from getting lost in the woods to the decision I have to make. I hold up the bottle of medicine after I tell her everything.

  "This is the medicine The Dreaming Wanderer gave me," I explain. "You need one drop a day to heal yourself. I'm not sure how long you should be taking it, but I assume it is either until it runs out of until you feel better." I twist the bottle open and realize the cap is connected to a dropper. That makes this easier.

  I give her a drop of medicine and get the cap back onto the bottle, and say goodbye to her before stepping out of the cabin, taking a deep breath. I begin to walk down the path again, making my way towards the camp.

  Alex's POV
  Zack approaches me as Xavier is leaving to check on the other camp members. He has a light smirk on his face.

  "If you don't have feelings for Molly, does that mean she's free for the taking?" he asks. Dread fills me, cold and hard.
  Not him, of all people.

  "Y-yes," I reply. "Why?"
  A light blush rushes to his cheeks. "I may or may not have developed slight feelings for her in the small amount of time that she has been here," he says.
Not him.

  "Well, she's much more likely to reject you than to accept you," I point out.
"Pfft. You have had years to get her," Zack says, his smirk returning. "That means you're afraid of her, in this way, at least. Luckily, I'm not."

Now, it's my turn to blush. "I've never had feelings for her," I say calmly.
"Then why do you blush when I bring her up?" he asks.
"I d-don't, normally," I stammer in response.
"You are now," Zack chuckles. "You look like a tomato."
"You blushed, too!" I retort.
"Who wouldn't?" he asks.
"Exactly!" I exclaim. "I jus-" I groan.

Xavier approaches us. "There's been a malfunction with a potion in Cabin 17 that needs tending to," he says to Zack. "I tried cleaning it up with Gavin, but we couldn't do it by ourselves."

  Zack heaves a sigh as Xavier walks off. "Well, I have to go," he mutters. "I'm glad you're feeling more welcome in our camp." I nod, and he walks off.

  Molly breaks through the trees, and relief flows through me. For all I know, the cabin is less than a fourth of a mile away, but I don't care. I worry about my friends.

  "Thank goodness," I murmur. "You're okay."
  "I wasn't that far away," she says with a small smile. I'm determined to make her grin. To make her wear that same smile that she hates, and everyone else loves. "Ugly," she calls it.
  "Amazing," everyone else calls it.

  "What are you staring at?" she asks. I snap out of my thoughts and see her, the same tiny smile still on her face.
  "Nothing," I reply. "Just thinking."
Just thinking.
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A/N: Yay! I updated within a week! I think that's a first... ANYWAYS! I changed the cover AGAIN. I did make this one myself, and it stinks... heh, I'm not the best drawer, okay?
Thanks to pandalovingamer (AKA Cutecinnamonroll), I have come up with a name for you all! I'm calling you my Angelic Wolf Pack! (For obvious reasons. XD) Thanks for helping me with the name, Cinnamon Roll!
Anyways, thanks for reading! I'm almost to 70 reads, and you have no idea how appreciative I am of that. Thank you all so much! Stay heavenly, my Angel Wolves!
~Mabel