Rowan Evangeline Drake

Chapter 1

"Welcome to your nightmare, little girl"  the gravelly voice was like a knife down her back. Two emerald eyes shined brightly through the shadows. Leaves crunched as the wolf emerged from his hiding place in the bushes.

It was an unspoken rule her grandparents had: don't go into the forest between 8pm and 6am.

I should've listened,  Rowan thought to herself, God why didn't I just wait until morning.

Rowan found herself regretting her lapse in judgement. The wolf had yet to move, it was toying with Rowan. The wolf could've attacked her at any moment but it chose to stare at her instead.

"Boo" it faked a jump and chuckled deep and low when Rowan flinched. The laughing pissed Rowan off and a new surge of courage came rushing through her.

If  I'm going to die here, I'm getting the damn thing I came here for in the first place. Rowan thought as she felt around for her hairpin. The sharp end had pricked her finger causing the wolf to stand over her as it smelled the fresh blood from Rowan's finger.

"Any last words?" it questioned. Rowan could feel the wolf's hot breath on her face. She could also feel the smooth blue stone of her hairpin, she clutched on to it so tight her knuckles were turning white. Swinging her arm as hard as she could, Rowan scratched the wolf's muzzle with her pin. The wolf staggered back at the sudden attack, giving Rowan enough time to get to her feet and run.

She hadn't made it very far when the wolf jumped over her and blocked her escape. It's teeth were bared and spit started to pool at the corners of its mouth.

She actually put up a fight. The wolf heard a woman's voice in his head. The woman, Chachee, was right. The girl had put a fight that he wasn't expecting, even if had only lasted a mere seconds.

And she seems to be kicking your ass, Iago. Another voice in the wolf's head said in fits of laughter.

Shut up Jax  Iago growled before turning his attention back to Rowan. She was crouched in a fighting stance, hairpin held like a dagger in her right hand.

"Be calm. No one wants to hurt you. You put up quite a fight" Iago whispered looking Rowan directly in the eyes. His voice was barely audible, like a soft lullaby one hears as they are on the brink of sleep. Iago didn't dare talk louder, worried that the trance would break if he spoke any louder than he already was. He finished his hypnotizing words as he saw Rowan lower the arm holding her hairpin. "That's right, you'll barely feel it. It won't hurt at all"

Those words were Iago's mistake. Rowan quickly snapped out of her trance, realizing the wolf had planned on biting her. That was not part of her plan. Rowan broke off into a sprint right before Iago could bite her. He tried to grab at Rowan but only succeeded in tearing the  sleeve pf her shirt to shreds.

Rowan kept running as pain coursed through her left arm. She made it out of Epping Forest but didn't stop running till she reached a bus stop well away from the woods.

"Closest you can get me to London please?" Rowan asked the bus driver.

"Bus happens to run straight into the heart of the city. You visiting England?" the bus driver asked in his thick Geordie accent.

"Just moved here from the U.S. actually" Rowan said paying. She chose a seat at the back of the bus so as not to draw attention to her bloody arm. Rowan felt a buzzing in her pocket as she sat down.

Are you still at the roller rink with Amos?  It was a text from Rowan's grandpa.

Yea, we'll probably get some ice cream before he drops me off at home. Night  she replied. She shoved her phone back in her pocket not even waiting for a response. She felt bad lying to her grandparents but if they knew she had been in Epping Forest this late.

Rowan arrived at her grandparents flat in Covent Garden around 11pm. She quietly made her way to her room. No need to wake her grandparents up until after she was in the shower and had cleaned up her bloodied arm she figured.

If Nan and Pops ask I was at the roller rink the WHOLE TIME we got ice cream and you dropped me off okay. Rowan texted her friend Amos. Even though she had just moved to England, Amos had been her friend since middle school. Rowan's parents were originally from England and moved to America when Rowan was born. They often traveled to London, bringing Rowan with them, visiting Rowan's grandparents. She met Amos during one of the trips and the two became best friends.

Rowan threw away her damaged shirt before jumping in the shower. She stayed under the cold stream of water for a while, scrubbing at the dirt and dried blood. The scratch, well four scratches Rowan noticed upon closer inspection, didn't seem too bad. Rowan grabbed the first aid kit from under the sink and began to wrap her arm in gauze. She saw her phone screen light up from the corner of her eye.

K but can I ask why or is this one of our need to knows  Amos had texted back

Need to know. Goodnight Rowan texted him back before slipping under the covers for bed. The wolf was real and so were the scratches but she must've imagined him talk. Wolves don't talk.

Come on Ro, it was your imagination. You get paranoid when you get scared . Rowan reasoned with herself.