Howl

Chapter 4

The revelation of a hunter in the area was apparently enough to drag Frankie from the school on the grounds of a “family emergency”. I didn't welcome the idea but apparently my opinion didn't matter.

Frankie ordered Danny and Paddy to round up everyone and take them to a rival packs house, I wasn't even aware that a rival pack existed.

“That's where Josh comes from, you know, the jerk from this morning?” Romanov explained, she sounded bored. I wondered vaguely whether she was used to all the drama unfolding around her or whether just just didn't want to ruin her icy reputation. As far as I was concerned that façade had been shattered as soon as she had come to find me in the rest room that morning, and then again at the train station.

“But why would we go to them?”

“We're rivals in terms of our philosophies but in the end we all fight for the same cause don't we? We're all civilised werewolves. If there are hunters in the area, we have to warn them.” Vincent answered, taking me by surprise. He sure was talkative today. Perhaps it was the intrigue pulling him from his shell.

It took me a moment to realise what he meant about differing philosophies but then it clicked, they weren't “Moral” they trapped their wolves inside of them. They were like my parents.

Fresh hot blood fell on my arm, reminding me that I was still bleeding. “Anyone got a tissue?”

Romanov chucked a box of Kleenex at me from the passenger seat. They hit me in the forehead and dropped into my lap. “Thanks.” I muttered sarcastically.

She smirked and turned back to stare at the road. Charlotte helped me pluck tissues from the box and wiped gently at my face, I pressed a wad of them carefully to my lip.

“It's not that bad you know.” Charlotte smiled.

I would of snorted had I not been afraid of inhaling my own blood. Instead I watched her face carefully, her eyes were squinted in concentration and her her tongue stuck out the corner of her mouth in the generic absent minded way. She was genuinely one of the nicest people I’d ever met, patronising at times, but all the same.

“It is bad.” I said matter-of-factly. “But thanks for the sentiment.”

She smiled ruefully and gave a final wipe to my cheek. I winced as she pressed down on the bruise on my cheekbone.

“Sorry.”

Bailey spun the car off of the main road and onto a lane that was headed into deep forest. Mountains reared up ahead of us, ominous and dark. Clouds were looming, threatening rain. The trees were closing in around the the single track, getting closer and closer, roots were pushing the tarmac up in places.

The entire floor around it was carpeted with moss, ferns bloomed here and there from the dense greenery. Enormous pine trees stretched skywards, there lower fronds dripping with more moss. I'd never been anywhere so green, so totally engulfed by nature. Ahead of us something large began to emerge from the trees. As the trees petered out sightly the house came into view, it was redbrick and at least three stories high not including attic space. A fountain stood before it, two white marble wolves danced round each other, jets of water shooting from between there snarling jaws. The carpet of green turned to ochre as a ring of deciduous trees stood sentry around the house, they stood naked, having shed all there leaves to the ground.

“Whoa.” I murmured. “This is...”

“I know.” Charlotte replied. “It's eerie.”

I realised that my breath was fogging up the glance in front of me and that my nose was nearly pressed against the car window. I reeled myself back but still couldn't take my eyes off the house as we approached. The windows were all dark, not a single light on.