(person in image represents Darrin)
~Raely~
The trees glow with an unearthly light, illuminating the entire forest. I'm in an area I don't recognise, a part of the forest I've never been. The snap of a twig breaks the eery silence, startling me from my calm; I look to my right, where the sound came from, and find myself gaze to gaze with a huge white wolf. His somehow familiar golden eyes bore into mine with a certain intensity that I've never felt, almost as if he were trying to warn me of something. Then he jerks his head to the left, his upper lip curling defensively, a low growl forming deep in his throat. I blink and suddenly I'm looking at Aiden, those same golden eyes glare at something hidden in the trees. My mind keeps switching Aiden and the wolf back and forth, but it seems that I'm looking at only one, and both at the same time.
I shift my sight to look at whatever Aiden/the wolf is glaring at, and see another wolf. This one seems almost bigger somehow, it's fur a dark brown, muddled with deep red that drops to the snow in bright scarlet dots. I step backward in fear, the scream that threatens to erupt from my mouth staying painfully lodged in my chest. Aiden/the white wolf suddenly spins toward me, he reaches a hand toward me as the white wolf extends a large paw, and then all I see is the white wolf again, no Aiden. He opens his jaws, letting out a howl that pierces my very soul.
"RUN!"
I turn away from the dark wolf and sprint through the forest, my feet sticking in the pure snow as if it was mud, slowing me down. I feel teeth graze my elbow, heat runs through my arm. I glance back once, my hair flying around my cheeks, trying to block my view. A scream rises in my throat. I jerk awake, the last thing in my mind the image of the two wolves slamming into each other, the dark wolf's jaws locked around Aiden's bloodied neck. The wolf's silvery black eyes stare evilly at me as my unvoiced scream echoes in my head.
I sit upright in my bed, gasping in the air that my lungs seem so deprived of. Then my alarm rings, blaring painfully loud in my ear. I slam my fist into it, knocking it off my nightstand. It lands on the floor with a definite crack, obviously broken.
Running my hands through my damp hair, I take in a shaky breath, trying to make sense of my crazy dream. Why was Aiden in it? And those wolves, what do they mean? I flop onto my stomach and bury my face in my arms; my fingers absently stroke my elbows and I wince. I twist my arm around and stare at the two long red welts marring my skin. What the-?
I rub my arms nervously and slide out of bed. My feet sink into the soft carpet as I stand and walk into the bathroom to get ready for school.
* * *
~Aiden~
I sit up slowly in bed, rubbing the sleep from my eyes as I glance at my clock. Five minutes until I'm supposed to be up. I turn off the alarm and hop out of bed, pulling on my faded blue jeans and a gray sweater.
Carla's already awake and in the kitchen making breakfast when I walk in. She gives a big wolfish yawn and flips the pancakes over. I smile, picking up an apple slice from a bowl on the table, and tug her ponytail. "A little early to be up isn't it?"
"Could say the same to you, twerp..." she winks at me sleepily.
"Hey, I'm not the one falling asleep at the stove." she swipes a tired hand at me, which I easily dodge.
"Just eat some breakfast and get out of here," she says as she flips three pancakes onto a plate with two strips of bacon and some eggs.
"Mmm, you sure know how to make a five-star breakfast."
