Behind Closed Gates [Edited]

Chapter Five

It took a long time. A very long time, in Marie's opinion. Since Willow's almost-escape, a lot had changed. Gail took Marie under her wing, but would stay clear of males now. When Beta Mitchell hit her down, it shattered a part of Gail - it took her months to stop flinching when Marie hugged her. Fortunately, it had died down to just male contact, but Gail was getting better.

She was still the tour guide, and Marie was a volunteer keeper. A lucky charm, what Gail still calls her, because her tours had boosted since Marie had been at her side.

Since Willow's escape from the cage, after Marie 'didn't check' the bolt on her door, Silver Creek Zoo was a tourist ground.

Willow's situation had changed since saving Marie's life. When she was put back into her enclosure, debate circled with the heads of the zoo whether or not to put her down. She had escaped the zoo and almost attacked a visitor, in their view.

It took months and months of debating and interviews of both Marie and Gail's part to convince them to keep her. The two tour guides were adamant that Willow had saved Marie's life - the security guards vouched for them, saying they heard Gail's cry for security and how the "big, scary bloke" had tried to walk out with Marie on his shoulders.

The higher officials tried to find the guy, to get his point of view, but he had mysteriously disappeared. No one could find him but Marie knew she could if she tried. Beta Mitchell would be back at the Silverwood Packhouse, and no doubt Alpha Silver stopped him from returning. Marie was protected by a rogue wolf with enough power to stand up to a Beta. An Alpha, Marie was thinking, and an Alpha could challenge Alpha Silver if they wanted to.

It was the only reason she could think of when no other werewolves tried to come for her. Willow could challenge Alpha Silver for the pack, so he left little Marie to her protection and carried on with his life. Despite the pang of rejection she felt from her Alpha forcing her rogue status, Gail was always there to support her, and that was enough for Marie.

While the trial for Willow's life was in progress, another fact tipped the scale into saving her life. In the months after her escape, popularity for the Zoo increased exponentially. It had been filmed by multiple people, when Willow leaped over the crowds to protect Marie from the "big, scary bloke", and it went viral. News bulletins all around the world featured the silver wolf, and tourists came from ends of the country, even the world, to see her.

Wolf saves girl from kidnapping.

The girl who cried wolf, and the wolf who answered.

Willow the Wolf: Monster or Messiah?

The whole media-focus on Willow was ridiculous, in Marie's opinion, but that might be because she received a bulk of the attention. Journalists begged for an interview but Marie wasn't going to involve werewolf matters with the human world. Willow the Wolf was under her protection, despite being hounded by the media.

The media coverage pleased Mayor Matthew Fallow, the owner of Silver Creek Zoo and of Silver Creek as a whole. The town was in his pocket, and now the media was as well. He was providing interviews left, right, and, centre about the 'miraculous hero that was young Willow' and how he was 'proud of his zoo'.

He had no involvement with Silver Creek Zoo besides funding it. Mayor Fallow hated animals as much as he hated being poor.

But when the higher Zoo Officials were thinking of putting his money-making wolf down for good, he sent the bribe through. Funds for the Zoo in return for Willow's survival. They accepted.

Marie and Gail, along with a majority of the security guards, were ecstatic. Even though Mayor Fallow only cared about Willow for profit, which she certainly was making, they were happy she could live. Some weren't, but that was inevitable. The Zoo Officials had doubts, and so did Keeper Delilah, and they came to a rapid conclusion.