Find My Heart (boyxboy)

12. They Have Wolves

Cole

The summer holiday was finally over and I was in my last year of college.

After that one arranged day with Annabell, I never went back to Highfield Hall. Well, that was a bit of a lie. I did go there, but I never snuck into the grounds.

I was too afraid.

I'd walked the boundary of the land that belonged to the Hall and took several glances over the wall, in the hope to see those big dogs again.

Every now and again I would get a glimpse of them running in the grounds. The more I saw them, the more I became convinced that they were not dogs. They were definitely wolves. It became quite addictive, trying to spot them. And I noticed that there were more of them than I originally thought. I began to document some of the different features and markings on the animals, and I had definitely seen at least 8 different individuals.

There was one in particular that caught my eye. It was a large dark brown wolf that had a streak of silver running from the tip of one ear to it's shoulder. It reminded me of Nathan.

It was slightly bigger than the rest, and seemed to be the dominant one. But despite this, I found myself less afraid of it, and I strangely kept wondering what it would be like to run my hand through its fur.

I was sat having breakfast with my dad before setting off to college when I decided to bring up the subject.

"Dad, is it illegal to keep wolves as pets?"

My dad lowered his newspaper and looked at me for a second.

"Not if you have a license to keep them. Why do you ask?"

My dad went back to looking at his paper, but I could tell something was off. For a start, he was looking at the page he had already read.

"Oh, I just heard someone say that they might be keeping them at Highfield Hall."

"Really, who did you hear that off?" my dad asked.

He had me a bit stumped there. It's not like I hung out with any friends over the holidays.

"I just overheard someone saying something about it."

My dad looked at me and raised an eyebrow.

I felt myself shrink back under his gaze. I hated how he could make me do that.

"You've been back to the Hall, even though I told you not to, haven't you?"

I tried to suppress a gulp. "I might have peeked over the wall," I said in a small voice.

He sighed at me and thankfully his glare faded as he looked back to his paper.

"Just don't go in there. If those wolves attack you because you're trespassing, it'll be your fault not the owners."

"Yeah, I know," I mumbled back.

"Anyway, get your things or we're going to be late," my dad said, getting up from the table.

I quickly scooped up the last couple of spoons of cereal into my mouth and wiped away the dribble of milk that ran down my chin, before heading to the hallway and picking up my bag.

Just as I was about to follow my dad out of the door, he suddenly stopped and turned, making me almost bump into his chest.

"Promise me you won't sneak into Highfield Hall anymore?" he said, and instead of the usual anger, I saw something else in his eyes. It was like he was pleading with me. Like he was scared of something.