The Year of the Wolf (Completed) (Book One of The Almair Series)

Chapter 3 (Edited)

Something about this place made me feel really calm. I couldn't tell what made this place so special but something did. I guess it was probably the water.

I looked into the water and saw something glowing. I knew that some of my answers might be with that glowing thing. A frown was on my face, because I knew that it meant getting wet.

I sighed, bent down, and took off my boots and socks. I placed them on a rock and stepped in. "Cold!" I cried, jumping. I could hear Mike laughing and calling me a Pussy Cat. I was not a Pussy Cat.

I took a deep breath and went into the cold water, again. I gasped for breath and started to walk, praying that the rocks underneath my feet wouldn't be slippery.

The smooth, pebbles, under my feet, weren't slippery as I had suspected it to be. This place felt magical, and I didn't know why it felt like that but it did. It was probably the water, again.

I walked until I came to where the glowing is. However, the further I had walked, the deeper it was, so now it was up to my chest. I took a deep breath and went underwater, keeping my eyes opened to look at the glowing object. As quick as I can, I grabbed the glowing thing and pushed myself to the surface, gasping for breath before I started to swim for land. I wanted to get out of the water as soon as possible, before I died of hypothermia.

Something was there on the land. I could sense it. I stopped swimming and looked to where my boots were sitting. Beady eyes were watching me from a bush, not far away from where my boots sat on a rock.

  I started to walk towards the land, keeping an eye on those eyes, watching me.  A thought had dawned on me that it might be a wolf, so I didn't look at it directly in the eyes as I had done the day before. I had read some where that it was thought to be threatening the other animal.

"Good thinking, daughter of Annabeth and Jack," it said coming forward, letting me that I was right with it being a wolf.

I gasped in surprised, backed up, and tripped over my feet, falling on my behind. The good thing was, I didn't hurt myself in the fall. The bad thing was, I did hurt my pride. I stood up, wet and cold, and walked to where the wolf was waiting for me, a laugh on his face. "Who are you?" I asked, frowning.

"No time for questions, my Dear Girl. We have to get going. It is almost time for the meeting to begin," he said, as I came onto land. I think the wolf's a he. "There is no time to get dried up or place your boots on. I am here to take you to the meeting, myself, since you might be the person we've waiting for."

I sighed and grabbed my boots in my left hand, not wanting to open my right, which the gem was held. "Alright, I'm ready." I stood and glanced at the wolf, waiting for him to move off.

"Good, good. Now, come on, no time to dilly-dally."  He moved off, and I had no choice but to follow him. After a few minutes, of walking the wolf turned to look at me. "Hmmm, you've been quiet. You're not like the last bunch."

"I thought they had to find where they were going by themselves." I frowned, confused.

"They tried... but failed. I had to help them out."

I chuckled and shook my head. "That sounds like Nick and Mike. They aren't the smartest in the bunch."

"Nick? Mike? Who are they?"

"Nicholas and Michael, are their real names. Most everyone I know calls them by Nick and Mike. When Mom gets angry with them, she calls them by their real names instead of their nicknames."

"How about you? When do you know when you're in trouble?"

"I don't know. The last time I got into trouble, with my parents, l was when I was ten. I mostly get into trouble by my older siblings. My parents usually think it is nothing to get mad at, when I do something not dangerous."

"And how do you know when you're in trouble with you brothers and sisters?"

"By the way they sound or the way they look at me," I said, shrugging my shoulders. I didn't really like talking about that. It usually made me uncomfortable, even if they didn't do anything dangerous.

The wolf had sensed my discomfort about what we are talking about, so he let the matter slide, which I was grateful for.

We walked in silence the rest of the way to where the meeting was held. "Ah, here we are. Just go through those lumps of trees, and the meeting will be there. Good luck," he said. We had came to a clutter of trees, and that was where the wolf left me.

I took a deep breath and pushed my way through the clutter of trees.