Dirty Lying Wolves

11. The Mountains

June

I didn't sleep well on the ferry, but I wasn't sleeping in the car either. We finally got off the ferry, loaded into the car, and on the road again and I was too anxious to rest. The sun was finally up, and I had been munching on a box of smarties which were very much not what I thought I was getting when I bought them, so I was having chocolate for breakfast as we sped along the Trans Canada Highway.

All anyone would tell me was that we had to go a few hours on the highway and after a while, we'd turn onto a dirt road. That was it. Then again, it is a village in the mountains that the humans don't know about, so it makes sense there would be no better markers to find it.

I still didn't like it.

A few times I tried to read one of my books but I just kept reading the same pages over and over, forgetting what I just read as I kept looking out the windows. In the end, I gave that up, handed Jack the rest of my box of Smarties, and glued my eyes ahead where I could watch the highway.

"This it?" Aaron asked out of the blue. He slowed the car down, pulling to the side of the road where a few scant tire tracks indicated anyone ever drove this way.

I sat up straight, paying close attention to Dom who was in the driver's seat.

"That tree is gone, but I think this is it," Dom answered. He rolled down the passenger side window and in some kind of silent agreement, Aaron stuck his head out and seemed to... smell around.

"Heh, that old geezer still comes through this way. Yeah, this is it," Aaron said, pulling his head back inside.

"Alright." Dom pulled the car forward slowly, bumping as each tire left the pavement and we got onto the dirt road, making progress once more.

I watched wide-eyed as the car climbed around the trees. Over hills, zigging and zagging to climb to a new height. In fact, as the trees thinned and thickened, I caught glimpses of the mountains around us, it felt like we were in one of the dips between peaks but I couldn't quite tell.

Something inside me was stirring. An... exhilaration maybe? It wasn't quite excitement, but it was a kind of happiness to be here. It was subtle but it came on suddenly like I had crossed a line into something.

"Ahh, feels good," Jack said.

"But the patrols will be here any time now," Aaron warned. "Be on your best behavior, we're not pack anymore. Just visitors."

"For now," Dom said.

And that ended the conversation.

We left the trees again, and the grassy fields revealed a better glimpse of the distance. There were mountains and a blue string that laid across the green below. A river, or a long lake. A puff of wind rolled over the scene ahead, and I watched as it rustled the plants in its wake.

"Here they come," Dom said.

I frowned. "Who-"

Howling.

My heart smacked inside my rib cage as surprise overtook me. A thundering of giant paws trampled the ground near the car as wolves, big wolves, emerged from the trees behind us and caught up with the BMW.

"What is happening?" I asked, panic leaking into my voice as I held the backpack in my lap with a death grip.

"They're smelling us," Dom said, slowing the car down. "And if we don't stop and talk to them soon, they'll attack."

I swallowed hard and watched the events unfold silently. Dom and the others were calm enough, so I tried to reassure myself with that fact. Oh god, I was about to meet wolves. Real wolves, from this village. The place we had been coming for with no stops for days. It was finally time.