Wolf World

Chapter 5: Crash Landing

"Excuse me?" I was confused more than anything. Why was this man here to talk to me? I barely exchanged a few words with him at the diner. 

"Sort of, sorry. I should be more clear. No I wasn't stalking you; I was out for a walk on the beach and I saw somebody, you more exactly, in the distance and came to talk. That was creepy, sorry." he let out a nervous chuckle. "I forgot that this beach section here is technically private, and I like to wonder. "

"Right," I drug out, "and you just happen to show up here while I'm out here alone?" 

He reached up, scratched the back of his head and chuckled nervously. "You know, you don't make it easy to have a conversation," he laughed again. 

I rolled my eyes, "Sorry, I'm not used to having random strangers sneak up on me on a beach."

"So you're not one to scare easy I take it?" he asked. 

"Not normally no," I let out an awkward chuckle, "Consider yourself lucky for being able to scare me, it doesn't happen often." 

He let out a small laugh. "The honor is all mine." 

As soon as he was done talking, he let out a small yawn and stretched his arms above his head. I was about to say something when a bright flash of silver caught my eye. 

"What's that?" I wondered as I pointed to the necklace hanging around his neck. I also took a step closer and saw the familiar wolf pendant that was normally hanging around my neck.

"Hmm?" He looked down at his chest. "Oh, this? I found it last night right here on this beach actually." He took the necklace and looked at it intently.

I paused at his words and backed a few steps away again. Last night, he was here last night. I could feel the familiar feeling of panic start to set in in the back of my mind. "What do you mean last night?" If he was here last night, that more than likely means that he was one of the wolves that was chasing me. 

"I mean I did just tell you I like to wonder, and I often take this walk on the beach. Last night I saw this big round silver disk shining in the moonlight and decided to pick it up." he answered smoothly. "Why do you ask?" 

"Oh, funny story actually. I was out here yesterday too, and I happen to have a necklace just like that one that I seem to have lost yesterday on the beach."

"Really? Well then I'm glad I could return this to the rightful owner," he smiled at me. He had been watching me closely this entire time. He took the necklace off of his neck and offered it back to me. 

I hesitantly reached out and took it back from him. "Thank you," I said softly, "This actually means a lot to me." I instantly felt better once I had the necklace back around my neck and felt the familiar weight of the pendant against my chest. 

"Your welcome. Maybe next time try to be more careful so you don't lose it again," he said with humor.  

Even though there was humor in his voice, I picked up on a slightly different undertone, something that hinted at more than what he was letting on. It made me cautious as I knew what he meant. It became more clear to me that he was on the beach last night as part of the pack chasing me down. I  just nodded my head. "I will be, thanks again." 

With that, I turned around to leave, the longer this interaction went on, the more weary I felt. I just wanted to go back up to my new room and think. As I was turning around to leave, I suddenly felt a hand around my arm, effectively stopping me. The grasp was firm yet soft and left my arm feeling warm where the hand was at.

"Wait! Where are you going?"

I stopped walking and turned around. His hand was still around my arm. I looked from his hand to his face and then back down to my arm. Finally picking up what I was meaning, he dropped my arm.