Wolf Blood | ✔

Chapter One

The sound of my heels against the pavement echoed through the silent atmosphere that surrounded me as I made my way home. It was late and the wind was blowing fiercely, ruffling the fur layer on my coat. I made a final right turn and walked down a narrow gravel road which led to a large beige house. 

I smiled at the joy of going home after a long day. The memorable flavour of mom's cooking and her relentless pampering, even though I was a grown woman. Who wouldn't want that?

I walked up the stairs and took out my keys to unlock the door, welcoming the warm air that greeted me as soon as I entered.

"Mom! I'm home!" I announced while placing my keys in a white ceramic jar which was on the desk in the hall. The house smelled of a mixture of the lilacs preserved in a vase from the living room and delicious food cooked presumably from the kitchen. The aroma made me feel at home and hungry.

"Mom?" I called again whilst removing my coat. It then occurred to me that the house was too silent. I hung the coat up on the door. The faint sound of the television playing led me to the living room. It was empty as well. Where could she be? Maybe she was asleep.

I ascended the stairwell and peeped in her room. The bed looked untouched. I entered the room and peered in the bathroom but she wasn't there either. I stood there rather puzzled.

Suddenly, I heard a thump. I quickly turned and listened closely making a mental note of the light footsteps downstairs. I grabbed anything I could find within my reach which turned out to be a bat and slowly proceeded back to the top of the stairwell.

The bat trembled in my hands as I stretched my foot towards the first step. The wooden floors creaked under my weight. I mustered up the courage to bring my full body towards the first step. After drawing a huge breath, I lunged forward and froze on the spot, gazing down.

To my horror, I saw pale legs at the bottom of the stairs. My mind had already come to an alarming conclusion. The bat fell, grazing my fingertips and I just watched as it bounced off the stairs and landed at the base. My hands trembled as they reached for my back pocket, pulling out my cell. It seemed like it took forever to dial a three-digit number.

My vision became blurry, and soon the phone ended up next to the bat; screen shattered. Why was I even acting like this? I hadn't even gone down the stairs to see what really happened, and yet I was breaking down like this. This all felt familiar like I'd been through this before. 

I finally went down the stairs, stopping midway. My lips quivered as a white sheet covered the body with only the legs visible. The poignant feeling felt like an open wound at the moment.

Suddenly the door burst open, and two men came in. Lights of red and blue flashed from outside and the sound of shouts poured in. They were dressed in some sort of dark uniform. They picked up the body and placed it on the stretcher they'd brought along with them with precise movements. I took one step towards them, my arms stretched out as if to grasp something that wasn't there. 

The image of her body being rolled out the door blurred, and sounds of sirens faded into the distance and the room melted into some sort of mellow background. A strong wind picked up, its force pushing me back. "Damian..." a voice said softly. I frowned whilst trying to remain where I stood but the wind forces got stronger. 

"Help?" I tried to open my mouth, but it came out as merely a whisper. "Help!" I tried with more assurance.  

"Ashley! What the hell Ashley! Wake up!" A sudden pressure came down on my shoulders.

Slowly, my eyes opened to a view of my crimson ceiling. I released a shaky breath and turned to my side. Maddie was on the other side of the bed with a slight frown on her tanned face. Her amber hair was a complete mess and there were pillows everywhere. Her frown softened into a worried expression as she gazed at me with wide topaz eyes. I guess I had woken her up.