Lord of Wolves (Phantom of the Opera)

Chapter 1 - The Inuits

Crystal's POV:

I settled back and sighed. The whirl of the helicopter was but background noise in my head and I wasn't even listening to it anymore. My mind was far away in the past. Two weeks ago I had agreed to move to the North Pole to teach Inuit children English. Looking back now I wondered how foolish I had been. I smiled as I relived the day that Mr. Johnson had called back.

I had a ruff morning and the bills were stacking up while I had no money to pay them. I knew I had to get a job soon or I would be out on the streets. I had a job as a waitress but that hardly put food on the table. I had just used up the last tea bag for that mornings tea (no I am not English but I like tea with breakfast) and I couldn't afford more. Without my tea I am quite irritable. My phone had rung and I glanced at the caller ID. “Rick Johnson” it read and I answered it quickly. My heart was leaping into my throat as I knew he would only call if he had a job.

“Yes, Mr. Johnson. How are you this morning?” I asked pleasantly.

“I am well and you?” A rich voice asked.

“Well, I will tell you when you have told me why you called.” Mr. Johnson laughed.

“Well, I have a job for you. That is if you are willing to move.” I gasped.

“That is wonderful!” I almost shouted. “Where? I would move to the North Pole to get a job right now.” I heard Mr. Johnson clear his throat.

“Well, you are pretty close. I have heard of a job in an Inuit village near the north pole. You will be teaching English to the Inuit children.” I froze. I didn't like the cold too much but I was desperate. After all how bad could it be, I asked myself. I thought about it for a moment then said,

“When do I leave?” Now that I thought back upon it I must have been desperate. Mr. Johnson had said that I could leave in two weeks at the least. Two and a half weeks had passed and here I was sitting in a helicopter on my way to the Arctic. The one question that kept swirling in my mind was What am I doing here? As my thoughts grew more confused I heard the pilot saying something.

“Crystal, we are going down. We will be in the Inuit village by tonight. There is a dogsled that will get you there.” I smile and thank him politely. We landed and my few possessions were loaded onto two dogsleds. My driver was a tall young man with dark hair and dark eyes. I soon learned that his name was Norbert and he was to be my translator as well as my driver. All I had to do was tell him and his dogsled and he would take me anywhere I desired. I couldn't help but think that he was handsome. He looked about my age so I asked him,

“Do you have a family?” He glanced back at me and shook his head.

“No, I haven't caught a girl yet.” He was well grounded in English and I suspected that he had had some education in a Canadian school.

“How old are you?” I was completely obvious to flirting and I hoped I wasn't.

“Twenty-six.” He said. I was twenty-four so he was well within my age range. I wasn't looking for a boyfriend but I like Norbert. He was kind enough. I was silent for a while then asked,

“What is over there?” To my right there was flat ice but to my left there were mountains of ice. Norbert shuddered.

“That is the ice caves. Somewhere in that maze lives the Lord of Wolves. You don't want to meet him.” Because I am a very curious person by habit I asked,

“Who is that?” Norbert shuddered again and said,

“Well, he is dressed in seal and polar bear hide and wears a reindeer mask over his face, showing only his eyes and mouth. But that isn't the most frightening part about him. He drives a pack of eight white wolves. They are six inches taller than most wolves and much stronger. He is their master and everyone fears when he comes into town. He only comes to town before and after winter.” I fell silent after that and nothing more was said until we arrive in the village. As we were gliding through it Norbert suddenly stopped. I looked around him and gasped. A dogsled was racing straight for us. It was pulled by eight white dogs. As they grew closer I realized they weren't dogs but wolves. The leader's shoulder would've come up to my bust. As they drew nearer I stared at the driver. He was tall and his white cloak whipped behind him. The reindeer mask covered his face and as Norbert has said all that I could see was his eyes and mouth. But that was enough. His mouth was full and looked frozen but it was his eyes that drew my attention. They were a golden yellow. Even at the distance of twenty yards they still flashed with their color. I couldn't take my eyes off of his. As his sled raced by his eyes fixed on mine. I hoped I wasn't blushing or looking more pale then normal. For some reason I didn't want to be afraid of the Lord of Wolves. His sled raced by me and the trance he had put me in was gone. I was free of his hypnotic hold but did I want to be? That was the question that echoed in my mind. Norbert drove me to my new house and left me to unpack. I didn't have much and the house was small. That was fine by me. I didn't want much. I organized my nick-knack and settled into my bed. It was a two room house with a combined living room, dining room, and kitchen. The other room was the bathroom. Thank goodness they had running water. I sat down on my bed and organized my books on a book shelf. I smiled at the titles: The Complete Novels of Jane Austen, Webster's Dictionary, Jane Eyre, The Phantom of the Opera, North and South, and last but not least the Bible. As anyone can see I like old fashion romance. I placed my teaching books on the floor and collapsed into bed. I had had it with the day. All I wanted was to rest. As I was falling asleep I heard the howling of wolves and I knew who's they were. In my dreams I heard the baying of wolves and a man was standing by me, his golden eyes staring at mine.