Beware Of The Wolves.

A howl in the distance sent a shiver through my spine, forcing me to slightly shake my body to get rid of the uncomfortable feeling.

"Aren't they supposed to be taking care of the wolves?" My voice came out more affected than I planned and my friends turned to me with angry looks on their faces.

I had interrupted the conversation but it didn't last long. As fast as they had given me their attention, they had taken it away, not even bothering to give me an answer.

Even though I called them friends, we barely considered each other thus. One can't be too picky when you live in a secluded orphanage with little to none contact with outsiders, besides the sporadic visits of potential foster parents.

"Where did that come from?" Jess, my only real friend, whispered next to me.

I gave her a tiny smile and shook my head. Once again, it had been one of those times where I heard something people are not supposed to catch.

It had been one month already since my hearing had become extremely sensitive. Crashing noises from distant areas of the building, whispered talks meant to be kept secret, the tick-tock of the many clocks within the orphanage...

The lack of sleep and the constant startles had me on the edge for the most part of the last three weeks and the only one to notice had been the sweet girl staring at me with doubtful eyes.

"It's nothing, really." I brushed off and focusing back on the uninteresting conversation, not wanting to give Jess a chance to insist.

"You really should go to the doctor. You can't go on without sleep."

I rolled my eyes at her and felt myself giving in into an unflattering yawn.

She was right. I needed some quality shut eye time and I needed it soon. Still, the orphanage's doctor had simply dismissed my symptoms as 'teenager in need of attention' and dispatched me with a couple of sleeping pills that had no effect whatsoever.

I was in the middle of my second yawn when another howl, much closer to us, made me yelp loudly. This time, I earned myself some deadly glares.

"Lena, please, don't interrupt while we are ignoring you." The never disappointing Celeste had decided to grace me with one of her many sharp comments. If you wanted to offend anyone, she was the one for the job.

I would have displayed some of my sass back if the goosebumps, that were spreading from the back of my neck, weren't taking all of my attention. I simply nodded and let them go back to their chat while I breathed slowly and paced my gaze around us. 

The uncomfortable feeling was back again, drenching my every bone and telling me we were in danger. I drew nearer to Jess and faked a relaxed smile.

"I will be going back soon. If you want to shower before me, you should get going now."

My room mate always complained about my extremely long grooming sessions and had more than once fell asleep while waiting for me to finish. If I wanted to get her back home fast, threatening her with me taking a shower first was the best option.

As expected, she jumped immediately on her feet and mumbled a 'good night' to the group before treading rather hurriedly into the copse inside the orphanage's limits.

The instant I saw her figure disappear behind some trees, a dooming discomfort took over me like a splash of cold water.

"Girls, it is getting pretty late, shouldn't we call it a day before someone notices we are out?" I forced myself to sound nonchalant, despite of the dryness in my throat and increasingly sweaty hands.