The Wolf That Saved Me

Chapter 3: Breakfast

NATALIE KANE

I was walking through and amazingly beautiful forest. The trees were so green and I was listening to the quiet sounds of birds chirping. It felt so serene, it was so calming. I came up to a breathtaking waterfall. The water was crystal clear and seemed to sparkle. The sound of the splashing water was tranquil, hypnotic. I dipped my toes in, it was so warm. I stripped down to my underwear and dove in. The water engulfed me and it felt like heaven, I was completely at peace.

As my head emerged from the surface, I saw a large, majestic wolf with a gorgeous gray coat, standing at the edge of the lake. Its icy blue eyes were piercing right into mine. This beautiful creature fascinated me and I was surprised at how I wasn't scared in the slightest. I swam over to the ledge and the wolf bowed its head to meet mine, our faces merely inches apart. I could feel its hot breath on my cheeks. Reaching up, I stroked its fur right below its ear. A low growl escaped its throat as it closed its eyes and melted into my hand.

Suddenly, the wolf snapped its eyes open and bore them into mine. It felt as if it was staring into my soul.

Then, my eyes flew open, and I was staring at a white ceiling. I blinked a few times as I was panting, heavily. What the hell was that? I thought, as I sat up and ran my fingers through my hair. The dream had felt so real, so intense. It brought out so many emotions and feelings in me, I didn't know how to process it. But I needed to push it out of my mind, because the fact was, it wasn't real, and I needed to get up and get started with my day.

"Nat," Jenna called from outside my door, startling me out of my thoughts.

"Yeah?" I replied, getting out of bed and throwing on a pair of stretchy shorts and a tank top.

"Let's go to Jake's Diner for some coffee and breakfast. I'm starving and I don't feel like cooking."

I threw my hair up into a messy bun and flung open the door. "Fine by me," I said, with a smile.

When we arrived at the diner, we were seated at a table next to a window, overlooking the parking lot. As we were casually flipping through our menus, Jenna asked me, "So, have you given anymore thought into going to the police about Dylan?"

I shuddered when she mentioned his name. I let out a long sigh. As terrified as I still was for things to finally be out in the open, I knew it had to happen. Dylan needed to be behind bars for all that he had done to me, and I needed to be the one to stop him from ever doing the same to somebody else. "Yeah, I'll do it," I replied, barely loud enough for Jenna to hear, while staring down at my menu. I wasn't even reading the words, I just couldn't bear to look her in the eyes. I felt tears coming on and quickly directed my eyes out the window, trying to find anything to distract myself from crying. My eyes grew wide as they stopped on the exact same wolf I had seen in my dream the night before, standing at the edge of the lot, staring back at me with its icy blue eyes. I blinked in disbelief, and just like that, it was gone. Holy shit. Now I'm hallucinating. I scanned the entire parking lot, just to be sure. Yup, I'm definitely fucking losing it.

"We'll go down to the station once we're done with our breakfast," Jenna said, snapping me back to reality. I turned my head to face her and took a deep breath. "I know it's hard, Sweetie, but you'll feel so much better once it's all done and over with."

I nodded and looked back down at my menu. I knew she was right, but it didn't make me feel any better.

"Are you ladies ready to order?" A loud, but oddly calming voice broke me out of my thoughts. Our waitress seemed to be in her mid fifties, with light brown hair that was graying around the edges, and it was pulled back into a neat, tight bun.