Red Hood (Book One)

Chapter Six

 I paced back and forth in Velma's bathroom. Since last night, I searched for articles about wolf deaths in Phenix City. Only one came up, among a list of wolf books. One line from the article stood out to me. 

 Hatchet Woods had conquered the giant wolf with his shotgun.

 At the bottom of the page, an ad for the Woodsmen Shop popped up. The image of Axel smiling while holding an axe got a chuckle out of me. A knock on the door made me look up. When I opened the door, an older dark skinned man stood in front of me. His sleeveless green flannel shirt and stubble looked familiar. 

 "Hey, Candace. I need you in the living room." 

 "Can you move first?" I asked, crossing my arms. 

 "Yeah. Come on." 

 He moved out of my way, so I could walk to the living room with him. Grandma was sitting on the black couch, with her hands on her knees. I sat down next door. She looked at the man with an expression of worry and rearranged her pink church hat. The man clapping his hands caught my attention. 

 "Did your mom tell you about the Crimson curse?" 

 "No," I answered. 

 "Every Crimson girl gets attacked by a werewolf." 

 I sighed heavily. The man pulled out a silver pocket knife and set it on the brown coffee table. What was this for? The wolf didn't even attack me. I looked up at him, narrowing my eyes. 

 "You will use this knife to spill the wolf's blood and break the curse," he said sternly.

 I reluctantly picked up the knife and put it in my black purse. The man smirked at me. I looked at the red vial sticking out of his front pocket. He pushed it down in there. I stared at his face. 

 "So, should I let it run, Mr. ..." 

 "Woods. And yes. Let it run," he said. 

 "Okay. Thanks for the knife." 

 Mr. Woods left the room when his phone rang. Grandma turned to face me, tapping her foot. I leaned back on the couch. I couldn't believe I had to help the wolf and make him bleed. 

 Grandma put her hand on top of mine. "Tom will be staying with us tonight." 

 "Where's he going to sleep?" I asked. 

 "The couch." 

 Mr. Woods came back, rubbing his chin. I found Axel' s Instagram account. He was shirtless in most of them. I pursed my lips and sent him a message. 

 Did your brother really kill a wolf last year?

 As I scrolled through his photos, I found one photo of a wolf in an office. Grandma walked to Mr. Woods and whispered something to him. He looked right at me before whispering back to her. I smiled when Axel replied. 

 Yeah. In self defense. 

 Well, that was easier than I thought. When I looked up, Grandma wasn't in the room and Mr. Woods was sitting next to me. I went back to my feed. This little investigation had to stay between me and wolf man.