by J. E. Taylor
As Travis and I crossed the threshold into his corner office, that scent assaulted my nose once again, creating a sense of calmness it always triggered. Like everything was going to be all right, despite Travis’s current condition.
“You better get going before night falls,” Doc Wilton said as he sat Travis on the exam table.
I traded a glance with Travis, and he gave me a nod. My grandmother’s place was one of the few homes still surrounded by woodlands. She refused to pick up and leave, so while the majority of Dakota residents were within the town proper limits, we were still in the woods. The law of the land stated no one was to be wandering the woods after dark.
One look at the gloomy sky and my heart quickened. The light had dimmed enough to set off those damn alarms in my head, and I still had to stop at Travis’s home to give his parents the news that he was at the doctor’s.
I started back in the direction we had come in, briskly walking with purpose. When I turned into the alley Travis and I had come down, I bumped smack into Remy and nearly fell on my ass. If he hadn’t grabbed me by the upper arms, I would have hit the dirt.
“You have to get home,” he growled as he steadied me. His green eyes flashed with warning.
“I promised Travis I’d stop at his house and let his folks know where he is.”
Remy’s gaze rose to the sky, and he shook his head. “I’ll take care of that. You need to get home before the sunlight fades. None of the parties encountered wolves today, so make sure to be vigilant.”
He didn’t need to say more. A howl came out of the south, echoing over the valley as if to punctuate his point. A shiver ran up my spine, and I gave him a nod.
He stepped around me heading towards Travis’s home. “Get moving,” he barked.
I obeyed his authoritative tone and turned on my heel. I sprinted towards home despite the protest in my already exhausted muscles. Swinging my bow off my shoulder, I approached the woods surrounding the town. The dark canopy swallowed me as I stepped into the forest with an arrow tightly set against my bow.
Twilight was the favored time of attack. The shadows along the path didn’t help my pounding chest. I picked up my pace, ignoring the cramping in my calves and arms as I ran and kept my bow and arrow at the ready.
By the time I reached the cabin, dusk had settled in tight and my lungs burned from exertion.
I burst into the house expecting my grandmother to be standing over the stove cooking some delectable meal, but all that met me was the empty and silent cabin.
“Gram?” I called out as my heart thundered in my ears.
No answer.
I ran to her bedroom, hoping she would be in bed, but she was not in the cabin, and no increase in volume of calling her name was going to produce her from thin air. Heat engulfed me, and my breath caught in my lungs, forcing a wheeze. I stood back in the living room as my gaze darted around, looking for signs of what could have happened.
When my gaze landed on the empty spot where she usually kept her foraging basket and gloves, the lump in my throat plummeted. All the heat bled from my skin, and my teeth chattered.
She was still out there. I glanced at the dark woods, and a shiver grabbed hold of every cell. The last time I was in the forest at night, my family was slaughtered.
Chapter 5
The woods enveloped me as I broke town law. If I was caught, I faced time in jail for this. But that wasn’t what shook my muscles taut while my vision adjusted to the near blackness. I knew the path to the berry patch and the fruit orchard beyond like the back of my hand, but the shadows formed by the trees left my mouth dry and tinny.
I tried telling myself that my fear was keeping me vigilant, but I knew I was just fooling myself. The fright was making me jump at every noise to the point I was turning in frantic circles. I forced myself to stop and squat, taking each shaky breath until the quakes stopped.
Wolves can smell terror and if I didn’t get myself back to center, my scent would surely drag their beastly asses in my direction. And wolves weren’t the only threat in the forest. Wild cats and bears also ran in this neck of the wilderness, so I had to get my head together. Besides, I was already halfway to the berry patch and hadn’t run across any signs of danger.
With a deep resolved breath, I climbed to my feet and continued my journey with as soft steps as I could take, making my focus the one-hundred-eighty degree area in front of me. Stepping into the berry patch didn’t bring me any comfort. I was nowhere near as good a tracker as Travis, but even in my sub-expert’s eyes, the berry patch wasn’t disturbed in a way that would indicate a struggle or even someone collapsing. Still, I navigated each row just in case.
At the far side of the berry patch, I turned, glancing at the woods surrounding the lush berries, looking for any sign that I was followed. Turning back to the orchards, I paused and closed my eyes, pulling whatever bravery I could from that well deep inside me.
I stepped towards the orchards with my bow at the ready. Traversing the orchard was a bit more difficult. My heart pumped pure adrenaline as I stepped out from tree to tree ready to let my arrow fly. It wasn’t until the last row of trees that I found some spilled berries on the ground along with a snapped branch with an apple hanging on just by the barest of stems.
I tried to swallow as I stepped up to scan the steep slope under the moonlight, but the darkness at the bottom was impenetrable. Even under a high noon sun, the bottom of the hill is shadowed and dangerous to climb down.
I needed to backtrack around the side of the ledge to get to any point where I had solid footing right down to the valley floor. The candle I carried in my pocket wouldn’t do any good in the gusty wind that had picked up with nightfall. I trotted to the middle of the berry patch and crossed into the narrow path that cut to the valley floor.
Concern braised my skin, overshadowing the fear tightening my core. I didn’t bother with my bow and arrow until I was at the foot of the hill shrouded with night. The moonlight barely lit the valley floor. I glanced up, using the orchard tree line as a guide with my bow grasped tight.
I scanned the dark and sighed. I couldn’t see, and I couldn’t hold a lit candle while having my bow at the ready. If Gram fell, she would likely be hurt or worse. I slung the bow over my shoulder, digging the candle out along with the box of matches. I struck the match on the side of my pants. It caught the seam and flared to life.
With a candle leading the way, I held it low enough to avoid any sudden surge of air. The light illuminated a few feet at a time. I carefully planted my foot forward and turned, shielding the candle with my body as the light flickered.
I skirted around a boulder and froze at the sight of Gram’s basket spilling bruised fruit on the ground. My gaze traveled farther beyond the basket.
The candle slipped from my fingers. I had an arrow threaded into my bow before the rush of air doused the flame. Dipped into sudden darkness, my chest felt like it would explode from the frantic beat of my heart. Sweat peppered my forehead, and hot beads dribbled down one of my temples.
Nothing moved. I squatted slowly, doubting myself. With one hand holding the arrow in place against the bow, I searched the ground for my light source. My fingers brushed the smooth wax and I grasped it tightly, working the blunt end into the dirt until it stood on its own. Then I struck another match and lit the wick.
I jumped to my feet, pulling the arrow taut. Wrapped around my grandmother was a massive grey wolf. The only shot I had was right between the beast’s eyes. I lined up the shot, taking a slow breath before blowing a stream of air out between my lips.
The wolf opened his eyes, but didn’t move. Those bright, crystal pearlescent blue eyes I remembered from my nightmares stared back at me. The beast’s tongue flicked out, swiping my grandmother’s cheek.
Gram moaned and I almost let the arrow sail, but I stalled when her soft voice whispered, “Ruby, stop.”
The wolf’s gaze was neither afraid nor angry. If read the creature right, it wou
ld have been compassion I saw, but I dismissed that as insane.
“Gram, move,” I said through clenched teeth.
“No. Even if I could, I wouldn’t. If this wolf hadn’t come along, I would be dead now. He fought off another wolf and has kept me warm and safe since,” she said.
My brain couldn’t wrap around her words. All I saw was a monster, and what she said didn’t make any sense. Every werewolf I had encountered operated on bloodlust. I shook my head, calculating the odds of being able to kill the beast, when part of her comment broke through the barrier in my mind.
“What do you mean by if you could move?”
“I’m hurt, dear,” she said.
I lowered my bow but kept the arrow strung tight.
“Were you bitten?” The question squeezed from my throat.
Her eyes weren’t luminescent like the wolf’s, but that didn’t mean anything. I had no idea how long the werewolf change took place if bitten. We always sacrificed the poor soul before they turned. I didn’t know if I could kill my grandmother, even if she was poisoned by the beast.
“No,” she said and her eyes closed. “No, I wasn’t bitten. But I’m sure I broke a few things.”
I glanced at the rocky terrain going up the hillside. I wouldn’t have been surprised if she broke multiple things. If Travis shattered his arm from a ten-foot fall, it’s a wonder my grandmother was able to speak.
“Put the bow and arrow away,” Gram said. “And help me to my feet.”
My gaze locked with the wolf’s. If I put my weapon away, that would leave both of us vulnerable.
“Gram...”
“For heaven’s sake, Ruby!”
Gram’s angry hiss set me in motion. I stepped over the candle, creating enough of a breeze to blow the candle out. I muttered under my breath as my eyes took their sweet time adjusting to the blackness. The wolf’s blue eyes became the only beacon I had, and they remained steady. Every cell in my body screamed danger as whatever remaining logic argued that the wolf could have killed both of us already.
His eyes flickered to my right and widened. I spun and let the arrow fly. A thud sounded. I flicked a match against the seam of my pants to see what the hell I hit. Another wolf lay a few feet behind me with my arrow embedded between its fading eyes.
I turned back to my grandmother and the beast that gave me enough of a warning to react. His eyes were locked back on me, but while his form had been relaxed before, it was now tense and broadcasting the same urgent message as that flashing under my skin.
We needed to get out of there. I dropped the match and closed the distance. Getting Gram to her feet wasn’t easy, and her cry of pain when she applied pressure to her right leg sent a hot streak of panic through me. I glanced back the way I came at the dead carcass and then turned my gaze to the wolf now standing on the other side of my grandmother.
I took a step in the direction of home, and Gram made a muffled noise, gripping me tighter.
“I can’t make it back in the dark,” she whispered with a voice strained by pain. “We need to find someplace safe to hide until the sun rises.”
I couldn’t disagree, but the valley didn’t have anywhere to hide. The wolf moved forward and stopped, looking back over his shoulder, his eyes bright orbs in the dark. When I didn’t move, he came back and nudged me.
“I don’t think so,” I said, glaring at the massive wolf.
Holding on to my grandmother gave this beast the upper hand, and he could have gotten the jump on me. Instead, he nudged me again and trotted a few steps forward.
“I think he wants us to follow.”
I knew the bastard wanted us to follow, but I couldn’t figure out why. But being out here was just as dangerous, so I listened to my intuition and helped Gram hop on her good leg through the winding path.
The wolf kept looking back to make sure we were following, and he didn’t wander ahead too far. But when he entered a thick canopy, I paused and my heart rate picked up. My grandmother’s eyes were at half mast, and she looked much worse than Travis had earlier.
The wolf came back and peered out of the canopy at us. Instead of turning and leading, he came over to the other side of my grandmother, stepping close enough for her to cast her arm around his back for more support.
He swung his massive head in my direction and met my gaze. There was no malice evident in those blue eyes, but I still shivered with indecision.
“I think it’s safe,” Gram whispered.
I stepped into the dark woods, wondering if this would be the last thing I ever did.
Chapter 6
Bearing Gram’s weight on my already taxed muscles wasn’t easy. I had to stop several times and shift her, and after trying to navigate the tight path, I knew there would have been no way I would have gotten her up the hill of the ravine and out of danger alone. The wolf bore an equal amount of Gram’s weight, and there were several times that I thought about hauling her onto his back, but I didn’t know whether that would be better or worse than walking. When we finally stepped into a large clearing, the moon had crossed the heavens and the constellations had shifted to a pattern I didn’t recognize.
A small cottage sat in the center of the clearing. The wolf led us onto the porch and then pawed at the mat in front of the door until the corner folded back, revealing a key. I let Gram lean on the doorjamb and retrieved the key.
“Only my grandmother and I are going inside,” I said and slid the key into the lock. With a twist of my wrist, the knob unlatched, and I helped Gram inside, closing the door on the wolf without any reservation.
I struck a match and found a lantern within reach. Lighting the wick produced a warm glow, and I blew the match out, setting it in the ceramic bowl next to the lantern. Nails clicked on the porch outside the door, and then a huff came as the wolf settled down to keep guard. I traded a glance with Gram and picked up the lantern as we headed across what looked like a family room into a hallway to find a bedroom and washroom at the end of the hall.
I got Gram situated in the bed and collapsed in the bedside chair, setting my bow and quiver within reach, just in case.
“Ruby,” Gram started. “I’m not sure I’m going to make it.”
A reprimand remained at the tip of my tongue. I closed my eyes, and taking a deep breath, I stood and pulled the covers back to make sure she didn’t have the same type of fracture as Travis. I ignored Gram’s gasps as I ran my hands down her side and leg, feeling my way in the low light. No bone stuck out of her skin, but I did feel the displacement in her hip as well as the weird angle in her thigh.
“You’ll be fine,” I said. “We just need to get you to Doc Wilton in the morning.
“I can’t walk that far, honey.”
“I know. I’ll go get Midnight after sunrise.”
“I can’t ride in this condition,” Gram muttered.
“I need to figure out what I’m going to do with that wolf,” I said, trying to get Gram’s mind off her injuries. My thoughts jumbled where the wolf was concerned. I knew my duty was to put the beast down, but he helped us, so my heart and my mind were now at odds.
“You can’t be thinking what I think you’re thinking,” Gram said, her stern stare making me look away. “After all he did for us?”
“He’s a werewolf.” The statement hung on the air between us.
She crossed her arms and pursed her lips in anger. Red flared in her cheeks giving the rest of Gram’s pale skin a more ghostly quality. I just shrugged.
“He isn’t like the others,” she whispered.
“I don’t care.” But I did, and it burned under the surface of my skin. My entire life I had seen those things as monsters to be destroyed, and then this beast showed compassion, kindness, and patience like he was human. It didn’t settle well. “It’s my job.”
“It is not your job to become a monster,” she hissed. “If you kill him, you will be no better than the rest of the beasts taking innocent lives.”
I leaned back in
the chair. Her words were as effective as a slap across the face, and they stung just as deeply. I didn’t want to believe that any of the werewolves were capable of good, but I couldn’t deny what this one had done for us. It was a paradox.
“How do you know he’s innocent?”
Her crossed arms loosened and she sighed. “I don’t know if he is innocent or not. But I do know he could have torn me to pieces or let the other wolf that came along right before he did. He chased it off and came back, offering me his warmth despite my condition. He also tensed and then relaxed after you killed that other wolf, which may have been the same one he chased off earlier.”
“Maybe he was just protecting his meal,” I said, but it didn’t ring true in my ears.
Gram scoffed and waved her hand at me. The movement caused her to grimace.
“Get some rest,” I said and blew out the lantern, dousing us in darkness.
The waxing moon shone through the side window. In less than a week it would be full. I closed my eyes, trying to get some rest, but my mind kept racing, kept turning over what I needed to do when the night was through.
I had already broken the curfew, and for that I’d be facing jail time if anyone found out. Letting a werewolf live had an entirely different punishment, one that would have me facing a jury of my peers and a potential death sentence.
Chapter 7
I jerked awake and wiped the drool from my cheek. Another clang from the outer room had me on my feet with the bow threaded with an arrow. Gram still slept, her pale face visible above the comforter. I crept towards the door, padding as silently as I could while every nerve ending pulsed. I opened the bedroom door and glanced down the hall into the brightly lit family room area. The front door was still closed, but the distinct sound of someone inside the cabin filtered to my ears.