“Not ’til tomorrow,” I told her. “We’re staying over at Brooke’s tonight.”
“Okay.” She briefly met my gaze with her tired brown eyes. “Send me a text when you get back to Brooke’s for the night, just so I know you’re safe.”
“Sure thing, Mom.” I turned to Ethan. “Ready?”
He nodded and, after saying good-bye to my mother, we hauled our overnight bags out to the Explorer in the garage.
***
We arrived at the party around nine o’clock, well after the sun had given way to darkness. A full moon hovered above the mountains as I parked behind a row of cars on the dark dead-end road that led to the abandoned campground. I shut off the engine, watching the back of the car in front of us disappear as I turned the headlights off. After hopping out of the SUV, I walked around the front to meet Brooke and Ethan on the other side. I hugged my leather jacket around my chest against the brisk air. It already felt like fall. I smiled, thinking about the things I loved about this time of year--the colors in the leaves, pumpkins, Halloween, and my mother’s hot apple cider.
“Ready?” Brooke asked, breaking me out of my thoughts and bringing my attention back to the party. Her black top hid under her black jacket which blended into the darkness behind her. Moonlight glinted off her double-stranded silver necklace and silver hoop earrings with every movement she made. Ethan stood beside her, half hidden in the shadows. He looked no different than always in his black T-shirt and blue denim jacket.
“I guess so. Lead the way.”
Brooke nudged me playfully as we walked down the dark road. “Geez, don’t make it sound like a funeral,” she groaned.
“It will be my funeral if my dad catches me up here.”
“He won’t,” she stated confidently.
We passed between the rows of cars on both sides of the road before approaching a metal bar blocking the campground entrance. Ethan slipped over it and then extended his hand to help Brooke and me hoist our legs over it. Beyond the gate, the road changed from flat pavement to an uphill climb over gravel. Our shoes crunched along the stones as we pressed on to find the party.
“How far are we going?” I asked. As soon as I spoke, we rounded a corner and a huge fire flickered in the distance. The flames reflected on the lake behind them, above which stars glittered like diamonds in the sky. Music and voices heightened as we got closer, and I recognized some of my classmates gathered around the fire.
“See, we made it,” Brooke said over her shoulder as her pace quickened.
She hurried away from us toward the party. She knew a lot of the other kids here and would want to make her rounds. Eventually, she’d make her way back to us, but I knew better than to chase after her. If I asked her to hang out with me all night, she’d just scold me by asking what good it was to come to a party if I was going to stick with the only two friends I saw every other weekend.
Ethan hung back with me, draping his arm around my shoulders. “Stop worrying so much and loosen up. You’re going to have fun.” He smiled at me, and I tried to smile back.
“You know me too well.”
“Yes, I do. And I know you’re worried about being here and getting into trouble.”
I shot him a knowing look. “What are you, a mind reader?”
We wound our way through the crowd of teenagers, many of them sipping drinks from red plastic cups. It wasn’t a huge party, at least not yet. Music beat through the air and voices chatted over the crackling fire. A few of the kids glanced our way then looked beyond us as a group of boys arrived from the same direction we had come.
“Laken, hi.” A vaguely familiar voice interrupted my thoughts.
I turned around to see Brian Collins as Ethan caught a girl’s attention and slipped off into the crowd. Brian was my height with curly sandy-blond hair and light brown eyes. He was one of those students everyone seemed to like for his easy going sense of humor.
I smiled faintly at him. “Hi, Brian.”
“Brooke said you were coming. I’m glad you made it. How do you like our fire? It took three of us about an hour to find that much wood.”
“Impressive. I think I saw the flames a mile back. What are you going to do when the party’s over?”
“Oh, we’re going to be out here all night. But just in case, we have a bunch of water buckets to put it out.”
“Good. Just make sure not to catch the campground on fire.” My words of caution were drowned out as another classmate jumped in between us.
“Brian, dude. You better not leave your girl alone over there. Ben’s hitting on her,” said a brown-haired boy I recognized from school.
Brian looked at me from around his friend. “Hey, I’d better go. I hope you have a good time tonight, Laken,” he said before taking off.
They disappeared, leaving me to stand alone amongst the chatting crowd. I saw Brooke on the other side of the fire talking to a few classmates. Her face was lit up with a bright smile. I took a deep breath, not sure what to do next. I wasn’t very good at mingling, but I figured I’d better try. I made it through many parties last year, so I knew I could do it again. As I scanned the crowd for more familiar faces, the eerie feeling of being watched from the woods came over me. Shivering, I folded my arms across my chest and spun around.
I peered into the dark woods of the abandoned campground, my eyes taking a moment to adjust to the shadows after staring into the fire. As soon as I could make out some of the shapes in the distance, I followed the gravel road twisting up the mountain toward the campsites. I walked slowly, cautiously, the dim moonlight overhead the only light that danced around the tall trees. As I left the party behind, the music and voices faded in the background.
Suddenly, an animal darted between the trees in the distance ahead of me. Dakota? I wondered. What in the world? How did he get here so fast? I shook my head, not sure that he could have trekked around town and over ten miles of mountains to the campground since I had last seen him a few hours ago. Curious, I continued in the direction of the movement, ending up in one of the campsites. An old wooden picnic table held together by rusty metal beams and an overturned black grill thrown haphazardly near the fire pit were all that remained.
‘Dakota,’ I thought. ‘If that’s you, please come out for a second. I need to know that was you.’ A cool breeze whispered through the leaves, sending a chill through me as I searched the darkness for another movement. ‘Please, Dakota,’ I begged silently.
A shadow raced across the far side of the campsite. It was shaped like a wolf. Relief washed over me, but it wasn’t long lived. The figure stopped between two trees, and I heard a low rumbling growl.
“Dakota?” I whispered, confused.
Why was he acting like this? He never should have come this close to a party, but that was no reason for him to growl at me.
The wolf stared directly at me, its golden eyes glowing bright in the moonlight. I gasped, my heart skipping a beat. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from it. This wasn’t Dakota. Panic gripped me, and I could barely breathe. If this wasn’t Dakota, who was it and how did it get here?
It growled for a few more seconds, its lip curling up to reveal sharp white fangs that gleamed in the moonlight. I didn’t move a muscle. My breaths were short and shallow as my heart pounded. I was so surprised by the unfamiliar wolf and its defensive demeanor that I didn’t even try to talk to it. I had the sinking feeling that it wouldn’t welcome my words and thoughts. Before I had time to change my mind, the wolf turned and took off, silently disappearing into the black night.
I stared into the darkness for a minute, my feet paralyzed in place. My pulse raced as I watched for more movement and listened for any sounds. But the campsite remained quiet. I wasn’t sure how long I stood there, but I knew it was longer than I should have lingered. I couldn’t believe what I had just seen. Wolves didn’t live in New Hampshire, at least not in today’s world. If they did, I would have run into them long ago on one of my many ventures into the woods.
This wasn’t right. Fear settled over me the longer I thought about what I had just seen.
After a few minutes of staring directly at the spot where the wolf had been, I shook my head. Enough, Laken, I told myself. How long are you going to stand here and wait around for it to come back? Go back to the party. Longing to be with the kids down by the bonfire, I whipped around. I wasn’t expecting to see the dark figure that loomed in front of me, and I nearly crashed into him. Stopping within inches of his tall frame, I clutched at my heart as a new fear raced through me.
“Hello, Laken.”
“Xander,” I whispered, glancing up at his blue eyes. I wondered how long he had been standing behind me and if he had seen the wolf. “You scared me.”
He reached up, gently touching my shoulder. “Sorry. I was just wondering what you were doing up here. The party’s down there by the water.” He gestured in the direction of the bonfire, its glowing orange flames dancing from the banks of the lake.
A couple of boys hollered as a girl chugged her drink. When she finished, loud cheers erupted.
“I thought I saw something,” I explained, desperately wanting to change the subject. “What are you doing here? I didn’t know you were hanging out with this crowd.”
“Brooke told me about the party and I figured if she was coming, there would be a pretty good chance you’d be here. Besides, there isn’t a whole lot to do in this town.”
His comment that he’d come to the party to see me was forgotten as soon as he complained about the town. I didn’t like his condescending tone. His last statement sounded like a dig at the only place I had ever lived, and I immediately put up my guard. It didn’t help that I was still rattled from seeing the strange wolf.
“If you don’t like our town, why don’t you go back to where you came from?” My tone was harsher than I had intended it to be, but that was probably from my nerves. Nothing was going right tonight. Nothing. “I heard that you moved here from Los Angeles. Is that true?”
“Yeah. That didn’t take long to get around.”
“Honestly, no one really cares where you’re from. We’re just curious when people move to town. It’s not like a big city where people move in and out every day.”
And after finding a strange body belonging to a guy who kidnapped a little boy in the woods, we really need to know about anyone new around here, I added to myself.
“Well, I didn’t have a choice in the matter. My father moved us here.”
“Why?”
Xander shifted his gaze away from me for a moment. “I got into a little trouble over the summer. My father thought I needed to move where there would be no temptations for my senior year.”
“What kind of trouble?”
“I hot-wired a Porsche.”
“You stole a car?” I asked in disbelief.
He shrugged as if it was nothing. “What can I say? I was bored.”
“You were bored? Well, please don’t start stealing any cars around here. We don’t want any trouble in our town.” You mean any more trouble, I thought. I paused, watching him intently. “How did your father end up picking northern New Hampshire?”
Xander frowned. “I’m not exactly sure. I think he threw darts at a map one night, blindfolded, after a couple shots of whiskey, until he hit the smallest, most remote town he could find,” he explained sarcastically.
“Wait a minute. Why are you telling me this? Why would you want anyone to know about the trouble you got in before moving here?”
“You’re not just anyone. You need to know the truth about me.”
He stared at me, and the unsettling shivers I had felt when he first rode his motorcycle into the school parking lot shot through me. I raised my eyebrows. “What? You don’t even know me. So I don’t think it matters.”
His eyes seemed to bore a hole through me. “Oh, it matters. Speaking of telling the truth, I have a question for you. How did you find that little boy?”
It was my turn to shrug. “I followed a stray dog,” I replied, avoiding his gaze.
“Really? That’s it? A stray dog?”
“Well, he’s not exactly a complete stray. I’d been feeding him for a while, so he trusted me.”
“What kind of dog was this? A bloodhound?” he asked suspiciously.
I took a deep breath and stared at him. “What are you insinuating?”
“I just think your story is a little far-fetched, that’s all. You may have convinced the town, but I think you’re hiding something.”
My heart pounded nervously. How dare he question me? He knew nothing about me and he had no right to accuse me of lying, even if he was right. “I don’t care what you think, and I don’t have to tell you anything. I don’t owe you an explanation.”
As far as I was concerned, this conversation was over. Brushing past him, I started to make my way back to the party.
Xander rushed after me, loose gravel rolling down the hill as he caught up to me. He passed me, turned, and stopped in my path. “Hey, Laken, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. It just seems...well, you seem pretty amazing. You did something unbelievable, but I don’t understand how a dog with no search and rescue training could find a little boy lost in the wilderness.”
“It happens all the time,” I said. “And who knows? Maybe he does have some search and rescue training. I don’t know anything about him since he just showed up one day. Now if you’ll excuse me.”
I walked around him, my sights set on the bonfire. I listened carefully for footsteps behind me, wondering if he would try to catch up to me again, but I heard nothing. Without looking back, I marched down the hill toward the party around the fire, determined to forget about the wolf and Xander’s intense blue eyes.
Chapter 8
The next morning, I returned to an empty house. My parents had left a note for me on the kitchen table. Gone shopping. We’ll be back later this afternoon.
I wondered what that was all about. My parents rarely shopped together unless it was for something big like furniture.
Dismissing my curiosity about their outing, I hauled my overnight bag upstairs to my bedroom and kicked off my jeans from last night. I pressed them up to my nose, inhaling the smoky campfire scent, then quickly tossed them and the sweater I had worn to the party into my laundry. I pulled on a gray Boston College sweatshirt and black workout pants as I looked wistfully out the window over my desk. It was another beautiful early fall morning with blue skies and cool temperatures. Perfect for a hike before I needed to get ready for work.
I slipped my hiking boots on and headed downstairs. I contemplated taking my camera, but then decided against it. My thoughts were focused on Dakota this morning. I needed to know that he was safe. Ever since last night, I had wished that the strange wolf at the campground had been a bad dream. But I knew it was real. And if Dakota didn’t know about it yet, he was about to find out.
I ran out the back door and across the yard to the woods. The bright sunlight blinded me for a moment until I entered the trail, the trees overhead providing plenty of shade. Sunlight danced on the ground in small random patches where it filtered in through gaps in the leafy forest ceiling. Racing up the familiar trail, I searched for signs of Dakota.
“Dakota!” I called out. “Come here boy!”
I stopped for a moment, scanning the sloping forest for any sign of him. A woodpecker drilled like a jackhammer into a nearby tree and I heard a rustling in the brush. I turned to see a moose lumbering toward me. Her dull brown coat blended into the surrounding dense woods as she approached the trail, her ears flopping off to the sides. I gazed at her soft brown eyes when she stopped beside me. As I reached up to stroke her furry neck, the oil from her skin greased my hand.
The moose shook her head in annoyance at a fly and then continued across the path, disappearing into the forest. I resumed hiking up the trail, still focused on finding Dakota. “Dakota!” I yelled, cupping my hands around my mouth.
He suddenly leaped out of the wo
ods about thirty feet ahead of me. He skidded to a halt and stood perfectly still, his huge paws planted firmly on the ground, his expression solemn.
“There you are,” I said with a smile as I quickened my pace to catch up to him.
Instead of the friendly gaze and wagging tail he usually greeted me with, he let out a low growl. I stopped dead in my tracks, wondering if I had mistaken the other wolf for Dakota. But I had no doubt that this was Dakota. His honey colored eyes gave him away.
“Dakota,” I whispered, stepping toward him again. “What’s going on with you?” The rumbling in his throat grew louder as I came closer to him. Heeding his warning, I stopped. “Dakota?” I asked hesitantly as I backed up a step. His growl faded. “So that’s it? You want me to turn back?” His eyes softened with a subtle nod of his head. “Okay. I’ll go. But not until I know why. I saw another wolf at the old campground last night. Is that what this is all about?” I waited for his reaction, wishing once again that he could tell me his thoughts.
He turned his head to look into the woods, his ears flickering at the noises he heard. Then he swept his gaze around to the other side, as if looking for something. When he returned his stare to me, he nodded.
A breeze whispered through the leaves high above and the dappled sunlight moved in waves across the trail. I sighed. “Fine. I’ll go home, but you’re coming with me. If it’s not safe for me, I don’t want you out here either.”
Dakota remained still, his posture tall and solid. I could tell he had no plans to obey me. “I mean it, Dakota.” I started walking toward him, although I didn’t know how I planned to make him return to the house with me. If I had learned anything about him over the years, it was that he had a mind of his own. But until now, we had never disagreed. This was a battle of wills that I probably wouldn’t win, but I wasn’t about to give up without trying.
I had only taken a few steps when Dakota charged toward me, his growling louder than before. He halted inches away, glaring at me. I tripped as I came to a stop, spreading my arms out to catch my balance. My heart thundered in my chest.
Shadows at Sunset: Sunset Trilogy ~ Book 1 Page 11