How The Wolf Lost Her Heart

by Sarah Brownlee

  “Wait, wait, wait! Slow down. Let me get this straight. Marcos thinks he and I made a connection? Damn … how many beers exactly did that boy have? Secondly – you told Edge that Raphael was my boyfriend?? What in the world did you do that for? It’s not true!”

  “Now, Skye, let’s face it, it might as well be. Plus, you’re crazy about him.”

  “Says who?” said Skye defensively. She had not told Daphne just how strong her feelings for Raphael were as she did not feel she would be able to handle her friend’s inevitable pressure to get her to ask him out.

  “It’s just obvious! That look you get on your face when you talk about him or when someone mentions his name.”

  “What look?”

  “The look you pull whenever you talk about him!”

  “I have no idea what ‘look’ you’re talking about, but you are mistaken about Raphael. I just enjoy spending time with him, that’s all. We run together and he’s quite interesting to talk to…”

  “There it is!”

  “What?”

  “The look!”

  “Well, what look exactly is it?” said Skye, frustrated.

  “Sort of a coy, eyes-melting look.”

  “Eyes-melting? What planet are you on, Daphne? Anyway,” she said, deciding it was time to quickly change the subject, “I cannot believe your boyfriend had the nerve to say I led his cousin on! There was no way I could have done that, I expressed no interest in him whatsoever.”

  “Yes, I told Edge he wasn’t really your type. Edge got really offended, he didn’t speak to me for ages.”

  “Well, thanks for having my back anyway. But honestly, Daphne – you could do a lot better. The guy is a control freak. Look at the way he showed up when we went out that night!”

  “Yeah,” said Daphne, and Skye was dismayed to see there was a rather dreamy expression in her friend’s eyes. “He really is so protective over me.”

  Shaking her head, Skye approached the sales rack and tried to pick out an outfit for the celebrations that weekend. As demonstrated earlier, Daphne was stressing about whether to choose a yellow or pink dress for the occasion; she was also urging Skye to wear a dress herself to which Skye point-blank refused. She planned on dressing in a funkier version of her usual attire: the leggings, tight long top, boots and probably a belt. She knew Sasha and her clique would probably be there and something inside her wanted to show them that she was happy dressing the way she did, even if it was different to other people. Also, she didn’t think dresses flattered her too much. And Raphael was going to be there so she didn’t want to turn up in something she felt automatically uncomfortable in …

  An hour later, both girls had successfully chosen their attire for the following day. Daphne had rejected both the yellow and the pink in the end. Instead she had picked a lilac dress with black beads and a large lilac bow for her hair. Skye had gone for a rather gothic outfit; she had fallen in love with a pair of old-school, knee-high latex boots and she had also purchased a black bodice top with the silhouette of a wolf printed on it, which she thought was rather apt.

  “You look like cat woman!” Daphne exclaimed as Skye stepped out of the changing room in the boots, bodice and her own leggings.

  “Haha – well, obviously I’m not going to be wearing this at the stall with my mum. I don’t think she’ll be too impressed with me dressed like this and serving out food at the same time. I’ll just change into it in the evening.”

  They stopped off at a Greek restaurant in the Hamlet and had some kleftiko, bread and olives. But while they were busy munching on their food and discussing about who they might come across at the celebrations tomorrow, there was a sudden disturbance outside and the restaurant fell quiet, everyone turning their heads to look outside the window and into the street.

  A boy, probably no more than fourteen, had been cornered by a group of three tall, rough-looking men. One of the men must have struck him because the boy’s nose was bloody and he was holding his hands out defensively, clearly petrified.

  “No – don’t – please –!”

  “Shut up!”

  The men jumped on the boy and started to kick and punch him brutally. Screams ensued from the helpless boy. Everyone in the restaurant quickly returned back to their meals. Involving themselves in other people’s business was always a bad idea and, besides, it would all be over in a few moments.

  But Skye did not turn back to her plate. Thoughts raced through her head. It seemed as though it were a long time that she sat there with these thoughts, but in reality it was only a matter of seconds. The thoughts contained mainly her father and Raphael; flashes of thugs appeared before her and there was a brief image of a tiger and wolf running through a forest.

  In that instant, she made a decision. She had not chosen this option before. Apart from that one horrendous time when she was younger, she had not witnessed someone being targeted by a gang of thugs with her own eyes; this was mainly due to staying very close to home and rarely socializing out in the open. But she had heard things, suspected things … and not acted. The risk of exposing herself as a Morpher had always been too great a fear. But if ever there was a time to change, it was now.

  “I can’t just sit by and let this happen,” she said, her heart beating fast, rising from her seat.

  “Skye! What are you doing?” Daphne hissed.

  “I’m going to stop those thugs,” she replied. Ignoring her friend’s horrified look, she rushed out of the restaurant and stormed towards the three boisterous men, each of whom had a wild, sadistic expression on their features as they repeatedly battered the boy on the ground. Sickening memories flew through Skye’s mind and her fear disappeared; it was with a fierce anger that she approached the men.

  “Get away from him!” she shouted, her fists clenched into balls.

  The men turned to see who had shouted at them. When they saw her, they laughed and turned back, kicking the boy once more. The boy had resisted struggling now; blood was everywhere and his head lolled in a twisted, limp way. Skye, whose stomach churned at this sight, knew there was only seconds to act.

  She transformed. It was rage that she focussed on during that moment of transformation; rage towards these disgusting thugs picking on one individual who was smaller and weaker than themselves; rage at the thugs who had killed her father; rage at the thugs who tried to frame Raphael. She knew she had put herself in a dangerous position, but it was not her own safety that she was concerned for; if the rage consumed her completely, she would lose control of herself and her wolf instincts would act without the guidance of the human mind. As a wolf with only a bloodthirsty lust to kill, that was a perilous risk to take. But it was a risk worth taking if it meant saving the life of this boy.

  Her eyesight now poor, but her senses magnified, she lunged towards the men, snarling loudly, clamping her sharp teeth over the arm of one of the thugs. The thug screamed in agony as her jaws sunk deep into his skin. The other two thugs backed away in horror at the sight of this enormous white wolf who looked ready to kill them and had blood on its teeth as it released the arm of the man, who was screaming and panicking. Skye tried desperately to control her urge to slaughter them. The human voice in her head was not as strong as it usually was when she morphed and she struggled to tame her wolf, which was getting closer and closer to ripping out the throats of the men. However, the thugs didn’t wait around. Yelling in fear, they ran off, jumped over a small fence, leaving nothing but a trail of dust in their wake. Skye was unaware of the exact sight around her, but she could smell an overwhelming scent of fear from the various citizens in the street who had stopped to watch, including those inside the nearby shops and restaurants. Right then, her killer instinct was teetering dangerously on the line of exposing itself and she knew she had to get out of there, otherwise she would attack someone and it didn’t matter who it would be. She inwardly cursed herself because she wanted to make sure the boy was alright; she could sense his breathing, but that was about it. S
he hoped that someone would come to his aid once she left … For God’s sake, why did they all stand there gawping? The boy was within an inch of his life!

  With a great howl she raced away and was relieved to sense concern replacing the fear among the citizens. She knew that people must have come to help the boy. Her presence had petrified them so much that they had neglected the boy while she was still there … Still, it was probably just as well. If she had remained there any longer, she couldn’t have trusted herself not to give in completely to the wolf.

  The important thing now was to find a safe place to transform. By ‘safe’ she meant somewhere no one could see her due to the nakedness that would occur once she returned to her human self. That was the problem with transforming in broad daylight, not to mention the fact that ordinary people would freak out at the sight of a wild animal running around the streets. And her clothes! They were gone forever and she was glad that she had dressed rather casually that day and not worn anything of value. As for her outfit and bag, she could only pray that Daphne would have had the sense to keep them safe, though she could imagine her friend completely losing her head due to the recent event. Thinking about these minorisms helped her keep a cool, level way of thinking to balance out the panic of the wolf. Despite the screams and stares of horror she received as she ran through the streets, she managed to compose herself to a degree, which was an achievement in itself. She eventually found a small back alley (was there nowhere to hide in this city?!) and manage to wedge herself behind several stinking bins. Laying down and resting her head on her paws, the adrenaline still racing through her, she started to worry a great deal about her situation. She could have sniffed her way home, but it would take at least an hour to run back and she had already exposed herself enough. Any human who caught sight of her would automatically panic; they would assume she was a vicious killing machine and they may even attempt to kill her. She couldn’t transform. A naked woman was just as petrifying on the streets as a rampant wolf and, quite frankly, the humiliation would be too much to bear.

  Oh help, she thought desperately, whining very quietly. Please … someone get me out of here …

  What happened next was nothing short of a miracle, so shocking and inexplicable that Skye first questioned herself if she was imagining it.

  Raphael’s voice, echoing and distant, appeared in her head.

  “Skye? Where are you?”

  Her ears pricked up.

  Oh my God, I’m actually imagining Raphael is here with me! Snap out of it!

  But when the voice continued to speak in that urgent tone, Skye realized that she wasn’t insane and he was quite literally speaking to her at that very moment.

  “Skye, I know you’re in trouble. Answer me. Where are you?”

  Of course, Skye could not speak in her wolf form, but once she made the decision to respond, she found she was able to convey her whereabouts through a set of feelings, memories and ‘photo shots’. Difficult as it was to comprehend, she knew without doubt that when she stared at a specific spot, she was then able to transfer that thought to Raphael. She was able to send him the memory of the Greek restaurant, what had happened with the thugs, how she had ran off and the alley that she now crouched in. In less than a minute and without words, she had told Raphael everything.

  “I’m coming,” said Raphael’s voice immediately. “I’ll bring a spare set of clothes. Don’t worry, I’ll find you. You’re in Hounslow Hamlet, I will be able to sense your exact location because I know your scent. Don’t move.”

  Considering there was nowhere she could have moved to, this was an easy order to follow. Choosing not to try and fathom this remarkable phenomenon, she instead laid her head back down on her paws and closed her eyes, tucking her tail in and wondering vaguely if this was all some kind of dream. She realized it wasn’t, however, when Raphael appeared at the forefront of the alley some time later.

  “Skye?” he whispered loudly.

  Rising to her feet, unable to see him clearly, but recognizing his powerful scent, she raised her head above the bin so he could see her, her tail wagging. Raphael looked to the left and right before entering the alley, carrying with him a bag full of clothes.

  “Here,” he said, dropping the bag down in front of her. “These are some clothes … Sorry, they’re mine. We have no girls’ clothes in the house. You transform further down and change into them. I’ll keep watch so no one enters the alley while you do so.” He reached out and petted her gently on the head. “Brave girl … be quick.”

  She clamped the bag between her teeth and trotted to the end of the alley. Transformation took her a few seconds and she hastily threw on the clothes – large baggy jogging bottoms and a baggy hooded top that smelled very strongly of him – before joining Raphael at the entrance. Her face was rather pale and she felt a little dizzy.

  “You OK? Let’s get out of here first. I drove here, so we can go back in my car. No one’s looking, let’s go.”

  He held her by the arm and she followed him out of the alley and into the street where people roamed around, completely oblivious that two Morphers were among them. Raphael had not driven his tiger car, but instead used one of the family cars, a blue one that was parked about two minutes from the alley. He opened the door for her and they both climbed into the car.

  “Are you alright?” Raphael said, staring at her anxiously. “You look really pale. Here, take this.”

  He handed her a bottle of water.

  “Thanks,” she muttered. She gulped down the entire bottle before handing it back to him.

  “How did you speak to me back there?”

  “It’s called the Survival Pact. It’s only possible between two Morphers … sometimes even more than two. That’s never happened to you before?”

  She shook her head.

  “I’ve experienced it with my dad,” said Raphael. “The first time was when Pearson and his boys cornered me when I was a kid. In my mind I cried out for help and he heard me. The animal senses inside you are so powerful that when you feel in great need, you’re able to transmit this information to someone else who has the ability, but only if you and they have a prior connection. Of course, the connection between my father and I is extremely strong because we’re related by blood so my call to him came loud and clear. When I heard your call, your signal was very hazy and distant. But I knew it was you and I could also see what you wanted me to see … It’s something that happens by instinct.”

  “But I didn’t cry out for help to you,” said Skye, puzzled. “I mean, I cried out for help, but not to you … though, obviously, I’m very grateful you heard me and came,” she added hastily, for fear of sounding churlish.

  “It doesn’t matter. The fact that you were in desperate need was enough. If we didn’t know each other then I wouldn’t have heard you. But because we’re friends and have been acquainted for some time now, I was able to pick up on your distress. They’re like radio waves. My dad told me it’s called the Survival Pact and no one can quite explain it. The professor who invented the formula all those years ago made no mention of it in his notes. But it doesn’t matter … I’m glad you called out for help, even if you didn’t realize what you were doing. You should be very proud of yourself for saving that boy’s life.”

  Skye stared out of her window.

  “Thank you … All I could think about when it was happening was my dad … and you … and that conversation we had at Hampstead Heath.”

  She turned to him sombrely.

  “I couldn’t let that boy be killed. It didn’t matter if I was scared. How could I do nothing? Just like how I did nothing when my dad was killed …”

  Raphael squeezed her hand.

  “Back then, you did nothing because there was nothing you could have done. This time you did something because there was something you could have done. It makes all the difference.

  You did the right thing. I don’t know if I have a right to say this, but I’m proud of you, Skye. The boy
owes you his life. If it weren’t for you they would have killed him.”

  Releasing her hand gently into her lap, he switched on the engine. Skye felt his words soothe her, calm her and convince her that she had done what was right in case there was any room for doubt.

  “I couldn’t control myself back there, though” she said quietly. “That hasn’t happened before, not that I can remember. It was scary … I could feel myself losing myself somehow … I put a lot of people in danger, I knew I would kill someone if I didn’t get out of there.”

  “That’s what happens if you transform on emotion rather than will. It’s OK, don’t stress about it now. It’s over and done with, and it worked out for the best.”

  There was silence in the car before Skye recalled the items she had been carrying with her prior to the fight.

  “Oh god … my tag device, my money … It’s all in my bag. I really hope Daphne’s got them. Can I borrow your device to call her?”

  Raphael handed her his device and she said Daphne’s number out loud. Moments later, her friend’s holographic face popped into the air.

  “Skye!” was the scream that immediately followed.

  “Where have you been? What happened? You disappeared after you chased off those thugs! I can’t believe you did that! Where are you? Are you safe?”

  “Yes, I’m fine,” Skye said hurriedly. “I’m with Raphael.”

  Daphne’s eyes shifted for the first time towards the man in the driver’s seat.

  “Oh – hi!” she said, gaping at him. Raphael smiled in return.

  “Daphne, have you got my bag?”

  “Yes, I have your bag, plus your outfit. I was going to grab your clothes, too, but of course they’d been torn to shreds when you transformed.”

  “Thanks,” said Skye, highly relieved.

  “And the boy? How is he?”

  “Alive,” replied Daphne. “The ambulance came soon afterwards. He will live. That was an amazing thing you did, Skye, amazing – but dangerous!”