I brush off the thought. No, I’m only here to protect her until she leaves or finds someone else. I can’t let the Alpha get to her. He would destroy her. Easily. It wouldn’t even be hard. She’s a frail little human and he’s…well, he’s the Alpha. She wouldn’t even have to do anything wrong. Just being a human who wandered too close to his pack would be enough to make him mad. It would be enough for him to try to kill her.
I have to keep her safe.
“Hold on,” Red says, turning back to the cabin. “You can come with me.” She rushes inside and I hear her fiddling around for a second. To my surprise, when she comes back, she has a pistol shoved in the waistband of her jeans. She also has a water bottle in her hands and a little bowl. She kneels down in front of me and pours half of the water bottle into the bowl and puts it in front of me.
“I thought you might be thirsty, little guy,” she says. “Poor thing, living in the woods all on your own. Must be lonely.”
She’s barely known about my existence for twenty minutes, and already she’s caring for me. When was the last time something like this happened? When I was a kid? A teenager? I can’t even remember. I know my mother used to always make sure I was warm and fed and had drinks, but after her death, I was just another orphan pup in the pack.
It was just me and Elise against the world. The two of us only had each other.
And now it’s just me.
I take a few steps forward and begin to lap at the water. I don’t even hesitate. She’s right: I’m thirsty. It’s been days since I was in the cabin and enjoyed fresh, bottled water. There’s a creek nearby, which is just as well, but I love the fish-free taste of this kind.
“Thirsty boy,” she comments. I look up and Red is drinking the rest of the water bottle. She finishes it, puts it back in the cabin, and closes the door. “I can’t lock up,” she looks at me and shrugs, as if she feels like I’m going to judge her for it. “Someone took my key.” She frowns.
It was me.
I took her key.
The little hide-a-key was anything but, and I took it when I moved myself into the cabin. I didn’t want to break a window and deal with an open window during the winter months. Using the key seemed more civilized. Now, I can see it worries her.
I should return the key. Maybe I can sneak it back into the rock and she won’t notice, or I can place it near the porch and accidentally “find” it for her.
She should be locking the cabin door.
There are worse things in the woods than wolves.
5.
Red
The wolf seems strange to me. He’s not like other animals. I spent an entire summer working at a veterinary office, so I like to think I have some idea of normal when it comes to animals.
This one isn’t skittish the way a wild wolf should be. Is he someone’s pet? I know that’s crazy. This is definitely a wolf: not a dog. Who would be crazy enough to own a wolf?
My grandmother used to tell me stories of creatures who lived in the woods. She used to talk about the wolves. Only sometimes, the things Grandmother said didn’t always make sense. Sometimes I wondered if she was going a little crazy.
Now, though, I’m seeing a wolf for the first time in these woods, and I wonder if there is any truth to the tales my Grams used to tell.
I wonder if this wolf is like Jeffrey.
Could he be part man? Wouldn’t that be just my luck? I finally find a guy who is interested in me, but he’s a changer.
A shifter.
Then again, maybe they aren’t all bad. Maybe they aren’t all like my brother. I can’t judge one wolf based on my limited experience with another. That wouldn’t be fair, now would it?
He finishes the water I set out and looks up at me expectantly, curiously. He’s much too observant for a normal animal. He’s not starved. He’s not mangy looking. No, this wolf is dark grey with bright, piercing eyes. His body is lean and tough: his fur soft. I couldn’t help myself when he came over. I had to touch him. It was a compulsion.
Part of me wishes he were different, that he were the type of wolf who could become a man. Part of me wishes he were a little bit wild, but in all the right ways.
Maybe I am going just a little bit crazy.
And I don’t know how to admit it, but I like the idea of him coming with me when I go look for food. I didn’t realize how lonely I would be in the woods, how scared I would get at night. I must masturbate five times a day, simply for something to do. I should have brought a book with me, but I didn’t think clearly when I was leaving.
I only thought about survival.