The Wolf in the Woods

Visitors

Charlotte stood at the top of the stairs stunned for a moment.

Something was off. Why were these people so freaked out by having visitors?

Maybe she could find out.

The kitchen was right next to her door and she could hear the low murmur of voices.

Pressing her ear against the door, Charlotte concentrated her magic on amplifying her hearing. She wasn't sure if it would work but almost immediately, the voices sounded louder.

"...What brings you here?" She heard Walter ask.

"You know why we're here. The girl. Outsiders are not welcome." Someone answered.

"Jacob, we would have told you sooner but the agency didn't give us much notice," Elaine said. "It was agreed at the last council meeting that we could take in a foster." She continued.

"It was agreed that you could take in a young child." The man named Jacob responded. "No one would give a second thought to an imaginative five-year-old talking about wolves. A teenager is much different!"

"You put our entire community at risk." Another person emphasized. Greg, she presumed.

"What risk is there? The rules are old. They made sense before the change, but what does it matter now?" Elaine argued.

"The Alpha will be back soon enough with a cure for our condition. What do you think he will say when he finds out we've broken the most basic of rules?!" Said Greg.

"The Alpha is not coming back. How long has it been? 5 years?" Walter stated.

"How dare you? My brother will be back soon enough." Jacob said angrily.

"The girl will not be here for long. Less than a year at most." Elaine soothed. "She will likely be gone before your brother is back."

"It is not right. She must leave immediately!" Greg asserted.

"Please, Greg! We need the money. It has been hard to find income since Alpha left. The state pays us well to keep the child. Could we at least put it to a vote?" Elaine begged. "If the majority want us to get rid of the girl we will."

"Very well," Jacob sighed. "We will put it to a vote at the next meeting. In the meantime, we will tell everyone to continue as usual"

"Thank you, Jacob!" Elaine said in relief.

It sounded like the conversation was over. The men were preparing to leave as Charlotte pulled her ear away from the door.

Charlotte was confused by their conversation. It left her with more questions than answers. The most important being who and what was the Alpha? Her thoughts swirled with different possibilities.

It turned out she had plenty of time to think about it because the next day she was only allowed out of the basement for breakfast and dinner.

On Sunday, Elaine came and got her for breakfast. Neither Walter nor Danny were there. She wasn't sure where they'd gone off too, but she was grateful.

Charlotte felt a little more brave without the men there.

"Elaine, would it be ok if I took a walk after breakfast?" She asked cautiously. Charlotte was getting bored with just sitting in the basement.

Elaine rolled her eyes from across the table. "You don't need to ask. Do whatever you want girl, just be back before dinner." She said.

"Thank you!" Charlotte said brightly. She hurried to wash her plate so she could leave the house.

The house was on the edge of the forest. Lush green trees lined the back of the property. It was honestly breathtaking. Charlotte could easily see why someone might want to live here.

She wasn't sure which direction to go so she just let her feet wander. Soon she stumbled on a winding path. She followed it down to a river. The water was fast-moving and loud as it splashed over the rocks.

It looked dangerous and beautiful Charlotte thought. Too bad she didn't have a notebook to draw in. She would have liked to capture this image.

Instead, she sat on a nearby rock and let her mind wander. She was lost in her thoughts when she heard a deep growl behind her.

Gasping, Charlotte turned around to see a massive black wolf staring down at her with its teeth bared. It was standing at the top of a small rock cliff just a few yards away.

Charlotte tripped over her own feet as she stood because she was shaking so bad. The wolf didn't move, just stood as still as a statue. Charlotte started to move away from the wolf but her foot got caught between two smaller stones causing her to tumble over backward.

She could feel the wolf's black eyes boring into her as she hurriedly struggled to her feet and started running.

Charlotte wasn't sure how she found her way back but she didn't stop running until she saw the house.

Leaning against a tree she tried to get control of her breathing and heart rate. There was no way she could walk into the house like this.

*** GIO ***

Gio was on his way to the river when a scent hit his nose.

Human. Gio thought growling in his head.

He followed the scent down to the riverbank. How dare a human trespass in his territory? They would soon realize their mistake. Gio would shred the horrible human to pieces.

The scent grew stronger as he approached. He could see a female human sitting next to the river. She was smaller than he expected. Her back was turned toward him all he could see was her long dark brown hair. It reached all the way down to the small of her back.

Pretty.

No, that was a strange thought. Gio shook his furry head trying to expel it from his mind.

He had to kill her. Teach her a lesson... not to come here.

Gio growled ferociously, prepared to jump down and rip the human's throat out.

Before he could the girl turned around, looking up at him with huge brown eyes. He felt his own eyes darkening in response.

Mate.

Gio felt his stomach clench. He couldn't move, it was like time had stopped.

His little mate fell over in her haste to escape. She quickly disappeared into the woods as he stood frozen.

This couldn't be.