THE WOLF WHO FORGOT HOW TO HUNT

The time Elena saw the wolf the rain was so heavy that the town seemed to vanish. The bakery on the corner became a blur behind its wet windows. The streetlights trembled in puddles. Beyond the market the abandoned railway tracks vanished beneath a curtain of rain leading into a stretch of forest most people avoided after sunset. Elena should have gone home. Elena had spent the afternoon repairing a broken grandfather clock and Elenas fingers still ached from working with tiny screws. All Elena wanted was a shower, a warm meal and a few hours of sleep. Then Elena heard something near the railway embankment. At first Elena thought the sound was a dog. A low uneven breath came from beneath the trees. Elena stopped walking. "Hello?" Rain tapped against Elenas umbrella. Elena took a step toward the sound and found an enormous black wolf lying among the wet leaves. The wolfs fur clung to the wolfs body and one front leg of the wolf was stretched awkwardly beneath the wolfs chest. There was blood along the wolfs side. Elena forgot about the rain. Elena knew enough about animals to understand that approaching an injured predator was a terrible idea. Elena also knew Elena should call for help of attempting to handle the situation herself. When the wolf raised the wolfs head Elena saw the wolfs eyes. Gray. Not the golden color Elena had expected,. A deep stormy gray that seemed strangely familiar. The wolf did not growl. The wolf simply watched Elena. "You look like you need a night than the one you are having " Elena murmured. The wolf blinked slowly. A nervous laugh escaped Elena. "Sorry. I talk when I am uncomfortable." Elena took out Elenas phone. Tried calling the local animal rescue service. The signal flickered, then disappeared. Elena moved closer to the road tried again and received nothing. When Elena turned back the wolf was struggling to stand. Elena said, "Wait! Do not move." The wolf collapsed against the ground. Elenas heart jumped. Elena knew Elena could not safely treat such an animal alone but leaving the wolf there felt impossible. Elena called out for help. No one answered. Then Elena noticed a silver chain around the wolfs neck. Something small hung from the chain. A watch. The discovery was so unexpected that for a moment Elena forgot the wolf was injured. "Why do you have a watch?" The wolf looked directly at Elena. A sudden image flashed through Elenas mind. Snow-covered trees. A woman running through a forest. A child reaching toward a wolf beneath a pale moon. The image disappeared before Elena could understand it. Elena stumbled backward. "What was that?" The wolf closed its eyes. Elena waited until the wolfs breathing settled before placing Elenas folded scarf on the ground within reach. Elena did not touch the wolf. Attempt to move the wolf. Instead Elena left Elenas umbrella beside the scarf to shelter the scarf from some of the rain and hurried toward the house to ask for help. When Elena returned with a neighbor the wolf was gone. Only the scarf remained. Beside it lay a black feather. Elena picked it up. The neighbor stared at Elena. "Where did that come from?" "I was hoping Elena could tell me." The woman shook her head. Hurried away. Elena stood beneath the trees holding the feather between two fingers. For one moment Elena thought Elena heard someone whisper Elenas name. "Elena." Elena turned sharply. No one was there. That night Elena dreamed of a forest she had never visited. In the dream a black wolf walked ahead of Elena leaving no footprints in the snow. Whenever Elena tried to follow the trees moved away. At the edge of the clearing stood a man with hair. He looked at Elena as if he had been searching for Elena for years. Then he said something Elena could not understand. Elena woke before dawn with tears, on Elenas face. The strange certainty that someone had forgotten Elena. Elena owned a watch-repair shop inherited from Elenas grandmother. It stood between a bakery and a closed bookstore in a building enough to creak whenever the weather changed. Elenas shop was Elenas place in the world. Every broken watch had a history. Every stopped clock had a reason even if the reason was no more complicated than a spring or a damaged gear. Elena liked problems that could be solved by patience. At eight the morning Elena unlocked the shop and began Elenas usual routine. Elena opened the curtains switched on the lights and checked the clocks along the wall. One of them had stopped. Elena frowned. It was a silver clock Elenas grandmother had kept above the workbench. Elena had repaired it twice. It had never stopped without warning. The hands pointed to 3:17. Elena reached for the winding key. Before Elena could touch it the shop bell rang. A man stepped inside. Rowan wore a coat and rain glistened in Rowans black hair. Rowans face was handsome in a tired way but what Elena noticed most was Rowans expression. Rowan looked at Elena with recognition. Then confusion crossed Rowans face. “ morning " Rowan said. “Good morning. Can I help you?” Rowan placed a pocket watch on the counter. “I was told you repair these.” Elena picked it up. Elenas fingers went still. The casing was scratched, the hinge loose and the glass marked by a thin crack. On the back were two engraved letters. R.V. Elena had seen this watch before. Not, in the shop. In the rain. Elena looked up. “Where did you get this?” Rowan hesitated. “It belonged to my family.” “What’s your name?” “Rowan.” “Rowan what?” “Vale.” Elenas stomach tightened. The surname appeared in one of Elenas grandmothers notebooks, beside drawings of wolves and dates corresponding to full moons. Elena had never understood the connection. “Have we met before?" Rowan asked. “No.” “Elena look familiar?” “So do you " Elena admitted. ". I think I'd remember meeting someone who walks around carrying a watch that stops at exactly the same time as Elenas grandmothers clock.” Rowans expression changed. “What time?” “Three seventeen.” For a moment Rowan looked frightened. Then the expression disappeared. “Can you repair it?” “Probably. What happens when it stops?” “It remembers something.” Elena stared at him. “That’s not a problem.” “No " Rowan said quietly. "It isn't.” Elena turned the watch over again. A tiny black strand was caught beneath the clasp. Wolf fur. Before Elena could ask about it Rowan stepped back. “I will return tomorrow.” “You haven’t told me how to contact you.” “I will know when it is ready.” “That is not how repairs work.” “I know.” Rowan reached the door then paused. “Whatever you saw near the railway tracks night do not go back there.” Elena’s heart began to pound. “How do you know I was there?” Rowan looked at Elena for a moment. “Because I remember you.” Then Rowan left. Elena remained behind the counter staring at the door. Outside a black feather drifted past the window. That afternoon Elena climbed into the attic. Opened the cabinet Elenas grandmother had forbidden Elena to touch. Inside were dozens of notebooks all filled with dates, moon phases, names and drawings of wolves. On the page of the oldest notebook Elena found a sentence written in faded ink. The wolf does not remember the person. Elena turned the page. The wolf remembers what the person refused to forget. On the page another sentence waited. If Rowan Vale comes to you do not let him face the moon alone. Elena read it twice. Then Elena heard footsteps downstairs. “Rowan?" No answer. She went down the stairs. Saw Rowan standing in the shop. Rowan’s face was pale. His hands shook. Rowan looked at the notebook. “You should not have opened that " Rowan said. “Then tell me what it means " Elena asked. Rowan glanced toward the window. The afternoon sky had grown dark. The moon was already seen behind the clouds. “Tomorrow night is the moon " Rowan said. “. When the moon rises something inside Rowan will wake up." “What happens when it wakes?" Elena asked. Rowan’s eyes met Elena’s. “I become something I do not fully remember how to control " Rowan said. Elena swallowed. “Are you going to hurt someone?" Elena asked. “I do not want to " Rowan whispered. “That is not the same as saying you will not " Elena said. “No " Rowan whispered. “It is not " Rowan said. Rowan moved toward the door. “Promise me you will not follow Rowan tomorrow night " Rowan asked. Elena looked down at the notebook again. “Do not let Rowan face the moon alone " Rowan said. She looked back at Rowan. “I cannot promise that " Elena said. For the time Rowan seemed truly afraid of Elena. Outside beyond the town a wolf began to howl. The stopped clock above Elena’s workbench began to tick again. END, OF CHAPTER 1