The Lost Queen

Chapter 15. Fear of being eaten

Kayla

I was so angry at myself! Today was the worst day of my life and it still wasn’t over. Somehow, I came up with the idea of going for a run and now I was a sweating mess. I panted like a dying animal and for a moment I thought I would seriously die. My water bottle was left in the house, and I wore too many clothes. I didn’t feel it when I ran way too deep into the woods and snapped out of my tiredness only when I heard a loud growl. Dread was falling on my shoulders like a thick blanket, and I froze in my place. Immediately, I remembered my sleepwalking a few weeks ago and a black wolf popped into my mind.

At that moment I had to run, but being honest, I couldn’t move my limbs out of fear of being eaten by the wolf. Maybe next time, if I survive, I should rethink my desire to exercise. It was a late evening! What the f**k did I think when I decided to go for a run in the woods, when it was already dark? Why sometimes am I so stupid? Why, why, why.

I thought it wasn’t the worst thing yet, but any moment I could be dinner for an enormous beast, and no one would hear my scream while I'd be torn into small pieces, limb by limb. Rustling was nearer than a few seconds ago and I was in the same position, didn’t move even an inch.

When the brown wolf emerged from the bushes, I yelped in fear and surprise. For some reason, I thought that I would meet the same black wolf and he would let me go home like the last time. This wolf that stood in front of me now, was a lot smaller and his fur wasn’t so shiny and soft, or my fear played tricks with my eyes. He snarled at me and circled around while I stood helplessly and started praying to all the gods that I knew.

Loud howling somewhere near made me shriek one more time and the wolf, who circled me around, bared his teeth at me. His saliva ran down his mouth and his canine teeth looked sharp like razors. When the second wolf emerged from the forest I was a mess; I sobbed like a new-born baby, I shivered, and my teeth rattled in my mouth. Sweat was pouring like water from my head to my toes and the wind was harsh against my skin.

When I zoned back into my body, I already saw three wolves taking turns baring their teeth at me. With the brown wolf, I could also spot light grey, and the darker one. They were smaller, but they felt more dangerous than the bigger wolf a few weeks ago. I tried to look around and calm myself down enough to think about a solution in this situation, but everywhere were trees and more trees without opportunity to see in the darkness.

Wolves' eyes glowed, and I tried to find the same peace as it was the last time when I thought I would die, but somehow today everything was different. Today was the shittiest it could be and I wasn’t ready to give up now, not when I suffered so much. I stopped sobbing and straightened my shoulders. With the back of my hand, I cleaned my casted tears and looked straight into the wolf’s eyes as he stood in front of me. He snarled more vigorously, and I wanted to flinch, but with everything that I had in my power, I held myself together and stepped one step forward.

“Do your thing, or go away,” I sternly declared. My voice echoed into the open forest space, and I found more courage inside of me. Wolf angrily growled and turned to his friends. For a moment, it looked like they were talking with one another and after exchanging short glances, they turned around and ran away. Just like they never were here.

I stood there helplessly, still breathing too fast, my head was spinning, and I wanted to sit down for a few seconds. I tried to reason with myself that I needed to keep moving and get out of the forest before wolves came back and finished the job that was on their minds when they first found me.

Eventually, I moved my legs and with small steps I neared to the street from which I came into the woods. Lights were more visible and I could walk without stumbling over the tree’s roots. My movements were slow, but I just wanted to go out and forget that this thing had happened to me again.

Why were so many wolves there? The town was only a few meters away and small children could go in there and be eaten by enormous-sized wolves. Why was no one taking care of those feral animals who couldn’t play nice and be nice?

Yes, very smart Kayla. They are animals, they can’t be sweet and soft. If they were, we would keep them just the same as we keep dogs and cats.

When I stepped on the street I felt way better and when my phone rang, tears full of happiness welled in my eyes, but when I glanced at my phone and saw Ace’s number, my cheerful moment turned into a skittish one. Should I answer? He was kind to me; I couldn’t just ignore him.

“Do you miss me already?” I asked the first thing that was on my mind and wanted to bury myself in the backyard of my house. Ace’s low chuckle vibrated through my body and my cheeks grew warmer.

“Are you busy? I can call later.”

“I was just out for a walk. Some wolves wanted me for dinner.” My giggle was full of excitement.

“Are you okay?” he softly inquired. My heart thumped in my chest from joyful emotion, but I quickly dismissed dreamy thoughts and looked around before answering.

“Yes. They ran away eventually,” I sighed dramatically, “I scared them with my attitude.” I wanted to appear funny to him, and I needed to hear his laugh one more time before some other beast would try to eat me alive, but he didn’t laugh, I didn’t hear any kind of chuckle, nothing. Just silence and I was worried, I said something inappropriate.

“Ace?”

“Yeah? I’m here,” he sounded tired and troubled.

“Everything is okay? I know we said goodbyes not in a cheerful way, but ̶ “

“I’m sorry Kayla. I just… I had some thoughts, and it wasn’t fair, particularly after everything that happened with my brother.”

“Oh,” I managed to stutter. What was he talking about? Did I miss something important and that’s why he acted so cold later? Oh my god! What did I miss?

“Did something happen?” My voice was squeaky, and I blushed once more. I started moving again and feeling cold wind against my sweaty clothes.

I looked up into the dark sky, but it was still visible that rain could start pouring any minute now. My feet moved faster and on the phone I still could hear silence. For a moment, I thought Ace had ended the call but when I tried to check it, I heard an exasperated sigh and flinched.

“If you didn’t notice, then I’m happy,” he finally stammered. Something in his voice triggered me, but I didn’t have enough courage to demand an answer. It was an awkward conversation, but at the same time I didn’t want it to end. Ace's voice was comforting and warm like tea in the cold afternoon.

“Well then… I’m near my home, so I should go in. It’s very cold outside.” My teeth rattled and I looked at the lighting through the windows.

“Of course. I don’t want you to catch a cold. Have a pleasant evening Kayla,” my name slipped from his lips like a low growl and a shiver went down my body.

“You too, Ace. Goodbye,” I purred into the phone and hung up while it wasn’t too late. I know I should guard my heart, but it was impossible when I was talking with him. I imagined him smirking when he heard the emotion which I poured into the last word and, oh my. It was exciting. I never felt so alive.

When I entered through the front door, Ruth looked from the kitchen to my side and smiled.

“As I can see, your run wasn’t so likeable as you thought?”

“It was fun until some wolves wanted to bite my legs off.” I rolled my eyes and took off my hoodie. It was damp from my sweat and I threw him in the laundry basket near the washing machine.

“I’m going to enjoy a hot shower!” I yelled from the stairs and jogged up. When I reached my room, I tossed my dirty clothes in the other laundry basket and went into the small bathroom only in my underwear . I took my shampoo from the shelf and opened the cap. When the scent hit me, it was absolutely annoyingly bad. Oh my god! How didn't I notice it before? Why does it smell so bad right now? I scrunched my nose and took the toiletries with me and climbed into the shower.

Warm water felt nice against my skin, and I closed my eyes, wanting to relax for a minute. My thoughts swirled back to Ace, and I imagined his golden gaze trailing down my body. My cheeks grew warmer, and I understood that my traitor heart was winning against my brain, and I was feeling more for this beautiful man than I anticipated.