The Wolf Days

Leaving Home

Today marked three weeks after my 14th birthday. The nightmares were every night now and all the same. Woods, my wolf running, and hunters killing my wolf form. I still didn't know what they meant and why I was having them. I wanted them to stop and I was sure Kody felt the same way. She had to come in and calm me down nearly every night. I could tell she was growing more worried as the days went by. I wanted to reassure her everything was fine but I didn't know if that was the truth. I hadn't seen the wolf pup in person since that once in the kitchen. All the other kids, even the new ones, seemed to notice I had drawn away from them. They didn't seem to mind except Kody. It seemed to bother her, knowing I would spend more time in my room than out with everyone like I used to. Her story about Elysah comes to mind whenever I think about how drawn away I was becoming.

"Hey Emmah. Why don't you come join us? We're going to play a card game in the living room." Kody said as she entered my bedroom, kicking me from my thoughts. I looked up at her. "Wow. You look so tired." She sat down by me on my bed. "Do you want to talk about it?" I shook my head. She pulled me into a hug. "Well, you can't hide in here forever, you know. The others are getting worried about you too. They may not show it but they are." I shook my head again. "Alright. Well, you know where to find me if you need to talk. Don't think too hard. We don't need you burning down the house." She gave a nervous chuckle before getting up and leaving. It was close to dinner time, so I just waited out till dinner.

Dinner came and went with no events. Luckily for me, no one seemed to notice my presence except for Kody, so escaping to my room after washing my dish was a breeze. I laid back in bed and decided to sleep some more. I prayed I didn't have another dream. A prayer that didn't get answered.

This time I was in a third person view. Or rather, I was in my room staring out the window at the wolf. She was standing on the window seal looking in. I calmly walked to the window and opened it. She jumped in and I closed the window after. I bent down and petted her pelt. It was soft like touching clouds. I whispered "What is it, girl? What do you want? Do you have a name?" The white wolf pup nuzzled into me. Then I woke up. I rushed to my window and peered outside. The night sky and the full moon shined, showing me there was nothing outside. I laid back down, mind racing.

The next morning, I got up and joined everyone. A hyper 15-year-old girl, Shylee, with black hair and deep sea-green eyes was setting up the table for a card game. She called me over to join them. "Hey Emmah! Come join us. Unless you're sick. You aren't sick, are you?" She jokingly moved away from me, making everyone else laugh. I shook my head and forced out a smile.

"Nah, I'm not sick. Just can't seem to get a good night's sleep." I shrugged. She dealt the cards around the table to me, Kody, and a few others. "What are we playing?"

"21," she replied. Everyone said they're 'stay's and 'hit me's as we played. That was when I saw her again. Standing right next to Shylee was the white wolf pup. I rubbed my eyes and looked again. Gone just like last time. Kody looked at me worriedly.

"You okay Emmah?" Kody whispered to me. Everyone turned to look at me, putting me in the spotlight. I didn't want to cause a scene so I just nodded. We kept playing for a few hours. The whole time, I played it off like everything was okay and normal. I didn't want everyone to see me as different, even more so than they did already. I just wanted to go to my bedroom and be alone but I knew that would make everyone suspicious. Once everyone was done playing and went off to do their chores, I made my escape to my bedroom. Once in my room, I passed out. I remember being woken up for dinner but I didn't get up. This time, if I dreamt, I didn't remember what it was about.

Kody came in a few hours after dinner was done to check on me. She sat on my bed and woke me up.

"First, the nightmares. Then, hiding away from everyone. Then, you slept all day. Now, you're skipping meals? Please! Talk to me. You know I won't judge you. You know I just want to help you, so please, I'm begging you. Just talk to me, okay?" She let out a sigh. "I care too much about you to let you go through whatever you're going through alone." I crawled over to lay my head in her lap as if she was my mother and I was her scared little child. She played with my hair in a soothing way.

"I don't even know anymore," I confessed. It was true. The more I tried to understand what was happening, the more I didn't understand. She pulled my face up so she could look me in the eyes.

"Then tell me everything and we will figure this out together, okay?" I let out a deep sigh, trying to figure out how to word it so I didn't sound crazy.

"Those dreams... The wolf..." I sighed again. She stoked my cheek to calm me again. "It's nothing. I'm sure everything will just stop once I sleep enough."

"You can't just sleep away your problems. That's just running away. Talking about them solves more than just running." She gave me a wholehearted smile. The smile dropped when I didn't smile back. "You're thinking about leaving aren't you?" I shrugged, unknowing what I was going to do.

"I saw the wolf pup...." I said quietly. She let out a laugh.

"I know the ones in the nightmares. You told me that already." I shook my head.

"No... I saw her in the kitchen a few weeks back. Again when we were playing cards," I explained. Her smile dropped. "The last dream I remember was of her at my bedroom window. I let her in and she let me pet her..." I studied her face. Her face went through different emotions; confusion, worry, scared. She stood up quickly, forcing me to sit up.

"That's not possible! We have to talk to talk to the head mother. She'll know what to do. Maybe it was just hallucinations. Maybe you aren't getting enough sleep. Come on, let's go. You don't need to go through this alone." She tried to pull me to my feet.

"NO!!!" I yelled, pulling away. "You CAN'T tell anyone! Please! I don't want them to think I'm crazy or something! I'm not crazy!"

"I know you aren't, but something isn't right. You need help and she can help you. Please come with me. We can get everything sorted out." Kody tried to pull me to my feet once more and I pulled away, shaking my head. "Fine then. I'LL go talk to her and we will get you the help you need." She turned and headed out the door. I knew this was my moment to leave. I didn't want to, but I knew I couldn't stay there anymore. I didn't want to know what they would think or do to me after knowing what I was going through. I knew I needed to get out of there and fast. I packed everything I could, mainly clothes. I climbed out the window and made my way quickly down the long dirt road. As I walked away, the white wolf appeared next to me.

"Oh are you coming too?" I asked her. She wagged her tail in response, her tongue hanging out. She trotted down the road beside me. I have to admit, she was adorable.

We were walking for awhile and I was getting tired. I could tell the wolf pup was too. She started to slow down and was dragging her paws with every step. The moon was high in the sky. We went up to a house that looked abandoned. I could tell no one lived there for a very long time because the weeds overgrew onto the sides of the house. I pulled out enough to open the door and we went inside. There was tons of furniture throughout the whole house. I could smell a strong odor of mold and went to investigate it. I followed the odor into the kitchen to find that there were plates of molded food all over the table and in the sink. I checked the cabinets and under the sink for a trash bag. I piled all the moldy dishes into the garbage bag I found under the sink and put it outside. I figured I would deal with the bag in the morning. I went to one of the bedrooms and found the bed had pillows and blankets on it. I checked the bed to make sure it was useable. The frame seemed sturdy and the bedding seemed clean enough, minus the obvious dust on them. I laid down and the wolf pup jumped up, curling up in a ball against my side. Soon enough, we fell asleep.

I was being chased but this time, I wasn't a wolf. I was human. I looked back to find men with riffles shouting at me calling me a shifter and a monster. I was terrified. The white wolf pup was running beside me, looking up at me, also terrified. I heard a voice next to me and turned to see a boy a little older than me.

"Shift! You have to shift! They will catch you if you don't! Call onto Phoenix and shift now!" Then the boy shifted into a black wolf. I looked down at the white wolf pup. I reached down and touched her head. As soon as I did, pain shot through my body. It was so painful that tears flowed uncontrollably out of my eyes. In my head, I heard a young girl's voice telling me to calm down and let the shift take me. I looked at my hands and watched as they went from human to white paws. I screamed from the shock and pain.

I woke up in a panic, screaming. I checked my hands, which were human. The white wolf pup sat up and stared at me. I reached out to pet her head but stopped before my hand made contact. "Phoenix?" I whispered to her. She nodded her head. "What's wrong with me? What's happening to me? Am I going crazy?" She tilted her head in response. Just then, we heard the front door open. Scared, I dashed under the bed, Phoenix following suit. I heard footsteps heading into the kitchen and muttering something before heading our way into the bedroom. I held my breath as I saw shoes in front of me. The blanket was moved and a face came down in front of mine. A girl a few years older than me with bright sky blue eyes, unnaturally blonde hair, and skin that had to have been tanned from being out in the sun a lot, looked at me. We locked eyes both in shock.

"Who are you and what are you two doing here?!" She finally said, breaking the silence. I looked at her blankly. Did she just say two, I thought to myself. She gave me room to crawl out from under the bed, so I did. I stood up. She was just a few inches taller than me.

"I..I..I'm Emaliah. I... I.. Lived at the... The.. Orphanage.." I studdered. Her shock fell to relief.

"Oh. I'm Elysah. Nice to meet you.. I think?" She said, reaching out her hand. I couldn't take it because I was too shocked. No way what Kody said was true.

"Elysah... As in the one Kody said ran away at 14?" She shook her head, dropping her hand.

"Ah so Kody talked about me. Hm. Oh well. Its been a few years, so no matter. Why did YOU run away?" I pointed down at Phoenix, who was gnawing at her paw like a puppy would do when bored. When she noticed I was pointing at her, she stopped and put her head down on her paws in embarrassment. I couldn't help but chuckle.

"She your pet?" Elysah asked. Phoenix was NOT happy about being called a pet and growled in protest.

"The fact you can see her is a surprise to me. Seemed like I was the only one who could. I thought I was going crazy. Kody said she was going to tell Head Mother about everything so I left." I went on to tell her about all the dreams I was having. She listened and nodded in understanding.

"So I take it you just turned 14 about a month ago then?" She asked. I nodded. "Well then, welcome to shiferhood. Seemed like you haven't had your first shift, right?" I nodded again, confirming it was true. Phoenix was just lying on the floor next to me watching us. "Well, right now you two are separate beings, but after your first shift, she will become you, in a sense. You will still be able to see her, but no one else will. You will also be able to communicate as your bond with each other grows stronger. You two will have to learn how to live as one. Fighting it will end in tragedy. It'll be hard at first, but it does get easier. Lylac and I have been together for a few years and we learned to work as a team." I reached down and Phoenix stood up, pushing her head into my hand.

"You mean I won't be able to pet her anymore after I shift?" I asked, saddened by the thought. Petting Phoenix was soothing, I didn't like the idea of that being taken away from me. Elysah let out a chuckle.

"Sure you can! I just wouldn't in public. I also wouldn't talk to her in public. Normies may catch on if you are different and hunt you down. Or think you're insane and you'll end up in a psych ward. It's why Lylac and I stay here," she explained as she reached down to pet who I assumed was Lylac. "You can stay with us as long as you need, but there are a few rules. One, don't clean up. All those dishes you throw away were staged so people who do come across this place will think it's abandoned." I nodded and apologized. "Alright, since you already have everything in here, you can keep this room. I'll take one of the other ones. Oh and make sure your room stays a mess. Any sign that people live here could make this a dangerous place to stay." I got back onto the bed, Phoenix jumping up next to me. "Good Night Emaliah. Good night Phoenix." She smiled then headed out the door, closing it behind her.

"I can shift?" I asked Phoenix. She wagged happily at me. "This is NOT what I signed up for." She licked my head then curled back up into me.

The boy was back in my dream. He was running beside me again. "Come on! You have to shift! Bring out Phoenix!" I looked behind us and saw tons of angry people chasing us. I felt the pain coursing through my body once more. This time, I let the shift take me. I had to stop to let my whole body go from human form to wolf form. I woke up before I was done shifting.

My whole body ached, which was the first after one of my dreams. I didn't think anything of it. I jumped down from the bed on all fours. I looked around the room and noticed my sight was a lot better than normal. My sense of smell was also enhanced. My hearing was better too. I could hear Elysah sleeping from across the house. I walked to the front door, then outside. It was still nighttime and I could see the moon lighting everything up. I took off running and noticed I was running five times faster than I ever could. That's when it hit me. I was shifted. I wasn't me. I was Phoenix. I felt so wild and free. It was the best feeling I had ever felt. We leaped over fallen trees, tree stumps, and flower patches. Even at this speed, we could see far ahead of ourselves, so we didn't miss any steps or jumps. We heard all kinds of sounds. We heard the owls hoo-ing, the wind playing with the leaves in the trees, and the ground under our paws. We could smell all the flowers around us. I felt our tongue hang out and tasted the wind. It was sweet like honey. We stopped after running for awhile to relax on a grass field. Everything was so beautiful. 'Good run, Phoenix.' I said in our head. She let out a happy howl that was followed by many more howls, most far but one very near. It startled us. We didn't expect a response. A black wolf, similar to the one in the dream, came walking up to us and laid beside us.

"Good job. Elysah said you were too new, but I think she may have been wrong, because here you are." The black wolf said. It was strange to me that I could understand him.

"Who are you?" We asked. He put his paw onto ours.

"Zevran. Or rather, Storm in this form. Welcome to our numbers. You'll get to meet the rest of us soon enough, but for now why don't you head back to Elysah? She may be wondering where you ran off to." We rubbed our faces against each other before parting way. Phoenix and I ran back to the house fast, following our scent to guide us back. The wind flowing through our pelt. We got back just as the sun was coming up over the horizon.