The white-golden wolf

I woke before dawn with my heart already racing, though for a few seconds I couldn’t remember what had frightened me. Then the dream returned in pieces: fire, smoke, the clash of steel, and the heavy smell of blood filling the air every time I breathed. I had been running through the forest again, my bare feet aching against the cold ground as branches snagged my clothes and scratched my skin. Screams had echoed behind me, but I hadn’t stopped to look. I’d wanted to turn around, to know what had happened to everyone, but my father’s hand had closed around my shoulder and forced me onward. I could still see his face through the smoke, though after five years, I wasn’t sure how much of it was a real memory anymore. His dark eyes, the blood on his cheek, and the fear in his expression had stayed with me more clearly than almost anything else from that night. I had never seen my father afraid before. “Run, Little Moon.” His voice had followed me into every nightmare since then. “Don’t look back.” “Papa—” “Go!” Something had moved behind him, something that wasn’t a wolf and definitely wasn’t a man. It had been too tall and too still. Then two pale eyes had appeared through the smoke and fixed themselves on me. I woke with a gasp and pressed a hand to my chest, trying to slow my breathing. My room was dark and quiet. The only sound was the clock beside my bed, ticking steadily through the silence. I reached for the silver pendant around my neck and held it tightly. The cool metal reminded me where I was. It was real, unlike the fire and screams that had followed me out of sleep. “It was only a memory,” I whispered. “Technically, it was a nightmare about a memory.” Clarissa’s sleepy voice came from somewhere inside my mind, and despite everything, I smiled. “You were listening?” “I was trying to sleep until you decided to have another awful dream.” “I’m sorry.” “You don’t sound very sorry.” “I’ll try harder next time.” She was quiet for a moment before adding, “Those eyes weren’t there before.” My fingers tightened around the pendant. I’d been thinking the exact same thing. “No.” “Do you remember seeing them that night?” I searched through the memory, but there was nothing except smoke, noise, and fear. “No.” Clarissa didn’t answer right away. She knew I’d said it too quickly, and I knew it too. For five years, I’d tried to remember what had happened that night, but my memories had never given me the whole s********e parts were painfully clear, while others were nothing more than empty spaces. I remembered my father’s voice, the fire, and the feeling of being chased, but there were things I knew I’d forgotten. “One day you’ll remember,” Clarissa said. “I don’t know if I want to.” She didn’t argue. I finally got out of bed and went to the window. Outside, a thin layer of mist covered the valley, and the pine trees on the hills stood as dark shapes against the slowly brightening sky. Everything looked peaceful enough that I almost felt foolish for being afraid. Then I noticed something near the tree line. At first, I thought it was only a shadow. But when I looked closer, I made out what seemed to be a tall figure standing between the trees. It didn’t move, and I couldn’t tell whether someone was actually there or if the mist was twisting the shadows into something else. I kept watching until the fog shifted. When it cleared again, the figure was gone. “Did you see that?” I asked. “Yes.” “What was it?” “I don’t know.” That answer bothered me. Clarissa always had an explanation for everything, even when she was completely wrong. A knock on my door made me turn. “Lara?” Mary called from the hallway. “Breakfast is almost ready.” “I’ll be down in a minute.” “And don’t think I didn’t hear you talking to yourself.” I smiled. “I wasn’t talking to myself.” “Technically, you were talking to me,” Clarissa pointed out. “Go back to sleep.” “Not a chance.” I took one last look toward the window before getting ready for work. After showering, I put on my usual work clothes: a navy blouse and a charcoal pencil skirt. I liked dressing simply, especially for work. There was something comforting about knowing exactly what I was going to wear and not having to think about it. In the mirror, I looked perfectly fine. No one would have guessed I’d just woken from another nightmare or spent several minutes staring into the forest, wondering whether I’d really seen someone there. I brushed my hair back and fastened the silver pendant beneath my blouse. It was the only thing I had left from my parents, and I’d worn it every day since I was old enough to understand what it meant. As I let it fall against my skin, the pendant suddenly felt warm. I frowned and touched it again. It was cold. “Did you feel that?” I asked Clarissa. “Feel what?” “The pendant.” She was quiet for a moment. “No.” I looked at myself in the mirror, then shook my head. “Never mind.” Whatever it had been, I was probably imagining it. After the nightmare, that wouldn’t have been surprising. I grabbed my bag and went downstairs. The smell of coffee, bacon, and cinnamon already filled the house. Mary had always believed breakfast could make almost any problem seem smaller, and with the amount of food she cooked every morning, she certainly gave it a fair chance. Kevin was already sitting at the kitchen table with three pancakes on his plate. I stopped beside him and stared. “Three?” He looked up as if he had no idea what I meant. “What?” “You know what.” “I was hungry.” “You were greedy.” He reached for another pancake, and I slapped his hand away. “That one’s mine.” “You weren’t here.” “I’ve been awake for an hour.” “Then you should’ve come downstairs earlier.” Mary laughed as she set another plate on the table. “I don’t know why I bother making so many pancakes when you two are just going to fight over them anyway.” “She started it,” Kevin said. “I did not.” Mary shook her head, smiling. “Neither of you has grown up.” For the first time that morning, some of the tension left me. This was what home meant to me now. It wasn’t the house or the furniture. It was sitting at the table with Mary and Kevin, listening to them argue over something as ridiculous as pancakes. Five years ago, I’d lost my family. Mary and Kevin had given me another one, and I would never be able to repay them for that. Kevin took a drink of his coffee and looked at me. “You had the dream again, didn’t you?” I nodded, and the smile disappeared from his face. “They’re getting worse.” “A little.” Mary reached across the table and covered my hand with hers. “You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.” “I’m okay.” She gave me the kind of look that made lying to her pointless. “No, sweetheart. You’ve just gotten really good at pretending.” I looked down at my plate because I didn’t know what else to say. After a moment, Kevin asked, “Was it the same dream?” “Mostly.” “What does that mean?” I hesitated. “There was something different this time.” Mary’s fingers went still against my hand. “What?” “Something in the smoke.” She studied me carefully. “What did you see?” “Eyes.” The mug in Mary’s hand slipped and struck the edge of the sink, spilling coffee across the counter. She stared at it for a moment, then quickly grabbed a cloth. “Mary?” “I’m fine.” Kevin frowned. “Are you sure?” “Of course.” But her hands were shaking. I pushed my chair back. “You know something.” “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” “You dropped your cup when I mentioned the eyes.” “It slipped.” “Mary.” Before she could answer, a howl rose from somewhere beyond the house. We all fell silent. The sound was low and unfamiliar, and something about it made unease crawl through me. Kevin slowly set down his fork. “What was that?” Mary had gone pale. Clarissa moved closer inside my mind. That wasn’t one of ours. Another howl came from the forest, closer than the first. The windows gave a faint rattle, and then the valley went strangely quiet. The birds had stopped calling. I couldn’t hear the wind moving through the trees. Mary turned toward the window, and when I looked at her, I realized she wasn’t confused by what we’d heard. She was afraid because she knew exactly what it meant. “No,” she whispered. I stood. “What is it?” She didn’t answer. “Mary, what’s wrong?” Her eyes dropped to the pendant beneath my blouse before returning to my face. “We need to get you out of here.” I stared at her. “What are you talking about?” Kevin stood too, looking from Mary to me. “Mom?” Mary opened her mouth, but Clarissa spoke first. Lara. I could hear the fear in her voice. “What?” Something just crossed the boundary. I looked toward the window. The sun was rising above the valley, turning the mist pale gold and making everything outside look completely ordinary. But I knew it wasn’t. Whatever had been watching me through the smoke five years ago hadn’t been part of a nightmare after all. It had been real. And somehow, after all this time, it had finally found me.