The Wolf Within

The Main House

** Dakota’s POV **

My jaw dropped as my eyes took in the beauty of this rustic, yet modern and almost industrial space. As expected, the redwood log I saw from the outside was the same log now showing on the inside. The ceilings were vaulted in this room presumably going up all three stories. The entry room could have been a lobby in a resort. The center of the room was sunken down about a foot to create another level and the centerpiece of the room was a huge glass fireplace with a stone base that jutted out to act as seating on all sides. Surrounding it were luxurious leather seating areas. The corners were cozy little wrap around booths with marble tables in the center. On two sides were long couches with a natural wood coffee table between the couches and the fire place. On the other sides were two sets of smaller loveseat couches perpendicular to the fireplace so that each set of loveseats faced each other with a natural wood coffee table in between and the sets were back to back. All seating areas were complete with gorgeous fur rugs, accent pillows, with bookcases dividing each section to provide more privacy. The lights which hung from the ceiling and upon the sconces were specialized bulbs which reminded me of the steampunk world. The decor was a mix of woods and rot iron. 

A large archway to my immediate right gave me a view of the most beautiful dining room. The large bay windows of this corner space  had a perfect view of the surrounding woods and one side opened up to a balcony with more outdoor seating areas which included glass tables. They were the kind of tables that have a glass rock pit in the center that can be lit to create a fireplace right in the center of the table. The large dining tables had rustic natural wood edges with chairs made of rot iron and wood neatly tucked in. The chairs had various soft furs laid over the rough wood to make them look incredibly comfortable. More casual dining areas were also strategically placed along with partitions made of glass and wood which divided the space naturally. I assumed the lovely smell coming from the back of this room meant the kitchen was at the far end of the room where I couldn’t see.

On the left side of the entry room another open archway showed me a bar area. A long marble bar counter sat against the far wall. It had rot iron bar stools with gorgeous leather seats and the wall behind the bar had a stunning backlit glass display of every alcohol imaginable. I noticed more leather chairs and loveseats around tables and a bookcase filled with games, as well as a few pool tables, some dart boards and what looked to be some target stalls… maybe for axe throwing? 

Past the fireplace in the entry area was a grand staircase in the center of the room. As we began our ascent up the steps I couldn’t believe how huge the space was, the staircase itself was at least eight feet wide. Everything was perfectly polished to the point that I could see my reflection. Despite my awe with how beautiful the space was, I couldn’t hold back my yawn. My feet and legs grew heavier with each step and I could feel my posture slouching more and more. I caught Al looking at me and immediately straightened up. I didn’t want her to think I didn’t belong in this place.  

Al must have noticed because she took me down the hall to the elevator once we got to the second floor. “Your room is up in the tower.” She smiled apologetically. “I promise we’re almost there honey.” Her voice was so sweet and comforting as she led me into the elevator. 

Silvy hopped down from my arms and looked expectantly up to Al, who was still holding Silvy’s new friend. “Oh, right, of course.” She said, as she bent down and let the mouse go. It immediately ran up to Silvy and sat next to her. 

CB: I told you. Something is up man! This isn’t normal! Cats and mice, playing nice?

HB: CB, don’t. AB will get upset again, and it’s clearly bed-time. You’re rhyming.

As the doors to the elevator opened, Silvy and the mouse immediately began to investigate the new space. Al stepped out of the elevator, waiting for me to exit. I stepped out slowly, my jaw finding its way back to the floor as I took in the beautiful room.

The room was actually two stories tall, with the upper story being all windows. The roof of the tower also had large skylight panels so I could see the stars twinkling in the night sky. I imagined there would be lots of natural light during the daytime hours. A spiral staircase at the far end of the room led up to a small loft area with a pair of hanging mesh chairs, and a dual sided glass fireplace as there appeared to be a wrap around balcony on the outside. The inside also had a wrap around walkway so it seemed that in any kind of weather you could get a 360 degree view of the forest.

As my eyes made their way back down to the lower floor, I caught sight of a large circular bed in the middle of the room with the softest of soft looking fur blankets. The floor was made of intricately patterned wood. The walls of the first floor were bookcases which reached to the second floor walkway and were so tall you needed a ladder to reach the top shelf. Luckily, a ladder was set on a track adjacent to the bookshelves so you could roll the ladder to whatever section of the shelves you needed and climb right up. Some of the books appeared to be very old, many having no name on the spine, a few of which were in languages that were forgien to me: of the ones I could read I noticed there were quite a few relating to werewolves. I guess the rangers had a thing for the ancient lore of the forest. 

There was a fireplace built into the wall on the right, but rather than a roaring fire inside, a half dozen white candles were burning. Above the mantel was a beautiful artwork depicting what looked like a goddess of the moon in the night sky with a wolf howling below. It was captivating and took me a second to wake up from my reverie. 

“I thought you guys were rangers…” I said in disbelief.

Al seemed to expect my unspoken question, and said “we are, but Lia’s family comes from old money and they built this place years and years ago.”

“Ah” I said, feeling slightly disheartened now. I felt out of place in all this luxury and I wondered if Lia would even consider someone like me if I didn’t also come from wealth, or at least know how to act in a place like this.

“Well I’ll leave you to it, sleep well!” Al said, turning to go back into the elevator.

“Wait,” I said, suddenly realizing I hadn’t seen a bathroom anywhere. “Where is the bathroom?”

Al laughed, “Oh, of course.” She walked over to the wooden night stand beside the bed and twisted the doorknob. A cover slid back and out of the nightstand rose what appeared to be a digital smart home display. “Okay so everything can be controlled from here, but it’s also voice activated.” On the screen she touched a button labeled “bathroom” and I nearly jumped back as the one section of the patterned floor appeared to open up, revealing a spiral staircase that led down. 

Al seemed amused. “You can also control the windows through this. They are made with special glass so you don’t need shades, you just slide the bar here to change their opacity and they will go from clear to solid.” As she moved the little slide, I looked up and watched as the windows slowly changed until they blended in with the wall: the skylights, in turn, changed to match the cieling. If I hadn’t seen them as windows before, I would have thought they never existed.

“Any questions?” Al asked. “There are so many cool secret features in this room, it never gets old! The rest are pretty self-explanatory though. I’ll leave you to play around and discover all the secrets.” She looked a bit mischievous as she said this.

“Um… that thing alone probably costs more than my cabin. I don’t know if I want to touch it, much less mess around on it.” I said hesitantly.

“It’s totally alright, this place is also pretty much a fortress and everything’s damn near indestructible. You’ll be fine. If anything does happen or you have any questions just clap and say “Call Al”. Got it?”

I wondered what would happen if I clicked my heels together 3 times and said “there’s no place like home”. “Yeah, I think I got it.” I said, still very uncertain about all this.

“Alright, have a good night!” she said with a huge grin and a twinkle in her eye. She skipped off to the elevator and I watched as the elevator doors closed behind her.

“Well Silvy, we are not in Kansas anymore.” I said with a slight chuckle. Silvy was already climbing her way up to the top to enjoy her perch above the rest of the world. The mouse following behind, albeit struggling on the steps.

CB: Is no one else seeing this?!

HB: Aww, we should help the mouse up the stairs.

AB: Don’t touch ANYTHING! 

Before I could get myself into a tizzy over how expensive everything in this room must be, I decided it would be best for me to just get ready and go straight to sleep. I grabbed my backpack and made my way down the stairs to the bathroom.

I immediately regretted it, because everything in here looked even more expensive than everything upstairs. The floor was made of natural smooth slate leading straight back to a massive infinity tub big enough for two people to soak more than comfortably. The tub lay on a section of white stones presumably acting as an elegant drainage system for any overflow and behind the tub, encased in glass was a massive bonsai tree somehow lit by a natural skylight high above it. 

To my right was a pair of his and hers marble sinks with one massive perfectly illuminated vanity mirror. All of the fixtures were gold, and any accents were black or gold or both. To my immediate left was a frosted glass door, which I tentatively pushed open to reveal a separate toilet area. I was relieved to see the porcelain throne wasn’t made of gold as I half expected, but rather normal porcelain. It did, however, have way too many buttons on the side. I was not used to seeing toilets with buttons, unless it was a simple flush button. This must be one of those fancy bidet toilets. I quickly closed the door, thankful I didn’t have to use the restroom just yet. 

Back in the main part of the bathroom, I realized I was so taken with the tub that I nearly missed the massive walk in shower. The front facing wall was glass, whereas the rest of the shower was entirely made of slate except the back section of the floor which had the same white stones as the tub. The floor was slightly slanted to drain into that section. The fixtures again were gold. The shower had a rain feature above, with several jet shower heads on the back and front wall designed for a full body massage or a more than thorough rinsing I supposed. 

Walking past the mirror I noticed I had dried blood on me from tending to the wolf and the idea of a relaxing shower massage sounded way too good to pass up. The bathroom seemed fully stocked with everything I could need from shampoo to towels: so I undressed and walked into the shower. I started looking for knobs or some sort of way to turn this thing on but there weren’t any. I leaned up against the side wall, puzzled, and as I did so a large screen lit up. I stepped away from the wall and looked at the screen that somehow blended in perfectly with the slate a moment before. As I looked at the controls I felt like I had died and gone to heaven. I could control; the temperature down to the degree, the pressure of each shower head separately or choose from one of the many pre-set up modes. I could also play music or watch TV on that very same screen! I adjusted the heat to be nice and hot and, intrigued, I decided to select “Fountain Mode” because, why not? 

I didn’t know what I was expecting but all of the sudden the shower heads began a literal fountain show display. An orchestra of music began playing as the water lit up in various colors and each shower head began spurting water in bursts one after the other, then all in unison as the shower heads moved in a circle and glowed the same bright blue, before they began shooting short bursts again this time alternating from the back wall to the front wall and from ceiling to floor. This was too much for me, so I changed the setting to rainfall and turned off the music entirely. The rainfall setting was so gentle but thoroughly relaxing. After washing up I turned on the massage mode for just a bit and nearly melted as every jet perfectly pounded my tense muscles to jelly. 

I knew I had to get out before I fell asleep like that, so I reluctantly turned off the shower and grabbed a black towel from the golden towel rack outside it. I realized the towel rack must be heated because the towel was nice and warm and quite possibly the softest towel I had ever used in my whole life. I dried off and went to my bag for some pajamas. It was then I realized that in my haste I only packed a change of clothes, not actual pajamas. I decided to forgo them, as I had no plans of sleeping in uncomfortable day clothes. 

I brushed my teeth and finished getting ready, then I walked back upstairs and climbed straight into the bed. It was the most comfortable bed I had ever laid in, the softness of the sheets matched the softness of the fur blanket and it felt like sleeping on a cloud. As I cuddled into the pillows I smelled the comforting scent of a summer forest and sage.

WB: Mmm, it smells like our mate.

CB, AB, HB: WHAT?!

CB: Intruder alert! Get ‘em HB!

AB: Oh my god CB, is it aliens? Is it the Great Wizard of Oz? Are they the one who changed Silvy?

HB: Enough you two. Identify yourself, intruder!

I waved away my weird thoughts and let myself succumb to the cloud I was currently laying on.