The Wolf Under the Full Moon

Chapter 8: The Gun

LATER THAT DAY

RORY POV

While my mom was making one of our favorite dinners, stuffed bell peppers with quinoa, beef, and cheese, I retreated to my room to do some research. I tried searching on the internet for ways a hole could appear in a fence, but I didn't find much helpful information. All I could find were ways you could cut a hole. And when I tried looking into cutting into electric fences, my research showed it was nearly impossible to do it if the electricity was on.

We had tested the fences; the electricity was working. I thought about a possible outage. But even with the electricity off, it would have taken the wolves an extremely long time to chew through the chain-link fence. My mom and I had looked at the footage. One second the hole wasn't there; a minute later, it was. It was almost like it had magically appeared. But we knew that wasn't possible.

The footage also showed Mo, Kozra, and Junio minding their own business. Venus had been sleeping in a corner, and Mo and Kozra were lounging on the ground under a tree, enjoying the shade. Junio had been at the trough drinking water. They hadn't even noticed the hole appear out of nowhere. And since the recording was timestamped, it showed no stop in the recording.

Then the wolves in the enclosure all looked towards the fence simultaneously. As if someone had called them. Even Venus looked up and c****d her head. Kozra walked over to the hole first, with Junio and Mo slowly and cautiously following. The wolves had squeezed through the gap within a few minutes. By the time Mo wiggled her way out, Venus, who had been watching intently, decided to make her way to freedom. It was heartbreaking to watch.

We had the wolves in separate enclosures in groups of two to four in half an acre enclosures. This required a lot of fencing. And with 30 animals, including the two dozen wolves, we were at total capacity. This also included two grizzly bears, and I worried about their safety.

My phone went off. 'Hey, it's Oliver, what are you up to?'

'Nothing much. Still trying to find out what could have happened with the wolves.'

'How's that going?'

'Not so well, I haven't figured out anything so far. It doesn't make sense. Holes don't just appear in fences. I wonder if they are still in the area,' I texted.

My stomach was filled with butterflies. Why did he make me feel this way? He wasn't even around, and I was all jittery and tingly. I wondered if he felt the same way. Probably not, I contended with myself. This man was seriously gorgeous, and I'm sure he was used to fighting off women. More than likely, he just wanted a new girl in town to hang out with. He was probably lonely, possibly desperate, and that's why he was texting. My face fumed just thinking about it. It made sense. I was friendly and kept to myself. He probably smelled the naivety all over me and knew he could break my heart without a single soul in town knowing.

Not that there were many options in Wayford. The population was only a few hundred, most of those people being older people who had lived here for decades. There weren't enough children for a school, and the school-age children had to be bused out to Copper Creek, where all the small-town children in the area attended school. Only a handful of people my age were left in Wayford since the last few generations had moved out in search of bigger towns with more employment opportunities. And out of that handful left, there were only three of us female, with the other two in serious relationships.

There were always younger women, I suppose. There was Paisley, who had been out running when the pack of angry wolves approached her. She was young, perhaps in her early twenties. She was athletic too, with a nice body. But it was always hard for me to gauge someone's attractiveness. I felt like she was cute, but who knew if she was Oliver's type. Or if he even had a type. I felt like Oliver was so handsome that he could date anyone he wanted, from models to actresses.

I frowned as my phone went off. It was Oliver.

'Probably not. Wolves can travel pretty far distances, up to thirty miles.'

I set the phone down. How did he know so much about wolves? 'You know a lot of facts about wolves,' I texted him.

'You have no idea,' he texted back.

'Hit me with another,' I texted.

'Okay. Did you know the Bible referenced wolves thirteen times?'

'I did not know that,' I texted.

'Yup. Pliny the Elder said wolf poop could treat colic. The wolf is a symbol of good luck in Mongolia. Placitus claimed sleeping with a wolf's head under your pillow could cure insomnia. I could keep going.'

I contemplated these facts. Who was Placitus? More importantly, how did Oliver know a bunch of random wolf facts?

"Dinner's ready, Rory," my mom called from the kitchen. I set my phone down and stood up. Maybe Oliver could help me find the wolves. I walked into the kitchen and grabbed a plate out of the cupboard.

"Looks good, Mom," I said, serving myself a pepper.

"Thanks," she mumbled, "kinda hard to cook when I'm this worried. Did you find anything?" she asked, sitting at the table.

I joined her at the table and replied, "No, not much. Nothing useful anyway."

"Didn't think you would. Our situation is kind of strange," she said, biting into a piece of pepper. I looked at her. I didn't know how she felt towards Oliver. Ever since she had made that comment about not trusting him, I had been reluctant to bring him up again.

"I was thinking," I started slowly, "maybe Oliver can help me look for the wolves. Or maybe he has some ideas, I don't know." I looked up and met my mother's eyes. She was staring at me with slight hostility.

"I told you, I don't trust that man. Something about him. If you want to, I guess, I mean, you're an adult, do what you want."

"But I don't want to do anything that would upset you," I said quietly, "if you don't want me to see him, I understand."

"You're an adult," she repeated, "do what you want. Just be careful."

I nodded but was confused. What did she mean by "be careful"? Was she worried he was going to hurt my feelings? I didn't think she thought he was physically dangerous. Or at least I hoped she didn't.

"He knows a lot about wolves," I said finally.

"Of course, he does."

I looked up at her. What did that mean? Did she think he was pretending to know about wolves to get one over me? I thought about it. I guess he could have internet searched "facts about wolves" and just texted them to impress me. I had trusted him and hadn't thought about that. Maybe I was too trusting.

"Go see him, see what he says, see if he'll take you to go look for the wolves. He has that quad," she said flatly.

"Thanks, Mom," I said with a small smile, "and don't' worry, I'll be careful."

***

THE NEXT DAY

After dinner last night, I had asked him if I could come over and bounce some ideas off of him regarding my wolf predicament. He had told me to come over at noon today, so naturally, I couldn't sleep last night. I had spent hours trying to fall asleep, finally succumbing, and dreaming about running through the forest with Oliver by my side. I think we were wolves. Or werewolves. Or humans running like wolves. I couldn't remember the details.

Today I had slept in until ten which was unusual for me. It made sense with the lack of sleep, though. After taking a shower, I got ready, carefully picking a flattering outfit that wasn't too casual. I wasn't dressing for a date, though, so I kept it simple. I had picked out a pair of jeans, a sweater, some black boots, and a tan knee-length coat since it was cold out.

I said goodbye to my mom, making tea in the kitchen. She turned to face me. "You look nice, Rory."

"Thanks, Mom. You sure you'll be, okay?"

"Yes," she said laughing, "Brian's here today, or otherwise I would have an issue. We do have animals to fend for. That being said, I do want you to get out once in a while. It's hard to separate work and life when you live at your job. You deserve a break today."

"When I get back, I'll make the dinner rounds, I promise."

"Don't worry about it. Take your time. I know time flies when you're having fun, and I'd hate for you to feel stressed out about time while you're out hanging out with…him," she said, adding "him" at the end with a hint of disdain. I don't think my mom liked Oliver for some reason, but I didn't know why. I was still trying to figure it out. Maybe she didn't trust him because of his good looks.

"Before you go, I want you to take something," she said, setting her cup of tea down. She turned back around and pulled out the top drawer next to her. Her back was turned, so I couldn't see what she had grabbed until she turned back around. It was a 9mm gun. She set it on the counter and motioned for me to pick it up.

"It's loaded. Safety's on. Be careful."

"Is this for Oliver?" I asked bleakly, taking the gun off the counter. "I mean, I have my bear spray too."

My mom laughed. "No, it's not for Oliver. I trust you can hold your own. It's for any wolves you guys might come across. I don't want you depending on a man to protect you." I nodded and slipped the gun into my backpack.

"Hopefully, I won't need this," I said, zipping it closed.

"Hopefully, you and Romeo can find our wolves," my mom said, sipping her tea.

I grinned at her and said, "You don't like Oliver. Why? He seems harmless to me."

"Ain't no man harmless, Rory."