The White Wolf

Chapter Two - Time to Think

    I ran that day the pack was attacked by the hunters. I ran and didn't stop until I reached the little cabin I now live in. There was no scent near it so I knew nobody lived there or had been there in a long time. I remember opening the door and peeking inside. There was leaves and a thick layer of dust everywhere. I found the sink with a hand pump for a facet. I grabbed a chair and moved it over to it. I was surprised when I didn't fall through the chair. 

    I pumped it a few times and eventually the brown water turned clear. I stuck my mouth up to and drank. Once I got my fill, I looked around. There was a couch in front of the fireplace. A bed in the corner with a nightstand next to it. On the wall next to the nightstand stood a wardrobe. There was a table in the kitchen area along with cupboards and a wood stove.  The furniture was solid and in good repair. Even the blankets and pillows on the bed looked usable only really dirty. 

    'We got to go back, Velda', my wolf, Amaris whined. 

    'We can't yet,' I told her. 'You saw what happened to mom. Mom said that dad was gone. She told us to run and hid so that is what we should do.'

    'Our warriors are strong. They will beat those hunters. I know it.' she said

    'I'm sure they will. We can return,' I reassured her, 'but we need to wait until at least morning before going back. I'm tired and we sleep.' 

    I blocked her out. I needed to think. I kept remembering what happened to mom. I couldn't get it out of my head. The image of my mother's death wouldn't leave me.I sat down on the bed and hugged my knees to my chest. I cried until I finally exhaustion overtook me.

    The morning light woke me up. I looked through the cupboards but there was nothing but some plates and cooking stuff in there. I drank some more water and filled up a small canteen I had found by the bed. I started walking. 

    It was dark by the time I got back to my territory. There was nobody near the border so I went toward the pack house. I was halfway there when I found Gamma Thomas, my father's third in command. The surprise was clear on his face. He didn't expect me to show up. 

    "Velda, holy s**t, I thought you were taken with the others." he exclaimed grabbing my arm and rushing me to the nearest house which happened to be my friend Mary's. 

    "I got away." I told him. "Who was taken? Why did we get attacked?"

    "Five kids were taken. Mary, Simon, Alice, Fredrick, and Trevor. The hunter's ran off with them. I thought they got you too. We need to hide you, quickly. There aren't enough of us left to protect you."

    Hide me? Why would I need to hide? I thought. I was back on pack land where I belonged. That's when I noticed Gamma Timothy's right eye twitching. My dad used to joke all the time that Timothy made a horrible poker player because every time he lied, his eye would twitch.  

    "Where is Beta Michael?" I ask

    "Dead. Along with most of the pack" he told me.

    'We can't trust him.' Amaris stated. 'If mom and dad are gone as well as Beta Michael, then he is in charge of the pack. We have to leave until we can figure out what he is lying about.'

    I agreed with her. He was lying about something, what I didn't know. Dad trusted him completely but mom always said to keep an eye on him. She always thought there was something off about him. 

    "I know where I can hide." I told him thinking about the cabin. "But I need some of my stuff as well as food." 

    "Wait here." he ordered "Once everyone is asleep, I will sneak you in. Don't go near the windows and don't turn on any lights. I don't want anyone knowing you survived."

    I nodded my head and he walked out. I headed toward the kitchen knowing that Mary's parents always kept snacks for us to eat in there. I made me a ham sandwich and chips. Mary was gone but I know she will want some of her stuff when I find her. I went upstairs to her parent's room and grabbed a blue bag with a red strip on it. 

    I knew where all the safes in the house were. Mary didn't have a good memory for numbers, so her parents made sure I knew the combinations to the safes. Her mother's safe was in the closet in the corner under a floor board. She kept money and jewelry in it. I tossed both in the bag. As I was walking out the door, I saw Mary's mother's locket. She only took it off when she would shift. It was special to her. I put it in the bag as well. I went to Mary's room next. I put her favorite teddy bear and blanket in the bag. 

    As I walked to Beta Michael's office, I passed the pictures on the fireplace. I miss her already. I took the picture from our picnic last month. It was Mary and her two parents smiling. I knew she would want that. I also took the picture of the two of us sitting at the picnic table. Beta Michael had about $10,000 in the safe. He kept it there for emergencies. I also took the gun and the silver bullets he kept in there as well. 

It was about 11 p.m when the Gamma came back for me. He put his finger over his lips indicating for me to be quiet. We quietly went upstairs to my parent's room. 

    "Can I have a few moments alone?" I asked "I just want to say goodbye."

    "Of course, sweetie, but hurry up. Okay?" he responded.

    As soon as he walked out the door I grabbed the bag from the closet. My dad's safe was under the bed so I went for it immediately. There was about $15,000 in cash along with his back up gun and silver ammo. I took my mother's jewelry from the dresser and the picture of the three of us that was always by the bed. I opened the door and went across the hall to my room. I grabbed a few clothes and my favorite book. I looked around the room trying to memorize it. I knew I wouldn't be back anytime soon.

    I walked down the stairs where Thomas was waiting for me. We went toward the detached garage. 

    "I'll push the quad to the edge of the territory for you. If we start it here, then people will hear it." he said.

    I followed him and my quad to the edge of the territory. Neither of us said a word until we got there. 

    "I packed some food for you. I don't want you going into town at all. Do you remember the cave by the waterfall a few miles from here?" he asked and I nodded my head, "Good. I will put food and some money in there every two weeks on Friday. Come get it on Saturday. We will start it next Saturday. Okay?"

    "I will need gas for the quad as well." I told him.

    "I will put some of that there as well." he said "But don't go to town and stay away from people.  I will tell everyone you are dead so they won't coming looking. If someone sees you, they will kill you. Do you understand?"

    I knew he was lying again. That eye had not stopped twitching the entire time but I nodded my head anyway. 

    So it went. For nine years, the packages where there. During the second trip to the cave, the witch who owned the forest found me. I told her everything and she agreed to let me stay in the cabin. Her only price was that I go to school. She enrolled me in home schooling and I went to her place everyday to do my work. I graduated from high school at 16 years old. 

    She taught me a lot. She was the mother that I no longer had. She taught me to fight and about the various herbs in the forest I could use. When I outgrew my quad, she got me a new one. I didn't want for anything except for my family. She died peacefully in her sleep six months ago. Time catches up to us all, even a witch. 

    She told me that one day, I would have to stop hiding. When that day comes, she would say, you will have to decided what you want to do. Are you going to let the world walk all over you or are you going to stand up for what is right? Are you a door mat or are you a mountain? 

    I would ask her about the attack and if she thought Thomas was involved. She always told me the same thing. "You know the answer, Velda. You have always known the answer. You tell me." 

    I knew he was. I knew that my mother was right about him. He wasn't to be trusted. What I wanted to know was, where are the children? Why did they get taken? This was always something I couldn't answer. 

    I hid long enough. I knew I let my pack down by staying away. Thomas should have been taken care of long ago. I should have been looking for Mary and the others. I let them all down. I felt the guilt everyday for not coming back sooner. I'm actually glad this little girl came. I no longer had any excuses to hide. 

    Door mat or mountain? I certainly wasn't a door mat.