“Get off of him, dog breath!” I screamed, but nothing happened. The movement behind me sped up and I knew I had little time before the entire pack descended on me and ripped me to pieces.
Reaching out, I snapped my right boot forward and felt the satisfying crunch of the asshat’s ribs. The attacking wolf yelped in pain and fell to the side. Wasting no time, I relied on my gun training with Ronan and his buddies. I aimed and popped five shots off right into the wolf’s chest. He went down like a sack of bricks, limp and no longer breathing.
I had about two seconds to feel victory before the pain in my arm suddenly ratcheted up ten levels. A moan of agony escaped me and I dropped my gun. It felt like someone had just poured sriracha in my wound.
I fell to my knees before the injured grey wolf and he looked at me with those golden honey eyes. There was an intelligence there, and concern for me. His brows drew together like a human’s would. I felt bad he’d been attacked again, and that I couldn’t protect him. I didn’t want him to die like this.
“I’m sorry,” I huffed as blackness danced at the edges of my vision. He was going to bleed out and I was going to faint from this never-ending pain. I’d never been good with pain; admittedly I was a bit of a drama queen. I once stubbed my toe on the couch and went to urgent care, thinking it was broken. It just needed ice. But this wasepiclevel pain. Pain that mothers must feel right before pushing out a baby; this pain was intolerable.
I wanted to die.
Howls rose up in perfect harmony throughout the forest and I prayed someone from the hospital would investigate those gunshots before this pack of wolves ate me. I still had five rounds in the gun if I could just get to it. The wolves were circling us and snarling with their lips pulled back and saliva glistening from their teeth. Me and my wolf buddy were about to become dinner.
The faster they circled, the more intense the pain became. Sweat drenched my clothes as I wailed into the night, rolling closer and closer to the grey wolf until I was tucked up against him. The moment my skin touched his fur, it was like a balm had been placed over my wound and the blackness at the edges of my mind retreated for the slightest second.
The wolves paused for a moment as well, then they stepped closer, growls and snarls ripping from their throats as they circled.
My breath came out in ragged gasps; the grey wolf panted. I panted, he whined. I wailed, my pain, his pain. For a moment, I was so delirious I didn’t know where I began and he ended. The blood from my wound dripped onto his injuries as I clung to his fur in fear.
This wasn’t how I wanted to die. This wasn’t how anyone wanted to die, but when I looked up into honey-colored eyes, a peace fell over me. At least I wasn’t alone, we were in this together and we would die together. I died protecting something—his life had value and I’d done my best to honor it.
One of the pack wolves lunged for me and the grey wolf leapt to his feet with surprising strength. Baring his teeth, he stepped over my body so that I was tucked under him in a protective gesture. He snarled at the pack circling us, and whines filled their throats one by one as they backed away, heads and tails down.
What the…?
When the grey wolf looked back down at me, his eyes were…glowing?
He licked the bite mark on my arm and then the pain reached such epic levels that it killed me. There was no way I could survive this amount of agony. Everything went black and I surely died.
TWO
“Averly! Come get breakfast before my shift.” My mom’s voice shredded into my sleep and woke me from the gnarliest dream I’d ever had.
Thewolves. The blood. I shivered. No more horror movies. With a yawn, I rolled over in bed and winced when I felt pain in my arm.
No way, it couldn’t be—
“Real?” I looked down at the scabbing animal bite marks on my right arm.Holy crap. That really happened. My clothes were the same I’d left the bar in, and I was covered in dried blood.
“Averly?” my mom called.
I flew off my bed and into my bathroom in record time. “Uh, running late! Just leave me some eggs! Love you!” I screamed.
When I stepped into the bathroom, I peered in the mirror and winced. I looked like hell. My long red hair was ratted on one side and a few pine needles were stuck in there as well. Dark, almost black dried blood covered my shirt and arm, and my clothes were covered in grey wolf fur.
“Okay, no biggie. It was real. I walked home and stumbled inside and now I’m fine,” I told the completely panicked woman in the mirror.
But it was a big deal and I couldn’t handle it alone. I needed to tell someone what happened last night. Opening the bathroom door, I spied my purse on the floor, covered in dirt. I stepped over and pulled my phone from it before scurrying back into the bathroom. I noticed the corner had crusted blood on it, and on top of that it only had ten percent battery.
Pulling up my text chain with my bestie, Leah, I shot her a message.
Averly:Get over to my house now. Porcupine.
Leah:For reals?
Averly:Porcupine!
Leah:Crap, on my way!
