LEGACY OF THE FIRST WOLF

Watched

~

“Soraya,” a voice called out to me, pulling me away from the fog and stillness of my mind.

“Soraya,” the voice came back, and I opened my eyes to find Ellen staring down at me.

“Is something wrong?” I jumped up almost immediately, not realizing when I fell asleep. She offered me a wide smile and shook her head.

“No, just that your phone has been going for hours, I am beginning to worry that whatever it is, it’s important if not I wouldn’t have woken you up.” She explained.

“Oh! I’m sorry for the disturbance. I didn’t even know when I fell asleep and…”

“It’s okay. You looked pretty banged up when you came in. You needed the rest.”

I turned to her. How kind could one person be?

“Your dinner is down at the Diner if you want it. But I am heading out right now and I don’t think you will feel safe knowing the door was left unlocked even if it’s pretty safe up here, so come lock up. When I return, we can talk about what happened, if you want.”

I nodded and got up with a grimace. She stared down at my leg for a while, a tight frown fixing her face before she turned away, keeping her comment to herself. I followed her downstairs, found my dinner, thanked her again and locked the door. Then I remembered the phone and Maeve, who would have definitely called again and headed upstairs.

Ellen had been right. My phone was going nuts with notifications that came too fast and too quick, it was alarming that I didn’t hear all of that while I was sleeping. Maeve’s call came in again. I went back downstairs, leaving the phone on speaker.

“Jesus, Soh.”

“I fell asleep.” I explained quickly, hearing her pants.

“You sent me something like that and fall dead asleep after?”

“Sorry.” I slumped into the seat and picked my fork.

“What are you doing?”

“Having dinner. Ellen just made one for me and I should probably be leaving here first thing in the morning. She has been the best hostess so far.”

“Who the f**k is Ellen?”

Oh. I haven’t explained that part. So, I did. And she sighed.

“Is it just me or you are way too calm about all this?”

“What are you talking about?”

“You are far away from home, and crashing with a stranger, then go right into the forest in the middle of the night, what the f**k were you thinking following those movements? Do you have any bone of self-preservation left in you?”

I paused eating.

“And didn’t the first howling sound warn you to return home or the fog? Or the strange little town in the middle of nowhere and men with guns. f**k Soraya.”

Oh, oh. I was in trouble if she was using my full name.

“How could you put yourself in danger like that?”

“Caelmont isn’t supposed to have wolves, or threatening wide animals. I did my research before coming here. That was why it was so easy to walk into the woods and I had protections.”

“Protection, from those, those, those………” She breathed in.

“Werewolves are real, Soh.”

I smiled, my heart filling full again.

“You were right all along. There is whole civilization out there and hot f*****g men with the most exotic dance I had ever seen. There is a new or an old world out there and you found it.”

I laughed, her worry bleeding right into excitement almost too quickly. It’s wonderful how easily her emotions can switch.

“It’s your life’s work. It’s the only thing you’ve ever talked about. The stupid myths and mysteries. You refused to shut up about it and you kept pushing and pushing and pushing and now.”

“You proved it Soh, f**k, my sister is a reckless genius.”

I laughed again.

“And what was that message at the end of the video? Did you think saying sorry right when you were about to die, knowing you fully and intentionally put yourself in danger, was going to pacify us after you died?” And she was back to being angry and emotional.

“I would have haunted you down and killed you again for doing that to us.”

“I’m sorry.” I entered, finding the emotions in her voice to be more pain, less anger.

“I know.” She sighed right when a notification came on her phone.

“Soh.”

“Yeah.”

“Someone died.”

My heart stopped. And my meal promised to come right now. I hadn’t cut that part of the video when I sent it to her.

“I think you should get back. We don’t know why those things wanted you dead, and someone more dangerous had decapitated a human being without a flinch. The cops might be on this case already and your prints are all over that crime scene.”

I tried to breathe away the shudder rolling through me. She was right. A notification on my phone, then hers had me shifting to pick the phone.

“Did you post the video you sent to me?”

“Yes, without that part.” I answered quickly. My eyes widened at my notifications.

“Oh my god, Soh.”

I stilled at the panic in her voice.

“What?”

“Your videos went viral.” She screamed startling me.

“Oh my god, this is bad.” Panic followed.

“Those wolves almost killed you. We have no idea why they did that in the first place. Revealing they exist to the entire world after they’ve made it so that it seemed like they didn’t is….”

Stupid. Reckless. Foolish.

Those were the words she didn’t say, but I had not been thinking and now that I was. I was up on my feet and heading for the stairs. If I was to leave, now was the time.

But suddenly, I felt a prickle at my back. Intense and fierce. I spun on my heels and found someone standing by the window, staring at me. My heart skipped a million miles and stopped. Dressed in a sleek black suit, hands in his pocket, he just stood and stared with hooded eyes that pierced right into my skin.

“Soh?” Maeve was calling from the other end of the line.

“Someone’s here.” I managed to say. My heart was suddenly racing too fast, my skin was flaming hot. And all I felt were those eyes on me. Intense, cold and deadly.

“Soh, calm down.”

“What is he doing?”

“Watching me, he is just watching me, Maeve….” There was fear in my voice now. And I had been chased and almost killed by wolves in the woods. He was just a man, yet the fear that raked through me made me realized that he might be worse than all those four wolves put together. The aura about him was thick and suffocating. He did nothing but watch, yet I felt like I was about to be mawled down by a f*****g train.

“Sharp objects, Soh. Weapons, anything you can lay your hands on, now.” Maeve’s sharp voice cut through my fear and I immediately ran to the bar just as I heard the door. I had only just grabbed a bottle when someone pulled me. I spun and slammed the butt over his head. He fell, but someone else was on me the next second, pulling my arms. My phone fell to the ground with Maeve’s panicked voice on the other side of the line. And a hand came over my mouth, muffling my response to her. Then darkness.