C2 Chapter 2

The thick mist circled around like a snake slithering out of its cage once opened. I felt my throat closing and my breaths becoming uneven.

The tips of my fingers turned icy cold under the wolf's gaze. The harsh light of the cemetery struck straight at its face. It was a black wolf, it's fur deep and smooth and its eyes red as blood. His black pupils widened as his mouth parted open, exposing his razor-sharp canines. Saliva dribbled from his teeth and onto the ground as he watched me.

I didn't move nor made a sound knowing what exactly could trigger a wolf into killing me. But again, what was I living for?

The wolf stood nearby on his all fours. Seeing wolves around the town was rare but finding them nearby was common for the townspeople. However, the wolves barely ever attacked anyone. They were animals of their own and they weren't out to kill someone unless we threatened them in any way.

I never expected to find a wolf in a cemetery that was nowhere near the forest or where the wolves lived. The cemetery extended for miles, mostly empty but there was a children's park nearby along with a natural reserve to its left. The forest was at least a thirty-minute drive away from the cemetery.

I swallowed hard and tasted the fear in my mouth, growing with every second. My eyes turned toward the station where the night guard of the cemetery was usually to be seen, however, he wasn't there. No one was there.

When my eyes flicked back to the wolf's, I found out he hadn't stopped watching me. He observed me closely with a strange hunger within him.

I wasn't afraid of dying I was afraid of getting ripped by a wolf and left alone.

For a second, I felt no concern until he raised his paw and took a careful step toward me. I jumped up in hurry and screamed at the top of my lungs and cried for help. I ran as fast I could've ever and stumbled over a few headstones, but that didn't stop me from running away from a wolf that had my blood in his eyes.

When I glanced over my shoulders, I found him, chasing me. His siren eyes were cast upon me, and they had no intentions of leaving me alone. Cold gripped me hard and rough. The hair over my skin rose and my heart filled up with panic.

What was he going to do? Would I die? Was I satisfied with my life that I could die now? There were many questions spilling in my head. I had lived a long miserable life and death didn't shake

me, not even the slightest. Maybe it was better if I left now than later.

Aunt Coral would be free of me and so would everyone else. Ryan could go ahead and pursue the woman he cheated on me with. The bartender at Toasty would no longer be concerned about me throwing a fight every time I walked into the bar.

And I I would be reunited with my parents.

I stopped running and froze on my tracks. The steps of the wolf came closer and closer. I twirled around and crossed my arms over my face and waited for the impact. A part of me didn't expect the wolf to attack me but when he did, I screamed.

Wild pain struck at my gut as he pushed me over the ground beneath my feet and punctured his canines deep into my waist, ripping my skin apart. Bound by the pain, I screamed over the top of my lungs till his canines slipped out of me. My screams came to an end and my head fell flat over the ground.

Warm blood oozed out of the wound but my heart continued to beat. It wasn't enough.

My eyes met with the wolf's eyes that had now turned into a beautiful shade of golden brown.

His face was filled with guilt and surprise. I expected him to attack me again, to take my life and to kill me but he didn't.

He wandered off into the night and left me alive. I felt pain in my spine and waist. It was fiery tingling that never seemed to end, a throbbing nerve and a swollen ache.

Glancing up at the sky, I looked straight at the full moon and the sight of it soothed me down.

A warm tear fell from my face, descending onto my tangled hair, and then there was another one before realization struck me.

I wasn't going to die.

Sobs broke through me, and I cried hard while rushing myself up from the ground. Nearing another tree, I leaned back onto its trunk and then removed my jacket before pulling up my shirt to my chest. My stomach was covered blood. There were a few deep gashes right where the wolf's mouth was clamped.

I planted my hand over the wound and pressed hard to stop the bleeding.

It was the early hours of the morning when I returned to the house after escaping the emergency room. Once the nurse had cleaned up and wrapped up the wound, I left immediately knowing that unwanted charges and suggestions were heading my way if I hadn't rushed out.

It was an absolute struggle to walk up the stairs.

Using one hand, I held my waist, and using the other one, I held the handle of the stairs.

My ears perked when I heard a door creaking.

Turning my head around, I found Aunt Coral taking a step out of her room.

"Are you okay?" She asked while tightening her robe.

"Yes." I grunted out.

"How was the walk?"

"Perfect." I avoided talking much as every time I moved my jaw and uttered something, pain rose in my stomach again. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Valerie."

Aunt Coral returned to her room, and I went straight into mine. As soon as I closed the door, I grabbed the bottle off my table and chugged down as much as I could to dull the pain away. It wasn't the first time I had a near-death experience but failing every time bought great disappointment and I hated dealing with that.

Without changing or freshening up, I laid on my back and threw the blanket over my legs to protect myself from the cold gushing in from the open windows of my room. I was too tired to even close them, let alone ever move from my bed.

The pain had reduced ever since I took the medicine's the nurse had given me. I was back to being the numb, soulless girl.

The night had changed nothing.

Or so I thought.