Authors: Annalise Grey
Howl
By Annalise Grey
Copyright 2011 Annalise Grey
Smashwords Edition
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This book is dedicated to Sissy. Happy
birthday, finally.
Table of Contents
Chapter 3 - Grounded in Reality – or
not
Chapter 4 - Particle Physics in
action
Chapter 12 - Some Legends refuse to
die
Chapter 14 - Too much to ask for
Chapter 15 - The rapid pace of
Change
Chapter 19 - The Animal within
Chapter 20 - Darkness lies
ahead
among grating
brick walls and soulless streets.
My eyes reflect the stars
shimmering in obsidian night
and the scent of the forest is heavy on my
skin.
It began, inconsequentially I thought, when I
went hunting before a blizzard at the end of March. They say March
is supposed to come in like a lion and out like a lamb but this
month wasn’t living up to its folkloric stature. Looking back, I
should have taken it as a warning; a cosmic sign of trouble brewing
beneath the blanket of peacefulness that covered my life.
I had eaten my fill of small game and was
just about to head back when I was caught off guard by the smell of
caramel and spice wafting through the threadbare branches of black
cherry, oak, and maple. My nose instinctively jerked up, leading my
eyes to the source of the smell: a hiker coming out of his tent not
fifty yards from where I made my last kill. I hadn’t been hunting
in almost a month. The intense enjoyment of chasing my prey stole
all of my focus and I hadn’t caught the scent of a human nearby nor
had I seen the tent until it was too late.
Hadn’t this human noticed the steel grey
clouds rolling in like crushing waves, or felt the chill piercing
the air? A vast and terrible storm was brewing around us. Why was
he not at home, sheltered and warm?
I know he saw me. As quickly as I came into
his sight I ran off in the opposite direction.
My human consciousness faintly echoed an
admonition to me. You were seen.
We’re supposed to stay hidden, far off the
trails. But with the snow coming I had placed my bet that no one
would be out hiking. I was wrong. I was also wrong in assuming that
the hiker who spotted me had either passed through Kane or, more
likely, died from being buried in the thirty inches of snow we
received from that snowstorm.
Three days later I drove to my older brother
Thomas’s part-time work at the National Forestry and Wildlife
Research Center. Thomas was a veterinarian in our hometown Kane,
Pennsylvania but he collaborated with Wildlife Conservation
Officers at the research center on wildlife disease prevention and
treatment. I always enjoyed my visits to the research center,
however infrequent they were, because the building and people
seemed to radiate a passion for the woods I loved so much. It was
like being united by a common interest. It was little surprise that
my brother took so much pleasure from his work there.
The day I went to the research center changed
everything. I made my way down the hall to Thomas’s office but was
stopped at the closed door by an unfamiliar voice.
“I’m telling you Thomas, I know what I saw.
This wolf was huge; massive, in fact. Way too big to be a standard
wolf. Its legs were solid, heavier set, and longer. This thing’s
head probably came up to about my shoulders. And the jaw was
different, slightly elongated yet broader, too.”
“I hear what you’re saying Jaime but I’m
telling you, wolves don’t get that size. At least not without large
doses of steroids!” Thomas’ voice was definitely strained although
he was desperately attempting a joke. It must have fallen on deaf
ears.
“Everyone says there are wolves around these
forests. Once in a while people call in to report hearing them. I
just didn’t think they were this size.”
“That’s because nobody ever sees them. In
fact, when was the last time someone even reported a wolf sighting?
Maybe 10 years ago. I wouldn’t worry about because they’re not a
threat.”
“I wasn’t worried until I saw one. But now
that I have….”
“Listen, even if these wolves are the size
you say-” Thomas cut in.
“I told you, I know what I saw Thomas! This
was no ordinary wolf!”
The very angry tone unsettled me. Nobody
spoke to my brother like that. Thomas was highly respected in the
research center. Whichever wolf this guy had seen running in the
woods must have given him quite a fright for him to speak so
harshly to my brother. This was not good news for us.
“I’m just saying,” Thomas spoke softly,
clearly trying to placate this guy Jaime’s anger. “Even with wolves
of this size, they are of no concern. If they were, we would be
seeing a lot more of them especially considering their size. They
certainly wouldn’t consider us dangerous. They could just roam free
to do whatever they please. But they don’t. And you need to
consider, if you make a big deal about this the higher-ups will be
out here in a second to check the veracity of your claims. If there
is any proof of their existence, nobody in town is going to be
comfortable with wolves of that size roaming around. The poachers
will come out en masse and it could become a huge mess. That is
something I really don’t want to see.”
“I understand that people in town will be
worried about their safety if they find out about these animals.”
Jaime began again. “But you have to consider that it is our job to
study the wildlife in this forest. Maybe we should be tracking
them, at the very least, just to monitor their population.”
“Yes, Jaime we probably should.” Thomas’
voice gave the slightest hint of a crack. “But wolves can have
territories that span hundreds of miles and you know that. For all
you know it could have been a wolf from a pack up in Canada. Or a
lone wolf passing through; something you won’t ever encounter
again. And I hate to be the money-minded one but remember that
we’re already short-staffed because of budget constraints. I
honestly don’t know where we will get the funds to pay for more
tracking equipment or man hours to chase after something so elusive
that it has only been spotted once in a decade.”
There was silence for a moment. Leaning a
little closer to the door, I heard Jaime’s heart rate slow a
bit.
“Alright, but you have to promise me
something. If you get any reports, any more sightings, anything at
all, you will tell me. I really don’t feel comfortable with my
researchers and the rangers out there if there are wolves of this
magnitude roaming our forests.”
Thomas sighed. “Sure thing Jaime. Just don’t
have your rangers going and looking for trouble either. Call me
sentimental but I’m an animal lover. And in my professional
opinion, these wolves probably want to stay as far away from us as
we do from them. I don’t want to hear about any of them being
followed for study and certainly not hunted. We will leave them
alone.” I caught a hard note in Thomas’ voice that ended the
conversation.
Thomas’ footsteps turned my direction.
Suddenly aware that I was lurking just on the other side of their
clearly heated discussion, I quickly walked back a few steps. The
door to Thomas’ office swung open.
“Oh, Sophie! What brings you here?” Thomas
had certainly heard me coming. I was sure he knew that I had heard
the conversation and that he was trying to keep his tone
lighthearted.
I waved his lunch bag in front of me and
forced myself to smile. “Kate called and requested that I bring you
lunch since you forgot yours. She knows you won’t stop working to
eat unless lunch is staring you in the face.” I handed him the
brown paper bag and coffee thermos.
Thomas raised his eyebrows and pursed his
lips at me, signaling me to continue this façade until we were out
of Jaime’s earshot. “Well, I knew I married her for a reason! Do
you want to join me or does Mom need you back soon?” I was just
about to answer when the man Thomas had been arguing with, Jaime,
appeared at his side.
“Is this your sister? I’m sorry, I didn’t
mean to interrupt it’s just that I haven’t been able to meet any of
Thomas’s family yet, though I hear about them all the time. I’m
Jaime Robertson.”
A scent…caramel, spice, and earth enveloped
my senses as memory of that day came rushing back.
The hiker from the woods.
The realization hit me that I was the wolf he
was just telling my brother about.
Oh no….
Thomas was covering for me, not a lone wolf.
Gavin, the Alpha, or leader of our pack, would surely be pissed at
me when he found out.
“Sophie Matthews. It’s nice to meet you.” I
managed to say, trying to regain my composure.
“Nice to meet you too, Sophie.”
My legs seemed to detach themselves from the
floor in the instant Jaime smiled. His eyes were a beautiful bright
blue and seemed to light up with a secret fire that I immediately
yearned to know more about. His mouth was perfectly shaped; his
smile was broad and seemed to radiate warmth around him. Even his
dark green ranger jacket played up the color of his mousy brown
hair which was short but tousled. Very much like a model in a
magazine although I doubted the man in front of me cared much about
his hair. I had only caught a brief glimpse of him in the woods and
that was nothing compared to him standing in the doorway. Just an
arm’s reach away….
Thomas had told me about this guy Jaime who
he worked with in the lab a few days a week. Jaime, from what my
brother had told me, was brilliant in the lab and dedicated to his
job as lead research ranger. He called Jaime ‘John Wayne with a
medical research degree’. I was instantly impressed and fascinated
by the stranger in front of me. More than that, I wanted him. My
body went slightly numb as I realized how much I was drawn to
Jaime.
Thomas cleared his throat, effectively
cutting off my musing and brought me back to reality. I shook my
head a little to clear the eddy which was desperately trying to
pull me down as I took in Jaime standing so close to me.
“So Thomas, you said you are going to eat
lunch?” Jaime asked. “Mind if I join you?”
“That would be great.” There was a slight
strain in Thomas’ eyes though his tone was light.
“I’ll go grab my lunch.” My gaze intently
followed Jaime as he walked down the hall and disappeared behind
the last door on the left.
“Sophie.” Thomas whispered in my ear, too low
for anyone to hear. “Hello?”
“What?” I looked at my brother, realizing he
was speaking to me.
“Calm yourself or you’ll have to leave.”
Thomas was Gavin’s Second which meant that he
had authority. My face burned as I the realization hit me that
Thomas understood why I was acting spaced out. I couldn’t keep
acting like some love-struck kid. Not over a human. My black boot
laces were suddenly intensely interesting to me.
Get a grip. I scolded myself.
Jaime’s footsteps walked back toward our
direction and stopped beside me. A tiny electric current ran
through from my core out to my fingers and toes, making my heart
pounded a little harder. I shifted my weight and played with my
coat zipper in the hopes that my movement would help cover the
sound of my heartbeat. Thomas was sure to hear it and that fact was
alarming.