Authors: Renee Thacker
“Ready to meet my parents?” he asked.
“Ready as I’ll ever be.” I mumbled.
“Hey Janet!
William!” he called.
“You
want to
lay off those drinks real quick and come meet the visitor?”
A couple about I’d say in
their
mid-thirties
parted from the group stopping shortly before us.
They both had bright green eyes and circular tattoos in the same spot as every single other person here tonight except for me of course.
My self-
conscious
body made me aware of my hands sweating in Carsons.
There definitely was a reason behind all of this.
“Leslie my parents
William
and Janet Lund,” he pointed to them letting go of my hand then gesturing to me. “And this is Leslie woods.”
“Hi,” Janet took my hand and shook it.
“You’re the outsider Loren told us about.
You’re the first one since…. Anyways you must be my growing
son’s
girlfriend.
“Oh no we’re just friends.” I said.
Hopefully I was right.
“Well then.”
This time William.
“
Janet and I
are goin
g to get back to our business. I
f you kids are hungry Dimitri and Jeremy took it upon
them
that they could cook burgers.”
And they left.
Opposite of my parents.
Carson was lucky he had no boundaries.
I had rules. Very strict restrictions. The way my mom had me socialize was the wrong way. That’s
the only reason I agreed to come to Alaska. To have some freedom.
“C’mon,” he strided over to where everyone was now dancing in pairs.
And not a slow dance either.
“I don’t d-
“he
grabbed my hand pulling me in to the midst of it leading making it easy for me.
Most embarrassing moment of my life. Plain looking girl in this world of beautiful girls and women. Dancing around like a lunatic. I tried to focus on Carson and the delightful smells surrounding me.
We danced to the music for what felt like hours.
When we got exhausted we sat on the beach and just stared at the full moon, me resting me head on his
well-muscled
shoulder.
After that we danced and fell in to
each other’s
arms here and there.
When we got exhausted the second time we took of our shoes, socks and waded across the
water’s
edge hand in hand.
I was so tired that the walk to the
tree line
I was only supporting half myself while Carsons strong arms supported the rest at my waist.
“When we plopped down on a log we watched everyone else going on with the party.
Until Carson finally broke the silence and said, “Well that was an unexpected change of events.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“It scared me Leslie I thought you’d hate me forever.
“Well yeah considering the fact that only two weeks ago you pushed me against the wall and demanded some sort of introductory.
But things changed as they have.
And I like you.
But it’s not as If we’re going to know each other forever. Just trying to have fun while I can…
”
“That’s what I was afraid of.” He hung his head.
“What?
You just said you were afraid I’d hate you forever and now
you’re
saying
you’re
afraid I like you.
What’s the deal?”
“It’s not that,” Carson countered.
“It’s dangerous knowing me.
You don’t want to.”
“Yes I do.” I rose to my feet.
“And you
cannot
change that.
Plus you still owe me an explanation.”
“What time is it?” he asked.
I glanced down at my watch.
“11:57 why?”
His face looked like it had just been stoned as he froze.
He opened his mouth a couple of times to try to say something.
When he finally did his narrowed eyes penetrated me as he said.
“Run now.
Go to the car and drive out of here.”
“You still owe me an explanation!” I shouted.
“Run now Leslie!” he rose to his feet almost touching me.
“This isn’t something you can just scare me out of.” I told him.
That’s when I started to piece together everything.
It was absurd so it took a little while to comprehend.
The moon, the time, why I was an outsider, him stressing it was dangerous knowing him, the tattoos, the
carnivore
diet, the green eyes, tan skin that
everyone
had.
I turned to Carson petrified.
Blocking at the sound of him telling me to run just two inches away.
11:58
. Two
minutes.
“You’re a
werewolf,
” I said in a
high-pitched
hushed voice.
“And so is your whole clan.”
“I will explain later just run!” he yelled.
“You said that last time.” at this point I didn’t
c
are
,
I just wanted some explanations.
“Why didn’t you tell me?!”
“I didn’t want to give you that fate!” then in a hushed tone he said.
“
It’s
starting.”
He crouched down, shifting in to his wolf form.
Fur covered him, then his face changed in to that of a wolves.
The only thing that stayed the same
was
those bright green eyes.
I looked to the others.
Party stopped.
Fire out.
All wolves.
A piercing earsplitting scream rang
out in
to the night air.
I realized it was my own, turned around and ran, hair whipping my face.
The wolves were beautiful in a frightening way.
And they were massive.
Coming up to a little above my waist.
The
wolf Carson
ran alongside me as I tore through the forest seeing a blur of trees go by.
I thought they were supposed to lose
their
mind in wolf form.
Was that what they were about to say at breakfast?
That’s why they needed him to protect me.
Because Carson Lund is the only one who can keep his mind throughout the moon night.
Branches stung my face making brutal streaks across my face.
I took a glance behind me.
Wrong.
The wolf pursuing me lashed out with one of
its
claws making a bloody mark down the side of my face.
I cried out in agony trying to ignore the hundreds of howls from the
whole
pack, mainly the snarling one attacking me.
When the wolf drooled the saliva landed on my cut making it sting like salt in an open wound.
I tried to punch
its
nose but the wolf didn’t so much as flinch.
It took the chance and lunged at me tearing off
Carson’s
jacket I still wore.
So the cold wave rushed over me.
I fell down and watched the wolf advance towards me.
Deaths voice mimicking me.
I noticed all the other
pack was
staying behind guarding the main attacker.
The wolf full on lunged at me.
A
high-pitched
howl
actively
in me from the wolf Carsons mouth as he tried to urge me to run.
But I couldn’t.
But I couldn’t, my body was helplessly slumped against a tree.
When he threw his massive body protectively in front of me I took the chance to scramble to my
feet.
I could see the break in the trees ahead.
Just a thin sliver of light.
I neared my destination breaking through the
tree line
gasping for air.
Another wolf with silver grey hair slammed in to me.
I flew through the air about ten feet landing on the hood of the red convertible.
I struggled
not to go in to shock.
The wolf opened
its
jaws wide.
Instantly I rolled off the car getting in to
my
rental, jamming the door shut, fumbling for the keys.
Blood clouded half my vision.
The window broke in to a million glass shards as a head poked in.
Carson was holding the keys in his mouth.
I grabbed them and shoved them in to the ignition.
Backing out quickly hitting a wolf.
For all I knew it could have been Rosa, Loren, Tarun, Dimitri,
Jeremy
, or Regan.
One of them jumped through the broken window.
It didn’t
even
try to attack me.
Carson.
The wolf was Carson.
So I hit the gas going eighty miles an hour.
The wolves were easily keeping up.
They finally gave up one I got on to the freeway entrance.
I could not go back to the school like this as a bloody mess…and a wolf. So I stopped at the nearest
store
and parked in the very back.
Carson jumped in the back seat and curled up at the end.
Resting his snout between his paws.
Meanwhile I wiped my blood off and cared for the wounds before climbing in the back and burying my face in to
Carson’s
fur.
My eyelids drooped.
I welcomed the darkness.