Dream of Wolves

Quinn

I was running, my dress and skin being scratched by twigs and branches as I dashed through the cold night. The moon was hidden behind clouds, leaving me in complete darkness.

I could hardly see anything in front of me. I didn’t know where I was heading, but I was sprinting through the forest, dodging trees and treacherous roots...

The wet leaves under my bare feet squished into the mud from the rain. Normally, I would have loved the smell of rain, but not tonight.

Tonight, I was being chased.

Amid the steady sound of raindrops splashing around, I could hear the galloping footsteps behind me.

And they were getting closer. Whatever was chasing me was on all fours. I could hear its panting.

I tripped over a fallen tree trunk, but I quickly got up and continued running. My werewolf bite was starting to throb, but I had to ignore the pain.

I had to numb myself to it.

AR-ROOO-OOO!

A howl echoed through the night. It was closer than I thought.

I had to act—quickly.

As I continued running, my feet plunged into freezing water that reached my calves. I’d found a creek, which gave me an idea.

Instead of crossing it, I decided to follow it upstream to mask my scent. I didn’t know if it would work, but I had to try.

The rocks under the water were slippery, and I almost lost my balance several times. The sound of nearby rapids helped to cover the noise I was making.

Was it working? I stopped to listen.

AR-ROOO-OOO!

The howl seemed more distant than before, almost desperate, but I kept going. However, the further I went, the colder my legs became. The icy water was starting to burn my skin.

I had to get out.

So, I crossed to the other side and started running through the woods again.

~Where am I?~

~How far have I run?~

~How did I end up here?~ I couldn’t even remember leaving the pack house.

I couldn’t let these questions distract me. All I knew was that something—or someone—was chasing me, and I had to escape.

AR-ROOO-OOO!

The howl was filled with excitement this time—it had picked up my scent!

~Damn it!~

I ran even faster.

Where was Jaxon? Why was I alone?

I reached the steep side of a hill. There were cliffs on either side of me, and behind me...whatever was chasing me.

I had no choice but to climb.

I hoisted myself onto a nearby rock and climbed to another. The sharp edges of the rocks cut into my feet, but I couldn’t stop.

I had to keep going. I had to keep climbing.

I thought that if I climbed high enough, I could lose it, but I soon realized that the blood I was leaving behind was like a trail of breadcrumbs for it to follow.

I heard movement from the bushes below.

I knew I shouldn’t look down, but I couldn’t resist. Far below, I saw a large shadowy figure emerge from the forest. Its red eyes glowed as they frantically searched the area until they landed on me.

AR-ROOO-OOO!

~It saw me!~

It rushed towards the rocks below and started climbing towards me. I could hear its claws scratching and tearing at the rocky surface as it pulled itself up.

It was catching up—quickly.

After a lot of effort, I finally reached the top. My muscles were exhausted. I wanted to collapse, but I had to keep going.

As I entered the tree line, I heard the beast reach the top. It was right behind me.

The creature roared at me, warning me not to go any further.

I froze.

I heard its heavy footsteps slowly approaching.

I turned around to see a giant, wolf-like monster standing before me. It snarled and barked, its hideous features twisted in anger. I then heard bones cracking and snapping as it partially shifted into human form to stand on two feet.

“Quinn,” the creature said, “I’ve been looking for you for a long time.”

I took a step back, but it grabbed me with its powerful arms and rushed towards the cliff. My stomach lurched as he leaped down the side of the hill, easily jumping from one rock to another.

I clung to his fur. I didn’t dare let go.

When we reached the bottom, he set me down. I couldn’t stand, even if I wanted to. I was too drained.

As the moonlight started to break through the clouds, I got a better look at my captor. I watched as he fully shifted back into human form.

He was naked, a massive hulk of muscles. A nasty scar ran down the left side of his face.

He also had a huge erection, which I’d heard sometimes happened after shifting. I’d never seen one in real life before. If I wasn’t so terrified, I would have been impressed by its size.

He started walking towards me.

“Don’t you touch me!” I said, squeezing my legs together.

He laughed.

“I’m not going to force myself on you, if that’s what you’re thinking,” he said in a deep voice, “unless you’re just dying to know what it feels like.”

“Stay away from me!”

He tilted his head and looked at me curiously. He scoffed, “You’re not my type, anyway… far too skinny. I like a woman with meat on her bones.”

“Who are you? What do you want?”

“You can call me Carl if you want, but I can’t tell you what’s going to happen to you. All I can say is that a very important person wants to meet you.”

“Who?” I dared to ask.

“Let’s just say, he has a real ~taste~ for girls like you.” He smiled wickedly. “But enough talk. We’ve got a long journey ahead of us.”

I flinched as he moved towards me, but he stopped when he heard a twig snap. There was movement in the bushes.

“What the hell?” he muttered, but before he could react, a large force knocked him to the ground—someone with blond hair.

Carl, if that was his real name, cried out in pain as a fight broke out between the two of them.

I seized my opportunity, sprang to my feet, and bolted back towards the woods. I sprinted as fast as I could, not daring to glance back. I didn’t have the luxury of time to ponder who had come to my aid; my only focus was to get the hell out of there.

But my escape was abruptly halted when a tree branch smacked into my forehead. Everything turned pitch black.

***

I woke up with a start, sitting upright in bed. I glanced around the room, disoriented, before realizing I was back in the safety of the pack house.

It was just a dream. A seriously messed-up nightmare.

But my head was still pounding. Why was my head aching? You couldn’t get injured in dreams, could you? It felt so incredibly real. Why would I dream something like that?

“Quinn?” Jaxon’s voice came from his side of the pillow barrier. “Are you okay?”

Without a second thought, I dove into his arms, burying my face in his bare chest. I had never been this close to him before. His scent was intoxicating.

Jaxon seemed as taken aback as I was by my sudden boldness, but he kept his arms extended, unsure of how to respond. So, I grabbed them and wrapped them around me for comfort.

All my feelings of dread instantly evaporated.

It took a moment for his muscles to relax, as much as chiseled muscles could. The warmth radiating from his body felt heavenly against my chilled skin.

“Do you want to talk about it?” he asked hesitantly, still unsure of how to handle the situation.

I clung to him tighter and shook my head. “It was just a nightmare, that’s all… A bit more vivid than I would have liked.”

I let out a soft moan when I felt his fingers comb through my hair. His touch instantly eased the pain in my forehead.

As he continued this soothing motion, my eyelids started to droop. I could easily drift off to sleep in his arms.

But I abruptly pulled away, mortified by my actions.

When I looked at Jaxon, the events of the past few days came flooding back.

It had been barely a few hours since my “mate” declared he wanted to be with me, and here I was, fawning over him like some lovesick fan.

He looked almost wounded when I pulled away from him. Could I have actually penetrated his tough exterior?

“Sorry,” I mumbled, “I didn’t mean to…” But my words trailed off. I retreated back to my side of the bed and cocooned myself in the sheet.

An awkward silence descended upon us.

~Why did I throw myself into his arms like that?~

“Quinn…” he finally broke the silence. “Tomorrow night, I’d like you to meet me.”

“Meet you?” I sat up, puzzled.

“I’d like us to do something…together. Just the two of us. I think it’s high time we got to know each other better.”

I felt my cheeks heat up when I realized what he was suggesting. “What? Like, a date?”

He gave a nervous smile.

“Yeah, a date. What do you think?”

This was a side of him I’d never seen before. Was he actually being sweet?

“Umm…sure,” I responded, trying to keep my excitement in check. “I think that would be nice.”

“Alright, good. I’ll pick you up, say…six o’clock? In front of the packhouse?”

“Sure,” I agreed.

“Great,” he said, grinning like a fool. “I’ll see you then.”

We both lay back down on our respective sides.

I covered my mouth to suppress my excitement. I had never been asked out on a date before.

Judging by the way we both tossed and turned, I don’t think either of us got any more sleep that night.