Blizzard

chapter 7

"Are you sure you don't want to come?" Derek asked while closing the trunk of the car after filling it with their baggage.

Toni stood in the doorway overlooking the small front yard. "Yeah."

"Okay." The woman in front of her sighed, "Well, if you need anything, please, don't hesitate to call us." Camille looked like she was contemplating doing something anomalous like hugging her or something, but at the last second seemed to think better of it.

"Sure, whatever." Toni listened to them say whatever they needed to ease their conscience, before they left.

Once they were gone, she put on some extra layers to make sure she wouldn't freeze and set off to meet the wolf.

When Toni arrived at the rock overhang, the wolf was already waiting for her, lying on top of it, looking fucking majestic.

***

"My foster parents just left for a week, to spend Christmas with family out of state." Toni started playing with the snow between her outstretched legs. Piling it up, smoothing it down. "They offered me to join them, but I refused. I don't want to impose. And I also don't really feel like meeting their extended family, only so I can feel like the fucking outsider I am. And besides, I don't really mind spending Christmas on my own, it can't be worse than some of my previous ones." She was drawing random shapes in the snow, to then smooth them over and start over. "At least Camille left me some pretty decent pre-prepared meals in the fridge that I just have to heat up, so it's already going to be better than most."

Even if she wanted to go with them, she knew their invitation wasn't genuine, there was no way they actually wanted for her to come along. She told the wolf as much.

A few weeks had gone by since they'd first met up without a blizzard making them cross paths. Ever since, the wolf had stood up Toni a total of three times. Probably because during the exams she had only been able to come sporadically and at random times. Toni made a mental note to meet up more regularly, at less random hours. So the wolf would know when to show up.

***

Just as Toni finished eating her Christmas Eve dinner she heard some kind of sound come from outside. It was pretty quiet so it was difficult to make out what it was, but if Toni didn't know any better she'd say it sounded like a howl. Convinced that her solitude was playing tricks on her, she stood up and put her dishes in the sink. The meal had been pretty good, which she'd expected because Camille was a pretty good cook. Better than Derek. They both cooked from time to time, but mainly Derek because his job allowed him to be home more often than his wife. Right before Toni turned on the faucet, she heard the sound again. It was louder this time and she was now certain it was not just her imagination. She turned off the faucet. She could do the dishes later. While she was putting on her jacket, she heard the soft howl for the third time. She hurriedly put on her shoes and went outside through the backdoor.

The dark evening sky was clear. Moonlight reflected off the snow. The wolf was standing where the woods met her foster home's backyard, waiting for her. The moonlight gave her fur a silvery shine and reflected off her icy blue eyes. For a second, it looked like they were glowing. She was absolutely gorgeous. Lethally gorgeous.

The corners of Toni's mouth immediately moved upwards at seeing the animal she'd become so familiar with. She went over to the wolf, stopping right at the edge of the forest, about ten feet from where the canine was standing.

The wolf didn't move away. She had let Toni get closer the past few weeks, though never close enough to touch her. The brunette had respected that part of the animal's boundaries. Though, tonight, the urge to touch her, to pet her, was stronger than ever before. Maybe it was because of those Christmas feels everyone was always going on about, like in those fucking Christmas movies where everyone was constantly cuddling. Toni had never understood the appeal. Until now.