Xavier and the Wolf (Legends of Pinewood 1)

5. If you're face to face with a wolf

The wolf stared at me with perked up ears. I stared back at it with my heart in my throat.

I knew there were plenty of animals living in these woods, including large predators, but I had never seen a wolf. Especially not one this massive—it had to be over six feet long. Others had mentioned seeing bears or wolves in the past, but that was during camping trips. Neither predator were supposed to come this close to town. Maybe that was why Boris wanted to build a fence around his garden. To make sure wild animals couldn't just walk in when he had his backdoor open.

Shit, I hoped Boris didn't leave his back door open.

I knew better than to turn my back on a wolf or try to run. It was faster than me anyway, so I slowly started shuffling backwards while keeping my eyes and my phone's torch trained on the massive animal. While the wolf kept its gaze on me, it didn't seem to follow me.

I continued moving and planned my next actions. If I managed to get myself to safety, my next priority would be to make sure Boris and Aquila knew there was a dangerous animal in their garden. When I'd put a few more feet of distance between myself and the wolf, I dared to slowly move my other hand to my phone to call Boris.

The moment I tapped my phone's screen, it turned out Boris wasn't the one I should be worried about right now. It was me.

With a bark, the wolf leapt out of the garden through the opening in the fence and ran onto the path. It closed most of the distance I'd tried to put between us, and stood right in front of me, only a few feet away now. I froze, my breath coming in short bursts. From up close, I could see even better how humongous and muscular this wolf was. It was also really fast. This wasn't a normal animal.

"Okay, uh, good boy," I started blabbering in my panic. "I don't have any food for you, so you run along now, okay?"

The wolf just stared at me. Because it was a fucking wolf that didn't understand a word I just said, and I was the food.

With trembling hands, I tried to dial Boris' number again, this time to save my own hide. The wolf barked and took a step closer again, making me take a step back and freeze. We were caught in a strange sort of waltz, the animal and I. It didn't seem to want to attack me, but each time I tried to call Boris, the wolf barked and stepped forward, making me stop. It was almost like it didn't want me to use my phone. That was ridiculous, however. Wolves had no concept of what a phone was, and shouldn't be responding to it.

Still, I had no strategy or other ideas here, so I went with my theory of the wolf reacting to me tapping my screen. Slowly, I lowered my phone to show I wasn't going to use it to call, but kept the torch mode on to keep an eye on the wolf. It tilted his head to the side, but didn't follow me this time when I shuffled backwards.

I had to fight my instincts screaming at me to run away now that I could put more distance between myself and this terrifyingly gigantic wolf. With small, quick steps, I kept walking backwards, until I heard leaves rustling behind me as well.

My breath caught in my throat. My body went rigid, and I was pretty sure my heart just stopped. Wolves were pack animals. There would be more. I didn't dare to turn or move, and I almost screamed when a loud, booming, and familiar voice rang out behind me.

"Get out of here!" Boris stepped beside me, waving his arms. "Scram!"

Immediately, the wolf's ears flattened, and it lowered its head. With a soft whine, it then turned and ran back into the bushes. The rustling sound swiftly faded into the distance, and I released the biggest relieved sigh of my life.

"Jesus Christ," I muttered under my breath.

Boris patted my shoulder, almost making me jump from the adrenaline still coursing through my veins.