The Wolf's Den

Bee

Hiya lovelies!! I've got another chapter ready for y'all!!

What do you think of Bee and the boys so far??

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bessie, my pickup truck, drove better than she had in years. And it made me angrier. Some part of me knew I shouldn't be upset or angry about this, about Stryker coming in and getting my truck fixed up at James' shop for me. It wouldn't break down on me anymore and I wouldn't have to have some mornings where I walked miles to my job. But I couldn't help it.

Because he was trying to weasel himself back in, he was trying to make me think he was going to be there. And I knew he wasn't.

Not because I didn't want him or my brothers to be there, not because I hated them and wanted them to leave again.

But because they couldn't. Not now. 

Dear God, just...not now.

Why not any of the years before? Why did they have to come back now of all times? When I'd finally made my peace with everything and had a plan?

It made me see red as I drove, speeding up down the country roads at the back of the town and right next to the forest line. I wanted to just drive and drive, and leave it all.

Like that roadtrip I'd made Aleise and Fira take with me, where we just took off and left everything behind and drove with the wind in our hair. Of course that had been majorly for Aleise as she'd been losing her shit and needed space from the town that hated her.

So I did the next best thing I could think of.

Right off the regular dirt road, there was another road that took a minute drive or so and further back into the woods. It opened up to a large field that every teenager in this town had taken their sweethearts at some point or other. Stryker and I had gone there many times, dancing in the middle of the night and kissing before my brothers even knew we were dating right under their noses.

I did donuts in my truck right there, the tires angrily tearing up the field that used to be one of my younger self's favorites. Just for kicks, I turned up the newly fixed stereo and blared my playlist of Nickleback hits.

I ignored the wolves that I caught glimpses of dashing through the trees and watching me. I'd seen them through the trees on my drive here, running in pace with my truck and following. Blurs of dark fur and flashes of teeth through the green trees.

I ignored the fact that were three different ones, varying shades of fur and eyes, and that they were the three idiots I cared too much about still in wolf form. I knew that because I'd seen their wolves before, I'd seen them shift when we were younger way before they ever skipped town and left me behind.

My brothers shared the same burgundy eyes as wolves, but their fur differed. Kal's was a unnatural black shade that glinted dark blue in moonlight or darkness. Ansel's was a dark brown body with light brown paws and underside.

Stryker's wolf on the other hand, was a massive solid black wolf with steely grey eyes that were just as intense and captivating as his human ones. And I always felt them on me when he was back in town, even when I was sure he was no where around. 

That's what Stryker was like, a presence that stuck with you even if he wasn't actually there. A presence that had stayed with me my entire life even when I was completely and utterly alone. The memories of his lips on mine, or his hands holding me, looking over and smiling at me— all of it lingered and stayed no matter how much he hurt me. No matter how angry I got, I could still feel him there with me.

And in the end it still felt like someone was wrenching my chest open if I let myself remember it. If I looked past the anger at all, there was only pain and missing him terribly.

Swapping Nickleback songs for angry Three Days Grace, I violently jerked the wheel and sent my truck squealing into a large bush that definitely didn't survive. If there was a brown wolf that yelped and fled the said bush, I paid no attention. And definitely felt no remorse.

As I got ready for another turn about the field, a large black wolf planted himself in front, his eyes sharp and missing nothing.

I slammed my foot on the brake, turning the wheel sharply to avoid hitting him.

It sent me swerving more wildly through the field than before, so fast and sharp I hit the dash and window a few times. But everywhere I looked, whether my eyes were open or closed— all I saw was every moment I'd spent in this place only sped up faster and faster. From ball games with my brothers to midnights with Stryker. All of us running and playing, and then nights where I'd gone looking for them alone.

I screamed as vehicle spun faster and faster.

Not sure how, but my truck finally came to a stop facing the tree line, and just an inch or two from the closest tree in front.

Breathing heavily and clutching the steering wheel, I didn't budge or move my eyes away from the trees at all. As if something would move and come out from between them if I looked away.

My mind transported me back to something I'd seen happen before in the blink of an eye.

I could almost see the langly tall forms now, in the darkness between the trees where they had creeped out before. Their eyes would glint once they reached the edge of the trees, and then they would— a thump against my truck's door broke me out of the trance.

The memory of those monsters slinking back into the depths of my mind again. I looked out the side door to see Stryker's wolf staring up at me with the world's most pitiful eyes.

I glared at him, hard.

~~~~~~~~~

I know it's a shorter chapter right now, but I've been trying to make sure I properly balance my health with writing and work, so sometimes I have to rest instead of even trying to write and just save it for another day 😓