Whispers of the Wolf

My Stranger

Radley

Casting a glance behind me to make sure that I hadn't been followed, I heaved a sigh, then carried on walking along the walkway that circled the woodlands on the way back to my house.

It was daytime, and the woods to my right didn't seem as gloomy, as foreboding or as dark, as they usually did. They seemed mysterious, bright and ... inviting?

The sudden urge to run amongst the trees, to weave in between them, overtook me and I glanced to my left, to the houses on the other side of the road, averting my attention, willing my legs to continue to walk forward and not venture off of the walkway. The woods housed the wolves that I saw ... the large wolves.

And I didn't want to be in there with them.

Glancing at the houses as I walked past them, I gripped the coffee cups tighter, glad that they were still warm.

I had no real idea why I had run away from Alaric. I never usually did anything like that.

Was it the memory of what had happened last night?

No!

Stopping, I shook my head, trying to shake out the memories. I was making myself feel crazy with my thoughts about Alaric, about the strange noises he had made, about the way his body had moved.

I didn't know what had happened ... all I was doing was driving myself crazy, trying to guess what it was that I saw.

Why hadn't I just asked Tala while I was in the coffee shop?

Or Alaric himself?

Chuckling, I continued along the walkway towards my house. I would never ask Alaric anything. We weren't exactly on speaking terms. In fact, I didn't think I had ever really spoken to him. Just a few mumbled words of hello when I saw him in the street.

Or were those words in my head? Did I ever actually speak them out loud?

Probably not.

I was used to just watching him ... the way his body moved, his thick hair falling across his forehead, his handsome face nearly always wearing a smile. He was beautiful.

And very much out of my league.

But I could fantasise about him ... right?

Heaving another sigh, I shook my head again. I needed to get him out of my head. Since the night before, he had consumed my thoughts, my dreams. I just couldn't stop thinking about him.

And last night ... when he'd had his back to me, completely nude ... the moonlight glistening against his smooth pale skin ...

That funny sensation fluttered in my stomach again, causing a pleasant shiver to thrum through my body.

No.

Not again.

Stopping so that I could adjust myself in my jeans once more, movement out of the corner of my eye caught my attention.

What was that?

Gripping the coffee cups tightly, I cast my gaze over the woodland, peering through the trees. A gentle breeze ruffled the fallen leaves, nipping at my bare fingers. I was grateful I was holding two warm cups right now as I shivered, this time from the cold.

A whisper of dried leaves.

The swish of swaying branches.

A snap of a twig.

Oh crap.

My breath caught in my throat as I felt frozen on the spot. My eyes darted from left to right, sweeping the floor of the woodlands, taking in the dead leaves, the exposed roots, the fallen pine cones.