Where My Demons Hide

Chapter 3

I was washing some dishes in the kitchen of the cafe and my mind was on the wolf. It's eyes were what I saw every time I closed my eyes and I was sure I'd seen them before. They were so familiar, but I couldn't figure out where I'd seen them.

My encounter with the black wolf was my first encounter with any wolf. I hadn't expected wolves to be so large and I hadn't expected wolves to be so calm around humans. Most people said they were always ready to attack, so I wondered why the black wolf didn't.

Sighing, I told myself I should feel lucky. I had survived a wolf encounter without any scratches, so I should just be thankful and forget about the wolf. But, I couldn't.

"Luna, are you okay?" Blake asked.

Blake stood next to me, looking concerned now. I hadn't noticed him there because the wolf was consuming my thoughts. Blake was a large guy, filled with muscles, so he was easy to notice and I hadn't due to the wolf.

"Yeah," I answered. "I'm fine."

"You've been washing the same plate for the past few minutes," he said, raising his eyebrows. "Is something bothering you?"

Flushing, I dropped the plate into the sink. Blake frowned as I shook my head, wishing to forget about the wolf. 

"Nothing's bothering me," I told Blake, rinsing the plates I had already soaped. "I've just been thinking about something."

"What?" he asked.

"It's... nothing."

I liked keeping certain parts of me a secret. No one knew about my forest or about Haiden, and I wanted it to stay that way. Some things were personal and better off not said.

Blake frowned. "You sure you don't want to talk about it?"

"For sure." I gave him a small smile as an idea popped into my mind. "But could you do me a favour?"

"Sure. Anything for you."

"Take my shift?" I gave him the puppy-dog eyed look I saved for moments like this. "Please."

Blake frowned. "Why?"

"I need to go somewhere and... Please Blake. For me?"

Blake sighed and ran his fingers through his blonde hair. He thought I was too nice, but honestly, he was too nice. Blake had a habit of doing whatever I asked for and I never knew why.

"Like I said, anything for you," Blake said, smiling. "See you later."

"Thank you." I threw my arms around him, hugging him. "You're the best."

When I let go, I became surprised when I saw that Blake was blushing. He wouldn't look at me, which left me frowning. But since I couldn't waste any time, I turned around and ran off, hoping to find the wolf.

*****

    I was walking down the path to the centre of the roses, praying the wolf was there. I was probably the only person on earth who would wish to meet a wild wolf and I was probably going to regret looking for it, but I really wanted to figure out where I had seen its eyes. And to figure it out, I needed to see those eyes again, close up.