Secrets of a Southern Belle

Chapter 17

As soon as the truck came to a stop in front of my house, the boys kicked me out and headed in the direction of Rhett's. I made my way inside, hoping I wouldn't get in trouble for not being at school or for the encounter between me and Blake. There was no one home though; the car was gone. I was alone.

A sigh of relief escapes my lips; I was finally home away from the craziness. Looking back, I can't believe what happened at school with Blake. It's so unlike me and more like Molly. After all those years of torment from her, I finally blew up. My only regret is that Sawyer didn't let me hit her at least once before dragging me away.

Why does he care anyways? I thought he didn't care about me anymore.

All of a sudden Sawyer wants to show interest in my wellbeing. Maybe he didn't want me to get hurt, or maybe he just didn't want me to embarrass him.  Either way, I saw a glimpse of the old him, and it will be what drives me to get him back permanently. He is still in there somewhere.

I wait until around the time school gets out to make my move. I was going to go back to Everclear Road again and see what is happening at the Dixons. Luckily, Gigi and my mom haven't returned to find out that I wasn't at school. It makes me question what they are doing and if everything is okay, but I push the thought to the back of my mind so that I can focus on the task at hand. If something was wrong, they would just call my cell phone.

A light chill embraces my body as I get closer to Rhett's place, and it's already getting darker due to the time change last week. I put on my hood and hug myself for warmth and comfort. When I get at the end of the road, a small dirt trail just big enough for a vehicle to fit through leads into the forest. I've never been this close before, but I assume it's the driveway. In effort to conceal my whereabouts, I decide to walk through the trees along the road.

The moon started to make it's appearance as I venture deeper into the trees, and a pinkish-orange glow painted the sky. The arches of my feet ache from the uneven terrain. I didn't realize that the road was this long. Whatever is back here, they definitely want it to be hidden. Curiosity fills my mind, and I begin to wonder about all the reasons why they are so secluded back here.

Maybe they are drug dealers and this is where they hide their stash, or maybe they steal cars.

I shake my head at those silly thoughts. I can't really picture Rhett doing those things for some reason.

What if they are just normal people who are hermits?

It would be a relief if that was the case, but I would feel stupid for all of this. On the other hand, it wouldn't explain why Sawyer changed overnight. My line of thinking immediately pointed back to drugs.

As I watch the various shades of pink fade into black, I trip over a log, but I am able to catch myself with my hands before I hit the ground. When I push myself back up and look ahead of me, I am met with glowing red eyes and sharp teeth. Just a foot away is a large, black wolf. I take a sharp intake of breath and don't move in fear of it attacking. This wasn't the same wolf that I saw. By the look of it's eyes and it showing it's sharp canines, I can tell it's not friendly. Absolute terror takes over my body and my heart pounds rapidly in my chest. I let out a scream and quickly cover my mouth.

The wolf emitted a loud growl and got in an attack stance, ready to lunge at me. My eyes whip all around me, looking for a way out of my situation, but there's not any type of weapon in an arm's reach. Warm tears begin to soak my cheeks as I squeeze my eyes shut, hoping that this isn't real.

When I open my eyes, another wolf with light, brown fur barrels into my attacker, causing them to tumble across the forest floor into some trees. A loud crack from the tree followed by growling and yelping echoes around me. I want to run and get away from here, but the scene in front of me prevents me from doing so. I'm frozen—stuck watching the fight.

Movement in the corner of my eye catches my attention. A large, grey wolf emerges from some brush and races towards the other two, where he too attacks the black wolf. Both wolves bite into it, causing it to yelp in pain. This action just fuels the fire. He then manages to throw them off of him and sends the brown wolf into a tree, which snaps the tree in half. The grey wolf rushes over to his fallen friend, a perfect distraction for the black wolf to make his getaway.

When the grey wolf sees this, he starts to chase him, but stops in his tracks when the brown wolf whimpers. Instead of pursuing the attacker, he comes back. I turn when I hear leaves rustling to the left of me. My heart begins to beat faster in fear that the other wolf was back to attack me. Two more wolves run up to the other two. The grey one acknowledges them and then looks in my direction.

The first thing I notice is the glowing, green eyes staring into mine. It was the same wolf I saw by my house. It was the same eyes from my dream—Rhett's.

"Rhett?" I whispered.

Immediately, the wolf's ears twitch at the sound of my voice. I hesitantly walk forward a couple steps but stop when the wolf seems to do so too. I can practically hear my heartbeat in my ears as I observe the wolves in front of me. The one that catches my attention the most is the brown wolf that still lays on the ground. Cracking noises that sounds like bones breaking are coming from the wolf while it moves erratically. After a few moments, all sounds and movements cease, leaving a human boy where the brown wolf use to be.

My eyes widen when I recognize who it is.

"Sawyer?! Oh my God!!" I yell frantically and rush over to him.

Gashes and blood cover his body, and he winces when I touch the cut above his eyebrow. I look over at the wolves standing behind me and see that they don't look like they are going to hurt me. These wolves saved my life. They stare back at me, surprise evident in their eyes.

That's when it hit me.

These aren't real wolves. They are people.

"You guys...you're werewolves?" I manage to say, not believing the words flowing out of my mouth.

It's impossible. Werewolves aren't real. They are myths and characters in movies. Most importantly, my brother cannot be one.

"Rae.." my brother said my name as he sat up.

"Sawyer, you're a werewolf! How?! Is this why you've been acting weird? Oh my... This explains why you are suddenly the size of a NFL player!" I blurt out, trying to piece everything together.

"Okay, calm down. We should talk about all this, but not here. It's not safe," he replies, clearly overwhelmed by my rambling.

The word 'safe' strikes a nerve with me, and my mood instantaneously shifts from astonishment to livid.

I ignore him and stalk towards the grey wolf, where I begin to scold him, "Rhett! You did this to my brother! Look what you did to him!"

I motion towards my injured brother. The same cracking noise that came from Sawyer started to come from the wolf. Suddenly, a naked Rhett was standing right in front on me.  My cheeks grow hot, and I quickly avert my eyes to a tree near me, trying to avoid Rhett's sculpted body.

"I didn't do anything, darlin'," Rhett whispered into my ear as he walked passed me towards Sawyer.

Goosebumps cover my arms at the sound of his voice and proximity to me.

"Your brother is right. It's not safe here, so why don't we continue this lovey chat back at my house."

Rhett helps Sawyer stand up before the two of them start walking towards the Dixon estate. The two other wolves, whose identities are still unknown, nudge me to follow them. One catches up with Rhett and Sawyer, while the other walks by my side in a protective manner.

Out of all the things I thought that were going on with Rhett and my brother, werewolf was definitely not one of them. This was not what I was expecting at all, and now that I know, I have no idea what's next. I'm sure that you can't just stop being a werewolf, so where does that leave me with my brother now? I can't stand the thought of my family and I never getting Sawyer back, and I can't stand by while my brother gets involved with such dangerous activities either.

By what I witnessed tonight, not all werewolves are friendly like them. Sawyer saved my life, but he could've died too. Just knowing that the black wolf is out there and can hurt anyone I care about at any given time terrifies me.

What seems to terrify me more though, is my reaction to Rhett when he called me darlin'.