Surreptitious

Chapter 2: "You Smell Like A Wolf" Part I

Josie felt a sense of familiarity as she stepped in between the trees, following the one to the other, her fingers lingering against the bark. The fresh forest floor crunched beneath every step she gave and released the scent of soil and crisp leaves. The air was fresh and the skies were clear, the warm and inviting rays of the sun casting streams of light through the canopy above her head. Somewhere laced between the branches was the loveliest sound of birdsong.

As she looked off into the distance, she could just barely make out the outlines of a magnificent castle and what appeared to be a quaint village thriving at its feet. Farmlands spread out from outside the village parameters and stretched to the edges of the forest. A glittering lake sat off to the side, fed by a bubbling river that wound its way from out of the trees.

It was the perfect fairytale setting, just like the lands described in the stories that Caroline had amused her daughters with when they were little.

Josie felt at home. Josie felt happy.

It took her some time to realize exactly where she was and what she was doing there. She was reminded of MG and Lizzie and the plan... the plan... wat was the plan again?

Josie was instantly distracted when she noticed movement in the corner of her eye. The creature had been moving so silently off to her side that she had not noticed it approaching. She slowly turned her head to observe the snow-white fur of the large wolf, the creature's feathery mane sweeping over its angular face where she noticed bright yellow eyes that seemed... familiar somehow.

She knew this was no ordinary wolf.

It beckoned to her and she was drawn to it as if by some force of magnetism.

She moved closer, carefully.

The wolf lowered its head and tugged its ears flat as she stepped closer.

Josie paused, uncertain.

There was some sort of electric charge to the air between them that she could not understand, could not explain, but knew she would be unable to ignore.

She gave another step towards the wolf.

The wolf's jaw dropped in a low whine as it watched Josie's every move intently.

Josie swallowed hard, yet took another step.

The wolf suddenly jerked itself upright and lifted its head on high.

A howl. A deeply unsettling howl.

Josie gasped, feeling an equally deep ache shoot through her chest.

(...)

"Jo, are you okay?" Lizzie grabbed her twin by the shoulder and studied her face in concern, watching as Josie struggled to catch her breath with wide eyes. "What happened?" Lizzie asked, though her question was more directed to MG who was still seated on the other side of Josie, rubbing his eyes as if trying to rub away the sudden throbbing behind them.

"Em, did you see it?" Josie gasped at the young vampire, her brows knit tightly together, confused as to what had just happened in the tangle of the deeper layers of her subconscious.

"See what?" Lizzie spat, her tone high-pitched and questioning.

"I did, Jo. And it wasn't happy. I don't think your subconscious wants me in there." MG groaned as he stood up to lean against the wall opposite from the bed Josie was still seated on. He felt dizzy.

"What "it"? Can someone fill me in?" Lizzie was getting louder by the second, causing new waves of pain to shoot through MG's brain.

"A wolf. A beautiful, white wolf." Josie nearly whispered as she stared at the floor, lost in thought. A few long seconds later she turned her confused gaze back to the vampire. "It wasn't mine, MG. Everything was familiar. Every tree, every leaf, every inch of forest floor. I felt it as if it was a part of me. But not the wolf. The wolf was... I don't know. I can't explain it."

(...)

At dinner time in the cafeteria Josie found herself tuning out most of the conversation moving back and forth between her friends, her eyes focused on a random spot on her plate that she kept pushing her food around. She could not seem to sort through her thoughts for the rest of the day after MG's head dive, deeply bothered by what they had found in her mind. The wolf had felt so familiar to her, yet it was clearly an 'other' in her mind. It was not formed by her mind like everything else had been. It was not a part of her, and yet somehow she felt like it should be, like somewhere deep in her chest she was longing for the wolf to somehow be a part of her.

And she had no idea why.

"You smell different." Rafael was seated next to Josie and she had not noticed until that very moment how he had been staring at her all evening. She looked over to his plate with a furrowed brow, noting that he had barely touched his own food, much like her.

"What do you mean?" She frowned even more deeply, not sure whether she should be more confused, or just offended. "How do I just... smell... different?" She kept her voice low, the words staying between the two of them as the rest of the table remained occupied.

"I don't know how to describe it..." Rafael himself knit his brows together in confusion. "You smell like..." He paused and leaned in closer to Josie, almost intimately.

"You smell like a wolf."

(...)

That night Josie dreams again.

The wolf is back.

And they're running. Running freely and with abandon through the forest.

They take turns to chase each other. She doesn't know how she manages to keep up, but she does.

The ground shifts in the wake of their heels. The wind rushes past their ears.

They collapse in a soft bed of flowers nestled in a peaceful clearing.

She can feel the silky brush of the wolf's fur against her cheek and beneath her fingertips.

She can feel the inviting warmth radiating from the animal as they curl up beneath the rising moon.

For just one night, Josie finally feels at peace.