Zara's Wolf (Book 1 of the Zara's Wolf Trilogy) BWWM

7. Unusual

I find a little hollow under a thick tree’s roots and decide to make that my bed for the night.

I’m exhausted from a day of walking, consumed with hunger. I stick close to the stream so that I have a steady supply of water that I can fill the steel water bottle with.

My entire body is itchy from bug bites and unknown plants brushing up against my skin and resulting in irritation. My feet ache, my lips are chapped, and I just want to crawl into a hole and die already.

I’m discouraged that I haven’t found a road yet. I know from experience that there are roads that cut through these forests, but why haven’t I found one yet? How deep am I in this forest?

Cody seems content with my choice of camp. He’s still by my side as I prepare my bed with the sunlight vanishing quickly into the night.

Rubbing my arms, I shiver more in fear than of the damp coolness that blankets the forest floor in mist. I really don’t want to spend another night in the forest, but I am comforted by Cody’s presence. The wolf has proven to be fair company in this dark, mysterious place.

I gather a few twigs into a pile and attempt to light a fire.

It’s a very sad attempt to say the least.

The ground is still very moist from the previous night’s rain, as are the twigs and fallen branches. Even if I did know how to light a fire by rubbing a few sticks together, there’s no way I would have been able to get these sodden pieces of wood to burn.

I drop the two sticks I’m holding and slump forward in defeat. “I give up. I’m useless at this.”

With a huff, I fall back on my heels and into a sitting position. I toss the sticks into the darkening forest as a whine next to me sends shivers up my spine.

Turning to Cody, I glare at him in humiliation and frustration. “What? You think you can do better, Cody? You don’t even have thumbs!”

A low rumble growls from his throat as he lowers his head between his paws.

I sigh in exasperation as my stomach growls back at Cody. “I’m sorry, okay? I’m hungry. I'm tired. I'm cold. And I'm frustrated. I can’t do anything out here—I don’t even know how I got here in the first place! So, excuse me for being grumpy.”

He starts to inch closer on his belly, slowly. So slowly, that anxiety begins to wrap itself around my neck. What if he was getting ready to pounce on me now?

He looks at me with big gentle puppy-dog eyes, his ears lowered humbly, and he whimpers softly, as if trying to tell me that he means me no harm.

Still, I shift hesitantly as he continues to scoot closer. My elbow brushes against the root of the tree behind me and I pause, biting my lip, as he gently presses himself against me. His sleek fur is surprisingly soft and warmth begins to spread on contact with my body.

I remember that he pressed his body against me last night and how warm it made me feel. Is he trying to do the same thing again tonight?

I look down at him as he curves his body around mine. He’s a wild animal, and I still don’t know if I can trust him.

I sigh. “I guess it’s time to go to bed. You gonna protect me or eat me?”

He lifts his head, but it’s getting so dark now that I can’t make out his expression. His ears are pointed up, like he’s listening to my voice, and I think I can see a smile in his expressive golden eyes.

Nevertheless, I pull myself to my feet, yawn, and carefully make my way in the little hollow under the tree’s roots. Cody waits for me to make myself comfortable before he invites himself in and lies down against my back. His body is like a warm blanket and before I know it, I’m drifting off to sleep.

My fears of the dark forest all but vanish, as the songs of crickets lull me into dreamland.

I’m running. I’m running so fast, I cannot stop. Everything is a blur, but despite the darkness, I can vaguely make out the shapes of things as I zoom past. The rough scrape of concrete under my feet changes to soft grass, and the big blocky shapes change to numerous tall spindly ones.

I see the moon peek out from behind a cloud—it’s big and bright and full as can be. Then it’s gone and darkness swallows me, but I welcome it. I am fearless and just running, running, running without a care and without looking back.

Freedom, such bliss fills my soul and I burst forward. It matters not where I am going, I am just going to feel the wind whip through my hair, inhale the fresh, clean air of the countryside and saying goodbye to the noise of the city.

I am just running without stopping for hours and hours, or maybe it was minutes. Does it matter? I feel like a caged bird that has been set free and all I want to do is fly away and never come back.

A howl wakes me from my sleep with a start, jarring Cody next to me. I look around me; the darkness is still thick, but there’s a hint of light breaking through the treetops. Dew carpets the ground and I smell the sweet fragrance of morning, clean and fresh.

Cody yawns and pulls away from me. Climbing out of the hollow, he stretches and shakes his head.

I groan in protest of the chill and the thought of getting up. “No way am I getting up.”

Cody’s ears flick from me to another howl in the distance. He turns and throws his head back and let’s out a howl that starts off high pitched and then lowers to a deep tremor in his chest.

I’m unable to pull away from him as his howl grips me to the bones.

He lowers his head and catches my eyes with his golden ones. I don’t know how, but I feel at ease in his gaze. I know it sounds crazy, and maybe it is, but I feel safe, protected even. I know I should be afraid of him, but I’m not.

Why do I feel so connected to him in this moment? Does a dog owner feel like this when they look into their dog’s eyes?

He snorts a lung-full of air out of his nose and turns away from me.

I notice the gauze is missing from his muzzle. Scowling, I pull myself up from the hollow and stretch my aching body. “You little devil. When did you paw that off?”

His ears turn back to listen to my voice before he turns his head to look over his shoulder at me. His eyes are laughing as he grins at me, as if to say, wouldn’t you like to know?

And I would like to know because he is unlike any wolf I have ever come across in my life. Even the wolves at the Oregon Zoo that I work at in Portland don’t behave the way he does.

Something about him seems almost human to me.

I must be delirious.