The Bite of the Wolf

Chapter One: Math Class gets Interesting for Once

The eyes of a beast glared at Chloe through the window of her math class. Its fur was a dark gray, matted and messy. Its tail was low and the creature whipped it back and forth, back and forth, almost like it was an aggregated cat. The creature's teeth were bared, sharp, and dripping with saliva. Its eyes, which were focused solely on Chloe, were a deep, blood red.

Chloe was not expecting to be stared down by a monster when she entered math class that day. The thing she was worried about most that morning was passing her test on trigonometry. She only had a little bit of anxiety when she first entered class, but now, sitting at her desk, her heart was pounding. She had just noticed the huge wolf staring her down, and as she looked around the class, she seemed to be the only person to see it.

It was only when the wolf let out an ear-piercing bark that anyone looked over. Chloe jumped out of her skin at the sound.

"Look at the cute little husky!" One of her classmates cooed, pointing at the wolf.

Chloe furrowed her eyebrows together. A little husky? She stared at the wolf, seeing no resemblance to a husky whatsoever. And it was definitely not little; the thing looked to be about five feet tall, and that was when it was on all fours. Chloe ran a hand through her blonde hair. Was she hallucinating? She had never hallucinated before....was it the coffee she drank? Or the waffle she had for breakfast?

Other classmates were now cooing at the 'husky' and were trying to get its attention. The teacher tried to calm everyone down, telling them to get back to taking their test. No one listened. Chloe stared at her paper, trying to calm herself down, her head swirling with confusion and fear. She almost did not notice a crumpled piece of paper fall into her lap.

She glanced down at the paper. Slowly, she opened it up, her hands shaky. Neat handwriting greeted her, along with a message.

Ask to use the bathroom. I can see the wolf, and I can help you.

Chloe glanced around, but she couldn't figure out who threw her the note. She figured the only way to find out who did was to do what the note said. Chloe raised her hand.

"May I use the bathroom?" She asked.
Someone else raised their hand as well. "I have to go too. We can share the pass." Chloe looked over to see that it was a girl with wavy brown hair and olive skin who had piped up. She was wearing a purple t-shirt, ripped black jeans, and boots that Chloe assumed to be Doc. Martens.
The teacher nodded, letting them both go to the restroom together.

Chloe grabbed the pass. They both headed down the hallway.

Chloe was still shaken up by seeing the wolf. She glanced at the girl, who was staring straight ahead. She was walking at a fast pace, and Chloe struggled a bit to keep up.

"Where you the one who gave me the note?" Chloe asked cautiously.

The girl nodded. "Wait until the bathroom, okay?"

They arrived at the bathroom. As usual, the school bathrooms were messy, with writings on the stall doors and paper towels littered on the floor. The mirrors had smudges on the glass. Chloe had seen a bathroom in a much worse state, so the bathroom not being cleanly was normal.

"Are you going to tell me what is going on--"

Chloe was pulled into one of the stalls by the girl with such a quick motion she barely had time to react. She found herself backed up against a toilet, panicked.

"W-what was that for?!"

"Sorry, I didn't mean to grab you like that, I just needed to get us inside quickly. We need a place to hide from cameras, this is the best place to do that." The girl backed away as far as she could, giving Chloe space to breathe. "I know this is a bit awkward—"

"A bit?"

"—But what I need you to do right now is to listen. I know what you saw back there is scary, but for the sake of your life, you cannot react to it."

Chloe stared at her, looking into her gray eyes. She seemed genuinely worried for her safety.

The girl pulled something out of her pocket and handed it to Chloe. It was a laminated card, it looked like she had made her own business card. On it was a name and address.

"Hannah?" Chloe read the name on the card. "Is that your name?"

"Yes. And the address written there is where you can go after school to get an explanation. I wish I could explain right here and now, but we have to get to class before we raise suspicion." The girl, Hannah, answered.

Chloe frowned. Hannah opened the stall door and stepped out.

"How do I know I can trust you?" Chloe asked her.

Hannah smiled at her. It wasn't a mean smile, but it wasn't a nice one, either. It was more like an 'I pity you' smile.

"It's between trusting me or potentially losing your life. You pick."
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Chloe speed down the sidewalk on her bike. The cold Alaska air nipped at her nose as she zoomed past the neatly aligned houses of her neighborhood.  She did not mind the cold at all, however. She was too distracted by her thoughts to care that her fingers were numb.

Hannah's words lingered in her mind. You pick. How was Chloe supposed to pick between trusting a stranger and getting killed? Was she really going to be killed? Hannah could have been exaggerating about the whole 'losing your life' part. She probably was, but what Chloe saw today was still clear in her head. The wolf, with glowing red eyes and sharp teeth, looked like it did want to kill her. It definitely was not a normal wolf, Chloe had seen normal wolves before--they were easy to spot when visiting Denali Park Road. The state was full of them, and there seemed to be more wolves in Alaska every day.

Chloe arrived in her driveway and threw her bike into the grass. She took a moment to collect herself, pushing her thick hair away from her eyes. She needed answers. Her dad was a police officer and had taught her self-defense, so Chloe knew how to fight if she needed to.
She decided to go into her house and say hi to her brother before leaving. She swung the front door open and stepped inside.

"I'm home!" She called out, slinging her bookbag onto the small couch in their foyer.

Chloe walked into the kitchen to find her brother, Jackson, chopping lettuce.
"Hey, kiddo," He greeted her with a lopsided smile. "How was your day?"

Chloe rolled her eyes at the nickname. Sure, her brother was 2 years older than her, but Chloe still hated it when he called her kiddo. She was 16, after all, and to Chloe, she wasn't a kid anymore.

"It was...interesting." She leaned against the kitchen table behind her. She decided to change the subject from her day to what her brother was chopping up. "Is that for dinner?" She asked.

"Nah, I'm making a late lunch. I was thinking we order pizza for dinner, does that sound good?"

"Yeah." Chloe scratched the back of her neck. "I'm actually planning on going out, so I might be home a bit later. Is that ok?"

Jackson nodded. "That's cool, just be home in time for dinner. Dad is going to be home at 7:00 tonight. I'm sure he wants to eat together."

"I'll be home by then, don't worry," Chloe was relieved he did not ask where she was headed. Jackson would probably have her father lecture her ear off about how not to go to random addresses given to you by cute girls. But Chloe had made a decision.

She wanted answers, and she was going to get them. It was worth the risk for her.
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