Safe Haven

Chapter 2

She woke with a start, frowning into the darkness, not sure what had broken her sleep. For a moment she didn't move, simply listening. The wind rustled through the trees, brushing against her face, but then there was another sound. A low, rumbling growl that sent shivers down her spine. It began low and slowly grew in intensity and volume until it was vibrating through her chest. She got to her feet cautiously, her entire body tensed and ready to run. She stared out across the field, trying to figure out where the sound was coming from. It echoed through the trees, filling the air, coming from everywhere and nowhere all at once.

Suddenly she saw movement near the road. An animal? Her brain refused to define what she saw. It was huge, whatever it was, and as she tried to comprehend what she was seeing suddenly there were three of them. The growling increased, so loud she had to clamp her hands over her ears and doing so barely muffled the roar. The three creatures circled each other slowly, teeth flashing in the moonlight, and then suddenly they flew at each other, two against one, snarling and growling and moving so fast Olive couldn't tell where one animal ended and another began. She watched through wide eyes, barely daring to breathe, pack clutched tightly to her chest. Her brain was screaming at her to run but her legs were rooted to the ground.

She didn't notice the fight was moving closer until suddenly she realized what she was looking at.

They were wolves.

Huge, massive wolves.

Olive couldn't stop the gasp that escaped her lips.

As soon as it did the wolves flew apart, panting heavily, and then Olive watched in sheer horror as the creatures turned to face her direction. She didn't know if they could see her, but she wasn't about to take any chances. Before Olive even knew what she was doing she'd spun on her heel and bolted in the opposite direction. The howling started in again and now the sound was so close it sent waves of fear rocketing through her body. She ran across the field, not caring now if she stayed in the cover of the trees. If they could hear her she was already done for. She stumbled over something in the grass and almost went down, managing to catch her balance at the last moment, and kept running.

Another howl exploded through the air, this one coming from directly behind her. Olive barely had time to comprehend the noise before she was shoved violently to the ground. A snarl sounded in her ear and she couldn't hold back a panicked shriek, clawing desperately at the ground as she tried to move away. Something was holding her down, pushing her into the ground, and she wasn't strong enough to fight it. Twisting, she tried to look over her shoulder and caught a glimpse of grey fur.

It was a wolf. It was hunkered over her, crouching low, pressing into her. It was enormous, bigger than she'd thought when she'd seen them in the road. Its body completely covered hers, huge paws planted firmly on the ground on either side of her head. It was still snarling and growling, but not at her. Turning her head to follow its gaze, she realized with a shock it was watching the other two wolves who were slowly edging closer.

Olive was now smack in the middle of their fight, and there was nothing she could do. She was trapped. A moan escaped her. This was it. This had to be it. She didn't see a way to escape. Obviously she couldn't outrun them.

She squeezed her eyes closed, several tears slipping down her cheeks, and waited for the end. The wolf was still on top of her, she felt it lower itself further, fur brushing against her cheek. She pressed a hand to her mouth to stifle the cries that were building up in her chest.

Another low, menacing growl rumbled through the air, but this one was different. This one was deep, echoing through her chest, and it was coming from a different direction. Against her will her eyes opened and she found herself turning to look.

Several more wolves were running across the field directly at them, she felt the ground shaking as they drew closer. Surprisingly, they halted several feet away, all in a line, teeth bared. They felt so menacing, looked so ominous that Olive couldn't breathe. She couldn't move. None of them even looked in her direction though, they were all staring across the field. The largest in line took a single step forward and let out a snarl that sent chills through Olive's entire body. She wanted to look away, or close her eyes, but she could only stare as the wolf growled again. this time there was a low, frightened whimper in response, and then there was only silence.

For a long, drawn-out moment there was only the sound of her breath and the quiet panting of the wolves, and then Olive felt the wolf on top of her moving around. It sounded like it was...groaning, almost, in a very human-like way. A moment later the weight on top of her lifted and she came to her senses enough to push off the ground and scramble to her feet and then....

She was face to face with the same young man from earlier.

Her jaw dropped.

There was no sign of the wolf that had been laying on her just a moment ago. Just....him.

Her eyes felt like they were about to bug out of her head.

"Please, please don't be scared. I'm not going to hurt you."

His voice made her jump, and she saw him wince uncomfortably. She was faintly aware of the other wolves slowly drawing closer, keeping in line still, the largest one still a step ahead of the rest.

"Are you hurt?"

Dumbly she shook her head, unable to find her voice to respond. She didn't understand what was going on. An idea blossomed at the front of her mind but she shoved it down, it didn't make sense. It couldn't be real. She didn't even want to acknowledge the word her brain was screaming at her.

Werewolf.

It wasn't possible. They weren't real. The wolf that had been on top of her had simply run off. That was all, it had to be. She'd heard the rumors as a child same as everyone else but that was all they were, rumors...weren't they? It just couldn't be true.

The young man took a small step towards her and Olive stumbled backwards on legs that were numb.

"What..." she finally choked out a word, "What...happened? What is this?"

Her eyes wandered away from him for only a split second, but it was long enough for her to notice the first two wolves were gone, vanished into the night.

"It's ok, you're safe now. You weren't mean to get caught in the middle of that."

The middle of what?

Olive continued to stare at him, trying desperately to fit together the pieces of the puzzle that were scattered before her. He sighed gently.

"You weren't meant to see any of that."

He took another step forward and Olive couldn't stop herself from flinching. She didn't understand his intentions and she was still running on adrenaline and fear.

"See what? What's going on? What are you talking about?"

He wasn't looking at her, looking at his feet instead, anywhere aside from meeting her gaze, until finally he flicked his eyes up at her and the look in them was indescribable.

"I feel like you might already have an idea."

Olive let out a giggle that was shrill and clearly panicked.

"You can't be serious. That's not real. This is a dream."

He shook his head slowly.

Her mouth went dry. Her lips formed the word but she couldn't say it.

He locked his gaze with hers and said the word for her.

"Werewolf."

Olive nodded slowly, her head starting to spin. She saw him exchange a glance with the wolf that now stood right beside him. Olive stared in disbelief as the wolf suddenly shook itself and then shifted, seemingly growing taller and then suddenly it wasn't a wolf, it was another man, tall and muscular, with dark brooding eyes that stared deep into her own.

The world spun around her and she swayed unsteadily on her feet, and then  there was only darkness and she allowed it to pull her under.