In the Eyes of the Wolf

Chapter 2

He ignored my question, furrowed his eyebrows, and raised a hand to his chin. "Buses?"

I spluttered slightly. "Yeah, you know...the wheels on the bus go round and round?" He looked at me as though I had grabbed him and started to do the waltz. "You don't know what buses are?"

"No."

I would have to try rather hard to crack this one. I hadn't actually had to try to get someone to talk to me before. "Well, it's a kind of transportation. People get on it, and it goes along the road and takes them somewhere else." I tried to explain the concept of a bus. Who didn't know what a bus is?

"Like where?" His voice was lighter than it had been earlier. The crease between his eyebrows softened.

"To the shops, to work...anywhere." I shrugged. "It doesn't take you directly to places, there's bus stops and you've got to walk from there. There's a bus stop about half an hour away from here." He hummed in thought, but made no move to speak. "Maybe I could show you one day? If we meet on the trails again."

"No," his response was quick and panicked. "Really, you shouldn't be here. I can't go." I frowned and stopped walking, turning to face him. The change of emotion startled me. It made my ears ring and my heart move to my throat.

"Why? This is just a forest; I'm assuming you live close by. You don't know what a bus is, that's incredibly strange. Don't you want to see the world?" His breathing became laboured, his eyes flickered all over, and he shook his head. He lifted a hand, ran it through his fluffy hair before taking a deep breath and bolting. "Pax!" At first, I wasn't sure if I had actually called his name, but it echoed in my mind as though I had.

He was fast for someone who looked rather skinny. I wasn't expecting him to run. I paused for a few moments before following him. His footsteps were barely visible in the dirt, but I had a good indication of the turns that he made. I didn't get far before I heard some talking.

"Hey there, calm down," a deep voice came from in front of me. I moved behind a tree; I wasn't sure who could be just a few feet away. "What's got you spooked?" The voice was male, teasing. They reminded me a bit of Rowan.

"It's nothing," Pax said quickly. "What're you doing out here, Cedar?" I moved around the tree to get a view of the people. I resisted the urge to let out a sigh in relief when I saw that Pax was facing me. The man who had his back to me had a strong build, with curly brown hair which was darker than Pax's.

"Checking in on you, out for your first lone patrol, eh?" The man, who I now know as Cedar, joked. He nudged Pax's arm rather roughly. I didn't like the way he was talking; it was as though he was teasing a child who had their first crush. "How's it going?"

Pax crossed his arms. "Yeah right," he puffed out the words. "Did Kian send you to spy on me? You gotta make sure I do the job right?" Pax's tone was hard, more so than when he was talking to me.

"Just looking out for you, pup." Cedar raised his hands. Pup? I stepped back slightly and turned around. "We've got to take care of each other."

"Because we're part of the pack, I know." The sound of their voices became louder as realisation dawned upon me. My ears started to ring, and my breath caught in my throat. I took a deep breath in; the scent of forest mixed with nuts and play doh filled my nose.

"Exactly." The sound of a back being pat was loud in the otherwise silent forest. "Now, let's go home. I'm sure Kian would love to hear about how well you've done."

"No need to be sarcastic," Pax muttered. Two pairs of footsteps then started to lead away from me. "It wasn't too bad, and I didn't go off course."

If my assumptions were correct, I was in an extremely dangerous position. Cedar probably knew that I was there, if he were paying attention. I didn't move an inch. My eyes were trained on the forest which was slowly being devoured by the blue hue of night-time.