Chasing Sapphire

7. WOLF

SAPPHIRE

Throughout the service, my attention remained focus at the West family. There was something weird about them, I can feel it in my nerves. The way Atticus West's eyes made me feel couldn't be a coincidence. Behind their flashy cars and expensive clothes, there was a mystery that nobody told me and I had to find it out.

As soon as I stepped out of the church, the Sheriff stopped me. He said he needed to talk to me so we trudged towards an alone corner where he told me that they had received the autopsy reports last night.

"The reports showed that her death occurred due to lack of oxygen." he said.

"Oh." I said, my voice filled with grief. "How? Did someone---"

"The doctors couldn't figure it out." he looked disappointed. "The autopsy showed that there was no pathology whatsoever but somehow, the lung looked like they were shrunked to useless heaps of tissue, as if she was choked to death. The lab reports didn't give any reason."

His words enhanced the nauseous feeling in my gut and when the Sheriff realized he had been too graphic, he apologized. Throughout our conversation, I felt someone's eyes on me and when I immediately looked around me, I found the West family watching me cautiously.

°°°°°

"Why in God's name did you cancel your flight?" Theo asked me with a hint of brotherly anger in his voice. He had called me in panic when he didn't found me at the airport and I slapped my forehead for forgetting to inform him about the cancellation.

"I need to stay here, Theo." I told him and he heaved a sigh full of frustration. "I think the town can answer all the questions I ever had."

"But you don't know anybody there. Your whole family is now dead. How can you be safe in such a place where somebody killed your aunt?" His voice was filled with concern for me.

"I met someone." I whispered, partially hoping that he didn't hear me because I knew what I was going to do will increase his tension.

"Met someone? As in a man?" he asked.

"I met the person with the same eyes as I see in my dreams." I said and I heard a small gasp from the other side. Pulling the shawl tighter around me, I stood up and walked towards the small window.

"Are you sure it was the same pair of eyes?" he asked in disbelief.

I hummed and watched the streets through the glass pane. The night was unusually dark tonight, only a small street light was illumimimating the street. There was no sound whatsoever, not even a bird was chirping anywhere around Bella's house.

"Sapphire!" Theo sighed again. "I am worried for you." I knew he was, but there was nothing I wanted more than deciphering who Atticus West was and what he wanted from me.

From the corner of my eyes, I felt something move in the right side of the street. I looked around with cautious eyes but didn't find anybody there, only a long line of uneven houses standing tall under the faint moonlight.

"Sapphire, I'm booking another flight for you. I don't want you spending another moment in that creepy place." Theo said but my focus was on the road. "Are you listening to me?"

"Yes, I am." I said, though I was distracted. "Can't we talk about something else?"

I was about to return to my bed when I once again felt something move, something big and fast. Paranoia filled inside my mind and if I didn't have this compulsive urge to figure things out, I would have surely hidden myself under the blanket. But I couldn't do so, not when I wasn't even safe in my dreams. If I wanted to protect myself, I needed to see whoever it was and what he needed from me.

If Roman was alive, he would have laughed at me and told me that I was crazy.

"I'll call you later, Theo. I just remembered something I needed to do." I said and cut the call, even though Theo looked ready to protest.

Slipping into my sandals, I treaded towards the street. Bella wasn't at home so I shut the door before walking further. Smell of orchids was spreaded all over the street, probably coming from the small park on the left corner of the street.

My eyes searched around the corners, looking for the source of the movement. I walked a little further, silently observing my surrounding for any living thing but all in vain.

At the end of the street, it divided into two alleys on both sides. This looked like a scene straight from a horror movie. I turned to the right and kept walking, hugging shawl tighter to protect myself from the cold. The silence increased with the distance and so did the strange feeling in the pit of my stomach.

There was no point in searching anymore so I turned around to return to the house but at the exact moment, I felt another movement behind me. I spun once again, only to find a tall figure lurking towards the opposite side of the street.

The logical half of my brain was trying it's best to stop me from following a stranger into the darkness but the other half, the one who was determined to solve the mysteries around me urged me to move forwards in the track.

I ran behind the dark figure, trying my best to keep up with its pace but when I turned around the same corner he just went, my mind turned into a mess because there was nobody in that dark alley.

I didn't want to step towards this alley but I heard a muffled sound from behind the car parked somewhere in the middle of this street. Embracing myself, I moved forwards, clutching the shawl more tighter, if that was even possible.

My steps were unsure and full of apprehension so it took me a long dramatic minute to reach the car. Once I looked behind it, a loud gasp left my mouth at the creature that was glaring back at me with its amber eyes, dripping with unshed rage.

I have never seen a wolf before, not from this close. With color as white as snow, its fur was thick and shiny. It was way taller than a dog and much more terrifying. Its one glance caused my knees to tremble under my gaze and when it started taking a step towards me, I forgot how to breathe.

It took another step, leaving only two or three steps between us. I took one backwards, recreating the distance. As if sensing my fear, he let out a loud howl and my heart almost jumped out of my chest.

Turning around in frenzy, I dashed from the place without even bothering to look back. My knee although shivering in fear, somehow decided to help me and it took me away from that creature. But when I heard the thumping of ground behind me, I knew my death was imminent.

It was about to catch me. I couldn't outrun him, not with my stamina and speed. So when a broken glass appeared in my gaze, I stopped in my tracks and with trembling hands, picked a larger piece of it.

The wolf was coming closer to me, its speed increasing exponentially with every passing second until it was few steps away from me. Adrenaline pumped in my veins and I lunged the piece of glass at it, watching the scene unravel in front of me as it let out another howl when blood expelled out of the large gash on its arm.

The injury halted him in the middle of the street. Finally having a heads up, I increased my pace and dashed towards Bella's house. I knew that as soon as the pain would lessen, it would follow me again so despite the heaviness in my chest, I kept running until I finally reached the house where I was supposed to go.

"Shit," I cursed when I realised that I had lost the key to the house somewhere during the running. With teary eyes, I looked for another hiding place. The wolf had probably starting following me again, if judging my the muffled thumps that could be heard from a distance.

Not wanting to die, I did the creepiest thing I had ever done. The door to the house opposite to Bella's was open so to save myself, I entered inside and shut the door tightly. Leaning against the door, I took few deep breaths to send oxygen towards my lungs, my eyes clenched tightly in fear of what might have happened.

Once the streets grew silent again, I let out a sigh and opened my eyes, only to find a handsome face looking down at me with creases brows and a confused frown on face.

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