Behind Closed Gates [Edited]

Chapter One

The little girl peeked between the cage mesh and looked around the foliage, looking for the wolf who was so much like her. She could feel something churning inside her stomach; warding her away. The girl frowned, but looked through the bars anyway. All she could see was the painted walls that caged the animal in. The bright eyes of the little girl narrowed as she tried to see inside.

She looked behind her, scanning for Miss Woods and the guide, as well as the rest of her classmates, before ducking under the metre-high fence. Her bag rattled as it banged against it, but the determined girl all-but-crawled underneath before standing up to face the cage – its gleaming bars showing her narrowed reflection of a brunette girl with motivated green eyes.
Reaching up, she pressed her hand against the bars. Her hand sizzled.

She howled, yanking her hand away. Her eyes watered, overflowing down her face, but the burning was consuming her mind. She screamed again, clutching her burning hand while writhing on the ground in pain.

"Isabella!" She heard the teacher call from down the corridor, and the sound of running, but something else she heard drew the little girl's attention. She heard the growl of the animal within the enclosure - and stilled all her body but her trembling hand. The bushes rustled in the cage before the eyes of the animal met her own.

Isabella didn't move as she looked at the huge creature behind the poisonous bars. Its silver fur brushed against the plants, reflecting in the artificial light of the ceiling. The huge wolf looked down at Isabella, its electric blue eyes capturing her little gaze. The eyes are what drew her attention away from the pain. They held so much life, but also pain. The beast was incredibly tall, reaching well past the average wolf height. Her muscles were visible, her fur clean, and her eyes never left her watering ones.

Isabella stood, her hand tight against her chest, and watched the silver wolf. The churning in her stomach increased she stared into her bright blue eyes. She gave in to her instincts and bowed her head, the churning easing. The wolf raised her head, noting the submission. The giant she-wolf opened her mouth slightly, making her glistening large canines visible to Isabella. The little girl froze again, before she realised what the wolf was doing.

Willow, the Wolf of Silver Creek Zoo, was smiling.

The pain in Isabella's hand was almost forgotten as she registered that the wolf was smiling at her. It could understand! Wolves, her aunt had told her, weren't capable of registering emotions. They were wild, they were free...

Was Willow a werewolf?

Isabella's green eyes widened. "You can understand me?"

The wolf's iridescent blue eyes gleamed with amusement, before its head snapped to the left, listening as Miss Woods came running up the corridor. The teacher and the guide ran into the enclosure, stopping short when they saw the large silver wolf against the cage, and Isabella clutching her hand on the otherside of the fence.

Miss Woods screamed, "Isabella!", running to the fence in front of her and lifted her back over with supreme beast strength. "Are you alright?!"

The tour guide ran to the cage, arms wide to spread out her size, almost to scare the wolf back. She was merely a guide, not a zoo keeper, she knew about the animals, not how to handle them. The tour guide didn't raise her voice almost delicately coaxing the wolf back. Willow flattened her ears and edged back slowly, growling low in her throat, but didn't dart into the bushes like the guide hoped she would.

Miss Woods was busy fussing over Isabella, noticing the bar-like burn on her hand. "Did you touch the bars?" She whispered low, eyes flaring bright with her wolf. She could have lost her too...

Isabella nodded. "Yes Miss Woods. I touched the bars, and it burned my hand, and it hurts, but the wolf understands me!"

Miss Woods' eyes widened, slowly turning to the enclosure to see the wolf watching her closely. The teacher gasped, taking a step back with Isabella in her arms, and the wolf raised its head.

"Oh my God." She whispered, her eyes watering slightly in shock. "Oh my God."

"Ma'am, it's okay, she's just a wolf." The guide assured. "She's behind the bars, she's not going to break them, you're safe." The guide, still hands spread wide, looked back at the large silver wolf. "She's a little big, but..."

"Miss Woods?" Isabella frowned, looking up at her teacher. Her own tears of pain had disappeared but they still stained her cheeks.

The teacher didn't pay attention to her oblivious student, for her gaze was locked with the silver she-wolf. The wolf's gaze never left the teacher and neither the teacher the wolf. The sudden churning in her stomach, the urge to kneel in front of the wolf overwhelmed her, but she wouldn't give in. She was a werewolf! A Luna!

The feeling never left.

The urge to submit to this she-wolf was unmissable, but this wasn't what shocked her. The size, and the glowing eyes... It all consisted with something she was very familiar with. Miss Woods knew that scent should have been a factor as well, but all she could smell was zoo, and the typical wolf scent. Taking a deep breath, she let her inner wolf come forward. Her eyes drew into slits, the green brightening to the shade of an upturned leaf.

The silver wolf's blue eyes sparked and she let out a low growl. The growl echoed through Miss Woods' body, her heart vibrating with the volume of it.

Wasting no time, she grabbed Isabella's hand and ran back to her group of students waiting, ignoring the guide's instructions not to run, even as she walked quickly after her.

How is it possible?! She thought to herself. Miss Woods ignored Isabella's injured hand, the guide apologetic and guilty face, and her own thoughts until one stood out as a fact.

The Silver Creek Zoo had a werewolf in captivity.