Wolf at Heart

Chapter Thirty Eight: Captivated

Spotting Dakota and Sora deep in conversation, I took the table farthest from them and sat down. A waitress in her later years ambled up to me and smiled at me. "What's your order? We have oatmeal and cornbread today and the usual drinks."

I politely ordered the special,  barely noticing her write it down.

The waitress must've seen the faraway look in my eye because after writing my order down, she sat at my table and asked, "Boy troubles, dear?"

Startled, I nodded before I could stop myself. "How'd you know?"

She gestured behind me. "That handsome young boy over there won't stop staring at you. And you look pretty worried. When you're as old as me, child, you'll know."

I quickly glanced behind me. Ash was watching me, but when I turned, he hurried on his way, calling for a waiter.

"Don't worry, dear," The lady said, patting my shoulder reassuringly. "It'll work out in the end. Now, I'm going to get your order, and when I come back, I want to see you two sitting together, am I clear?"

I quirked my lips into a genuine smile. "Yes, ma'am. Thank you."

She nodded briskly, and I caught Ash's eye, waving him over. He confidently took a seat, but I could tell he was nervous.

Drumming my fingers on the table, I looked straight at him. "So. What happened last night? And don't give me any lies."

Ash held my gaze, saying with no doubt in his voice, "You woke me up by crying, so I let you take the bed. Hey," He said, lifting his hands in surrender. "I'd started out on my side of the bed, okay? It wasn't my choice to become your pillow."

A blush worked its way across my face and I groaned quietly at my audacity. In my sleep too. Ash was chuckling silently and I slapped his arm, glaring.

But I couldn't stay mad for long, and he knew it. Soon enough, we were talking as we waited for our orders. When they finally came, the elderly lady gave me a wink and a smile.

After a quick breakfast, Sora restocked our food supplies while Ash planned and Dakota and I packed.

Though Dakota tried to make conversation with me, I paid him no heed. He gave up and sat in sullen silence until Sora walked up. Then he brightened considerably, putting on his mask fo smug confidence.

Averting my eyes, I instead focused on Ash, looking over his shoulder at the map. All the little lines and squiggles made no sense to me, and I told Ash so.

He traced one line up to where the Serpentine's symbol was printed. "We're taking that road to the camp. We still have a while to travel, so we'd better get going."

I nodded and we all walked out, hearing whispers as we exited. News had spread quickly of our abilities.

Dropping a couple of coins at the counter, I grinned at the elderly waitress.

Shifted, I loped after the others, running hard to catch up to them. They'd pulled ahead, but I quickly caught up, keeping in time.

It was dark out, the stars shining brightly in the sky as the moon rose. The dying embers in the fire sparked as I stoked them once more. They threw glowing sparks into the sky and I watched up flicker out, one by one.

I was on night watch tonight. We'd stopped in the middle of the woods this time, and soon I was going to wake Sora for her shift.

I glanced at Ash and grinned at how young and relaxed he looked asleep. When he was awake was a completely different story of course.

Taking a look around from where I was leaning against a tree, I felt something off. Something different. Anxiety bubbled up in me, but I kept a mask of indifference on. Tuning into my wolf senses, I heard nothing.

Relaxing slightly, I regained my earlier position and let it slip.

Until a gloved hand muffled my scream as a black hood was shoved over my head.

Giving another muffled yell, I felt a heavy object smash into my skull. Through the cloth, I saw the ground rush up at a dizzying speed.

Seconds later, I blacked out.

(Side Note: Tada! Here's one of the four drawings I sketched for the request in the last chapter. This one's Dakota, slightly more realistic than when I last drew him. The other three will be posted in the oncoming chapters.)

(Looking back on my art a year later...*shudder*)