Is-it love? Sebastian

Chapter I (part 4/5)

I reach the Bartholy Manor, it's almost past midnight. I took my time to calm my nerves. The night is still and only an owl hooting, breaks the silence. Deep in thought, I push the gates open and instinctively head towards the garden. Without understanding why a wave of relief washes over me. The night is star-studded, giving the sky a magical aura. I love it. I keep going and narrowly escape one of Lorie's macabre traps: she's left one of her horrible headless dolls lying around. Mechanically, I pick it up and slip it into the big front pocket of my sweater. It should earn me a few points with that little pest! I don't want to go in. I don't want to go to bed. Something's happening, right here, right now, I feel it. The atmosphere is charged with something I can't discern. The further I walk into the garden, the more I wonder if it's such a good idea. This weird atmosphere is worrying. I should turn around and go back to the Manor. I don't want to come across anything strange. Plus, I have to go to college tomorrow... I'll look daft I start snoring in the middle of a lecture! Then again, knowing me, it's very unlikely. Even if I'm exhausted when a subject interests me I'm always so absorbed that I just can't fall asleep. The tingling sensation in my finger tears me from my thoughts. I'm worried: the prickling is getting more and more intense as if my power was itching to express itself. Could it be this forest causing my restlessness? The pleasant smell of damp moss reaches my nose, reminding me where I am. I close my eyes hoping to capture this peaceful feeling it's bringing me. Suddenly, a loud howl tears through the night and I jump out of my skin, utterly breathless. It sounded like a wolf... That's fantastic! I've never seen one before! Its howl was gut-wrenching as if it were talking to my heart... and something deeper still. I feel like it's too late now, I can't go back, even if I wanted to. My feet are glued to the ground,  and an electric current is rising through me, from my toes to the tip of my hair. I want to know more. On such a night, only incredible things can happen! And anyway, now I know vampires exist, what else can surprise me? In the distance, I hear a rippling sound. My legs gradually resume their primary function. They carry me, more than I direct them, through the fern and the brushes. I don't even feel the sting of pine needles against my skin or the sharp-edged pebbles beneath my feet. Only curiosity twists my stomach with an irrepressible need to know. I brush through the last branches separating me from my goal and I almost choke in surprise. The lake glistens in the moonlight. Fireflies flutter about and skim the water's surface. And it's not a wolf that I catch, in the middle of the night swimming, but... a man! I don't need to get a closer look to guess that he's completely naked.