After a few minutes of crying, I stopped and felt like shit afterward. My eyes were droopy, and my face felt wet and hard from crying so much. I sniffled and cleared my throat but stayed in the Wolf's warm embrace, even though I knew I had to get going. I wanted to finish the run, but I didn't want to leave him.
The wolf whined, and I had a feeling that he wanted me to say something, even though I had no idea what he wanted me to say. He moved closer to me and rubbed his head against mine.
I sighed and cleared my throat. "I'm sorry," I mumbled, keeping my face near his shoulder. "I didn't mean to mess up your fur." I was about to pull away but stopped when the wolf growled and made sure that I couldn't move my head from where I had laid it.
He told me that he didn't care that I cried in his fur and that he was worried for me. The wolf whined and pushed himself closer to me until I was standing between his front paws, and he had them almost wrapped around my legs.
I let out a breathless chuckle and closed my eyes. "Is this your way of telling me that it is ok?" I asked, and the wolf grunted in response. I sighed. "I got to go," I said, my voice barely above a whisper.
The wolf whined in protest, and I had a feeling that he didn't want me to leave him just as much as I didn't want to leave him. He didn't move from his spot, and I could tell that he wouldn't move for the world.
"I'll be back," I promised, keeping my voice still at a whisper. "I want to get my book bag so that I can get some homework done. My parents won't mind me staying out of the house to do my homework. They just want it done."
The wolf sighed and nodded. He grumbled, but he released my legs.
I released my wolf's neck and rubbed my eyes. "Ummmmmm, I'll be right back," I said. "I will get my bag and then come back. Will you wait?"
He nodded his head and nudged my stomach, pushing me to go back to my house. His blue eyes were calm and collected, and it felt as if he was looking into my soul, seeing all the secrets that I hid.
I rolled my eyes and smiled. "Ok. I will go," I said. I narrowed my eyes, and he cocked his head. "You better find my knife because I will not be taking the blame for losing another knife. Is that understood?"
The wolf raised an eyebrow but nodded his head. He grunted and looked towards the way that I had to go before looking at me. His eyes grew soft, and it still took my breath away since they did look so human-like.
"I'll be back," I promised. "Just... stay in this general area, please?"
With another confirmation nod from the wolf, I nodded my head and ran towards my house, praying that he would stay and not lie to me.
***
I made it to my house faster than I thought I would and ran to where I had placed my bookbag, still ready for me to go back up to my room and get some school work done. "Hi, Mom. Bye, Mom," I called while I turned around to go back outside.
"Where do you think you're going?" my mother asked, and I silently cursed her while I stopped and turned towards the kitchen. She had an apple in her hand and looked at me with a raised eyebrow. Amusement and something else filled her eyes, and I was curious as to what that look was for.
"Well... I'm going to go out and get my work done outside," I replied, licking my lips. "I mean, I still get it done."
She cocked her head, and that something else turned into understanding. "Are you in one of those moods?" she asked, talking about the times where I felt better outdoors than inside.
I nodded. "Yes," I replied. I shifted on my feet, wanting to explain that I saw a big wolf and wanted to hang out with him, but I knew that it sounded stupid. So I kept quiet about that, knowing that my mother wouldn't ask me where I was headed. "So," I asked, raising an eyebrow. "Can I go?"
My mother sighed and nodded her head. "Yes," she replied. "However, be back in an hour or so because we'll have to be eating out tonight. Your dad decided to blow the whole circuit again, doing his little projects, and we won't be able to get someone out here until later tomorrow.
I sighed and nodded my head. "Ok," I promised. "Do you know where we'll be eating out?"
"We have a couple of places in mind," she replied. She shooed me away. "Go get your homework done and then finish your run. I'll see you in two hours." My mom turned around and went back to the kitchen.
"Ok," I said. "Love you." I walked to the door and flicked the light on, just to see if anything would happen, and as my mom said, the lights were out.
"Did you just turn on the lights when I told you that they weren't working?" she asked, and I laughed and turned it off. "Cassidy Anne!" She threw the apple she had in her hand at me, and I ducked before I caught it. "Don't do that."
"Yes, Ma'am," I called before closed the door behind me. Taking a bite of the apple, I started to run in the direction that I had left, praying that he hadn't lied to me and was still there, waiting for me. I had no idea what I would do if he weren't, and that thought filled me with sadness.
Maybe, just maybe, he was the key to the questions that I had. Maybe he was the one that I was searching for my whole life, even though I had only met him in his wolf form.