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c a n i s
"...WEREWOLF?"
During the whole ride, my father's voice was all I could hear as we were hauling through the labyrinth of paths leading towards Canis City. His nonstop chattering lulled me into a peaceful daze. The pleasant atmosphere in the car was complemented by the various shades of greenery on each side of the roads we were passing. Judging by the endless rows of pine trees, Canis City, towards which we were headed, was in the middle of the forest.
It took me a short moment to realize the change of air when my father's voice got swallowed in the silence. Taking my eyes off the road for a moment, I looked towards the passenger seat.
"What?"
My father wore a pretended frowning grimace on his face, as he had tilted his head towards me. Clearly, some of the things he said were in questioning form expecting me to join into the conversation. Unfortunately, I had no idea what he said as I shut him off for the last hour ... or two.
"Did you hear at least half of the words I was reading?"
"Probably, not. Come on dad, you know how I feel about those folklore stories."
I dared to steal another glance, already finding him looking at me with a fake offended face and with his hand pressed over his chest in his famous 'don't bother me' diva style. Unable to contain myself with his childish behavior, I chuckled. There weren't even a few seconds later when he joined me.
"You don't know what you are missing, Isa. Anyways, where was I?"
Clearly unbothered by my lack of interest in the topic, my father continued with his story-telling. I didn't have it in my heart to stop him, not when his eyes danced vividly around the pages of the old book laid over his lap.
"Ah here, it says that Canis City is home to the largest pack of wolves in the country. It is believed that they are descendants from the original werewolves who lived hundreds of thousands of years ago."
"Dad, just a few days ago you were convinced that in our neighbor, Uncle John's old cabin there was a vampire hiding. Now werewolves - honestly, I think old age is getting to you."
I shook my head in disbelieve. My father had a weird, I'd dare to say, fetish towards the supernatural creatures. After early retiring from his work as a history teacher, he fulfilled his life reading books about the most abnormal things he could dig from the library. At times, I wondered if maybe after my mother left us, she took a piece of his sanity with her. But I adored him, and as he was my only family, seeing that reading those books made him happy, I didn't want to be the one to that take away from him.
"If your mother was here, she would have agreed with me."
"No, if mom was here - she would have smacked you in the back of your head with that very same book you are dragging with you everywhere today."
"You are probably right."
He chuckled, as his eyes gained a warmer shade of his usual amber color. We never missed a chance to mention my mother in every conversation we had. It was like a silent agreement my father and I signed. I think it helped ease the pain of losing her. We kept her memory alive, which made it easier when we missed her presence.
My mother Abigail Black, nee Gage left us five years ago. She was diagnosed with the last stage of lung cancer only a month before she died. We didn't have the luxury of time to do anything to save her or even say a proper goodbye.
On the day of her wake, I turned fifteen. I was so young to accept the fact that she was gone. I rebelled against my father. I was angry at the world, at the people around me who were saying that everything was going to be all right. I didn't want it to be all right - ... I wanted my mother by my side.
Those were dark times for my family, but fortunately, my father never gave up on me. As his only child, he buried the sorrow for my mother's loss and devoted his whole attention to me. We distanced ourselves from the outside world and lived in our own bubble of seeking happiness and slow recovery.
Now, five years later I don't have to pretend when I say that my father and I are good. I'm about to start my first year of college and my father is pursuing his passion. It involved researching and writing stories about enchanted forests, supernatural creatures, incantation - and pretty much every other lunatic thing people could come up with to find reason in the unexplainable.
Another big change my father and I did after my mother's death is the decision about moving to the city where she was born. I'm been in Canis City a few times since I was born, most of which I don't even remember. We used to spend two or three weeks of vacation there over the summer. But we haven't visited since my mother died.
The reason why we are leaving everything behind and moving to Canis is mostly because of my father. He nudged the idea half a year ago and since then he has been, not persistent, but very persuasive about it. He says Canis City hides mysteries he wants to explore about his research, but I know that's not the whole truth. He wants to move back to my mother's old house because of her. She always used to say that when they grow old, they would spend the rest of the days of their life there. Sadly, she never lived to see that day. So now, my father wants to grant her that wish.
At first, I wasn't very enthusiastic about the idea, because that would mean that I'd have to leave my old life behind and start from the beginning once again. Not that it would change much. After my mother's death, I kind of disconnected myself from the people around me. It was safe to say that I was a loner. But in those moments, the solitude didn't bother me very much.
Now, that was going to change. I agreed with my father's idea because I found an interesting program about Baking and Pastry at the small university of Canis City. Even at the age of twenty, I still haven't chosen a path I wanted to follow in life. I adored many things - reading, writing, painting, but most of all I loved baking. So for now, that was going to be my new start. And if I'm lucky enough Canis could be my new home.
"ELISA, watch out! Slow down!"
In a panic, after my father's frantic shout, suddenly I pushed the breaks so hard that it caused both of us to fly towards the front windshield.
"Dad, you scared the hell out of me."
Silently cussing, I was about to give him a piece of my mind, but when I turned towards him his gaze wasn't frightened by our almost-crush. Instead, his eyes were sparkling in excitement.
"They - came out of nowhere."
"Who... came?"
He didn't have to point upfront, his widened eyes gave away the location of the mentioned - .... they. The origin of my father's delight came from four huge wolves. And when I say huge, I mean enormously big - a lot bigger than the average size of a wolf. All of them owned thick brown furs and dark set of eyes that could swallow you in if you dared to gape for too long. They stood proudly side by side, occupying every inch of the road in front of the car.
"Stay quiet."
I heard my father whisper beside me, but I didn't turn to face him. All of my attention was turned on the furred creatures in front of us. The two wolves in the middle held our gazes boring their golden eyes in ours, not blinking even for a second. Was that a normal behavior for a wolf?
Opposite of the ones in front, the two wolves on the side, in slow passes began to circle and sniff around the car. During the whole time, I held my breath in anticipation. My mind began to question some things I didn't dare to utter out loud. Were they going to attack? Was it common for wolves to sniff their meal before feasting? They can't break through the car, right?
Before my thoughts could go any further in limbo, the two wolves had already finished their examination around the car and joined the ones in the front. Without a word - howl, all four of them retreated back to the sides of the road, opening a clear getaway in front of us.
Still, I didn't dare to move. There was something about the way they looked at us that kept me from bringing the engine back to life. After a moment or two, one of the wolves stepped in front of the others. Without breaking eye contact, it nudged with its head towards the pathway. I didn't want to acknowledge it, but somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew that the wolf was telling us to get going, to continue with our journey.
I didn't wait to be told once again. A few seconds later, I was already enlarging the distance between us and them. Only when miles were keeping us apart, I finally emptied my lungs.
"That was..." - quite odd, I was about to say, but my father's words empowered over mine.
"Incredible! Did you see the way they ... "
I shook my head in disbelieve as I continued to drive through the gates of Canis. Ignoring the wild beating of my heart and my father's vivid enthusiasm, I tried to bury the thought that we just got welcomed in the city ... by four wolves.
Weird - doesn't even begin to cover it.
➳
N O T E :
Welcome to 'Entangled with you'. First of all, thank you for giving chance to this book. I promise to keep the excitement you expect.
Now, this book is the first one I try to write from the first point of view. When you are writing in the third point, you are able to present the feelings of every character you wish. You don't have that privilege when you do it from the first. But from this point, you can keep the mystery of the other characters. And you can portrait them in the main lead's eyes.
Another thing, as you know this book belongs to the #3 universe of my stories, and it's book two of the werewolf series. But don't worry, you don't have to read the other one before this. Although characters from them will be mentioned - I will try to fill you with everything you need to know. Due to personal reasons, the first book of this series is taken down but it will be back in the future.
Thank you again. Enjoy this ride!
THIA