A Howl In The Night by Lorelei Sutton (life books to read .txt) 📕

“But…why not now?”I sound so tiny, surrounded by such an empty wasteland.

“I don’t want you to disappear, Mona. Every day I want the guarantee that you still want me, and that you won’t run away. So it has to be this way.”

“N-no, it doesn’t. Xavier, please…”I touch his arm, but he shakes me off almost robotically.

“Mona, I’m sorry, but we both need to get some rest. I’m not going to bend on this.”

I stand up, feeling as if I was hit by a moving train. My knees start to wobble, and they almost buckle down the small hill. I can feel his gaze on me as I vanish into the trees.

He must be playing with me, treating me like I am his toy. How did I deserve this? Now I am destined to be controlled, and more frighteningly, a small part of me actually wants this to happen. Well, maybe a bit more than a small part of me.

What in the world is wrong with me? Why can’t I just be normal and contained…and strong? I already know the answer, but I can’t keep myself from asking those questions.

The anger leaves my body along with my strength as I collapse onto an empty spot on the ground. And as the noise of the forest fades away into an eerie silence, the only thing I continue to hear is the fervent beating of my heart. I can’t help but stare into the forest, wondering about him.

And shamefully waiting for tomorrow.

* * *

I swing the spear with incredible force, hitting the large oak tree and getting my weapon caught in the middle of it as a result. My face drips with sweat, traveling down my face and body, but I don’t even care. I feel powerful when I’m swinging a sword… like I can do anything.

I am alone in the forest, surrounded by dark gray foliage and towering trees that I desperately want to topple. Doing so would ensure that I’ve taken a step forward in my training, and I can finally take a break. My frustrations, which had initially led me out here, have long since abated, and now I can feel a dull ache in my bones.

“Nice, Mona.”A voice erupts, and I whip my head around to see Ray, casually leaning on the side of the tree. “You’re getting better.”

I don’t really know how to take compliments, so I just stare at him. “You’re welcome.”

“Uh, wrong words. I think you’ve been away from society too long. The correct reply is thank you.”He laughs, and I can’t help but laugh as well.

“Actually, I’m right. You’re welcome for when I have to save your butt with my awesome skills.”I wink at him, twirling the spear in my fingertips. It shines with iridescence, and then starts to fade away in my hands.

“I wonder…”Ray says, walking closer to the faded spear and watching it with his eyes aglow. “When you and Griffin were stuck in the well, why didn’t you use your amazing skills to get you both out of there? I seem to recall you guys pretty much about to die…and us saving YOUR butts.”

“I’m not sure either.”I have been wondering about that, and it’s bothered me for quite a while. “I tried using them in the well, and it went straight through.”

“Maybe it was the materials. It’s not natural like the rest of this world is.”

“You know, you’re right. Maybe metal materials, or even just human-made objects, are not affected by my weapons. Hey Ray, you’re pretty smart after all.”

I smile and Ray grins as well, grabbing my head and rubbing his knuckle across my scalp. “Was there ever any question?”He asks me jokingly.

“Always.”I twist out of his grip, running out of his reach. “With you, you can never know what you’ll get.”

The dark fog gathers in the area, quickly almost obscuring him from my vision. I feel discomfort at how easily this place can conceal, disguising anything at the drop of a hat.

“Well, it’s lunchtime now. If you are done now, we’d really like it if you joined us.”Ray turns away, his voice fading in the roar of the wind. I nod, following him into the trees.

It’s been pretty hard, coming up with meals for the day, but we have been making it through. We passed by a small pond the day after yesterday, so we were able to stock up on fruits and get some water. Luckily, all of us have more energy than humans do, otherwise we would have all died long ago. Every day we are traveling about a hundred miles, give or take, and are gradually getting closer to the ocean. We can’t see it yet, but I can sense it, remembering it in my dreams in relation to the mountains.

I haven’t had any visions recently, which worries me because I need more evidence to connect all the puzzle pieces in my head before I can make any accurate conclusions. And at the rate we are going, I need to make some decisions about what we need to be doing very quickly. There has to be some way that I can get us out of here. Given the scarcity of food, there is no way we could live here for too much longer. Unless there’s a Garden of Eden around here, in which case we need to find it, and fast.

I step into the clearing where most of our group is gathered around a small campfire. A few logs have been placed around it for us to sit on, and Danae is pouring water from her huge water bottle that she had back from the old world into emptied fruit shells. They kind of remind me of those coconut cups that I would see all the time in commercials on TV. Seeing everyone together, laughing over something Griffin said, gives me a strange feeling in my stomach. And I am really trying to feel guilty for it afterwards, but I just can’t make it go away.

“Are you going to grab some?”Ray asks genially as we join the group. “We have a grand specialty today. It’s a delicacy, really.”

“Ooh, I can’t wait,”I say dryly, “and whatever might this magical entrée be?”

Laughing, Griffin tosses me a spiky fruit that I have grown used to over this time period. I stare at it, and then at him, and then a smile spreads all over my face.

“Looks good.”I start to peel the skin off with my fingernails. “Actually, looks great.”

I turn to scan the area and spot Xavier to my side, sitting down on the log. We make eye contact, and he flashes me a brilliant smile. He gestures for me to sit down near him. I can feel my heart beating with uncontainable voracity as I cautiously do so. The heat of his body near mine makes me more nervous than I could ever admit.

“How was your morning?”He asks me while he chews on the core of the fruit. We have all started doing that in order to get more nourishment, but it tastes disgusting.

“Pretty productive. I almost cut down a tree in one swipe,”I reply, my mouth full of fruit. I probably look like a wild beast right now, but I’m too hungry to care.

“That’s a huge improvement from yesterday. I’m really proud of you.”

“You sound like my father,”I reply mockingly, and then fall silent as I remember that I don’t have a father any more. I’ve been remembering a lot of my past lately, and memories of my parents have really been bothering me.

“What’s wrong?”Xavier asks, his voice close to my ear. His arm snakes around my waist, and I can sense his confidence in the gesture.

Griffin, sitting across the fire, is looking straight at me when I look away from Xavier. Strangely enough, he doesn’t seem mad or angry, but he is smirking at me instead. I blush, my whole face turning a bright shade of red. I try to shake off Xavier’s hand, but it’s impossible because of his grip of iron.

“Nothing,”I say through gritted teeth, trying not to look at him. There’s just something about looking into his eyes that makes me constantly humiliate myself.

“Aww, Mona, don’t get embarrassed. Just tell me.”He isn’t trying to keep his voice low, and I can sense a bit of exhilaration in his tone. I wonder what could possibly be running through his mind right now.

Even as his grip loosens, his hand still brushes against the small of my back, as if he’s making sure I’m still here. I finally turn my head to look at him, and there he is, probing me with his stupid eyeballs.

“I was just thinking about dad,”I say softly, knowing any of the other werewolves could pick up on my voice. If they did, they didn’t show it, making their own salads from a few patches of green leaves we got near the last water spring.

“I’m…sorry.”Xavier’s hand leaves my back, and his gaze drops.

“Don’t apologize. You didn’t even know him,”I reply, and then toss the remaining shell into the fire. I can’t help but feel touched by his concern, a warmth gathering in my heart that has nothing to do with passion.

“Yeah, but I was being insensitive.” He smiles slightly, prodding at the dirt with his shoe.

“That’s nothing out of the ordinary.”I grin slyly. “So don’t worry. I’m used to it.”

He suddenly burst into laughter, his eyes widening. “So Mona can crack a joke? I never knew?”

“Who said I was cracking a joke?”I shoot back, a little confused, or at least pretending to be. It makes me…feel happy, conversing like this without the pressing urgency that comes with a difficult situation.

Xavier gives me a dubious look, his eyebrow arched in a teasing manner. I can’t hold back the giggles, now, and I turn away from him, hoping that he won’t see my laughter.

“Well, you guys are getting along.”Danae looks at me, raising an eyebrow. I feel a little embarrassed at her scrutiny, looking at the ground. Yeah…I know. I don’t truly get it either.

“Mona can’t help but like me,”Xavier teases, “I knew she couldn’t hold up for long.”

There’s probably more truth to that than I would ever admit. “I just make it seem like I like him so I can take his food,”I comment warmly, taking another fruit out of his bag. I measuredly take the sides and rip it with all my might, splitting it down the middle.

“What a sucker,”Ray says, smiling widely. Xavier laughs in response, looking more relaxed than he has been in a long time.

Everything feels peaceful, almost as if we were sitting back in the mansion in the movie room or at the breakfast table. I can’t help but feel nostalgia as I remember the long hallways, the many rooms, and the experiences surrounding them. There are some gaping holes in my memory, but slowly I’m starting to gain some of it back. It is comforting to know that I developed relationships with this group of people before we even reached this world, that they aren’t the strangers I thought they were. Maybe I could even learn to trust them.

Speaking of this peaceful aura surrounding our camp, it’s probably time for us to get moving. My eyes leave the ripped fruit and travel upwards with the intent of addressing the group.

But then I scan the forest, my attention alerted by a flash of color to the right. At first I see nothing, but then a dull, pulsing white light, only a speck in the distance, appears behind some faraway trees.

“Hey,”I say distractedly, never taking my eyes off the light. “I have to check something out real quick. I’ll be right back.”I stand up from the log, afraid to blink at the expense of losing it from my vision.

“Mona…”I can hear Xavier’s voice behind me, but