Running with Wolves. Cynthia Cooke

afghan and her laptop case. She slung it over her shoulder with the duffel and hurried out the door and onto the porch. She quickly closed and locked the door then turned around and stifled a scream.

      Jason stood on the porch’s top step, the tote bag and a bag of Buddy’s dog food under his arm. Buddy stood crouched a foot behind him, his hair bristling as he stared out into the yard. A lone wolf stood not ten feet in front of them, his head bowed, his teeth bared. Buddy whined, pushing himself next to Jason’s powerful legs.

      “What does it want?” Shay asked nervously.

      “He’s drawn to the smell of the demons.”

      “Why?”

      “Because it’s in his blood. He knows the smell, he fears it, but he doesn’t understand why. He doesn’t remember.”

      She didn’t understand. How could she understand? It was nonsense. “Will it hurt us?”

      “I don’t know. He’s confused and afraid.” Jason stepped off the porch, walking slowly toward his truck. The wolf’s eyes tracked him as he proceeded across the yard. Its upper lip lifted, showing a row of sharp teeth as it caught Jason’s scent, then it snarled a warning that sent the hair on her neck standing on end.

      Jason slowed, taking a tentative step forward. Then another, his eyes never leaving the wolf’s. He was almost to his driver’s door when another wolf stepped out from behind a large redwood tree.

      Shay gasped a breath and held it to keep from calling out a warning. Very slowly and deliberately, Jason closed the distance to his truck and opened the driver’s door. She didn’t let loose the air burning inside her chest until he climbed inside the truck and slammed the door shut.

      “Buddy.” Instantly, he was by her side. A low growl rumbled in his throat as another two wolves stepped into the clearing and moved toward them. She leaned down and grabbed ahold of Buddy’s collar. They had to get back in the house. But before she could take a step, Jason’s truck roared to life. He flipped on the headlights and, in the dimming light of dusk, lit up the yard. The wolves turned and faced him, their eyes glowing greenish-gold in the headlight’s reflection.

      The truck inched forward, moving close to the porch, one tire riding up the bottom step. Jason pushed open the back door of the crew cab and yelled, “Come on, Buddy!”

      In a flash, Buddy yanked out of her grasp and jumped into the backseat of the truck then slid between the bucket seats up front and positioned himself in the passenger’s seat. Amazement surged through her at how easily and quickly Buddy obeyed him, which quickly turned to annoyance. She had no choice now. There was no going back.

      “Come on, Shay,” Jason yelled.

      Before she could move, another wolf appeared on the porch from the side of the house not ten feet away from her. Without a second thought, she ran and jumped into the backseat of the crew cab, slamming the door shut behind her. Jason made a wide turn and carefully drove down the road as even more wolves stepped out from between the redwoods to watch them pass, their dark eyes following them.

      Buddy whined and Shay repositioned herself, squeezing up into the front seat next to him. She put her arm around his trembling body. Though she suspected she was getting more comfort from his soft warm fur than he was getting from her. She laid her cheek against him and tried not to cry. More wolves stepped forward, flanking the road as they drove away from her home.

      “Look at them all. In all the years I’ve lived here, I’ve never seen a single wolf. Now they’re everywhere.”

      “They’ve come from far away, tracking the scent.”

      “What if they get into the house?” She turned around and watched them move toward her home.

      “It doesn’t matter. Not anymore.”

      Disbelief filled and angered her. “Yes, it does. How can you say that? They’ll ruin everything. That is my home.” As she thought of the damage they could do, to the antique sofa, the leather of the chairs, the wool rugs, she felt her control over her emotions slipping as tears spilled onto her cheeks.

      “Did you shut the door?”

      “Yes, but what if they break a window? We have to go back. We have to do something, call someone.”

      “We can’t, Shay. I’m sorry. There’s nothing we can do. No one we can call.”

      “Yes, we can! That is my home.”

      “No it’s not. Not anymore.”

      She glared at him, feeling the hatred burning through her eyes.

      “I’m sorry. That came out harsher than I’d intended. You have to trust me, Shay. As hard as it is to accept, life as you know it is over. You have no choice but to move on.”

      “That’s not true. We always have choices.”

      “But not always good ones. I know it sounds insensitive, but—”

      “You’re damn right it does. I will never forgive you for this, for taking me away from my home. For not calling someone, for not helping me save...” And then it broke loose, all the fear and the anger she was trying to keep at bay. It filled her heart and overflowed, expanding into her throat. Gulping, painful sobs wrenched her chest, and tears flooded her eyes, scorching her cheeks.

      Embarrassment engulfed her, merging with the fear and anger and the deep sadness. Everyone in her family was dead and everything she had left to remind her of them was still in that house. And yet, she’d chosen to go with him, to turn from her home and get into his truck. Fool.

      But what choice had she had? She thought again of the years, the memories with her grandmother. They were all she had left of her family. There was nothing else. No one else. But now the house was riddled with cracks, and foul-smelling odors and...wolves.

      She closed her eyes and leaned her head against the window.

      “I’m sorry,” he said again.

      “You already said that. It doesn’t matter. It doesn’t help.”

      “It does matter, Shay, because you’re alive. If I hadn’t come today, if I’d waited one more night...”

      She turned to him. He was serious. He really believed she’d been in danger. She thought of the voices in her wall, of the feverish eyes of the wolves outside her door, and a shudder tore through her. Was he right? Was she that close to death?

      If I’d waited one more night...

      Chapter 4

      Shay must have fallen asleep. She woke with her head pressed against the glass and Buddy’s big body splayed across her lap. She dug her fingers into his fur, finding comfort in his softness. He was all she had left now. She looked out the windshield at the dark empty highway looming ahead of them.

      “Where are we going?” she asked.

      “To the most beautiful spot on earth. You and Buddy will love it.”

      Maybe. But they’d loved it where they were. Buddy had tons of empty forest to roam. They were a breath away from the beautiful blue Pacific with its soaring cliffs and giant black rocks. There were people she knew back there, people who knew her. She sighed. Who knew where she was going now? What it would be like. Why hadn’t her parents told her about this place?

      Would she ever be able to go back home? She had to. She’d take out a loan, make the repairs on the house, call wildlife control and take back her life. Running off with a stranger was beyond foolish and it wasn’t like her. She was practical. Logical. She didn’t let her emotions rule her actions. She didn’t operate on instinct. She was a planner, so she was making a plan.

      Except how could she plan for demons? She shook her head. Crazy. They were just cracks in the wall. Cracks that whisper? The question taunted her.

      “Will we get there