章節 4: Chapter 4: Wolf Dreamer

Emily

I told Tristan goodbye and closed the door as he walked away. I took a deep breath as my nerves began to settle. I was home and away from people. I was safe, or at least I thought I was safe. This lowly apartment had been my sanctuary for four years.

Despite the comeliness of the living room and the janky kitchen. It was home. It was my little Imp cave as it is called in my favorite Everwinter book trilogy, the Quest for the Dragon Eye by James Roland Trudell. I’d like to think of myself much like one of the lead characters in that book, the impish dwarf warrior. He didn’t care much for humans, elves, other imps, orcs or any other wayward creature that dared to pass by his cozy cavern. All he cared about was mead, books, blade smithing and most of all food.

I didn’t drink much, and I didn’t know a damn thing about blade smithing other than the dwarf made it cool in the books. I loved food but I wasn’t much of a people person, and I preferred to be left alone most of the time. No matter how lonely I felt sometimes.

I hung my backpack on the coat rack along with my coat and I flopped down onto my couch. I heard a meow and smiled as my beloved cat, Neeko, jumped onto the arm of the couch. My baby was purring as I gave him a kiss and hugged him. He always made me feel a little better every night when I came home. If I didn’t have him, I’d probably go stir-crazy. Cats were the best.

I sighed and picked up my phone. It was time to call Grandpa and tell him about what happened. He wouldn’t have gone to bed just yet. As I waited for him to pick up, I felt overwhelmed, and tears spilled from my eyes.

“Hey, little bug,” he said. “Is everything okay?”

“No,” I sobbed, and I told him what happened.

He listened as I regaled him with the tale, and then asked if I was hurt. I told him I was fine, saying that a stranger helped with bringing me home along with my damaged moped. I didn’t say Tristan’s name because my grandpa was always wary of the strange guys I talked to.

He said that we would close the shop early tomorrow and go down to the police station to file a report. He also agreed to pick me up every morning until he sold the shop, which he then told me would be in less than a month. Great! I had less than a month to look for another job. Another headache I didn’t need. I sighed, feeling a little better and wiped my eyes.

“I love you, Emily,” he said to me. “Try to get some sleep and I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Okay, Grandpa,” I said. “I will. Love you too. Bye.”

I ended the call and sighed. I wasn’t so sure that I would be able to sleep. I wasn’t feeling very hungry at the moment. I’d probably go to bed without eating once again. Maybe Grandpa and I could go out to breakfast the next day before heading out to file the report. He wouldn’t mind spending a little money.

I picked up my laptop and tried to write a few words in a nonexistent book that I was writing. But, alas, the indicator on the screen laughed at me once again. I sighed and looked at the clock on the wall. It was almost nine o’clock. I put my laptop back on the coffee table, stood up and refilled Neeko’s water and food bowl before I went to my room and showered.

I put on my pajamas and picked up my Book Wizard e-reader. Neeko jumped on the bed and snuggled in right next to me. I pet him as I read, and I started to feel my eyes droop after a few pages. I yawned and set my glasses on the nightstand along with the Bool Wizard.

My alarm was set for four in the morning, and it came pretty damn quickly.

I turned off my lamp and laid my head. I was out like a light within seconds but when I woke up again, I wasn’t in my bed.

I found myself in a forest. It looked like the MacReady Forest higher in the mountains. I’d only been there a couple of times with Grandpa when we went on a Christmas sleigh ride at the Grand Lodge there.

The clouds were dark and ominous, and thunder rippled through the sky.

This didn’t feel right. Was I dreaming?

I heard wolves howling in the distance and instead of moving away from it, I felt myself drawn towards it. I moved along through the trees until I came to rocks that overlooked a clearing. I heard snarling and barking and was shocked to see wolves fighting.

There were two packs, one on the left and one on the right, with an Alpha facing each other. The Alpha on the right had black fur with red eyes; he snarled as he stared at the Alpha on the left. This Alpha had dark brown fur and when it looked at me, I couldn’t see its eyes, but it barked and broke off into a run towards me.

I panicked, turning back and bursting into a run. The wolf continued to bark and snarl as it rushed at me with powerful legs. I huffed, breathless, running through the trees until I tripped and fell face first into dead leaves.

I tried to stand up, but I couldn’t get up fast enough before I heard growling behind me. Slowly, I looked up and saw the wolf a foot away. I crawled away and put my back against a tree.

“Please,” I whispered. “Please don’t hurt me!”

The wolf trotted towards me, and I closed my eyes, expecting it to attack but then I heard it give a pleading whine. I opened my eyes to see it sitting on its hind legs before me, staring at me.

I don’t know why I reached my hand out, but I was no longer afraid of this wolf. I didn’t think it would hurt me. It sniffed my outstretched hand and then gave it a gentle lick. It pressed its thick head into my palm and then closed its eyes.

When the wolf opened his eyes again, I gasped at the sight, for the eyes of the wolf were blue-blue eyes and dark brown fur. Tristan had blue eyes and dark brown hair. Why did this wolf remind me of him?

I closed my eyes again, feeling the strange feeling that I felt when I was with Tristan. I felt drawn to him. As if we were meant to meet. I tried to deny it, but it was still there.

When I opened my eyes again, I screamed. The blue-eyed wolf was no longer there, and I was staring at the snarling face and red glowing eyes of the Black Wolf.

I screamed again but awoke to the sound of my alarm going off. I turned off the alarm and laid my head back down, thankful it was only a dream. An all too real and prophetic dream.

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