13. WOLVES

JULIA

“Who are you?” I cautiously stepped back. Looking around, no one else was there. I remembered Lyla saying that there were people on patrol, is he one of them?

“Do you live here?” I ask again.

The man, who looked only a year or two older than me, smiled. He wore the same black shirt that everyone else wore and had brown curly hair. He was tall and was more on the slender side, he was still muscular like the other men here, but he wasn’t big. Maybe that was a good thing, he was less scary.

“I’m Milo,” he introduced himself. He offered his hand to me for a shake, but I didn’t reach out. After everything that happened, I wanted to be careful about the people I interact with.

After noticing that I wasn’t going to shake his hand, he retrieved it and shrugged. His eyes wandered to the large carved pattern on the wall and sighed.

“It’s a shame that this wall had to become like this. They don’t make walls like this anymore.”

I also turned to the art on the wall. He was right, the carving on the wall was beautiful and detailed, it was obvious that it was articulately made.

“Do you know anything about this wall?” I asked him.

“It has always been there. The people here just didn’t think of it because it has always just been there.” He walked beside me but didn’t close in the distance between us.

“You mentioned earlier,” I took a glance at him, “the story of the wolves?”

“Ah, I see you’re interested. It must be tough after all; you are living among them and yet you don’t know anything.”

I knew that I wasn’t like them. Everyone kept calling me human, as if I was a wholly different creature than they were. They had extreme strength, their eyes glowed and sometimes, they even bore fangs. I never had any of those, but considering that they were everywhere, it felt like I was the strange one.

I was the intruder.

“Go on,” I nudged at him.

“Everyone says that we are cursed creatures. Creatures who live in the dark deserve to die because we bring harm to everyone around us. But we eventually strived and made a name for ourselves. Now others come to us to ask for our protection.”

“Why do they call you cursed?”

“Because we are,” he told me with a gentle smile, “we share the same looks, as if we’re the same kind, but when something happens, or when need be, or when the moon is full, we transform into monsters.”

“I’ve never seen anyone transform,” I told him.

He chuckled and shook his head.

“Maybe he never let you.” I stared at him, startled.  How did he know that I was talking about Zeke?

“Also, you’ve only been here for a day. You will soon realize who and what they are. You will soon realize that you’ve entered their den, and you might not be safe after all.”

Something in his eyes told me he was hiding something else. I squinted my eyes at him, growing more and more suspicious of him.

“Who are you?”

He smiled at me, as if he was mocking me.

“Me? I’m just like you.”

“What do you mean? Do you know me?” I stepped forward, but he took a step back. There was something weird about him, like he knows me, and my secrets and I couldn’t help but feel intrigued.

“You will meet me again soon, Julia.”

“You know my name,” I whispered. He turned around and walked away, I started to run after him, but something wrapped around my arms and whirled me around.

“Where are you going?” Zeke stood in front of me, his hands around me. I pushed him away and looked for the man, but he was no longer there. I jogged towards the tree line, but I didn’t see anyone. He couldn’t have left that fast.

“Julia,” Zeke called after me, “what are you doing here? Who were you chasing?”

“Someone was here, and he knew who I was.”

Zeke became silent but also looked around, his face darkened and sighed. He looked tired, his clothes were wrinkled and there was blood on his knuckles.

“Where is Lyla? She was supposed to be around you.”

“I told her to go and help her aunt with the diner, I was fine on my own.” I walked towards him, my hands slightly touching his. He tensed but he continued to let me touch him.

“You got into a fight?” I meekly asked, but he stayed silent. I wrapped my hand around his wrist and gave him a tug. He looked at me with wonder in his eyes, but I just gave him a small smile.

“You’re getting into fights here and there ever since we left the forest, you should calm yourself down a bit more.”

“Do you miss the forest?” he asked. This time, it was my turn to become silent. I can’t say I missed the forest, but I do miss the parts where it was peaceful, and it was only the two of us. I glanced at the wounds on his knuckles—at least in the forest, he didn’t have to get hurt like this.

“I don’t,” I lied. Zeke came here to build his name and get back at his family. His family were the ones to trap him in that cave all alone for who knows how long. I don’t want to destroy what he’s building just because I’m not yet used to this place.

His eyes searched my face, and the dark cloud that was looming over him started to slowly disappear. I gently caressed his hand with my thumb just to get a reaction out of him and it didn’t disappoint, he sucked in a breath and his body emitted heat.

“Just promise me you won’t get hurt,” I said, “you are the only one I know here, if you die, I might get kicked out or even worse—

Get eaten.”

He paused but then he chuckled. “Nothing can hurt me; they’re all scared of me.”

I don’t know if it was a good thing or not.

“And no one can ever touch or hurt you, I promise.”

I smiled at him. This was the Zeke that I was familiar with, this was the person I spent my time with.

The sun was setting, and everything around us was wrapped in an orange tinge. Everything was solemn and peaceful until we heard howls from a distance. Zeke’s head perked up and turned towards the direction where the howls were coming from.

“Zeke? What’s happening? —”

“Alpha.” Amir was already here before I even realized it. His face was serious, and he had a couple of men behind him. They all bowed their heads when they saw Zeke and me.

“They’re stirring trouble in the town. If things get worse, it will become a bloody fight.”

“If it’s a bloody fight they want then they will get it.” Zeke’s voice made me turn to him, and I found myself unconsciously unwrapping my hand around his. I didn’t like where this was going but I wasn’t in the place to ask about what was happening.

“We will follow your orders no matter what,” Amir bowed his head and looked at him with urgency. I suddenly realized why he acted like that.

“In the town?” I asked Amir, “Lyla and the other girl were in the town. Are they okay?”

“I hope so,” Amir inhaled in a deep breath. “We need to go, Alpha. Civilians will be affected if this goes on.”

Zeke sighed and massaged his temple. He signaled Amir to take a few steps back to give us some privacy, he followed him and went a few meters back where they couldn’t hear us.

“They just won’t back down, will they? It would have been easier just to kill them,” he said, then he turned to me, his expression stayed the same. It was as if he was implying that he didn’t kill them because of me.

“Do what you need to do,” I said.

“What?”

“I said, do what you need to do.” I repeated.

“You don’t like it when I kill,” he answered me. I looked at Amir and the others who turned away. I was hoping they couldn’t hear our absurd conversation, but then I realized that it was a normal thing for them.

“Don’t—don’t talk about it like it’s normal. I’m not telling you to go on a killing spree, just do what you need to do to keep your people safe.” I sucked in a breath and looked up at him.

“Just come back home safe. Also, bring Lyla home safe, Amir is worried about her.”

Just like that, they left. That night, I couldn’t sleep. Several howls were heard from the woods, and it wasn’t until midnight that the sounds stopped, and I was finally able to sleep.

Later on that night, I felt something warm wrap around my body, making me feel safe.

--

END