Chapter 3

When I woke up it was pitch black, I reached for my phone, it read two thirty-five. I shuffled the small set of draws up to the window, climbing on top of it, I shoved the window open carefully so as to not make a sound. I pulled myself up and shimmied out the window, it was a low down window on the outside that was a few inches above the patio floor. The air was chilly, I tugged my hoodie tighter and crept towards the back of the garden, towards the wooded area. I was wearing black leggings, with my dads grey Yale hoodie and my old black converse, my hair was braided into two school braids. The house remained silent as I made my way to the edge of the garden, my dad used to take us on hikes through forests, normally on a trail, we would have a picnic and he would teach us to hunt, make fires and find safe shelter incase we ever got lost. He called it survival camp. His and my brothers hearing were always much better than mine was, he could hear something coming even before I could. If I was in severe danger he would tell me to run to the nearest lake, pond or river. I didn't know his logic but he told me "When you reach the water, nothing can hurt you." 

Once I reached the treelining I broke into a silent sprint, dodging the limbs of trees. I enjoy late night runs, I feel free, like all my worries just disappear. I stop at a clearning, you never walk into a clearning without caution, especially if you don't know the area. That's when I noticed two pairs of eyes staring at me, their eyes almost golden. Wolves. Wolves are pack animals. These wolves looked bigger than the average wolf, I'd never ran into a wolf before. Panic set in as another set of eyes appeared in the distance, their bodies hidden in the long grass, I could hear the crunch of grass beneath their feet as they crept towards me, I could hear the waves from the beach, I'd been running for at least an hour and a half. "Never give chace to a wolf."  I hear my dads voice echo in my head.

"Sorry dad." I whisper, causing the wolves ears to flick and tilt their heads, I take that as my chance to run. I see a cliff, the sound of the water getting louder as I rush towards it. 

"Stop." A familliar voice yelled, the wolves growled but halted in their tracks, I on the other had did not stop, as I reached the edge of the cliffe I jumped, terrified of heights, but the adrenaline pushed me through my fear. "Shit." I heard him shout before I crashed into the water. In that moment I knew I was safe.

A womans voice sounded in my head, startling me, "Μόλις γίνει μια σύνδεση, δεν μπορεί να σπάσει." When I resurfaced, I heard the howls and growls of the wolves from the cliff above, but I wasn't scared. I swam to the shore, coughing slightly from the pressure on my chest.

A boy around Matt's age came racing towards the beach, he couldn't be older than thirteen. "Dad, Ben. Over here, she's here." He shouted, rushing towards me as I made my way out of the sea. "Are you alright?" The boy asked in shock.

"I'm fine." I shrugged, trudging through the last of the waves. 

"Clara?" Confusion laced the mans voice. "What were you thinking?" He scalded after a moment.

"Uh, there were wolves." I glanced back at the cliff where the wolves had been, they were gone now, the fear was starting to come back now that I was out of the water. 

"Hey, stationary girl." The other boy smirked. His dad gave him a nod, and the young boy left with him. "The wolves won't hurt you." He smiled, "These ones don't hurt people." I nod but don't speak. "I'm Ben." He smiled. 

"Hi." I whisper not even sure he heard me.

To my surprise he had, "You don't have a name?" He asked in confusion.

"I'll let you guess." I smiled.

"You're not actually Clara are you?" He asked, eyes wide in what appeared to be shock. I shook my head. "So mystery girl, what made you jump?" 

"There were wolves, and my survival training says they're dangerous. I know you're not supposed to run or give chase or whatever, but I guess I just panicked. Dad used to take us on trips before he..." I trailed off, I wasn't ready to accept that he was gone. 

"Your dad died?" He asked sincearly. 

I nodded, swallowing, "They said he did. They would rather he be dead than a deserter. He was a soldier, missing in action thats what they call it. But that's enough to sign a certificate of death." A tear slipped down my cheek. 

"So you live with your mum and that boy at the supermarket was your brother?" He asked, holding his breath as he waited for my response. 

"Kind of, I don't know who my mother is, but I live with the woman who raised me. She remarried, the boy with me was my step-brother Connor, I have a step-sister Krystal and my real brother Matty. You didn't need to fight him, he probably wouldn't have hurt me, not in public." I smiled. 

"He's hurt you before." He all but growled, in an animalistic voice. 

"No." I answered, probably too quickly. He reached for my arm and yanked my sleeve up. I looked at it in confusion, where had my bruises gone? Earlier there had been huge dark circles lining my skin. "What, the-" I looked up at him, then back at my arm. His hand still holding my wrist sending tingles through my arm, like thousands of sparks. "Did- Did you do that?" I gasped in shock. 

He looked just as shocked as I did. "No, not me. Don't tell anyone about this."  I started to shiver as we made our way off the beach. The air becoming colder, he took his hoodie off. "Here take your hoodie off and put this on." He said, waiting for me to take my hoodie off before handing me his. It fit in a similar way to my dad's hoodie, looking slightly like a dress on me, but it was incredibly warm and smelled like heaven, kind of like strawberry and vanilla. I inhaled deeply causing him to chuckle. "You can keep it if you like it that much." I blushed. "You don't talk much do you?" He asked.

I shook my head. "I used to, its easier if I don't speak now. You're lucky were alone, I don't talk in public places. I only really talk to Rolo or Matty." 

He furrowed his eyebrows, "Rolo?" He asked, still holding my hoodie, he stretched out a hand to help me up the steep part of the cliff. 

"My dog. Dad brought him home for me when he came back to visit on my birthday, about three years ago. I don't celebrate my birthday anymore really." I looked up at him, with a small smile. He didn't look happy, we stepped into the forrest, the wolves no longer in sight. "My dad says, if you're really quite you can hear everything in the forrest. You're connected to every part of nature, everything." I whispered. 

He stopped turning to look at me with a smirk, "If you're that smart and you can hear 'everything', how did you manage to stumble into a pack of wolves?" 

I nudged him with my shoulder, he towered over my 5ft3 frame, he had to be at least 6ft2. "How old are you?" I asked, looking into his chocolate brown eyes. I felt unnaturally safe around him. 

"Seventeen. I'll be a senior when we start back at school on Monday." He smiled, he seemed to like me asking him questions. 

"I'm a senior too, I skipped a grade though, I'm sixteen." I made note of each of his facial expressions, surprise and then something that looked almost proud. "Do you have the time?" I asked, noticing that the sky had started to get lighter. 

He pulled out a phone from his pocket, "almost five." I hugged his hoodie closer to me inhaling deeply. "So, I'll see you at school, unless you plan on sneaking out again tonight?" He smiled.

I bit my lip, "You didn't have to walk me all the way back you know?" 

He stopped, turning me to look at him, he ran his thumb over my lip as if he were in a transe, making me feel nervous as sparks danced on my skin. "Don't do that." He whispered. I furrowed my eyebrows, "Don't bite your lip." He removed his hand, "I had to walk you back, I couldn't leave you alone in the woods now could I?" He smirked, "Try and get some rest, I'll see you at school." He said handing me back my soaking wet hoodie. I started to take his off to give him it back but he stopped me. "Keep it. It might help you sleep since you like smelling it so much." He chuckled softly causing me to blush again.