- Text Size +
Nick stared into the flames, wringing his hands above the fire. It got damn cold up here, he thought as he looked over at Baylee, who was now fast asleep, lying against his father’s side, whose warm, thick fur provided some relief from the cold. Nevertheless, Nick had piled at least three blankets on top of the boy. It was summer, for God’s sake, why was it so cold?

The wolf, on the other end, seemed to have no problem whatsoever with the cold, nor with exhaustion. After four hours of walking through the woods, Nick’s legs had literally given out and he’d barely been able to set up camp and make a fire. Brian, meanwhile, seemed to have energy to walk at least twenty more miles. Nick watched the wolf nervously as the animal was restlessly biting at the stitches in his paw.

“Hey,” Nick called out, “Quit picking at that.”

Brian tilted his head, looked at him as if to determine whether he should take him seriously or not, and then tucked his leg back underneath him before staring at Nick a little longer. Nick felt a shiver run through him. Although it was night, and they were in a thick forest, Brian was able to see him perfectly. The little sliver of moonlight that came through the foliage made the wolf’s crystal white coat seem to glow in the dark and his light blue eyes were torches in the blackness.

The wolf was definitely in his element here, and Nick got the eerie feeling that Brian might be too. Ever since Baylee had told him about the potential danger the transformation might entail, he’d been paying close attention to the wolf’s behaviour, and didn’t come up with a lot of promising results. Since they’d entered the woods, there was a true wildness to Brian, a longing to be free. Nick could see it in his eyes, and knew that only common sense was keeping Brian with them right now.

What would happen if common sense made place for instinct?

He didn’t want to think about it, so Nick stood up slowly. It was time to get some sleep as well. Baylee and he would sleep in the tent, Brian and Keeko would stay outside and be on guard. Nick wasn’t exactly sure how he felt leaving Brian alone and in charge of protecting the camp, but figured that he’d rather have Brian kill a dozen more rabbits, ducks and squirrels than being attacked by a grizzly bear in their tents.

Baylee groggily peered up at him as Nick nudged the teenager awake. “Come on, it’s warmer inside.”

“Dunno,” Baylee yawned, “Wolf fur is pretty effective as well.”

“I don’t think it would be fair to turn him into a pillow though,” Nick smiled. He stretched his stiff legs as he walked towards the small tent he’d been able to buy on such short notice. “Stay close, alright?” He said to the wolf, who had leapt to his feet eagerly. He probably couldn’t stop Brian from hunting down rabbits, but he could threaten him with the leash. He just hoped they’d make it to the lake soon.

Nick wasn’t sure how long he’d slept, or what woke him up. He opened his eyes to complete darkness, so he figured it wasn’t morning yet. He grumbled and sat upright, wincing because of his sore muscles from sleeping on the ground. His eyes widened when he heard the noise. Scrambling for his flashlight, he stumbled over Baylee’s legs, who mumbled something before continuing to sleep.

The howls cut through the air like a knife and left him shivering. There were multiple, he noted, and they were too far away to be Brian’s. He searched the camp site and soon found Brian standing at the edge of the camp, behind the smouldering remains of the fire. His body was completely tensed up and he was peering nervously into the darkness of the trees.

“Are those... wolves?” Nick asked and a shock ran through Brian as his voice broke the silence. The wolf whined in fear and Nick frowned. “Shit,” he mumbled. “What do we do?” Brian looked at the tent, then ran over to it, perching himself right before the opening and looked at Nick expectantly.

“What? You wanna stay inside?” Nick asked. Brian nodded frantically.

“You’re scared of those wolves?” Another nervous nod.

“They’re probably miles and miles away. Plus, we got fire.”

Brian growled in frustration, then took the openings flap in his mouth and went inside. Nick shook his head.

They got a coward for a wolf. Nick didn’t understand.

The howls were barely audible and far away and moreover, wolves didn’t usually attack campers, they were known to avoid humans at all costs.

But wait.

They would attack another wolf on their territory.

Brian probably knew this as well. Would they be able to smell him? Could he smell them? A white ball of fury sprinted in between Nick’s legs and jumped onto the wolf, who yelped in surprise. Apparently Brian wasn’t the only one that was terrified by the wolves outside.

Keeko quickly jumped off of him and hid behind one of the tent’s poles. Nick sighed as he lay back down, his space now severely compromised by the large wolf lying in the middle. There was no way he could lie on the ground without lying half on the wolf. Oh well, at least Baylee was right. The wolf’s coat did provide some nice warmth.