They walked in silence around the giant bonfire, and she enjoyed the warmth from the roaring flames. Everywhere were people either waving or coming up to chat with Ryan. No one so far had attempted to talk to her, and she felt slightly embarrassed that she was so unpopular at school. Ryan leaned in closer, and the familiar butterflies took to the sky inside her stomach.
"Hey, is it OK if we go somewhere a bit quieter?"
“Yeah, sure”, she exclaimed in a high-pitched tone.
“Why am I so awkward she scolded herself inside her head.
Ryan put his hand on her lower back and steered her towards the water’s edge before grabbing her hand and leading her alongside the lake’s lapping water. A breeze winnowed between them, making her shiver.
“Here, I’ll keep you warm” Ryan smiled and put his strong arms around her shoulders.
“I can see a log just up ahead where we can sit”, he continued and pointed into the darkness.
Nueva tried to widen her eyes to see the log he was talking about, but she could only see blackness in front of them. But just like that, an old weathered tree trunk appeared resting in the soft dunes. Behind the tree trunk, grew a half-circle of shrubs, creating a shelter from the cold winds. The shrubs sharp pointy branches looked like evil hands against the midnight sky and a feeling of nervousness and eerie mixed into a new emotion deep down in her gut. Nueva swallowed hard as they sat down together on the smooth wooden surface. They sat in silence for a couple of minutes, watching the moon that seemed to be admiring its reflection on the lake's calm surface.
“So, tell me something about yourself”, Nueva uttered to break the silence. “I don’t know anything about you.”
“What would you like to know?” Ryan’s voice was warm and comforting.
“Well, let’s start with where do you live?”
Ryan straightened his back before answering.
“My family and I live outside of town. We have lived on a property owned by my family for hundreds of years.”
“Oh, wow. What do your family do?’
“Well, it’s sort of a family business that my older brother Gray is running.”
His body stiffened, and he looked away. Nueva could tell that he didn’t want to get into that subject. So, she decided to let it go and ask about something else.
“What’re your hobbies?” straight away feeling silly to have asked such a juvenile question.
Ryan turned, and his eyes fell heavy on hers, making her breath hitch in her throat.
“My hobbies are boring. Let’s talk about what you like.”
He leaned in closer and tucked a blond lock that defied the winds behind her ear.
“I like.” She stuttered as the touch of his fingers on her skin made her shiver.
“Me, I hope”, Ryan smiled, staring into her wide eyes.
For a second, everything went quiet as the blood pumping through her veins drowned out the wind and the noise from the party down the beach.
“It’s finally going to happen. I am about to get kissed by Ryan Tanner” Her brain cheered in the back of her mind.
But then a rustling from the shrubs brought her back to the now. She could feel Ryan’s body stiffen before he stood up, pulling her with him. A low growl emerged from the shrubs behind the tree trunk, sending shivers down Nueva’s back.
“What is that?” Nueva whispered, staring into the darkness and stepping closer to Ryan.
“I am not sure. Let’s get out of here.”
Nueva could sense his alarming state of mind. But, before they got a chance to move, a large dog-like animal sprung out from the shrubs heading right for Nueva. The giant animal bit down into the flesh on Nueva’s small hand, sending a shockwave of pain throughout her body. She cried out in pain and instinctively tried to pull her hand out of the beast's jaws. Ryan threw himself onto the animal and wrestled it into the ground. The animal whimpered and let go of Nueva’s hand. It lifted its large head and looked straight at Ryan with its beautiful honey-coloured eyes that glowed softly under the moon's ashen glow.
He looked utterly confused before he spoke the words “Mate.”
Ryan let go and stumbled to his feet; the animal seized the opportunity to escape, sprinting away under the shield of darkness.
“What was that?” Nueva’s voice trembled as she struggled to keep the tears from spilling out from the shock.
“I can’t explain, sorry, but I must go.”
“What? You can’t leave me here; what if that thing comes back?” Nueva couldn’t hold back the panic in her voice.
“She won’t come back.”
“She?”
“I am so sorry, Nueva, but I must go.”
He left her standing alone with those words as he ran into the blurry backdrop. She stood numbed, listening to his footstep disappearing in the distance. There was a blood-chilling bone crackling noise before everything went silent. The noise from drunken teenagers and the whistling wind soon seeped back into her ears.
Her hand throbbed painfully, and in the dull light from the moon, she could see that it was swollen and bruised. Nueva took off her shoes and ran alongside the silvery water’s edge towards the bonfire glowing brightly in the navy-blue night. As she came closer, she slowed down and snuck off to the side across a well-manicured garden so as not to be seen by the party guests. The last thing she wanted was for Lucinda to find out that not only did she not get kissed but instead got attacked by a dog and dumped by her date. She hid behind parked cars in the large driveway and ordered an Uber. She thought about calling her mum for a minute but then decided not to worry her.
Ryan's bright blue pickup remained parked at the front, where they had left it. So, where the hell did he go off to? The more she thought about the whole ordeal, the angrier she got.
"Seriously, the next time I see him, I'll give him a piece of my mind," she growled between clenched teeth.
As she waited impatiently for the Uber, she heard voices from the garden she had snuck through earlier. There were two voices, and as they walked into the dim light from the lake house security lamps Nueva’s jaw dropped. Ryan was walking with his arm around the shoulders of a beautiful girl. The girl had long silky brown hair and big beautiful honey-coloured eyes.
“Those eyes look so familiar”, Nueva tried to rack her brain to remember where she had seen this girl before.
The two of them gazed longingly into each other’s eyes, and their hands didn’t seem to be able to get enough. The couple kissed hungrily before reluctantly letting go and climbing into Ryan’s pickup truck. Nueva crouched down behind the cars as they drove past.
“Could this date get any worse” she hissed in disbelief.
It was past midnight when she finally walked back through the front door to her house. Miranda had left a few lights on for her, and Nueva felt her heart ache slightly over her mum’s thoughtful gesture. She tiptoed up the stairs and into her bedroom and crawled under the soft dusty pink duvet. Her hand, strangely enough, didn’t seem to hurt as much anymore, and she drifted off to sleep straight away.
She experienced vivid dreams of running with giant wolves through a deep old-growth forest that night and woke up covered in sweat. Her blonde locks hung heavily down her back as she walked to the bathroom. The bite on her hand was practically gone; two small bruised dots were the only reminder of last night's attack. She decided to take a long hot shower to wash away the awful experience. "I am never dating again", She muttered to herself under the flowing stream of water. When the shower didn't help, Nueva got dressed in shorts, a singlet, and her favourite runners. She ran down the stairs and into the white timber hallway, making her way towards the front door, hoping her mum wouldn't have time to catch her and ask about her date. "Good morning darling, how was your big night?" her mum called out from the kitchen. "Damn" She had been so close to slipping past her mum's curious questions. "It was fine, mum. I'm just about to head out
One month had passed since her date with Ryan, and every night she had the same reoccurring dream. The dream was dark and mainly consisted of running through rugged unknown terrain from giant grey wolves under the moon’s watchful stare. Last night her dream changed, and she saw a giant white wolf run amongst the grey flock. The white wolf separated from the pack and followed her, and together they ran through an old-growth forest. Her feet sunk deep into the soggy undergrowth as she darted between the black centuries-old trees with their decrepit and knotty limbs reaching for her in the darkness. Their bark was rough with raised ridges and lumps of wet moss; draped their protruding web of roots. The essence of the earth flowed around her from every sentient being in the forest. They stopped in front of a wall of dense iridescent coloured fog. The grainy wall seemed to pulsate to the beat of Nueva's racing heart. A low terrifying growl seeped out from behind the misty layers. The
It was still early, especially for a Saturday morning, but she couldn’t wait to talk to her friends about what had happened last night. Nueva used the 15 minute’s drive to Evie’s parent’s house to relax and clear her head. She was deep in thoughts when suddenly, a bright voice spoke inside her head, clear as day. “Hello Nueva, I am Eira” “What the hell?” she cried out in the empty car and swerved to the side of the road onto gravel, creating a large grey dust cloud. She sat quietly in the car. Her fingers squeezed the steering wheel, and her chest rose rapidly as she tried to control her breathing by expanding her small lungs with air. “I am so sorry, Nueva; I didn’t mean to scare you.” The voice was softer and somehow calmed her frazzled nerves. “Who are you? Am I going mad?” she sniffled and cupping her hands over her distorted face. “No, you are not going mad, my dear Nueva. I am your wolf.” “My what now?” “Your wolf form” The voice sounded brighter and had a cheerful tone.
Nueva left Evie’s house feeling a bit better; talking to your friends indeed is the best therapy.She drove straight home and locked herself in her mum's study with a new book she had been eager to read.The study was bright with white painted timber walls and a large bay window. Underneath the window next to a dark brown desk was a weathered old grandpa chair with a big soft Moroccan style pillow. Nueva loved curling up here with a book whenever she needed some time to herself.She had just gotten comfy when her mobile phone started vibrating on top of the desk. An unknown number flashed on the phone’s display.She didn’t usually answer unknown numbers but slid her finger across the display and put the phone to her ear when the mobile phone rang for the third time.“Hello”She could hear someone breathing on the other end.“Hello, who is this?” again no answer; Nueva decided to hang up
She met Evie and Mira at The Base shopping mall. It was still hot outside, but with the sun lower position, it had taken away some of the intensity of the heat.Nueva had made an effort to get ready and put on mascara and lip gloss. She wore a light-yellow cotton dress that reached her middle thighs and brown leather sandals.A high ponytail held her soft blond locks in place.Mira greeted her with a loud whistle that echoed throughout the shopping mall wide aisles.“Wow, look at you, girlfriend,” she called out as she and Evie came towards her.“So, hot” Evie giggled and pretended to put out a matchstick against her skin.“Eh, stop”, Nueva mumbled, embarrassed, and her cheeks turned pink under her newly tanned skin.“I can’t even remember last time I saw you in a dress?” Mira continued raising both her eyebrows and shoulders in unison.“Not important”, Nue
Nueva couldn’t stop thinking of Gray. It was just something about him that captivated her. Of course, his incredibly good looks didn’t help, and every time she thought about his deep laugh or winsome smile, her core clenched, sending pleasurable waves throughout her body.This attraction was different from what she had felt for Ryan. She wanted all of Gray, and the thought of that made her blush.But she couldn’t help it the more she thought about him, the more she wanted him. His face seemed printed onto her cornea as a permanent fixture. One night she woke up from one of her nightmares, and Gray’s piercing silver-coloured eyes flashed in front of her face, kick-starting the familiar feeling of pleasure rushing through her body. Nueva couldn't help her hands starting to wander across her body under the duvet as the arousal grew.She moved her fingers slowly over her flat stomach before circling them over the warm skin towards her s
White Creek pack territory fifteen weeks earlier.The road through the White Creek territory was like a flowing body of smooth black, treating any driver to an effortless ride into town. On each side grew wildflowers in the thousands colouring the surroundings in bright shades of the rainbow. There were small houses tucked into the flourishing nature, belonging to the pack’s members.At first look, you would never know that this pack have been under a curse for the last several hundred years. A curse that is blocking the White Creek Alphas from finding their true mate and resulting in weakening the bloodline over the years.Alpha Gray steered his black pickup truck of the smooth asphalt down a beaten dirt track leading to his grandma’s small timber cottage.He had always loved spending time here with his grandma, seeking refuge from his parent’s constant bickering.She had called him earlier and said she nee
Ryan's POVThe school bell rang out its high-pitched clang with repeated hammering on the bell.Ryan signed as the bells sound meant a moment of rest from concentrating, listening and taking notes. He grabbed his books and headed out the classroom door. His two closest friends, Harry and Flynn, waited by his locker."Let's grab lunch", Flynn called out and tapped the green metal door with a closed fist before moving to the side to let Ryan put his books away in the narrow storage compartment."Sure", Ryan started before getting interrupted by his mobile phone ringing."I need to take this", he mumbled after fishing the phone out of his jeans pock