Chapter 3: The Attack
"I'm headed to the station, Bella."
"Ok. See you tonight!" I yell down the stairs. I listen carefully and wait until I hear the cruiser pulling out of the driveway before throwing the covers off and jumping out of bed. I researched wolves last night online with Charlie's agonizingly slow dial-up. The man will pay a hundred dollars a month to get all the sports channels on cable, but he won't cough up a bit to upgrade his internet? His priorities are so messed.
I rush through my morning routine and grab my special surprise from the fridge. I hope the wolf will come today because I think he'll really like the fruits of my wolf research.
Fast walking, it doesn't take me long to get to where I saw my wolf yesterday, but he's not here.
"Hey wolfy, here boy! I've got something really yummy for you today," I call impatiently.
I continue to walk, peering into the trees, but I don't see him at all. Maybe he'd come if he could smell the food I brought. I open the bag and hold it away from me. Raw steak isn't appetizing to me, but I'm sure it smells better to a wolf than a breakfast bar does.
"You're lucky I refused to have a bison burger when Charlie cooked dinner the other night. My picky eating means you get some of your natural diet."
Rustling the bag around, I still don't see him.
"I did some research on you. I read that wolves eat animals like deer and moose, which I think there are plenty of around here. I don't think Washington state has any bison, but in any case, raw meat seems more your style than strawberry preserves."
My heart jumps when I hear a crunch from the woods. I wait eagerly for the wolf to show himself. Too late I realize that it's not my wolf. It's a bear.
"Shit. Shit shit shit!," I curse at myself. How stupid could I be? I'm out in the f-ing woods waving a bag of raw meat in the air like a free buffet. Maybe this animal will be as nice as my wolf.
The bear stands up and roars at me. I'm so fucked.
Don't run. You can't outrun a bear. Make noise.
"Hey! LALALALALA. You're a big fat fatty. Go away! LALALALA." I keep talking at it and clapping my hands, but that only draws attention to the bag of food in my hands. Shit.
"Here," I grunt as I try tossing the bag next to the bear. Too bad my aim isn't so great, and this time my lack of athleticism might literally bite me in the butt. The bag of meat lands only a few feet away from me, only encouraging the bear to move closer. I back up slowly and it doesn't charge, but we're still only a few strides apart.
When the bear sniffs at the bag, I take the opportunity to take several healthy steps back, but to my horror, the bear looks up and walks past the bag without another glance. It doesn't want the food? I'm toast now.
My foot steps on something funny, and suddenly I'm going down. I hit the ground hard and try to scramble up as quickly as I can, but the bear is too fast. It growls at me, probably startled by my clumsiness, and starts charging. Just as I try to jump out of the way, something leaps out from the shade and pounces on the bear.
My wolf!
The bear roars and stumbles around, trying to get the wolf's teeth out of its neck. It slams the wolf up against a tree, and my wolf whimpers.
"No!" I gasp, too shocked and horrified to move.
The wolf lets go and the bear tries to take a swipe at him. My wolf is surprisingly nimble and manages to avoid the bear's claws. He darts and around, avoiding swipes and getting in bites where he can. Eventually the wolf pulls back. The bear does too. They stare at each other in a stalemate until the bear breaks contact and lopes back into the trees.
I suck in a shaky breath that feels like I've been holding for ages. At the noise, the wolf turns his head around to look at me and trots over.
"I'm so sorry boy. Are you ok?" He sticks his head out for me to pat. I try to check him over as I scratch his ears, but it's hard to see anything past all the fur.
"I was so stupid. All I wanted was to bring you some real food, but I forgot to have a healthy respect for nature. Not everything out here is as trustworthy as you."
My wolf looks up at me with those intelligent yellow eyes and perky ears.
"Maybe it's another stupid, reckless thing to do, but I can't help but trust you. You saved my life," I choke out with tears in my eyes. What would have happened to me if he hadn't been here?
I give into my human emotions and hug my wolf tight with my arms around his neck.
"Thank you," I whisper. He feels so warm and safe that I wish I could never let go. I'm probably making him uncomfortable, though. Wolves can't like hugs any more than dogs do, right? I reluctantly let go and walk over to grab the bag that started this all.
"This is what I wanted to bring you," I tell the wolf. I hold out the meat to him and he takes it, gnawing on the bison steak. After a few awkward seconds of watching him hungrily eat, I make a move to leave.
"I guess I'll be going. You look like you're enjoying…" The wolf walks over and pushes me down on my butt. "Hey! What did you do that for?"
My wolf grabs his meat and snuggles into my side as he eats. I can't help but laugh at how adorable he is. It's not like I really wanted to leave anyway.
"Ok, I'll stay here with you." I resume my petting and he doesn't seem to mind. "You're kind of a needy wolf, you know that?"
He turns his head, and it looks like he's giving me the side eye.
"What? Excuse me," I drawl sarcastically. "Let me continue to rub your ears and warm your side while you eat, you highness," I laugh at him and at myself. How on earth did my best friend turn out to be a wolf?
So what did you think of the first real action scene? Bella found a friend (and a hero). Keep those reviews coming!