I'd been waiting for the day the somewhat perfect summer weather would cave under the ominous rain clouds always hovering over Washington. And when that day finally came, it came hard. The wind howled, branches scraped against my window. Rain pelted the roof and the glass, sounding for anything like there were a million Jakes outside throwing rocks. Lightning lit up the room as thunder made it shake, reverberating through my entire body.
It was by far the worst storm I'd ever seen, let alone been in and for a brief second, it felt like the roof was going to be torn away and the house would go spinning into complete darkness. I suddenly knew exactly how Dorothy felt and didn't hold the fact that her best friend was a dog against her.
I curled up under my sheets, alone and wishing I wasn't, debating on whether or not I should bother Jake with my stupid fears. He'd probably laugh... or cry, whichever seemed more fitting. After the year I'd had, a little rain should be nothing- though "little" is a loose interpretation. But he was on shift that night, like UPS. Rain or shine… in a sense.
He's probably having the best night of his life, I thought and it was probably true. Just imagine, a seventeen year old werewolf jumping in mud puddles. How fun.
A sudden crash made me jump, hand slapped over my own mouth. Dad was two doors down, most likely sleeping through the maelstrom outside his window. I envy his seemingly unique ability to not let anything short of complete world annihilation disturb his beauty sleep.
All sound was drowned out by the heavy rain, the loud thunder and the rip of branches and trees. I was almost positive that it was all my super sensative ears could handle until something much louder penetrated through all the other noise. What was it? I sat for a while, trying to figure it out, ignoring the steady thump of my heart in my throat. Then it hit me.
Silence. I'll never be able to go to a library again if the quiet seemed so much stranger than the chaos.
The rain had quieted so suddenly, like Leah's shifting moods, the thunder wasn't quite as rumbling. It was as if mother nature had flipped the switch and off went the storm. Yet somehow, the air felt heavier than before, pushing down on me as I pretty much cowered in my bed.
Hesitantly, I slipped out of my cozy cocoon of blankets, flinching when my bare feet hit the cold floor. I made a mental note to buy a carpet and slowly inched towards the window. If Quil could only see me now, though it was a gift from god he couldn't. It would be endless torture from here on out. Still, I crept slowly and quietly, placing my feet in all the right places.
Why did this all seem so familiar? What was with the sudden Deja Vu? A floorboard creaked way too loudly in the after storm stillness, making me jump then laugh at how stupid I must look. Tomorrow morning, I was definitely erasing all the late night HorrorFests on my TiVo, as tragic as Jake might find it.
Thunder rolled as I reached the window and peered outside, my heart giving a little leap at the sight of what Jake was out in. Happily or not. My eyes scanned the wreckage, the bent trees and torn branches. I saw all of it and yet none of it as the hairs at the back of my neck stood on end. My sight sharpened and my ears pricked, I had to bite down the urge to phase into my wolf form.
There was something out there in the destroyed bit of forest that was my backyard. Call it canine instincts but I could feel that there was something not…normal hiding out in the shadows.
And it was watching me.
Throwing open the window proved to be a bad idea when water and wind came gushing in. Sticking my head out of it was worse. My hair whipped into my face and I knew it was laughing, whatever "it" was. It laughed because it could see me, but I couldn't see it. Then again, I could barely see two feet in front of my face so the chances of me actually looking at it were slim. Still, I squinted into the shadows, my heart beat picking up speed in my throat.
I should call Jake, I should phase and call out to him. The wind howled but the sound was much more alive, sounding for anything like the cry of a wild animal… like a wolf. I stretched further out of the window, not caring about my tank top being soaked through, and listened.
It came again, low and haunting, not a howl I knew. Nobody I knew. And again, seconds later. It sent a strange thrill through me, not the kind that a kiss from Jake did, but a thrill none the less. Like a familiar voice. One I wasn't completely sure I liked.
The branches creaked under the strain from the wind, the sound of the waves on the cliffs way off in the distance carried over. I blinked to clear my eyes and when I opened them, my entire body went cold. As ice. A single pair of glowing gold eyes shone through the shadows of the forest, focused completely on me. Two golden dots in the darkness and I could just imagine the body they were in.
I slammed the window shut as lightning flashed, shivering despite my body temperature. I didn't care about my sleeping father, or the steadily picking up rain. The thunder barely made a sound. All I could see were those gold eyes, still staring straight at my window from below. As I watched, they moved, circling to a better position. For observing.
This puts new standards to the term "stalker", I thought, my teeth chattering. Almost like an answer, it howled, long and sad. It cut straight through me. And if I wasn't mistaken it was… closer?
Backing away from the window I wished for the second time in one night that Jacob was there with me- protective and warm and strong. But he wasn't. He was out there… with whoever wanted to come in here. Wasn't that just wonderful? Yet another thing to worry about, though Jacob is more than capable of not getting himself seriously wounded again.
Lightning cracked right outside my window, the sound of breaking wood following shortly after the blinding light. The heavy thud of a branch hitting the ground- and hopefully the wolf outside- reached my ears. Another tree down.
But one more sound filtered up to me. The scrape of claws on the back porch, sticking deep in the wood. The howl again. My heart beat so fast it made the rest of my body shake and I wasn't even ready to begin thinking about what excuse I would give my father about the scrapes on the porch. The night had started out so peaceful and now? Someone was coming after me. Not even a month into summer.
My knees hit the edge of my bed, forcing me to sit. There was a soft thud from outside, then the steady creak of the tiles, the ceiling boards bending under a weight too heavy to support.
Thunder, lightning, I felt like I was stuck in the classic Frankenstein movie. A shadow was thrown across the floor and I gave up all hope of swallowing, a lump the size of a small country lodged in my throat. Then, my mind barely processing, the gold eyes, now set in a large hairy face, peered in at me.
Complete breakdown of the nervous system. Goodbye normal summer, goodbye peaceful days with my boyfriend.
The eyes were too keen to be wild, the smell too groomed. This was a werewolf but not one I knew, and not one I wanted to get to know anytime soon. I couldn't breathe, could barely keep myself from crying out, as the Were stared at me. Where was my foolish bravery when I needed it? Could the Pack hear its thoughts too? Would they be on their way right now?
He, because I could tell it was a he now, gave the lowest howl/bark imaginable, blinking in at me. It almost looked like a regular dog, until I saw the outline of its Buick sized body behind him and snapped back into my senses- which were more like a vague fear induced paralysis. His face loomed closer, his breath fogged the glass.
And just as I was almost positive the rogue wolf would burst through my window, the phone rang, shrill and loud and alarmingly blissful. The gold eyes vanished, thunder boomed, covering any possible sound he could have made, and the ringing cut short when I swiped it off the receiver.
"H-hello?"
"Cara!" Jake's voice sighed on the other end, by far the most amazing sound I'd ever heard. "Are you okay?"
A million different answers whizzed through my head. The obvious- NO! I'm not okay! A stranger just tried to come into my bedroom! But the possible reactions that would get from my imprint were not good. I probably should have told him, it would be the smart thing to do, but smart didn't always mean it was the best thing.
"Why wouldn't I be?" I asked, though my heart was still racing. If I closed my eyes, those gold ones loomed over me. "Aren't you on shift?"
"Just got off. So you're okay?" I said I was. If he only knew how I really felt- like my life was falling apart all over again. Like as of five seconds ago, my world would relapse into the same frenzy it had just gotten out of. The thought of it alone made me tired.
"Alright, well... I'm exhausted so if you're really okay..."
"I'm fine. Go to sleep. I love you" And before he could answer I hung up, just in case my mouth decided to spew out everything that had just happened when my mind was too slow to notice it happening.
I crawled back into bed, pulled the sheets tight around me and stared up at the ceiling as the rain started to pick up yet again. I wasn't sure if the werewolf was still out there and I was in no hurry to find out. If he wanted to sit and stare at my window, that was fine with me- if I didn't think about it too much- just as long as he stayed in the shadows. There was a low, haunting howl that sent shivers up my spine and goosebumps along my arms as my heart sunk into the pit of my stomach.
So much for summer vacation.