hour before we finally came close to the trees. I’d adhere to some of Darren’s rules
and stay within my boundaries. I’d have that to barter over later, if it even
mattered. A few minutes later, Camaro started barking at something moving
around in the snow. And the moment I turned to look at what it was, I slipped on
some hidden ice beneath me and crashed to the ground. My hand instantly
loosened around the leash, and that was when Camaro took off running into the
trees.
“Shit! Camaro, no!” I shouted, clutching my side and running after her. The
snow was deep and thick, but Camaro was light enough to run through it while my
footsteps sunk deep in the snow, making it difficult to keep up. “Camaro, stop!”
We were deep in the trees now as I tried to catch up to her, running as fast and as
hard as I could. If I lost her out here, I didn’t know what I would do, but I didn’t
want to find out. Eventually, she finally stopped at a random tree to bark at the
damn critter as it climbed up the tree.
“Camaro!” I yelled, gripping her leash and pulling her to me. “No! Bad!” I yelled
as I clutched her to my chest, attempting to catch my breath. She squirmed in my
arms for a moment before she finally relaxed and licked my face. I sighed. “Please
don’t cause any more problems for me. You’ve done enough already.”
I turned my back and headed toward the house, but the sound of a low deep
growl had me stopping right in my tracks. I felt my blood freeze in my veins, and
my senses went wild as a second growl reverberated through my entire body.
Slowly as possible, I turned my head to the side, and my knees nearly buckled.
Behind me was a very large, very angry looking pack of wolves. There were six of
them in total, most of them a mixture of gray fur while the alpha displayed a heavy
coat blacker than night. Teeth bared, ears back, and eyes directly on me, the alpha
of the pack gave every indication it was officially on the hunt. It snarled as Camaro
cowered in my arms, and I felt myself stumble back.
“Oh. Fuck.”
The alpha wolf approached slowly, that same dark approach I recognized in
another predator I knew so well. I could actually smell the death on its hot breath as
it came closer. I backed away as slowly as I could, barely able to breathe myself as I
kept Camaro tightly in my arms. The remaining wolves snarled and dug their paws
into the snow as they advanced with their alpha, reminding me of how
outnumbered I was.
Suddenly, I felt more stupid than I ever had in my life. I had no weapon, nothing
I could use to fight them off other than my bare hands, and zero backup that
usually came equipped with fire power. And here I was, about to die a very horrible,
painful death by my favorite animal, all because I wanted to see my asshole guards
six feet under. And now, I was about to take their place.
I was such a fucking idiot.
Staying out of the trees as Darren had said suddenly made sense now, but I
would have actually heeded his warning better if I had known there were fucking
wolves out here! I probably wouldn’t have gone outside in the first place! Fuck!
I took another step back, and the growl that left the alpha’s mouth had me
shaking in fear. I’d never regretted sneaking out more in my life. Taking several
steps toward me, its big paws pressing into the frozen ground, my eyes made the
mistake of noticing the giant claws that cut through the snow. My heart was ready
to beat right out of my chest, right onto a silver platter for the pack to feast on. I
wanted to run, but for once, running was definitely not an option. They would rip
Camaro and me to shreds. On the bright side, I’d finally be rid of Darren, but I’d
also be dead as fuck, so that didn’t really help the situation.
For the first time ever, I actually wished Darren were here to help me. And
wasn’t that the all-consuming thought before I died?
Deciding I wasn’t just going to stand here and die, I gently placed Camaro on the
ground and loosely tied her leash to one of the belt loops of my coat. If she took off,
the other wolves would definitely chase her and then she’d be done for. I kept the
tie loose enough so she could get away if I wasn’t able
