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“I understand.” On that note, she gathered her things and scrambled out of the car. Protocol dictated she turn tail and run, but lingering gratitude made her look back. “T-Thank you,” she stammered. “Thanks.”
With a curt nod, McGoven leaned over to close the passenger-side door—but not before two last parting words slipped out to greet her. “Take care.”
Loren watched him drive all the way to the end of the street, where he made a left and became lost in the bustle of traffic. The second he disappeared, she turned on her heel, skirted around the school building, and headed straight for the woods.
4
Atorrent of rain fell the moment she set foot beneath the trees, but the thrill of freedom displaced any fear she might feel. Nothing compared to this—the slick earth beneath her feet and the cooling rain on her skin. Every falling drop caressed her as if in welcome, urging her further from the hostile New Walsh Academy.
She didn’t belong there, in sterile hallways and suffocating classrooms.
This was her true playground, the forest. It and the Baker farm were the only places she felt safe these days. The open spaces contained no bullies waiting to attack, and the twisted branches above had no mysteries to hide.
There was simply nature. Invitingly, forebodingly, terrifyinglynatural.Rarely did the environment fall out of step with that beautiful, terrible rhythm, and Loren appreciated the monotony. Biology was one of her favorite subjects merely for its focus on this wilder part of the world and the creatures who inhabited it. One creature, in particular, drew her interest the most—Canis lupus.Their social dynamics seemed so at odds with the moniker some attached to people like her. Lone wolves who shunned most interactions. Real wolves were fascinating predators, killing purely out of need, with the same instinctive desire, she possessed to breathe.
They didn’t relish violence the way humans could.
Though, what’s your excuse?a part of her sniped, conjuring the image of her straddling Naomi Tanner.
Loren shook her head to clear it as she ran even faster. She hadn’t meant to hurt Naomi. Had she? Her fingers twitched as if to betray that hope.
She hadn’t wanted tohurtNaomi. No, she wanted to destroy her.
Bite, scratch, tear. Make her suffer.
And you wonder why you don’t have any friends, a part of her hissed.You’re a freak. Someone sick enough to fantasize about biting schoolyard bullies. Though, ifanyonedeserved the brunt of her sudden viciousness, Naomi wasn’t at the top of the list.
Her father might be.
Don’t think about that.Loren pushed every thought from her mind, as the rain came down harder, soaking through her sweater. Thunder rumbled ominously in the distance as if warning her to take cover. In her peripheral vision, her father’s house appeared and vanished.
When she finally came to a stop, chest heaving, she stood before a white barn, where the pungent stench of animals persisted despite the rain. Warily, she clutched her now soggy brown paper bag to her chest and hesitated. It was stupid to come here, especially now that she knew who owned it.
But…
Much like the wolves she studied, she couldn’t forsake her duty to her pack. Even if said “pack” members weren’t exactly her species. They loved her all the same, and a little food every now and again was the least she could give in return.
She saved the apple especially for Bunny—the old nag loved fresh fruit—and Esther would appreciate anything, even if it wasn’t her beloved carrots. They were her friends. Or the closest things in the world she could apply the term to.
Therefore, trespassing on a police officer’s private property was entirely worth the risk.
That didn’t mean she wouldn’t be careful, though. Cautiously, she peeked around the edge of the barn, toward the farmhouse, which seemed no less intimidating from far away. The driveway wasn’t visible from here, but something told her that Officer McGoven had to be out on patrol, or whatever it was police officers did during the day.
Besides, she had taken a shortcut through the woods; he couldn’t have gotten there so fast by car. Not with traffic to contend with. When he did return, she’d surely see him long before he saw her.
Five minutes, she told herself, as she entered the barn.As always, the main door was unlocked. Why hadn’t that ever bothered her before?
She always assumed that someone came by to care for the horses, though the place seemed abandoned most days. There was a hole in the barn’s far wall that had yet to be repaired, and this time of year, the drafty air seeped inside. Loren’s teeth chattered, but her lips formed a rare smile as a triangular head appeared above the door to greet her with more compassion than she’d ever felt from a human.
“Hey, honey,” she murmured, stroking the mare’s gray muzzle. “I’ve got a treat for you, Bunny girl.”
Bunny tossed her massive head as Loren presented one of the apples.
Nearby, on the wall above a line of saddle racks hung a set of tools that must have been used to repair the worn leather. From the selection, Loren took a knife and sliced the fruit into quarters, smiling as the others caught a whiff of the scent and demanded their treats with impatient nickers.
“I’ll save some for you,” she promised Esther as she gave two slivers of apple to Bunny. “You too,” she called to Xavier, the quiet mustang in the corner stall who hadn’t warmed up to her yet.
As the storm raged on outside, Loren lost herself in the busywork of giving everyone their fair share.
