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I flew high above my forest, my wings stretched wide.
Below me, somewhere in the trees, wolves howled. It shattered the air around me, causing my feather
s to shake.
I dove for the earth.
I landed in a clearing, the ground soft beneath my feet.
There was a white wolf standing before me. It had black on its chest. On its legs.
It said, Hello, little bird.
I opened my beak and croaked in return, Nevermore.
It smiled, this wolf, this great king.
I have found you, it (he) said. I’m sorry it took me so long, you prophet still, bird or devil.
I hated it. I hated him. I wanted to sink my talons into his belly. I wanted to peck out his eyes evermore and watch the life bleed out from underneath me.
I know, he said.
Other wolves moved in the trees. Dozens of them. Hundreds. Their eyes were red and orange and violet. They were Alphas and Betas and Omegas. The woods were filled with them.
He took a step toward me.
I fluttered my wings, hopping back.
Little bird, he said. Little bird. You fly away. Always away. I never wanted you to leave me. I never wanted to see you go. I love you.
I didn’t believe him.
He laughed, the sound low and rumbly. He said, I know you don’t. But one day I hope you’ll forgive me for all that I have done to you. For all my faults. I did what I thought was right. I did what I thought would keep you safe. You are pack and pack and packpackpack—
His eyes were red.
I croaked out, Thomas.
Thomas, Thomas, Thomas.
He craned his neck forward, pressing his snout against my head, and I said, Oh. Oh, oh, oh and—
“—AND IT looks as if we’ll have snow early this year,” the shock jock announced brightly. “Those weather jerks are calling for as much as a couple of feet throughout the Cascades in the higher elevations. Roseland could see six, Abby might get eight. You’ll need to look into changing those Halloween plans, as the storm will start taking a dump late Monday night and on into Tuesday, possibly extending through the rest of the week…. ODOT is urging those in the mountain communities to stay off the roads if at all possible, or even to get the heck outta Dodge if you can. This looks like a big one, folks, and it’s better to be safe than sorry, especially if it takes a few days for the roads in and out of the towns to be cleared. Let’s go to Marnie and check in on your news around the region—”
I switched off the radio as I hit the dirt roads that led to the Bennett house. It was midafternoon, and the sky above was gray and heavy. The truck shook as I hit a pothole. My headache hadn’t faded.
The front of the house should have been filled with cars. It was Sunday. It was tradition. But Team Human (god, I was never going to forgive Chris for getting that stuck in my head) had been warned to stay away, at least until they were called. Tanner and Rico were at the shop catching up on paperwork. Chris was at Jessie’s house. They weren’t happy about it but agreed.
Robbie was out on the porch, watching me, wearing those ridiculous glasses. He waved at me.
I nodded back.
“He’s… coherent,” he said as I exited the truck. “A little. It was a long night.”
“How long?”
“A couple of hours. He’s a little confused, but. I don’t know. It comes and goes. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
