by Kody Boye
I gasp, then cry out.
“Keep your eyes closed,” Grandma Meadows says. “Do not look into the universe, Oaklynn. It will blind you.”
I do as asked as I see before me a cosmos of emotion, a universe of possibilities. Stars flash before my vision. Supernovas explode in front of my eyes. A line—golden, and drawn plainly upon the horizon—shoots out from an undetermined destination in what I can only assume is outer space, before zipping across the great expanse beyond our world. I see what I believe is Pluto, small as it happens to be, then Neptune, Uranus, Saturn’s rings, Jupiter’s moons. Mars comes next—and then, from the darkness, Earth. Blue and green and mean as can be, the golden thread shoots down, then through the upper atmosphere until finally breaking into the darkened sky above us. Above me.
Through it all, I feel wonder, need, greed.
Please, I think, as I sense its presence drawing near—as I imagine its purpose coming closer. Come to me. Give me what I want. What I need. What I breathe.
I feel everything.
My anger.
My rage.
My cruel, undeniable need for revenge.
The white light shifts in focus at that moment—and though I see a great, transluscent wolf in shades of white come soaring from the Heavens, it is not this creature whose energy I feel.
No.
It is a darkness—pure and absolute—that shoots from the sky, then collides with me a moment later.
I feel like I scream, but only in my head.
I taste blood in my mouth. Feel fire in my veins. Experience nature as it takes hold.
When finally the worlds are bridged, the anchors settled, and the connection made, I hear a voice say a single word in my head.
Hello, little one.
Then, a moment later, I pass out.
Chapter Twenty-Five
“Is she all right?” I hear Jackson ask.
“She is fine,” Grandma Meadows replies.
“She’s not waking up.”
“The connection is taxing,” the woman says. “You should know this as well as any of us.”
“But she—she’s been out for so long!”
“Give her time, Grandson. All will be well.”
Movement inspires my eyelids to flicker, my mouth to open, then purse.
“She’s waking,” Zachariah Meadows says. “Stay back. Give her her space.”
I open my eyes to find Jackson standing above me—his eyes dark, his lips turned down in a frown.
“Oaklynn?” he asks. “Are you… are you all right?”
“I’m fine,” I reply, expelling a deep breath. “Why do you ask?”
“You’ve been out for some time,” Grandma Meadows says. “Normally, the wolf settles quickly. Somehow, though… yours hasn’t.”
“Hasn’t?” I ask, blinking.
Grandma Meadows nods. “No. It hasn’t.”
I stare at her, long and hard, attempting to piece together what she knows, what she sees, what she believes.
Did she see, I wonder, the dark wolf?
In that regard, I cannot know. What I do know, however, is that she suspects something—and, because of that, I cannot let my guard down.
I push myself upright, only to feel my head swim a short moment later.
Careful, Pup, a voice inside me says. You are still adjusting.
Who— I start to think, then frown. Are you—
Your wolf? the voice asks. Yes. I am.
A presence stirs along my side; and though Grandma Meadows, nor Jackson or even Zachariah or Bernard react to it, I see the shadow of the creature beside me, standing on four paws, looking at me with dark eyes.
You have nothing to fear, my Wolf says. You need simply know that I am always here.
But you... I… I mean—
Jackson narrows his eyes at me and crosses his arms over my chest.
I lift my eyes to face him.
“Do you see it?” He asks.
“The Wolf?” I ask, questioning it more than stating it.
“That’s strange,” Zachariah says as he notes my distant stare. “Many do not see their Spirit Wolf so soon after they bond together.”
“Maybe her spirit is special,” Bernard offers from his place in the corner of my room.
“All Wolves are special, my son,” Grandma Meadows says, tightening the bandage around her hand. “Now then. I believe that’s enough chit chat. I can tell the girl is tired, and she needs her rest.”
“Yuh… Yes,” I manage. “Thank you.”
“Do not thank me, young lady. Your true tests of endurance are only just beginning.”
“What’re you—“
She narrows her eyes at me before turning toward the door. “Come, gentlemen. Let us leave her be.”
“But I—you—me—“
“More will be explained tomorrow,” Grandma Meadows says. “Goodnight, child.”
“Goodnight, Oaklynn,” Jackson says, before leaning down to kiss my cheek.
“Goodnight, Jackson,” I reply.
The men file out behind Grandma Meadows a short moment later.
As the sound of their footsteps retreat down the hall, and slowly but surely begin to fade, my wolf spirit blinks its dark eyes at me and steps forward.
It is then that I realize it has been waiting to speak with me.
Swallowing, I set my eyes on its slightly-translucent figure—which appears like red water rippling over a three-dimensional form in the dark space—and ask, Can you help me find out who killed my parents? And can you help me make them pay?
Yes, the wolf says, its eyes beginning to glow red. I can help you, Oaklynn Smith.
And though a part of me dreads the darkness dwelling within, all I can do is smile.
The story continues in
When the Red Wolf Hunts
Subscribe to the author’s mailing list to be notified of its release by clicking or tapping here.
Did you enjoy this book?
Consider leaving a one-sentence review where you purchased or downloaded it!
Want to see more like it?
Visit the author online at KodyBoye.com or turn to his “Other YA Novels by Kody Boye” page in this book
Want to be updated about future releases?
Then click or tap here to subscribe to his mailing list
About the Author
Though he was born and raised in Southeastern Idaho, Kody Boye has lived in the state of Texas since 2010. His first short story, [A] Prom Queen's Revenge,was published at the age of fourteen. He has since gone on to publish numerous works of fiction, including the young-adult novels When They Came, The Beautiful Ones, The Midnight Spell and ALT CONTROL ENTER, as well as fiction for adults. He currently lives and writes in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas.
You can visit him online at
www.kodyboye.com
or by clicking or tapping any of the icons below.
Other YA Novels by Kody boye
Kody Boye has multiple young-adult books and series across many genres available for purchase! If you like young people who fight against monstrous creatures, corrupt governments, alien beings, and more, consider checking out some of his other works. Simply click or tap on the banners below!
In the world of The Beautiful Ones, beauty is a currency, and to have it means you can be granted freedom from poverty, at the cost of your free will. For Kelendra Byron, she will soon find that her beauty holds a price—one she may not be willing to pay.
In Dagana: The Last Mermaid, one young woman’s life in inexplicably changed as her parents are viciously murdered by something at sea.
In Kingsman Online, a young woman by the name of Sophia Garza longs to save her terminally-ill mother. To do that, she enters a gaming competition with a prize of a lifetime, only to become trapped in the very game she loves to play.
In The Plague Bloom, follow a young woman as she and her people journey to a promised land atop the backs of their massive Guardians—not only to
escape the monstrous Fallen that lurk in the lands below, but to forge a new future.
In The Red Wolf trilogy, a young woman must come to terms with a young man’s strange past, and his even stranger abilities, as the wolves of East Texas return to the small town of Red Wolf.
Scarlet Jane had it all. Until her mother was murdered by a monster. Now, she must either learn to hunt the renegade supernaturals that haunt her world, or forget everything forever.
For best friends Christy and Adam—a witch and a gay young man—life hasn’t been easy. To remedy this, Christy casts a love spell to try and bring Adam’s true love. But has she brought Adam’s first boyfriend to Trinity Springs, or a monster?
When They Came, humanity thought They were their salvation. But six years later, aliens still rule the planet Earth—and one young woman is about to change history.
