by Anna Collins
I had been walking a tightrope from the moment that I came here with no discernible net to break my fall. He had conquered me and there was really nothing that I could do about it. I think deep down I wanted it more than he did, even though I didn’t come out and say so.
I was consciously aware of my surroundings. I was in a fair amount of pain and the injury that I had to my ankle was causing me to slow down considerably. That didn’t mean that I was going to stand there and not do something to fight back. That wolf might’ve been out there lurking and hunting, but we only had to make it back to the jeep.
I noticed that he had to slow down a few times himself. He was bent over at an angle breathing deeply. I’m sure that the ordeal of taking on those wolves had taken its toll on him. I had no idea what he had to go through. We hadn’t spoken of what happened to us when we separated from one another.
If I could live to 100, I would probably want to be by his side rocking back and forth with the light of day slowly extinguishing. I could actually see a future, but I wasn’t sure if he was capable of doing anything that was considered normal. I wanted to believe that he could change, but I was proven time and time again that people just didn’t know how to do that.
They were stuck in their ways and I was worried that Devlin would never be satisfied with somebody like me. I wanted to hate him for what he had put me through, but I knew that it was something that I had to go through to transform into the woman that I was going to live the rest of my life as.
“I didn’t want any of this for you, Lucy. I tried my best to shelter you from most of this, but I think I saw a kindred spirit,” He said as he stumbled once more and caught his hand on a tree nearby.
How can I understand something that I never had? I wanted to let him love me, but maybe I had to love myself before that could happen. I knew that he wanted to help and that all of this in the last couple of days had been his way of giving me something to think about. He was the one that wanted to take me to new places and to show me new things. He had certainly done that.
“I will admit that I was a little taken back by some of the things that you have made me do. I don’t think that you really made me do anything. I could have said no at any time, but I didn’t. I think that you’re trying to show me what true love can really do. I know that you’re troubled and that I have somehow helped you through what has been plaguing your thoughts,” I said as I watched him move like some kind of drunken man after a late night binge.
I’d first attributed that to the diminished adrenaline, but I began to think that there might be something more to the way that he was acting. It couldn’t be just that he was feeling guilty for what he had done. That would manifest itself in some other way than to take on the attributes of liquor running through his veins.
I thought that I heard something behind me and I whirled around to see that there was absolutely nothing there. I didn’t know anything for sure. I could’ve been imagining ghosts and shadowy images everywhere that I looked. He was tearing me apart, but then he was building me back up stronger and more confident than ever.
Feeling him finger fuck me and then use his tongue with me hanging over his shoulders like that was still very prevalent in my thoughts. I was kind of aching for something more. I had my eye on the bulge that was thumping inside his pants. It must’ve been the danger that made him excited. I could call him a freak, but then I would have to do the same thing for myself.
Things were starting to look familiar and then I heard that noise one more time. This time, I was not taking any chances. I got down and looked through the branches in hopes of seeing something. I had my own insecurities, but being in his arms had been the perfect cure for what ailed me.
I was going to mention the noise. I was surprised that he didn’t recognize the danger himself, but he seemed to be preoccupied with something. I had no idea what could possibly be on his mind that was more important than a wolf. This wolf was not exactly one that was going to walk away and lick his wounds. He had a track mind and if we thought that we had lost him, then we were vastly mistaken.
“I am glad that I found you or maybe it was the other way around, Devlin. I don’t know how you have gone ahead and made me like you. I thought for sure that you didn’t have any redeeming qualities, but I’ve seen how human you can be. I don’t think that you did that for show and that was the true Devlin coming out finally,” I said as I once again tried to listen for that noise that was bothering me so much.
I was hoping that I was going to get some kind of response, but he had been strangely silent. I was getting a little tired of playing these games. I had this thing going on inside my head. I liked his face and his body. I especially liked what was underneath the sheets. I liked the way that he walked beside me. I had no idea where his love ended and mine began.
I had tried to make him see that I was not this perfect symphony. I would consider myself to be a work in progress. Not all the notes of our love had been played yet. When it was, it was going to be beautiful music.
I wanted to believe that the noise that I heard was nothing to worry about, but I was not stupid enough to think that way. That wolf was out there and it could taste our death on its lips. It was not going to give up. He had the upper hand. We were in his territory on his home field advantage. That was not good for us.
I thought I heard him talking softly to himself. It was possible that he couldn’t get away from the ghost. I wanted to find that light in him that I would recognize. This was not an ordinary world and how I was able to survive was a mystery to me. I could only try to make my way and hope that his guiding hand would be there ready for me.
I had no idea what was happening to me. He had slowly brought me around to his way of thinking. I really did think that I had seen it all, but I had this funny feeling that he was only beginning.
We finally emerged and there was the jeep sitting there as our only means of getting the hell out of here. I remembered that he had tossed the keys in a knee-jerk reaction to keep me from leaving.
I had my mouth open about to say something about that. Before I could say anything, he was reaching into his pocket and then dangling a set of keys. He had tricked me into thinking that he had gotten rid of the keys when he had another pair on him the entire time. I wanted to slap him in the face.
I’m sure that he thought of women as snowflakes and there was always something different about each and every one of us. I don’t think that I was up to the same standards as the woman that he loved and lost. I didn’t even think for a second that I could change him, even though deep down I think that I wanted some sense of a normal life. It might even wrong for me to think that and that was exactly the reason why he had brought me out here in the first place.
My blood was running cold and then he stopped at the hood of the jeep. He fell forward and then slid down the hood until he was lying on the ground prone and not moving. He was face down and I quickly went over to him and turned him.
His face was this white color of a sheet and then I saw that he was holding his hand against his jacket. I moved it away and I saw something that made me gasp. I thought that he was my savior.
I heard the sound behind me one more time. It was too close to be a coincidence. I didn’t have to look to know that the wolf had found the opening that it was looking for.
Chapter 30
I could see that the wolf was not going to back down. Devlin was out of it, but I did see that the keys to the jeep were in his hands. I could easily take them and try to get him inside by lifting the dead weight, but that seemed a little foolhardy. This wolf would use any kind distraction to get revenge for those of his brethren that had fallen. I’m not sure exactly what he knew or if he was even aware that the other part of his pack had leaped into their own demise by my crafty and street smart intellect.
“Devlin, I know that you can’t help me, but I’m not exactly sure what to do here. If you have any advice whatsoever, I would really like to hear it,” I
said with my whole life flashing before my eyes.
It was not a pretty sight, except for these last few days that gave me a way to live out my fantasies and have that necessary revenue to start a new life after everything was said and done. My only stumbling block right now was the wolf and that he was eyeing me like I was some sort of steak. He actually licked his lips anticipating the moment that he was going to sink his teeth into my flesh. He could’ve found a better source of nourishment, but this would’ve been infinitely more satisfying.
“I don’t know what to tell you. They are usually docile, but something about this storm has made them turn more primal. I should’ve known that would happen, but I’ve never been out when there was a storm like this. I guess that would explain the carcasses on those mornings after a storm,” He said while he was holding onto the wound to his side.
I had no idea how bad he was really hurt. I had to get him back to the house. I’d done what I could to put pressure on the wound, but now he was going to have to do that himself. I spied something with my little eye and it brought a smirk of smugness to my face. I didn’t show it and I didn’t want to give the wolf any kind of chance. It had to believe that I was weak and frail. That I couldn’t put up a fight and that I would be easy prey for an animal such as this.
“I’m going to need you to stay completely still, Devlin. I’m going to try something. If it works, we’re going to get out of here alive. If it doesn’t, then we may as well say our goodbyes right now,” I said as my hand began to move closer to the jeep.
I didn’t want to make any sudden movements. It would’ve taken that as a threat and acted in the best interest of its own safety. It was a lone wolf. It must’ve been something terrible for it to realize that its pack had been decimated by a couple of humans that probably shouldn’t have been able to lay a hand on either one of them.
“I think I know what you’re thinking and you’re only going to get one shot,” He said while lying there looking at me like a wounded animal himself.
He was saying exactly what I needed him to say without saying very much at all. I gave him credit for using a sort of code to get his point across. Were we that connected mind, body, and soul that we were practically on the same wavelength? Was I really starting to understand the man that was pretty much a mystery to everybody else?
The rain was still coming down heavily and the wolf was soaked. I could see that its fur was matted to its body, but it never wavered or even stop staring for a second. It was almost like it had a one track mind. Devlin and I were pretty much out here in the middle of nowhere with nobody having any idea where we were.
My pulse was racing and my whole body was trembling. This was where I found out if I was capable of doing something like this. I’d done things that would be considered a little out of my comfort zone. The sex was phenomenal, but it was his mindset when it came to his artistry that had me the most fascinated. He could turn his mind on and off like a light switch either working on the canvas or putting pen to paper.
I had to admit that the paper mâche likeness of his beloved was an experience that I wouldn’t want to repeat any time soon. I wondered if it would still be there if I went back to that same building. I got the impression that he was going to get rid of everything. He would always have her memories, but to have that kind of haunting reminder all the time was not good for his mental health.
It felt like time had stood still, frozen in one spot and what I did next was going to change things one way or the other. At this moment, we were at what I would consider a stalemate. Each one of us had a move to make. That trepidation in the air made me feel almost like I was alive for the first time.
“I don’t even know if I’m good enough. I’ve only done this a couple of other times and trust me it wasn’t like I could hit the apple off of somebody’s head,” I said while my hand snatched onto the bow in the back of the jeep.
“If you did it once, you should be able to do it again in your sleep. It’s like riding a bicycle, Lucy. You never forget even if you haven’t done it in a while. I know that I probably shouldn’t be, but I’m curious to see how you make out. Our fate is in your hands,” He said while I looked at him and remembered how I had gotten here in the first place.
Staring daggers at this wolf didn’t seem like it was worth the money that was going to be printed on the paper that was going to be put in my hands. Devlin looked a little worse for wear. His skin was sallow and his eyes looked like they were going to fall into a deep slumber any second. I was going to have to act. I was gonna have to do it right now. If I didn’t, I would have to contend with trying to lift him in his unconscious state.
“I’m fucking nervous. I have to find a way to get my hands to stop shaking, or this is going to be a very quick death for the both of us. I don’t even know if this is going to work. Is it going to be enough to stop him and the attack that I see in his eyes?” I said as I got the arrow in place by taking it out of the quiver.
I had no idea why he would have only one arrow. I would have to question him on that later. I could only hope that this was not some sort of game that he was playing all over again. I would think by now that we had gotten past that, but maybe he was a man that liked to take chances. He had already proven that he wasn’t above surprising me and sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse.
“I really want to see how this ends, but I’m not sure how much longer I can keep my eyes open,” he said while grabbing onto my pant leg and making me look down to see that he was visibly concerned.
His hand on my leg gave me a sort of strength. I straightened myself up and brought that bow around with my hand pulled back as tight as possible. It seemed like the world was going in slow motion and then the wolf moved with a sort of grace that I found to be almost intoxicating.
It jumped into the air and that was precisely the moment that I let go of the bow. The string snapped forward with the arrow now piercing the night sky. It penetrated into the chest of the wolf. The growl that I’d heard in its throat turned into a whimper. I closed my eyes not wanting to see my own death at the hands of something as magical as this wolf.
I heard a thud and something went by my shoulder. I had my heart in my throat and my eyes tightly clenched. I somehow found the courage to open them and look at what I had done. It was lying near a tree breathing kind of heavy and looked like it was on death’s door.
I reached down with my hand that wasn’t holding the bow and took a hold of Devlin’s jacket. He was still awake, but barely. I gave him a bit of assistance to get him into the jeep. I took the keys and started it up, turning enough each time that I finally got the jeep into the right position.
“I can honestly say that I wasn’t sure that you were capable of doing something like that, Lucy. You surprised me. I don’t think that any other girl that I’ve taught in the past could have done something like that. You’re that rare breed that I’ve been looking for and one that I really didn’t think I was going to find. You are that elusive animal. I want to know that this has been an eye-opening experience for me as well. Let’s get back to the house and we can see what we can’t do about rewarding you for your efforts,” Devlin said as he patted my knee reassuringly.
I didn’t want to leave it that way, but to do anything else would have been putting myself in further danger. The wolf would either survive or die and that was out of my hands. I couldn’t even fathom that Devlin was talking about sex as my reward. He didn’t look like he was in any shape to lift a finger. How was he going to raise the flag in his condition? I smiled thinking of a few ways that I could help him in that regard.
“I think I channeled how you would respond in that position, Devlin. Like you, I wasn’t sure if I could do it. I was a teenager the last time that I picked up one of those things. I wasn’t even good back then, but this was a lot more close quartered than a target 50 yards down the field,” I said knowing that death was that close to putting its clammy hand on my shoulder.
&nbs
p; Thankfully, the headlights from the jeep marked the path. I had to take things slow in order to keep us from going into a ditch or smashing into a tree. I had this sense of a job well done. A sort of pride from thinking outside the box and doing what I needed to survive. It kind of showed me what I was capable of. It gave me that feeling of accomplishment like I was destined to be here all this time.
“I don’t think that anybody would believe you, but you have me to corroborate your story. This is definitely one that is going to be talked about amongst my friends for years to come. I’m sure that we will embellish some of the story, but most of it will be our own recollection of what happened,” He said while running his hand up and down my leg.
Chapter 31
We got back to the house and I was very grateful that the blood had stopped. On further inspection, the wound was not as severe, but he was a little weak from the ordeal. There was nobody there to greet us and I had to become his nursemaid. He placed himself up on a pillow. He lay there while I bandaged his wound. It was to look on his face that told me that he wasn’t expecting this from me.
