by Iva Britt
We’d been dating for months and were eagerly anticipating going to the senior prom together. Well, at least, I was. He had other plans. Those plans included taking skinny Melissa to the prom instead of me. And he didn’t even have the guts to tell me himself. He sent some of his friends to deliver the message.
I was heart-broken. No one had ever deceived me so cruelly. It took me a long time to recover from that betrayal. I was too humiliated to go to my senior prom. I’d always felt like I had missed out on something.
“That was a really long time ago,” I said. “It’s nothing. Really.”
Melissa shook her head from side to side. “What I did was wrong,” she said. “I could have had any boy I wanted. But a girl like you—”
She covered her mouth and looked away. I was doing my best to contain my emotions, but I could feel the anger bubbling up inside of me. I didn’t know how much more of this I could take.
“A girl on the heavy side, Melissa continued, “You didn’t have many options.”
Not only had she taken my boyfriend and ruined my prom, but every time we passed in the hallway, she would snicker at me—like she took some kind of sadistic pleasure in watching me suffer.
“Let’s just move on from that,” I said, taking hold of her hands. I might have squeezed them a bit too tightly. She grimaced slightly but did her best to hide her discomfort.
“You’re such a forgiving person,” she said. “I don’t think I would be able to forgive another woman if she took my man away from me.”
I sighed and looked away from her. She was determined to push me to the edge of my patience. I took a deep breath and smiled at her.
“Hopefully, we’ll get to spend some time together while I’m back in town, “I said.
Melissa’s face lit up. If I didn’t know her better, I would have actually believed that thought I was being sincere.
“That would be fantastic,” she said.
I was relieved when Melissa finally left. I couldn’t stand being around her but I was proud of the way I had behaved. I’d managed to keep my cool. Getting angry with her would have only made things worse. And that’s exactly what she wanted.
She had destroyed a relationship that had meant a lot to me. And the way it ended made me mistrustful of both guys and girls for many years. There was no way that I could forgive her for that.
But I did hope that she would one day feel exactly what she caused me to feel. That would only be right. That would only be karma. That thought calmed me down and allowed me to turn my mind to other things.
I tossed and turned in the bed for almost forty-five minutes without being able to get a bit of sleep. I kept seeing the hairy jogger coming toward me. But this time, in my imagination, he didn’t run past me with a grunt and a nod. Instead, he slowed down as he approached me, smiled and said hi. And I turned to look at him as he jogged away down the path. When he was about twenty feet away from me, he turned around and smiled. His warmth sent shivers of excitement through my body.
After about an hour of struggling to get to sleep, I was able to close my eyes and drift off into dreamland.
When I woke up hours later, I was startled. Everything was dark. I looked at the clock. It read 8:30 p.m. I couldn’t believe that I’d been asleep for almost six hours. I wouldn’t be able to go back on the trails until the next day. A feeling of deep disappointment flooded my body. I didn’t think that I would be able to wait that long to see him.
I never slept that much during the day. I tried to keep my naps brief so they wouldn’t throw off my sleep schedule.
Before going to sleep, I had considered going back onto the trails. I thought that maybe there was a chance that I would see my mystery man. But clearly that would have to wait till tomorrow. There was no way that I would venture onto the trails in this darkness.
When I got down to the kitchen, I searched through the fridge for something to eat. It was more instinct than anything else. I hated skipping meals. But for some reason, I had no appetite.
Suddenly I heard something rustling in the bushes. I assumed that it was a deer. I stood up and peered into the darkness. The sounds were coming towards me closer and closer, but I still couldn’t see anything yet. And then I saw something low to the ground emerging from a clump of bushes.
I couldn’t tell what it was. But through the darkness, I could see two eyes gleaming. Whatever it was continued approaching and fixed its eyes on me. I got up from my chair and prepared to go inside. I didn’t want to have any sort of encounter with a wild animal.
A few moments later the animal strolled into the middle of my backyard. I wanted to go inside but I was frozen. Its eyes were still locked on me but I couldn’t tell what it was. A dog? A fox? A coyote?
No. It was a wolf!
As it moved through my backyard and continued approaching, I tried to scream, but the words were stuck in my mouth. When it got to about ten feet away from me, it stopped.
Its eyes were so intense. There was something so wild in them. But there was also something human in the way it stared at me.
After staring at me without moving for several minutes, the wolf turned around and began trotting away. When it got to the edge of my backyard, it turned around and looked at me. Shivers passed through me.
Chapter 4
Colin
Who was she? It couldn't be…That was so long ago, so many years ago. She was just a girl. Was it her? When we were both teenagers, I would often see her walking through the woods. I was very shy at the time and whenever I heard human footsteps I would quickly hide behind bushes and trees. She was a bit on the plump side but very cute. My face was flushed red when I saw her. At night I would often dream about her, imagining all the fun that we could have had together, just the two of us alone in the forest. But that would never be possible, I thought. We were too different.
I'd heard stories from older members of the clan, men who had tried to form romantic relationships with human women, only to be deeply disappointed when they revealed themselves.
It wasn't safe. They'll have you killed. They’ll send the FBI, the CIA. You’ll be destroyed along with the rest of the clan.
This is what they would tell us, warning us to stay as far away from human beings, especially women, as possible. But over the years those attitudes had begun to change. It was now acceptable to marry outside of the clan. For some, it was even desirable.
But maybe I'd been poisoned at too young an age. Maybe I would never be able to overcome my own fears and prejudice toward humans. But still, there was something about that one girl that seemed different. I had never talked to her, never made eye contact with her. Yet I had always felt a spiritual connection with her.
But no, this was crazy. I was just lying to myself. Maybe the loneliness was finally getting to me, finally eating in my brain, gnawing at my soul. Maybe I just needed to accept whoever the clan would present to me as a potential wife. Maybe that was the only way.
After my father's early and untimely demise, I'd been entrusted with great responsibility. If I let him down, if I let the clan down, I wouldn’t be able to live with myself.
The world was filled with so much hate, so much prejudice. I felt safer being alone, hiding out here deep in the woods on this isolated compounds waiting for my enemies to attack. For the last decade, we had lived in peace. But I knew that could last forever. The same people who had grabbed my young sister, the same people who had caused my father's death, would be back for me. I was sure of it. Others in the clan were complacent. I’d known for a while that there were whispers about my ability to lead, suggestions that I’d never gotten over my father's death.
During my reign, I’d had banished more than a handful of members. It felt good, that rush of power and adrenaline coursing through my veins, as I cast them off into the wilderness to die lonely, miserable deaths. But a few days after I performed such acts, the guilt would begin to set it. That wasn't in my nature. That's not how my father had ruled.
My last relationship, one which I hadn't really wanted to get into the first place, had brought me nothing but drama. When we first began the relationship, Melissa had seemed so friendly and obedient. But as the weeks and months went on, her true nature began to show itself. She could be mean, vindictive, clingy, jealous and passive aggressive. I hated all those things. But I loved her body, loved the way that she moved in the bedroom, how she could either be on top or on the bottom, on the side or in any other conceivable position. I loved the way that she could take my member between her two hands, stroke it back and forth, swirl her tongue around the large head and up and down the shaft until she made me explode with excitement.
It was only lust, pure, animalistic lust. I didn’t need that anymore, at least I hoped that I didn’t. Since breaking things off with her almost a year ago, I had vowed to stay away from all women. No masturbation either. I would use the furnace of sexual energy and desired that burned within me for higher goals. And more importantly, I vowed that I would never open my heart to a woman. But this form of emotional and physical abstinence was beginning to weigh on me. How much longer could I go on like this?
Chapter 5
Emily
I woke up the next day refreshed and ready to begin my search. As I prepared a bacon and egg breakfast, I kept looking out the kitchen window into the backyard. I hoped that the wolf would emerge from the trail and saunter into my yard. But I knew how unlikely that was. I would probably have to wait until well after the sun went down before I saw him again.
The memory of the wolf turning around and staring at me kept flashing back in my mind. The wild animal had given off such a strong energy.
Once I finished breakfast, I showered and prepared to go out for my walk. I was usually very calm and relaxed before my walks, but that day I was really tense and anxious.
I walked through my backyard and down onto the trail.
For the first half an hour of my walk, I didn’t encounter anybody. I preferred it that way.
I stopped briefly and took a sip of water. I sat down on a rock and looked around the nature trail. I felt so cut off from the world in this place. It was like all of my worries and cares went away. So it felt weird to be so anxious about meeting someone, especially since I had no idea who this person was.
I thought for sure that Melissa would have known who he was. She knew everybody. But when she said that the description didn’t fit anybody that she knew from town, I knew that it was going to be difficult to figure out his true identity.
After sitting on the rock for about ten minutes, listening for the slightest sound of a jogger, I sighed deeply and prepared to go home.
My whole body felt tired and heavy. It was the disappointment of not seeing that mysterious man again that had me feeling so low.
As I was walking back home, I heard the sounds of branches breaking and leaves being trampled. I immediately stopped and looked at the trail. I couldn’t see anybody. I couldn’t tell where those sounds were coming from. But I was convinced that what I heard were footsteps. There was no time to waste.
I went off in the direction that I thought they were coming from. But I realized that if I continued walking there was no way that I would be able to keep up. So I started running, pumping my arms and legs, heading in the direction of the footsteps. It had been a long time since I had jogged, let alone sprinted.
It was a pretty ridiculous thing to do. But there I was in my sneakers and black spandex pants, huffing and puffing on the trail. I was doing pretty well for about the first five minutes, but then out of nowhere my whole world turned upside down and then toppled over. My foot must have caught on a rock or one of the many tree roots that reached out of the ground. Whatever it was brought me tumbling down on the dirt and jagged rocks.
As I went to the ground, I used my hands to soften the fall. This prevented me from landing face first but it scratched up my wrists, arm, and hands.
I howled in pain. I wasn’t sure whether or not I had broken any bones. I started crying and calling out for help. I could hear my voice echoing in the forest but I couldn’t hear anyone coming to my rescue.
I howled some more and was finally able to calm down. I was panting and sweating and out of breath.
I was about to get up and brush myself off when I suddenly heard the sound of footsteps coming in my direction. I wasn’t sure whether to be scared or excited. Was someone who heard my cries now coming to rescue me? Or was someone out to prey on a vulnerable woman?
Fear gripped me.
The footsteps came closer and closer. I spun my head around from side to side. I still couldn’t tell which direction the sounds were coming from. But I was sure that they were coming toward me.
I could feel it deep down in my body.
I looked up. Now I could see someone running towards me.
A voice yelled, “I’m coming!”
I tried to pick myself off the ground but every part of my body hurt.
The person coming to my rescue was now only about thirty feet away from me. I got a very good look at him and recognized him immediately. It was the man from the day before—the mysterious, hairy jogger.
“Hey, are you all right?” he asked as he came to within a few feet of me.
Before I answered his question, my eyes roamed up and down his body. It was absolutely beautiful. He had long, muscular legs that were covered with a thick layer of hair. Even with all the hair, it was easy to tell that his legs were used to running long distances. Like the day before, he wasn’t wearing a shirt and I was thankful for that. His beautifully sculpted chest made my mouth water.
“I don’t know what happened,” I said. “I was running and the next thing I know I tripped and almost landed on my face.”
“Does anything hurt?”
“My ego more than anything else,” I said.
We both laughed.
“Well, you’ll probably be all right then,” he said. “Do you want me to help you up?”
“Yes, please. I would really appreciate that. Thank you.”
He reached down toward me with both his hands. I grimaced as he lifted me off the ground. I had dirt, grass and little pebbles up and down my arms.
When I got to my feet, I had a good look at his face. It certainly wasn’t the kind of face that you saw around town much.
I realized that I had been gazing into his dark green eyes for several seconds without saying anything. I lowered my eyes and began blushing. This was so embarrassing. I never acted like this around guys.
“Are you sure you don’t want an ambulance?” he said.
I shook my head from side to side. There was no need to add to my embarrassment. I was pretty sure that I hadn’t done any serious damage—no broken bones or anything like that.
“No, I’m fine,” I said. I could no longer hold back my curiosity. I had to know more about this mysterious stranger. But before I could get the question out of my mouth, I heard the sound of feet running toward us.
We were both startled. It was so easy to think that you were completely cut off from the world out here.
As the jogger came towards us, I could clearly make out that it was a woman. And when she got to within about twenty feet of us, I knew exactly what woman it was.
Melissa had slipped her skinny body into a skimpy running outfit. Her long thin legs were on full display. Sweat glistened on her skin. Feelings of jealousy surged through me. Being near a woman like her made me feel fat and bloated, no matter what diet or exercise program that I was on.
She came to a stop in front of us. She brushed a tangle of hair from her face and smiled.
“Good to see you out here Emily,” she said. “I didn’t know you enjoyed exercise so much.”
I felt my face turning red. If we were alone, I might have given vent to my feelings. I was sick of having to play nice with her
. I was sick of having to pretend that I didn’t sense the insult in everything she said to me.
“I love to be out on the trail,” I said. “I always have. Ever since I was younger.”
“Yeah, I guess we didn’t hang out much back then,” she said with a smug smile. “But I see that you’ve met Colin.”
I looked at the jogger. I said his name under my breath.
“No, I don’t think we’ve met,” I said looking towards him.
I expected him to smile back and introduce himself.
“I’m sorry. I really have to be going,” he said.
“Colin, there’s no need to be afraid of us,” Melissa said inching closer to him and placing her hands on his chest.
My stomach sank when I saw the way that she touched him. Her eyes were filled with lust. I had the sudden urge to reach out and grab her by the throat.
Colin blushed and began darting his eyes around the forest. After a few moments, he backed away from us. And within seconds, he took off running.
All I could do was stare at him as he disappeared.
It was just Melissa and me standing there. She had a sly smile on her face.
“So that was the mysterious jogger you saw yesterday?” she said.
I crossed my arms against my chest and stared at her.
“Yes, that’s the guy,” I said. “I thought that the description didn’t ring any bells.”
She started giggling. “I didn’t think of Colin.”
“Why not?” I asked. She was clearly hiding something from me and I needed to find out what. Her sly looks were making me very uncomfortable.
“I would recommend that you stay away from him,” she said. Her eyes suddenly became very hard.
There was one question, and one question only that I wanted to ask her. But I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to handle the truth.
“Any reason in particular?” I asked.
