ALPHA(15)

I spoke incoherently in her ear what I hoped were soothing words, as she clutched me even tighter, continuing to cry. I noticed her starting to shiver and I knew I needed to get her home, and in to the warmth as a matter of urgency. Suddenly, I heard a howl which sent shivers down my spine. It was a sound unlike any I had heard before, and I became acutely aware of how alone we were in the woods, and what a vulnerable position we were in right now. I looked to my right as I heard a branch snap, and screamed as I saw what must have been a hallucination before my eyes. Stalking towards me was the largest wolf I had ever seen, even on the television, and I started to scuttle backwards, with Anabelle in my arms and prayed that I could keep her safe. The wolf continued stalking towards us, slowly as if eyeing up his prey, and let out a growl causing my heart to stop and dread to fill my stomach. If I’d been by myself, I would have just run and hoped for the best, but I had a five year old child to think about - one who was weak, terrified and needed help quickly. The wolf stopped growling, and I held my breath as I saw him tilt his head to the side slightly, as if hearing something in the distance. I vaguely heard something too, and I struggled not to cry out for help as I heard Jackson’s distinct voice calling his brother, Isaac’s, name.

“Isaac! Come back here!” I heard him shout out, and I prayed that the wolf would run off so that I could call out to Jackson for help, but I was terrified of drawing more attention to myself. Anabelle had stopped crying, bar a few sniffles here and there, and I saw she was also watching the wolf but with no fear in her eyes. This girl’s a lot braver than I am. Her eyes lit up as she heard Jackson’s voice, and I squeezed her tightly, hopefully communicating to her to stay silent. I thanked the heavens when the wolf turned, and bounded away, leaving me shaking with fear and clutching a small child who looked a lot better than a mere moment ago, but whose lips were turning blue from the cold. All of a sudden, it was like the adrenaline from the accident in the stream and the run in with the wolf just evaporated, and my vision started to blur as I realised I was a few seconds away from passing out. I was terrified at the thought of leaving Anabelle unprotected, but my body wouldn’t cooperate, and I silently apologised to her as I fell forward and everything went black.



****

I awoke slowly, and lay in confusion for a few moments as I tried to remember what happened and where I was. Looking around the room, I noticed I was back in my room at the B&B, and the events in the woods came crashing back, causing me to cry out in panic. As I cried out, the door burst open and Jasmine ran in, with tears streaming down her face. She ran over to me, and before I could say anything grabbed hold of me, crushing me in a hug unlike any I had received before. I reached my arms up around her and embraced her back, confused as to why she was crying on my shoulder, but understanding that she needed comforting. She pulled away and held my face with both of her hands, smiling through her tears. How did she still look good with her face red and blotchy from crying? It’s just not fair.

“You saved our daughter. How can we ever repay you?”

Anabelle! “Oh my god, how is she? Is she okay? I must have passed out, I left her there unprotected!”

“No, no! She’s fine, she’s eating some of her Frozen cupcakes as we speak, happily babbling away about her ‘exciting adventure’ as she calls it.”

I laughed and breathed a huge sigh of relief that she was going to be okay, and no permanent damage had been caused.

“God, I was so scared.” I said, before Jasmine looked at me with compassion in her eyes.

“Me too!” She said, smiling at me and wiping the tears from her cheeks. “She must have run out when I turned my back for a second. The little menace is extremely good at hiding, which has taken years off my life, I can tell you.”

“I didn’t even know she was there, until I heard her scream as she fell in to the water. I jumped in, but it was so close, I almost didn’t reach her in time. She was unconscious but I managed to revive her, god if I’d even been a few minutes longer. I’ve never been more scared in my life!”

Jasmine closed her eyes, as if trying not to imagine the horror of the situation.

“Try not to think about what could have happened, and let’s focus on what did happen. You saved our daughters life. She was scared when we first asked her what happened, but by the end it was like an action story where you were her hero. Apparently, she followed you because you’re her new friend and she just slipped as she was walking down the stream. She doesn’t remember much after that, but she says she woke up to you shaking her and holding her, and now you’re her hero.”