"I really wish I had a damn car." I muttered as I walked down the dark streets to my house. "Or that I lived in the city where there were people everywhere." I had been at my now ex-boyfriend's house until I realized that it was almost eleven o'clock at night. "Mom is going to kill me." I groaned as I pulled my coat tighter around myself. It was way too cold for a May night. My ex-boyfriend, Ethan, currently lacked a car because he crashed it into a telephone pole after he drove drunk. My mother had forbid me from dating him, but I decided to be rebellious and continued dating him. But when I asked if he could walk me home, he said no and that I shouldn't be such a baby for wanting company and that I was a slut and slept with every guy in the school. So I dumped him. Bastard. My mother was probably going to kill me for being so late. I sighed heavily. "Maybe I'll get lucky and she'll only give me a week or two of grounding." And yes, I talk to myself. It makes me more comfortable.

I paused in my walking. I had heard some rapid footsteps behind me. I turned around slowly and looked behind me into the shadows. They really need to get some more damn streetlights here. I thought. There. A small movement in the shadows of a dumpster. It was fur. I heaved a relieved sigh. It was probably just a dog. I bent down and let out a low whistle. "Here, boy. C'mon, boy. I won't hurt you." But what stepped from the shadows was not a dog. "Oh, shit." I said softly. It was a wolf. A really big one too. I didn't think they could be that big.

I looked at the nearest house trying to measure how long it would take me to get to the door. I recognized it as Mrs. Clevior's house. That meant that my house was only another four houses down. But I wasn't stupid. I wasn't going to make a break for my house. I started stepping slowly backwards towards Mrs. Clevior's house while watching the wolf.

It let out a low growl. I stopped. I looked in its eyes and stared. Something in those eyes seemed almost . . . human. I shuddered. Then the wolf lunged toward me. I let out an ear-splitting shriek and fell hard to the ground. I tried to push the wolf off of me, but it was too heavy. I could feel it scratching my chest with its front claws and my legs with its back claws. I could hear my screaming and its growls and heavy breathing. I tried to hit it across the head, but it bit my arm. I screamed even louder. I heard a gun shot and then it ran off. I lay on the ground gasping and writhing in pain as Mr. Muir ran up to me while holding a shotgun in his hand. He was my neighbor.

"Hold on, girl. Hold on. An ambulance is on the way." His eyes widened as he recognized me. "Raelyn!"

"Raelyn?!" My father ran forward. He took my hand and held it while I continued to whimper in pain.

I could hear sirens in the distance and I was aware of more people crowding around me.

"Rae?" A small timid voice asked. I recognized it as my younger sister Anais.

"Anais . . ." I said in a hoarse voice. "Get her away, dad. And Edan." Edan was my brother. He was fifteen and Anais was six. I was only eighteen. "Edan take Anais back into the house and stay there." My father commanded. I could hear my sister's crying as she was taken back to the house before I lost consciousness.