Ditched Cheating Alpha, I Led My Daughter to Life's Peak novel Chapter 42

It can't be real.

It stalks towards us. Closer.

Closer.

Closer.

Brittany crouches lower, the hairs on the back of her neck seemingly coming to life. She growls, in a way you'd never expect a human to. I look between the wolf and her and for a second, I see no difference. So this is what humans look like pushed to the edge.

The creature stops for a moment, but then it continues.

A mass of white knocks into it. Another, much larger, wolf.

Bared teeth. Fangs clashing this way and that. I flinch back, tugging at Brittany. "This is our chance to go," I whisper.

She looks back at me, "Huh?" She's no longer crouching. She looks totally at ease.

I shake her. "That thing's not saving us. We have to run, now."

She nods slowly and starts walking.

I can't believe I'm moving faster than her! You know what, every man for himself. I'm not dying here.

It can get her first.

I take another quick step, finally reaching the other side of the road and suddenly the adrenaline or whatever wears off. I'm keeled over, my heart beating a million miles per second, but I can't stop. I look back to grab Brittany, looks like I'll need her after all, and just then I see the first wolf scurry off into the bushes, leaving a trail of blood. I see two masses, two dark shapes following it in the undergrowth. But the white wolf is still standing there.

The first wolf, the one that just ran away, was half the size of the second, despite already being so large. So forgive me if I'd like it to come back in place of this white one. I gasp for air, either not being able to catch my breath or just hyperventilating. I'm not sure. My eyes widening as the white behemoth of a wolf stares back at Brittany and me. We can't run now. If we do, we're dead. Or is that with bears?

I stare into its eyes. Maybe the last thing I'll ever see. Nothing else is there. Not Brittany. Not the road. Not the cars. Not the sky. Not the forest. Just the wolf, and the wolf was... I can't help thinking how beautiful it is. Eyes of silver. Coat as white as snow, tainted slightly at the jaw with red. Even in this situation, I can tell it's almost calm. In a weird way. The way you'd imagine watching a deer in a meadow. I feel no fear, just a desire to see it closer.

"No. I'll be fine," she starts walking.

I grab her arm. "Do you have a death wish? There were wolves, huge wolves, and you..." I narrow my eyes. "You growled."

She pulls her arm away from my grasp, looking at my narrowed eyes weird. "I was in girl scouts. It's standard protocol for encountering a large wolf. And that's all it was, a large mountain wolf. The ones around here are on steroids."

The fact that she's not as freaked out about this as I am is what sets off about a million red flags in my head. It's what does it in for me, gets the suspicion that probably should've been here a long time ago going, and once it starts it doesn't stop.

Those were not normal wolves. Let's just get that out of the way. That's where I put my foot down with this freaky town. The town, the wolves, the weirdness. It's too much. Alvin and the Chipmunks starts coming back to me. Twilight vibes are radiating a plenty. I'm freaking the fuck out. I look her dead in the eyes. "I'm bothered by the fact that you're not even entertaining the idea that, that was... at least it could've been..."

She looks a little apprehensive. "...What?"

Am I crazy right now? Am I losing my mind? The words alpha, pack, wolfsbane, and all the other strange things said by these "towns people" start smacking me in the face. "Well," I clear my throat. "We've all seen the movies and read the romance novels. I think... that thing was a werewolf."