Chapter 2
Becky climbed out of her car and gazed at the landscape around her; rolling hills for as far as her eyes could see, grazing sheep, and nothing but a few houses dotting the spaces in between. This really was her idea of paradise for the moment. Stepping out of the car she began to unpack it, wanting to get the tent set up while it was still early and there was plenty of light. Looking around, she found the spot with the fewest rocks and began the process.
Two hours later, after reading and rereading the instructions (along with a few frustrated screams) she had an air bed and the tent set up, along with a camp fire, her water supplies, containers of food, and other products she was going to leave in the car. Becky had seen a pub on the way in, but wasn’t prepared to go back into town for an evening meal. She instead went out walking around the campsite.
She clambered over the hills, startling wandering cows and grazing sheep, discovering pretty flowers and beautiful scenery that took her breath away. The English landscape just could not be beat.
After awhile, Becky headed back to the campsite, prepared a meal, and settled down in a camp chair to read a book by the fire. For her first holiday it was going pretty well, she thought. She’d never ventured out into the country before, preferring the familiar noise and buzz of city life, but right now it was peaceful. She found her mind wandering as she read. The book wasn't bad, but the peace allowed her thoughts to drift.
Becky remembered all the times her dad had promised to take her camping, but never quite got out of his drugged up stupor long enough to do it. Her mum never cooked, much less entertained the notion of going out into the woods to do it. She, like her husband, was far too caught up in the make believe world of heroin and meth. Most nights Becky fended for herself, eating canned foods and whatever she could scrounge up.
Before long Becky realized the fire had died down to a dim glow, and that she'd turned through ten pages without actually reading. Shaking her head and standing up, Becky made a resolution to end such thoughts for the rest of her holiday. She knew it might be tough, as the thoughts were never far, but she wanted this holiday to be memorable for nothing but good reasons.
Moving into the tent she settled down onto the airbed, snuggling into her down sleeping bag. She'd recently bought it from the "always going out of business" camping supply store. She turned on the lantern hanging over her bed and began to read her book again. She’d finally got into a rhythm and was enjoying the book when she heard a noise outside of the tent. Looking up she concentrated, wondering if she had heard the wind or something more.
Straining to hear, she was unsure but thought she could hear something padding around. She almost jumped when she heard a snuffling sound, followed by a growl. Dismissing her brain’s idea of a bear (there were no bears in England after all) she assumed it was probably a stray dog. She hoped that it would go away once it realized there was no food. She settled back down to read, but her concentration was broken.
Finally, she heard the animal running off, the long grass around her camp site rustling as the animals feet moved through the blades. "Well, heck," she thought, "It seems I’m not meant to read tonight."
Settling back into the covers Becky decided to go to sleep. The animal had left, she was out of danger, but she couldn’t go back to reading. Reaching up to flick the light off she stopped, deciding that maybe leaving the light on was better, just for tonight. It was something she hadn’t done since childhood, but tonight she could not sleep in the dark. Her memories and the animal combined in her mind to make it impossible to sleep in the dark. She wasn’t afraid, but she felt safer with the reassuring light on than she did without it. Pulling the sleeping bag up over her cheek she closed her eyes, hoping the light was enough to keep her nightmares at bay.
Becky woke early to the sound of birds chirping and sheep calling to each other. "No sleeping late in the country", she grumbled to herself as she prepared water for coffee. She used her camp stove to boil it, and then sat back and enjoyed the sun rising in the distance, banishing the darkness with its bright rays of light. She’d never seen anything like it; the light slowly burning away the mist from the hills and shadows disappearing as the giant star rose into the sky overhead.
She didn't want to waste her day doing nothing, so Becky prepared some breakfast and got out her walking guide to see where she could hike on the footpaths she was near. Deciding on one, she got her walking stick, a bottle of water, filled her pockets with her keys, wallet, and a granola bar and headed out into the wild. She snapped pictures as she walked, and stopped on a rock outcropping to take a picture high above the town below her, moving to get the whole village into one shot.
Becky let out a yelp as her right foot slid out from under her, landing hard on the rocks as she felt her ankle pop. Her only thought was to keep from breaking her expensive and new camera as she fell, and she didn’t even realize she’d screamed. As she bounced on the ground the camera fell onto the rocks, the lens shattering instantly. She forgot the camera (and its now shattered lens) as pain burst from her ankle and radiated throughout her body.
Once the pain dulled down to low roar, she inspected the injury. Not broken, but badly sprained. She needed ice but knew she wasn’t going to be getting any, and she knew she was totally alone and vulnerable once again. No mobile, nobody knew where she was except Dr. Kade, and she was injured. Steeling herself she pulled her body up until she was standing on her left foot. Bracing herself against the walking stick, she tried to decide which way to go, and found she could only manage a slow hobble.
Looking around her she could see that she still had plenty of daylight, which was of some relief. Becky gritted her teeth against the pain, determined to at least get back to camp. She didn’t think she could drive, as putting any sort of weight on the ankle just increased the pain, but she had some pain relievers that might get it down to a manageable level. She gave herself a pep talk as she walked, telling herself it had only taken a short while to get as far as she had so it wouldn’t be too long before she got back to her camp.
After twenty minutes or so she pulled herself towards a tree to rest. Looking back she decided she must have been speed walking, because she was a lot further out than she thought she was. She drank from her water bottle, almost spitting the water out as she heard a growl coming from behind the tree. Standing as still as she could, with muffled breath, the animal came up closer to the tree, still growling.
Becky tried not to panic or scream as a black paw reached out, feeling around the tree. It snorted, then ran away as she caught her breath. Becky tried to hobble faster and felt in her pocket to make certain that her keys were still hidden in the depths of her coat. She felt their reassuring presence as she hobbled on, her car now in view. Between the pain and the fear she was quickly running out of energy, and a howl behind her convinced her to move even faster. She didn’t care if she ever walked again; she just wanted the safety of her car.
Reaching the car, Becky’s hands shook as she reached in her pocket to retrieve her keys, dreading that they wouldn't be there. She gave a sigh of relief as she felt the keys beneath her fingers and pulled them out, hitting the button as she did so to unlock the door. Sliding into the car seat she screamed as she saw the wolf coming up behind her.
A great black beast, the wolf stood over four feet high, even on all four paws, and its head was massive. She closed the door just as it pounced at her and the beast hit her door, hard. Becky was certain there would be a dent in her car. Sliding the key into the ignition, her only focus was driving as fast and as far away as she could. She looked out of her window to see the beast standing there, shaking its head, snarling and salivating, as if it could already taste her flesh in its mouth.
Becky put a hand to her mouth, trying to hold back another scream as she watched the beast, too afraid to move or to even look away. She knew by it's sheer size that it could shatter her window if it wanted. She tried to react, but it was as if she was in one of those dreams where you just can't scream. Suddenly snapping out of it, Becky turned the key and started the car. Shifting the lever she ignored the pain in her ankle as she backed the car up, preparing to hit the animal if she had to. The animal lunged just as she came to a stop, landing on the hood of her car.
Instead of screaming this time Becky grew furious. She’d spent a lot of time and money to pay for that car, and the animal now destroying it was infuriating. Her anger grew as the bonnet dented and the beast bit at the windscreen, as if he didn't notice the glass separating them. The glass cracked but did not shatter. The weight of the wolf was enough to stall the engine, and Becky was stuck.
She was so caught up in her fear, so focused on the huge black wolf on the bonnet of her car, that she didn’t notice a much larger wolf came streaking out of the woods, racing straight at the wolf on the hood of her car. She did notice when a red streak launched itself at the black wolf, however, and knocked it from her car. She heard a long yelp, filled with pain, then nothing.
Becky looked around the car but she couldn’t see anything. Scooting up in her seat she looked all around the car until she saw the red wolf, on the passenger side, resting on the ground in front of the door, staring into the woods on the other side.
“Holy moly, what do I do now? There’s a fucking great huge wolf outside, maybe it wants to eat me too and ran the other one off to have me to itself?” Shifting back into the driver's seat, she thought about her next move. Her ankle was throbbing, her wind screen was cracked, her bonnet dented and the car wouldn’t start, no matter how many times she tried. The light was also finally leaving the day. She just wanted to rest, get some pain relievers, and get out of here. Was that so much to ask?
Sighing she turned to look out of her window at her tent and jumped as she saw the red wolf standing there. It pawed at her window, whining as if it wanted something. It then stood up on its legs, resting its front paws on the car, as if it were a dog greeting its much loved human after being alone all day. It stood there now, panting and looking at Becky curiously. She calmed down a little when her window didn’t crack and put her hand out, making a motion to tell the animal to move away.
Bravely, or stupidly depending on how you thought about it, Becky rolled the window down just enough to stick her finger through. The animal jumped back from the car, looking like it wanted to play with Becky now. She took her key out of the ignition and made a decision. She was going to have to get out of the car to get the pain relievers, and the wolf didn’t look like it really wanted to eat her. She doubted wolves could fake such a genuine friendliness. She was sure that there couldn't be any red wolves in England, but sure enough there was one in front of her.
Slowly Becky opened the door and put her right leg down, careful not to put too much weight on it, then used the door to pull herself out. The wolf stayed well back from her, letting her exit the car without harassment. She didn’t see any sign of the other wolf now and guessed that for whatever reason this one was sticking around to protect her. She picked up her walking stick from the ground where she dropped it, using it to hobble into the tent to fall onto her bed. The wolf shied away from her but kept an eye on her as she struggled along. Taking a bag out from under her bed, she pulled out some medicine and quickly downed the pain reliever with a bottle of water.
“Well, what are we going to do now, Wolfie? My mobile won’t work up here, I can’t drive out in a dead car, and I won’t be walking out anytime soon. I’m supposed to be here for a week. Should I be brave and stay up here or try to leave tomorrow? My ankle might feel better tomorrow, who knows? Should I just give up on my first real holiday ever or have you scared off the big bad wolf for me? I hope you have, because that thing was terrifying!” She laughed at herself for talking to an animal, but he seemed to understand.
“My ankle is starting to feel a little better, how about some sausages and eggs for dinner? Does that sound good to you? I think you deserve a reward for coming to my rescue," she said as the wolf whined eagerly. "It was strange enough coming face to face with one wolf today, two of you is mind-blowing. But we’re not going to wonder about that at all until I’m safe back home and away from all of this. Now, about those sausages.”
Becky figured out that she could scoot around the campsite on one of her camp chairs. She used the canvas chair as a sort of wheelchair while she prepared dinner for herself and the wolf. Once she had the simple fare prepared, she put some on a plate for the wolf and let it cool a little before putting it on the ground for him. The light had completely left the sky and it was now dark. After eating her fill, she got down and started to light a fire using the wood she had stacked the night before.
Flames were leaping to the heavens by the time she finished. As the wolf watched her intently, she pulled out her book to continue reading. She watched him as she read, looking up occasionally when he moved his head around, as though surveying the surroundings, only to rest his head again and continue watching her. He had lovely yellow eyes that seemed to be very intelligent and kind. As she watched the wolf in the firelight, the flames seemed to make his red fur come to life, as though the wolf were on fire too. She closed her eyes for a moment, and awoke with a start as she realized she’d fallen asleep on the ground with only a blanket as a cushion. Pushing herself around she inched past the wolf, into her bed, and propped her foot up with an extra blanket. Somehow she wasn’t surprised when he walked into the tent with her and plopped down right beside of her. She brushed her fingers into his fur, loving the silk texture of it. She began talking to him as she caressed his fur, enjoying his happy panting as she spoke, telling him about her life and how he was the only creature that had ever tried to protect her in her whole life. He was her hero, and she told him so as she slowly fell asleep, his warmth and the hectic day leaving her exhausted.
As the beautiful lady fell asleep James St. James, now also known as Wolfie, watched her, protecting her from the other werewolf in the vicinity. He’d heard her words about her life and understood them. Knowing that she had never been protected gave him even more incentive to do so. This was his territory, and had been for over 100 years now. Werewolves did not age as a fast as humans, and as a consequence James only appeared to be in his late 40s. His red hair, yellow eyes, and muscular stature were with him whether in human or wolf form. In short, James could defend Becky in whatever shape he was shifted into, no matter what, and after witnessing the black shifter attacking her he was determined she wasn’t going through that again.
Settling himself to spend the night beside her, James thought about how he’d ended up in this tent with this woman. This had been his territory his whole life, he’d never strayed far, and his sixth sense told him when there were other shifters around. He’d hunted this one since last night, and knew it was up to no good. He’d tracked it all day, along with the woman once he had sensed her. Somehow he’d known this shifter was trouble, and had been prepared for it. Now he just needed to stay awake all night to prove it. He was only going to rest his eyes for a minute first, the soothing feel of her hands producing a calm in his inner animal’s spirit that he’d never felt before.
He kicked a hind leg out, stretching beneath her hand and allowed the soothing touch to slowly let him drift. He loved her scent, so close to him that his head was filled with her smell. Letting the scent imprint itself on his brain he drifted off, certain he’d wake back up shortly to leave and hide within the woods if he needed to. At his age he could shift when he wanted to, except for when he was asleep. On rare occasions he would involuntarily shift back to human form, but he was certain he would awake before that happened.
As he cracked his eyes the next morning he tried to discern the shrill noise filling his head. Stretching out, he yawned, scratching his lean stomach as he did so. What the hell was that piercing noise?
Seeing a tent above him as his eyes fully opened, James realized what had happened during the night. He’d not only failed to wake up again last night, he’d shifted back to human form. Becky had then woke up to find him naked in her tent. A naked man she did not know was in her tent, the day after she was attacked by a giant wolf. Oh this was not a good thing, not a good thing at all.
He was just about to turn and explain to the screaming woman behind him when something punched him in the side of head, making his world spin as he tilted over.