Status: Work in progress. Cannot promise quick updates.
Wolves
Passage
Alice watched as her sister, Julie, ripped open the last package that had arrived that morning, this one courtesy of another auntie that knew exactly what to buy Julie and never what to buy Alice. It was Julie’s last birthday present in her pile and it contained a gold silk dress, which would suit Julie perfectly for her late night parties.
That was just one of the many things that were different between the two sisters. While Alice spent her days and nights reading classic horror novels; Julie spent every free moment with her friends, partying to the morning with her collection of fake ID’s changing her from 15 to 19 in a second. And where Julie’s wardrobe was filled with slinky dresses that were too tight for her age; Alice’s was filled with denim shorts, comfy tee-shirts and a single black and white dress for family occasions. At 17, Alice could have joined her sister at some of the tamer parties; it wasn’t as if she hadn’t been asked along. So many invites from guys who thought they controlled everything, who didn’t know that Alice preferred her own company during the dark Friday nights.
Julie held up the dress to her slender frame, the neckline scooping low and an A-line cut that would perfectly flatter her figure. Perfect, naturally. “Oh, it’s gorgeous! And it’ll go so well with my black heals. Mum, will you tell Auntie Gracie that I love it? I’ll send her a photo when I wear it.” She flashed a quick smile at her mother before looking at her pile of presents, folding the dress and placing it in its black box onto the top of the stack.
The air was rich with the scent of chocolates and the morning’s breakfast of fresh berries and cream. Smelling the air, Veronica picked her way through the many scents that she knew were hidden to most people, including her two daughters who sat with her at the table. The first was the dry, musty smell of Alice’s hands and the book that had accompanied her to breakfast. The next was the aroma of sweat and floral perfume from Julie’s hair and body. Her favourite of all the scents though, was the residual aroma of her earlier snack, a small bag of dried beef strips – salty and rich, with a tang of blood that sent her saliva running. She helped herself to a few pancakes from the stack on the heated tray, to hide the welling of liquid on her tongue – from herself as much as from her children.
Veronica had promised to herself, many years ago that she would tell no one of what she was. Her sense of smell and of taste was still driving her mad every time that she noticed the way it was more acute, so much clearer than she expected when she woke every morning. And it scared her. It had happened after she had given birth to Julie, on a late night. It was the night that her lover died.
–A black beast, shaped like a giant dog, springs from the background. The two lovers are focused entirely on each other, kissing and touching as they sit on a quiet bench at the edge of the woody park. The silence in the air is heavy, but still they fail to notice the dark, shadowy shape that approaches from the trees. Claws slash the air and only metaphorical fur flies, as less than seconds pass by, the woman is too shocked to scream, her lover killed before her eyes. The predator turns on her, not seeing the shadow moving in the same darkness he’d used a moment earlier. He slashes the woman’s bare neck before she screams and begins to lap at the blood that flows from her.
The shadow leaps from the dark, its russet fur shining as it catches the light from a nearby street lamp, but still the predator does not look up. Seconds fall away from the moment, and then the russet furred shadow falls on the beast, silver claws and teeth ripping open the back of the beast’s neck. The feeding predator falls away, its blood mixing with that of the two lovers, the beast might have survived if it had had its pack, or if he’d listen to his senses – after all, a wolf that blocks his senses is no wolf at all.–
At the time, Veronica had known nothing of the night, or of what it would do to her future. The ambulance had made it in time to save her, though she wasn’t sure if she would have wanted to be saved, or if it wasn’t saving but a life sentence.
That was just one of the many things that were different between the two sisters. While Alice spent her days and nights reading classic horror novels; Julie spent every free moment with her friends, partying to the morning with her collection of fake ID’s changing her from 15 to 19 in a second. And where Julie’s wardrobe was filled with slinky dresses that were too tight for her age; Alice’s was filled with denim shorts, comfy tee-shirts and a single black and white dress for family occasions. At 17, Alice could have joined her sister at some of the tamer parties; it wasn’t as if she hadn’t been asked along. So many invites from guys who thought they controlled everything, who didn’t know that Alice preferred her own company during the dark Friday nights.
Julie held up the dress to her slender frame, the neckline scooping low and an A-line cut that would perfectly flatter her figure. Perfect, naturally. “Oh, it’s gorgeous! And it’ll go so well with my black heals. Mum, will you tell Auntie Gracie that I love it? I’ll send her a photo when I wear it.” She flashed a quick smile at her mother before looking at her pile of presents, folding the dress and placing it in its black box onto the top of the stack.
The air was rich with the scent of chocolates and the morning’s breakfast of fresh berries and cream. Smelling the air, Veronica picked her way through the many scents that she knew were hidden to most people, including her two daughters who sat with her at the table. The first was the dry, musty smell of Alice’s hands and the book that had accompanied her to breakfast. The next was the aroma of sweat and floral perfume from Julie’s hair and body. Her favourite of all the scents though, was the residual aroma of her earlier snack, a small bag of dried beef strips – salty and rich, with a tang of blood that sent her saliva running. She helped herself to a few pancakes from the stack on the heated tray, to hide the welling of liquid on her tongue – from herself as much as from her children.
Veronica had promised to herself, many years ago that she would tell no one of what she was. Her sense of smell and of taste was still driving her mad every time that she noticed the way it was more acute, so much clearer than she expected when she woke every morning. And it scared her. It had happened after she had given birth to Julie, on a late night. It was the night that her lover died.
–A black beast, shaped like a giant dog, springs from the background. The two lovers are focused entirely on each other, kissing and touching as they sit on a quiet bench at the edge of the woody park. The silence in the air is heavy, but still they fail to notice the dark, shadowy shape that approaches from the trees. Claws slash the air and only metaphorical fur flies, as less than seconds pass by, the woman is too shocked to scream, her lover killed before her eyes. The predator turns on her, not seeing the shadow moving in the same darkness he’d used a moment earlier. He slashes the woman’s bare neck before she screams and begins to lap at the blood that flows from her.
The shadow leaps from the dark, its russet fur shining as it catches the light from a nearby street lamp, but still the predator does not look up. Seconds fall away from the moment, and then the russet furred shadow falls on the beast, silver claws and teeth ripping open the back of the beast’s neck. The feeding predator falls away, its blood mixing with that of the two lovers, the beast might have survived if it had had its pack, or if he’d listen to his senses – after all, a wolf that blocks his senses is no wolf at all.–
At the time, Veronica had known nothing of the night, or of what it would do to her future. The ambulance had made it in time to save her, though she wasn’t sure if she would have wanted to be saved, or if it wasn’t saving but a life sentence.
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Another chapter has arrived. The next will be along soon.