-Julien Grayson:
The cold bit into my skin as I pushed myself up from where I had been huddled behind a cluster of thick roots, my legs trembling under the strain of standing after so long.
The night pressed in around me, dense and suffocating, filled with the sounds of the wind threading through bare branches, leaves rustling like whispers, and the occasional snap of a twig somewhere too far away to see.
My hands shook as I brushed the dirt from my skirt, and the sharp sting of cold dew seeped through my tights, making me shiver violently. I pulled the thin fabric of my crop top closer to my body, trying to hold some of the warmth in, but it was useless against the chill that had already settled in my bones.
I can't hear the wolf anymore. This is my chance. I instantly held my phone tightly between my bloody hands, fingers stiff and numb, and dialed Pops' number almost reflexively, though my heart was hammering too fast for the line to feel steady.
I only had to wait two seconds before I could hear his worried voice through the phone, "Julien, where are you? Aren't you supposed to be home an hour ago?"
"Pops," I breathed into the phone, trying to make my voice sound calmer than it felt. "It's… It's me. I… I don't know where I am exactly. The… the borders… I… I ran." My words stumbled over themselves, and I could hear the quick intake of breath on the other end, a quiet sound of concern that made my chest ache.
"Julien," Pops said softly, his voice warm, grounding, but urgent. "Where are you? I'm coming. I'm going to be there in a few minutes. Stay where you are, baby. Do not move from your spot until I reach you."
"I… I can't stay," I admitted, my teeth chattering despite the thin layers of my skirt, my socks, and my tights. "I—I can see the borders… I think. I'm trying to get there, Pops, but… it's so dark, it's cold, and…" My voice faltered as I tripped over a protruding root, almost falling forward into the wet leaves.
I caught myself on a tree trunk, knuckles scraping against the bark, and inhaled sharply. I hated how shaky I sounded, hated how much fear was coursing through me, but I couldn't stop moving. I had to make it closer to what I think are the borders, and had to meet Pops somewhere in the middle, so he could reach me.
"Keep moving slowly, baby," Pops urged. "Don't rush, don't stumble. I'm on my way. Just watch your steps, okay? You're going to be okay. I'm not gonna let anything hurt you. Just keep moving."
I nodded, even though he couldn't see me, taking another careful step. The damp earth squelched beneath my boots, and I winced at the sound, feeling as if the noise would give me away.
My legs ached from running earlier, from the terror that had driven me away from the border when the wolf had appeared, and every step felt like lifting lead. I pressed a hand to my mouth to steady my ragged breathing, the other clutching my phone tightly. "Pops… I… I feel like I'm… I don't know… I can't see properly, the shadows…" My voice cracked.
"Focus on moving slowly, baby. Just keep your eyes on what's in front of you. I'm almost there. You're not alone," he said, his words steadying me slightly. I swallowed, trying to force calm into my body, but every snapped twig, every rustling leaf made my pulse spike, every shadow flickering across the forest floor made me flinch violently.
I kept walking, leaning on trees where I could, my steps deliberate, trying to cover the distance back toward the borders. The cold was relentless, sinking into my shoulders and spine, making my fingers and toes ache, making my shivering uncontrollable. "I should've listened to you this morning," I murmured, voice shaking, glancing around nervously at the empty darkness. "I shouldn't have gone alone. I should've—should've just… stayed home or let you drive to university. I'm so stupid. I'm sorry, Dad."
"You made your choice, baby. You didn't know something like this would happen. It's not your fault. Waiting to go to university alone wasn't a mistake," Pops replied, gentle but firm. "Now focus on getting yourself back safely. I'm coming. I promise you, I'm coming."
I kept moving, eyes scanning the dense shadows between the trunks, listening for any sound of movement. My boots squelched through mud, leaves sticking to my tights and getting caught around my shoes. Every breath fogged in the cold night air, and my lungs burned as I forced myself forward. I thought about Vincent, my oldest brother, and how he would have assessed the danger without panic, would have made a plan, and followed it. I also thought of Caspian; he would have probably just easily teleported back to our house. I envied them a little bit, hated myself for trembling, for feeling so helpless, yet I had no choice but to keep walking in a direction I'm still not sure where it leads.
Time dragged on, every second stretching endlessly as I tried to keep track of my surroundings, trying to mark where I had been so I wouldn't circle back into danger. I whispered to Pops over the phone constantly, trying to keep some semblance of calm, describing the trees, the thick roots, the darkness that seemed to press closer with every step. "I think… I think I see the border… or what should be the border," I muttered. "I'm moving toward it slowly… but… I feel… I feel like I'm being watched."
"That's okay, baby. Keep walking toward it. I'm almost there. Just stay on the line with me," Pops said. His voice was the only thing keeping me grounded, the only thread tying me back to safety.
The forest seemed endless, each step heavier than the last. My legs shook with exhaustion, my fingers stiff from the cold, and the blood that had dried on my hands from the guard's body itched and cracked as the air hit it. I thought about the rogue, about the wolf's eyes, red and black with silver, the image burned into my mind, and my breath hitched. "Pops… I… I saw him. I saw the wolf, Pops. It… it was huge… bigger than anything I've ever seen. He had a red eye, and the other one was different, like black and silver. I'm not too sure. He killed all of our guards. I'm so scared, Dad."
"I know, baby. I know. Just keep moving. You're doing fine. I'm right behind you," Pops reassured, and I tried to believe him, forcing one foot in front of the other.
The branches snagged my skirt, tearing slightly, and I yelped, catching myself on a tree. My heart hammered so hard I thought it might break my chest. I kept glancing behind me, convinced I'd see those red-and-black eyes emerging from the shadows again. Every snapped twig made me jump. I stumbled over another root, biting my lip to keep from crying out loud.
Finally, after what felt like hours of moving in a slow, agonizing crawl through the forest, I thought I heard movement ahead. I froze, listening. The sound of a snapping branch echoed through the darkness, sharp and deliberate. Panic surged like fire through my veins. I stumbled forward instinctively, almost losing my balance, my chest heaving as I tried to make sense of the noises.
I raised my phone to my ear again. "Pops… I… I think… someone's there. I… I don't know where—" The line was silent. The battery had died. My stomach dropped. I fumbled to put the phone back in my pocket, tugging my skirt down over my legs to shield myself from the cold. My hands were still sticky, trembling uncontrollably, and my breath fogged the air in front of me. The forest felt impossibly large, impossibly dark, and impossibly empty, except for that single sound—a crack of wood breaking somewhere to my left.
I didn't stop. I ran, blindly, branches whipping against my arms and face, feet slipping in mud, the sounds of the forest pounding in my ears. My lungs burned, my legs ached, but I couldn't stop. I could hear my own heartbeat, sharp and fast, each thud echoing in the quiet of the woods. Every step was an instinct, a desperate scramble away from something I couldn't see but could feel—something that could end me in a heartbeat.
And then, as I barreled forward, breathless and shaking, my shoulder slammed into someone. I stumbled, almost falling, but grabbed onto them, my chest heaving. My heart slammed in my chest as I looked up, eyes wide, every instinct screaming at me that this wasn't the end. I didn't recognize the figure of the person in front of me, but I knew one thing—whatever this was, whatever I had run into, it was the first sign that I wasn't alone with that wolf in these woods anymore.