Page 5 of Entering a New World

Something inside my chest eased. Maybe this was me starting to accept I wouldn’t make it out of here alive. Maybe it was the way the wolf’s head lolled from left to right with every step as he was trotting closer.

The wolf came to a halt directly in front of me. Raising its snout, it loudly sniffed, scenting the air. Its tail started wagging, and I could swear there was something flashing in its eyes.

Ri-di-cu-lous, I told myself again.

But the wolf didn’t attack. It didn’t look aggressive or dangerous in the slightest. Instead, it dropped his butt onto the beach and cocked his head, taking me in with what I’d describe as curiosity.

“Uh… hey little… well, big guy,” I said, my fingers twitching with the need to bury them in his fur. Which was crazy. Even without knowing anything about wild animals and wolves, I did know that petting them wasn’t recommended. They might bite. They might kill me. They might have fleas or rabies or some other disease I definitely didn’t want to contract.

Still, there was this urge inside of me to hug the damn thing. Its fur looked so damn warm and cuddly, perfect to just hide my face in.

A yipping sound made me flinch again, but before I could react, I had a snout right up in my face that made me stop dead in my tracks. A cold nose sniffed me, then the wolf proceeded to nuzzle my face, rubbing its cheek against mine.

Was this the moment the wolf marked me as his prey before hunting me down?

It didn’t feel like it. Well, it did feel like it was marking me. My friend Lola’s cat had always rubbed herself against me to scent-mark me, and this felt an awful lot like that.

Which was… good? I think. At least with cats it meant they liked you.

Did that mean the wolf liked me?

I could live with that. A wild animal liking me was far better than it trying to eat me. Okay, there would be no trying; I had a perfect view of his teeth. They were ginormous and sharp. If it wanted to eat me, it would.

But it didn’t. Instead, the wolf rested its head on my shoulder, its warmth seeping into me; the thick, coarse fur tickling my nose. It was almost like the wolf was hugging me. But I swear, if it put a paw around me, I’d scream.

But also… I let out a breath and relaxed against the warmth. I knew I shouldn’t do this. I knew in my head that what I was doing—what the wolf was doing— was completely illogical, but I was so utterly alone and terrified and the wolf was… here and warm and appeared to be friendly, and I just didn’t want to be out here alone anymore.

Tears welled up in my eyes again. I tried biting them back, but it didn’t really work. And then there was a hot, wet tongue licking at my cheeks, chasing the tears away.

“Ew,” I said, carefully trying to shove the wolf away—which was a fruitless endeavor. His head alone was heavy as fuck and didn’t move an inch. “Stop it, Wolfie!”

I could swear the wolf huffed at me for calling him—‘Wolfie.’ Maybe it was a coincidence, or I was losing my mind after all. It certainly felt like I was. Cuddling with a wolf almost as tall as me definitely wasn’t what anyone would call safe, sane, logical or, well… anything besides reckless and crazy.

Yet here I was.

The wolf finally let go of me, sat back down on his back legs, and proceeded to study me with an expression that seemed far too deep and intelligent for an animal.

“Uh… hi,” I told the wolf, raised my hand, and waved at it… him? I had a feeling it was a male wolf. I didn’t know for sure, and I certainly wasn’t about to take a peek, but in my mind the wolf was a he.

The wolf huffed again, his tongue lolling out of his mouth, head cocked to the side. He looked cute. Adorable. Which should be impossible for such a big ass predator.

“I’m Levi.”

Great, tell the wild animal your name. I’m sure he’ll appreciate the introduction.

“I’m kinda lost, if you haven’t figured that one out yourself,” I continued, because talking to a wolf was better than not having anyone to talk to.

Crazy.

Completely, utterly crazy.

Yet, the wolf looked at me like he was waiting for me to continue. As if he was actually listening and understanding what I was saying.

Yeah, I’d definitely lost my mind.

“You probably don’t know a safe place for me to stay the night, do you?” I asked, furrowing my brows before adding. “And maybe a place to fill up my water bottles?”

I wasn’t expecting a reaction. Really. I might be crazy enough to talk to a wolf, but I wasn’t crazy enough to expect him to understand me, let alone answer me.

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