Page 8 of Red's Beast

Howls of the other pack members join in and I’m left with a sense of longing.

“Your wolf wants to be free, doesn’t she?” Grandmother looks over me and I barely see the tilt of her head in my peripheral vision. “I can tell by the look on your face.”

“More than anything, but there is nothing I can do to change it. She is caged within me and I don’t know that she will ever be free to run. The only freedom I’ll ever have is if we escape here.” I lift my fingers from the glass and notice the prints left behind.

With the sleeve of my shirt, I clean the window.

Grandmother scoffs. “You are even cautious in my house and clean as if you are with the pack. If I could, I would challenge Nigel and see how he does with a round two.”

I notice she is getting worked up, which causes her to cough. Without hesitating, I walk over and pat her on the back. “Grandmother, you can’t challenge him or get worked up like this. He may not be the best alpha, but he tries to keep us safe from whatever is haunting the woods. Nigel isn’t all that bad.”

“Safe is a relative term, dear,” she says as she clears her throat. “If there is truly a monster in the woods, shouldn’t he vanquish him and rid the pack of the issue? No, he takes weird steps to keep you safe, but does it really work? A great alpha takes care of issues, just like your grandfather. Nigel is a coward.”

I take a good look at her and notice the way she straightens her posture. It makes me smile as I think about her leading the pack by my grandfather’s side. She must have given them a run for their power back then. The admiration fades into curiosity as I think about her words.

They seem too planned out, like she’s trying to tell me something without being direct.

“Grandmother, is there a monster in the woods?”

She chuckles as she moves away from me to head to the kitchen sink. “It depends on what your definition of a monster is. If you asked me who I thought was a monster, I’d say he leads this pack.”

Before I can utter another word, a familiar sound of a howl resonates through the air again. This time, I’m surprised by it. I turn and look out the window, only to see a pair of red glowing eyes in the darkness of the woods.

They quickly fade as a second howl sounds.

“Grandmother, why is he howling like that? That means there is trouble, right?”

She turns away from the sink, a dish in her hand. I can tell by the look on her face that she’s about to tell me not to react, but I turn and am already heading for the door.

There’s a thump behind me, causing me to turn as my hand clasps the knob. I make sure she’s okay and then look at the door.

“I have to go. My wolf won’t allow me not to.”

She clutches onto the countertop, panting and nodding. “You really should let the alpha deal with this. You can’t even shift, so you can’t help them.”

“Grandmother, I have to go. You know that I’m secretly stronger than any of them, even like this. If something is truly wrong, I need to be there.” I close the gap between us and gently place a kiss on her forehead. “I’ll return tomorrow evening to bring you dinner. Please be safe while I’m gone.”

I slowly pull away from her and walk to the door to grab my cloak from the hook. As I secure it around my throat, I hear another howl. Something is wrong and I have to get there quickly.

As I open the door, I peer into the woods, but don’t see the pair of red eyes I caught a glimpse of a moment ago. Suddenly, I feel her grip on my arm. My head turns to the right to look over my shoulder.

She has my basket in her other hand, and she gives it to me. “Don’t forget your basket. I’ll clean the dishes up and leave them on the counter. They’ll be ready for tomorrow’s meal.”

“Thank you,” I whisper. “And please remember to be careful, as I’ve asked you.”

She chuckles under her breath and slowly lets go of my arm. “Oh, child. I know I’m old, but I’m always careful.”

I give her a nod and ease out the door, allowing it to close behind me. Dreading what lies ahead, I take a timid step. “It’s only thirty feet to the clearing. Surely, I can do this.”

Normally, I don’t go through the woods after dark because it seems like that is when most of the killings occur. I almost debate turning around and going inside as fear grips my heart, but I hear another howl and have to go.

I slowly make my way toward the woods. With every sound I hear, my breath catches in my throat and my heart pounds in my chest. I pick up my pace as the branches snap and heavy footsteps are heard nearby to my left.

“You are not going to get me.”

I do the only thing I can think of and run down the path with my basket crashing against my side. My eyes are focused on the opening ahead.

Once I’m off the path, I turn and look at the woods, waiting for something to pop out, but nothing ever does.

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