Page 23 of Ravaging Red
“Aren’t we all?” She smiled.
“He’s not human, Dulce!” I grabbed her hand.
The flour-dusted lines around her mouth deepened as she frowned. “Not human?”
I nodded a few times before continuing. “He’s a… a Wolf.”
She dead eyed me but didn’t laugh. “Did he come from the woods?”
I nodded. “And he’s not the kind you see in fairy tales, Dulce. Not at all how this town describes its monsters. He’s real and he’s powerful. He could tear a man in half without blinking.”
My hands started to shake, and she grabbed them, squeezing them. “It’s okay, honey,” she whispered.
Something in her eyes made me stop, and I searched her face. “What is it?”
When she finally spoke, her voice was quieter. “I think…I think I’m being stalked.”
The mug froze halfway to my mouth. “What?”
Her gaze flicked to the window, like she expected to see someone standing there. “It started a couple of weeks ago. At first, I thought it was just my imagination, you know, shadows in the alley, the feeling of eyes watching me. But last night… I swear, Red, there was something in the trees by my house. I didn’t see it, but Ifeltit. Like it wanted to come inside.”
A shiver ran up my spine. “Have you told anyone?”
“No. Who would believe me?” She tried for a laugh, but it cracked. “I mean… maybe you would. You’re the one talking about Wolves.”
I set the coffee down, leaning forward until our foreheads almost touched. “Dulce, you need to listen to me. Monsters arereal. I don’t know what’s following you, but if you feel it, really feel it, you have to trust that gut instinct. And you have to be careful. Promise me. Promise you won’t go into the woods.”
She nodded, but her eyes were wide, and I could tell she was searching for more answers than I could give her.
“Promise you won’t go into the woods,” I said, the words heavier than I meant them to be.
Her brows pulled together. “I can’t promise you that, Red.”
I leaned back in my chair, staring at the crumbs on my plate. “This pull, it’s like a magnet to him. It’s not just emotional, Dulce… it’s physical. It’s in my bones, in my blood. It’s like my body craves him even when mentally I know it’s wrong.”
Dulce’s lips parted, and she nodded slowly. “I know what you mean.”
My head snapped up. “You’ve felt it too?”
Her gaze drifted past me, toward the window. “Yeah. And it’s overwhelming. Like something’s wrapped itself around me, breathing down my neck, waiting for the moment I let down my guard.”
I swallowed hard. “I’m scared, Dulce. I don’t think I can fight it.”
“You have to, Red.” Her voice was firm now, her hand curling over mine. “If what you’re telling me is real, and there are monsters in those woods, then they are hunting us. You can’t just let yourself give in so easily, you've heard the stories. You’ll lose more than your heart. You’ll lose your life, Red.”
I wanted to tell her it was already too late, that pieces of me had been his from the first time I saw him. But instead, I squeezed her hand, clinging to the fragile thread of normalcy between us.
She smiled faintly, though it didn’t reach her eyes. “We’ve always had each other’s backs, right? That’s not changing now. So, whatever happens… we face it together.”
The bakery was quiet except for the hum of the ovens, but outside, I could swear the air shifted, as if something were listening. Waiting.
I didn’t want to scare her, but something in the woods wanted her. And if I was right… and if it were anything like Rael, it wouldn’t stop until it had her.
Chapter 10
Window Between Worlds
RAEL
