Page 28 of The Boy With The Sharp Teeth
Absently,in a faraway part of her mind, she could hear a door being opened and feel thecool air of a new room washing over her as they entered.
"Because,"she replied in a drowsy whine. "You mess me all up…I can't think when I'mwith you, I never could."
Feelingthe sudden softness of her bed against her back acted like a sleeping drugpulling her sleep-addled brain further into the abyss. With her eyes closed,she couldn't see his eyes shine brightly at her response, nor could she see thewillpower he was using to maintain control.
~*~
Limbsand leaves swiped at Sana's face and legs as she ran. Her heart drummed loudand wild in her chest as she desperately tried to fight her way out of thethick forest. Panic held her lungs in a vice grip as she looked around her, herbreath coming out in uncontrolled, panting puffs. She needed to get home, shehad to get away, to—
Somethingrumbled deep and thunderous behind her, and Sana bit back a terrified scream asshe pushed herself to run faster. Tears streamed her face as she leanedforward, clawing madly at the blocking tree limbs and brush in her path,desperate and fighting to get home. If she could just get to her house, thenshe could go through the door and shut it behind her, surely that would keepher—
Herfoot caught on a bowing root, and she went down hard, knocking the little airshe did have from her strained lungs. Terror gripped her when she heard thegrowling sound again, closer now. She tried to push herself up, but thestrength in her arms evaporated as the deep shaking growl shook the air allaround her. Clawing her hands into the dirt, Sana bit her lips as tearsstreamed down her face.
Oneheavy step thudded to her right and then another at her left. Oh God! Her eyeswidened in horror just before she screwed them tightly shut. It was straddlingher—the monster was straddling her.
Plumesof wet heat hit the back of her neck, and Sana let out a whimper. She wanted topull herself into a ball to protect herself from the attack, but she was tooscared to move.
Adeep rattling growl lowered itself closer and closer until she could feel itsechoing depth inside of her chest.
Forwhat felt like long dragging minutes, she barely breathed while the creatureabove her breathed in and out in slow reverberating breaths. Everything withinher told her to stay perfectly still, to wait it out until it left. Don't moveand don't look, she repeated in her head over and over again. But she openedher eyes nonetheless. Adjusting to the low moonlight of the forest, Sana staredpast the thick undergrowth of the forest floor to the large, black hand bracedinto the dirt next to her head. Her heart seemed to stop as she took in theinhuman sight.
Sanajumped at the sudden snarl ripping through the air and felt her body beingroughly turned onto her back. Everything was a blur of black as she looked upand screamed at the thing above her, her eyes focusing on one thing only—thesnapping maw full of teeth.
~*~
Standingin front of the stove, Sana poured in the olive oil on the pan. Tilting thepan, she coated the silver surface until the greenish oil coated it nicely.Claws clicked on the wood behind her, but she ignored it. She could sense thewolf adjusting itself for comfort against one of her orthopedic, gel-linedkitchen mats. A comfy spot indeed, she thought with a smile.
Thegesture felt foreign to her lips.
Eversince she woke up in heart-pounding cold sweat from that dream this morning,her whole mood was off. She hadn't had that dream in years. With a heavy sigh,she picked up the plate of beef tips and took off the plastic wrap from overthe plate. Picking up each seasoned piece of raw meat with her tongs, Sanaplaced them with a satisfying sizzle onto the oiled skillet. Within minutes thekitchen filled with the delicious aroma of cooking meat.
Shewas stirring the small pot of gravy when she felt the long wet strokes of thewolf's tongue on the back of her knee. Turning with a shocked smile, she stareddown at the massive beast, who looked back up at her with an oddly searchingand somewhat desperate look.
"What?What is it?" She turned and stared at him.
Eyeslike golden jewels just stared back, waiting.
Placinga hand on her hip, she smirked at the silent beast. "You know, unlikedogs, your face doesn't have too much range of emotion. You either lookintimidating or, in this case," she waved a hand at his current face,"slightly less intimidating."
Gettingup, the wolf paced back and forth in slow agitation, all the while sniffing theair before walking to the kitchen door that led to the back porch. Cocking hishead, the wolf made a small keening noise.
Alarmed,Sana stepped forward. "Do you need to go outside?"
Evenas she asked the completely rhetorical question, the wolf gave her an impatienthuff and paced impatiently again in front of the backdoor.
"Ok,ok," she soothed as she quickly grabbed the door's handle and pulled itopen.
Likea shot, the wolf bounded from her kitchen and down her porch steps and deepinto the pitch-black night.
Closingher door, Sana turned back to the stove and stirred her gravy, and flipped eachof the beef tips. "And I was going to share," she said aloud.
Grabbinga plate from the cabinet, she began to scoop some of the mashed potatoes ontothe plate when the doorbell rang. Her hand froze. Frowning, she looked at herwatch. It was seven-thirty at night. Who in the world would come by at thistime of night? Turning off all the burners, she slowly made her way to thefront and stopped. Through the glass door and through the decorative glass doorof the vestibule, she could see the tall figure of a man. There was only oneman that could make her sigh in relief, and her heart sped up at the same time.
Openingthe door, she stepped out into the vestibule as she smoothed out the blue andwhite striped t-shirt dress she wore before opening the door. Standing with abottle of wine dangling casually between his fingers, Zach gave her piercinglook as a hint of a smirk tugged at the corner of his lips.
"Ismelled food," he said, lifting up the bottle of red wine with an enticinglittle shake. "Can I join you?"
Wearinga pair of dark washed jeans and a dark blue long-sleeved shirt that clung tohis broad shoulders and hard biceps, Zach's black hair flopped casually to oneside of his face as if he had just run a hasty hand through the thick locksgiving his strong jawline and sharp golden eyes an all too appealing quality.
