Page 7 of Red's Beast

“No, not this again.” My breath catches in my throat as I realize what will come.

The branches will snap, I’ll hear footsteps, and I’ll have this sense of a presence that seems overbearing in the back of my mind.

I pick up speed, and sure enough, twigs snap quickly off to my right. My instincts take over, causing me to run at full speed. The basket becomes entirely too heavy, even though it was fine a moment ago. It slams against my side as I sprint.

Even though I know I will have a sore spot in the morning with a large bruise, I continue on and focus on the cottage door. If only I can make it there. I just have to make it there and I’ll be safe.

I’m five feet away when I notice the cottage door hasn’t opened yet.

“Grandmother, let me in!” I yell as I make it the last few feet.

I fall to my knees at the door with the basket pressed against my side as I reach up to bang on the door with my fist. “Grandmother! Why aren’t you opening the door? Let me inside.”

I can sense the presence behind me, but I refuse to look over my shoulder to face reality. A rush of warm air touching my neck, sending shivers down my spine.

You are mine, little wolf. I can’t wait until you realize it.

A male voice comes into my mind, causing me to instantly melt.

Mine? What does he mean I’m his? Who even is he?

The door finally opens and I’m so distracted by my rushing thoughts that I fall through the open doorway into her cottage. I slowly crawl inside on my hands and knees before she shuts the door behind me.

But not without taking a look outside first to see what the problem is.

“Child, what are you doing banging on my door like that? You were perfectly safe,” she says as she shakes her head in disbelief.

Her eyes meet mine as I slip my arm out of the basket and flip onto my back. “Something was right behind me. It’s thatmonster in the woods you said doesn’t exist. What took you so long to open the door?”

I reach up and throw the hood of the cloak off my face.

Instead of answering my question, she looks down into the basket and gazes at what I’ve brought. “Oh, you have fixed that chicken dish I like so much.”

She unpacks the basket while it sits on the floor and I’m left huffing as I lie there.

“Are you even listening to me? I felt the monster’s breath on the back of my neck. What do you mean by that? How was I safe? He could have snatched my head off my shoulders.” I can hardly recognize the sound of my voice. It’s too high pitched and scared sounding to be me.

Grandmother cuts her eyes in my direction as she takes the last of the dishes out and carries it to the table. “You run like that every day, but when I open the door, it’s only you that is there. No beast or monster. Only you. Maybe you are letting Nigel’s stories get the better of you.”

My hand fumbles with the knot at my throat to take off the cloak. Then I quickly rise from the floor and hang it on the hook near the door. Her words just don’t match what I’ve heard. “Haven’t you heard the branches breaking in the woods? If it’s nothing, then what is that and who is taking all the wolves? Surely, something in the woods is to blame.”

Her expression changes dramatically as she glances out the window in the kitchen. It’s like she knows something, but she can’t say.

When her gaze shifts to meet mine, it narrows. “I have my thoughts on what is happening to the wolves, but I don’t have any proof, so I’m unable to say anything about that matter. He only has to kill one or two every so often and there will be submission from everyone.”

I slowly walk toward the living room and sink into the soft chair at the edge, close to the dining room. “Oh, not this nonsense again. You think it’s Nigel doing all of this to scare us into submission? Why would he kill the pack he was sworn to protect?”

She swallows hard and looks down at the table. “It would work, wouldn’t it? Don’t you all submit and believe his stories so he continues to rule?”

Even though her words are logical, neither of us has proof that he is really behind the killings.

She looks over at me and smiles. “Come on, let’s eat before it gets too cold.”

I slowly rise and head to the dining table. Once seated, we fall into a silence as we fill our plates and time seems to pass slowly, but we finish without a single word.

Grandmother rises from the chair first and begins gathering the plates, so I quickly rise to help her.

Suddenly, the distinct howl of the alpha signaling the run fills the air. I quickly put the dishes in the sink and move to the kitchen window to look out. My fingertips gently press against the glass as I peer outside.

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