CHAPTER 5 - WOLVES

~MILLIE~

It seemed like we had been speaking for hours. I was completely entranced by her every word, eagerly awaiting more. April was a beautiful person, both inside and out. I could tell she cared so much for all wildlife, regardless of how big or how small, and no matter how dangerous some of the animals could be. I learned that she set up the animal shelter when she was only 17 years old. She had watched a game hunter shoot a deer. The shot wasn’t enough to kill the deer, allowing it to run off, however, it was enough to cause a nasty infection which would have resulted in a slow and painful death. Somehow, she managed to capture it, treat it and nursed it back to health before releasing it into the wild. This was just one of the many stories she had told me.

    I looked at her with awe. At 29, the shelter and her team had grown immensely. They worked day and night, in shift patterns to accommodate the beauty that is nature. After all, all animals were unpredictable.

    The cabin was made from local wood, milled by a nearby business and built by a construction company in the city. It was eco-friendly and powered mainly by solar panels on the roof. Although they did have a power source and generators just in case.

    The remainder of the morning consisted of April showing me around the shelter. There were food stock rooms, treatment rooms, recovery rooms, even blackout rooms for animals that were nocturnal or those who were simply too distressed. She showed me where the head covers, and bags were kept as well as the equipment used to catch injured animals. Lastly, she showed me the medical supply room. There was a large steel cabinet in the corner which housed 2 guns and ammunition rounds. Apparently, I needed to know where they were kept and how to use them in case of a wolf attack, or any other attacks for that matter. April could tell by my unsettled expression that I wasn’t keen on there being weapons here, and how the thought of any form of attacked had me on edge, yet she appeased me enough by advising it was just a precautionary measure.

    10 other ladies were working at the shelter and a local vet in town who helped in case the shelter needed extra support.

    Once the tour of the shelter had been completed, we made our way to the staff room, which was located by the main reception. It was also where Megan was waiting for me.

    Whilst we walked, April explained my schedule. She had placed me on a shift pattern which matched hers for the first few weeks, to help ease me into my new surroundings. Shifts didn’t bother me, as a veterinary nurse, I was expected to help at any time of the day. It was my job.

    Pushing the ‘STAFF ONLY’ door open, April allowed me to walk in first. I could see an open space kitchen dining area, with a large table in the centre. Neatly pushed underneath, were two long pull out benches as seats. Further into the room was a sitting area, complete with two sofas and a chair with a TV positioned on the wall. It was a peaceful room, which was decorated differently to the rest of the building. There was a pale green textured feature wall, with all other walls being an ‘off white’ colour. Matching green throws and accessories dotted the seating area.

    Still taking this room in, April turned to face me and held onto my shoulders. “So, we are all done. You start Monday. I’m really excited for you to join our team!"

    “Thank you so much.” I smiled will glee. The next part of moving forward was ticked off my mental list.

    I glanced over to Megan who was grinning from ear to ear.

    #

“Thank you again, April. I cannot wait to start!” I was so excited, that I impulsively threw myself at her, draping my arms around her neck.

    “Haha, you are very welcome honey.” She smiled, hugging me back.

    “Thanks, babe, I’ll text you later,” Megan shouted as she climbed into her car.

    I followed and gave April a final wave.

    “They have a gun… A FUCKING GUN!” I exclaimed, clicking my seatbelt in.

    I turned to face Megan. My eyes and mouth were wide open.

    “Haha, it's only for protection. You don’t want to be attacked by a wolf now do you”. She winked at me.

    No…No, I do not. But pointing a gun at one… I’m not sure I could do that. 

    #

The rest of the day flew by. All we seemed to do was eat and watch films.

    What a perfect Sunday.

    “Millie,” Megan called me from the kitchen.

    I hopped off the sofa and made my way to her.

    “Congratulations lovely!! Now, let’s start celebrating!” She squealed, with her hands around the neck of a bottle of Champagne.

    “Haha thank you.” I laughed as I reached for the glasses.

    Soon, the Champagne had all gone, and we were onto a bottle of red.

    I hadn’t drunk alcohol for some time, so I was feeling the effects of the bubbles already.

    Fuck. I’m going to feel this in the morning.

    “How are you feeling about everything now Mils?” Megan asked taking a sip of her wine.

    “Umm, ok I think.” I lied…

    She looked at me with one perfectly groomed eyebrow raised.

    Damn, she doesn’t believe me.

    “Okay, okay. It is just so hard. I hated him, who he was, how he treated me, but I feel out of my comfort zone.” I stopped myself from saying anymore and looked down as I swilled the content of my glass. “Sounds stupid doesn’t it?”

    “Not at all, you were together for a long time.” She sounded reassuring. “He was controlling babe but trust me, you can do so much better than him.”

    She was right again. He was controlling. He would always tell me I would never do better than him and I believed him. I felt such a fool for staying with him for so long.

    “He’s gone now. Out of sight out of mind. Now, let’s find you a true man. It has been a while for you haha”. She joked.

    “Nope, not for me. I’m staying off men forever!” I didn’t want to even entertain the idea of another man. Not for a long time.

    “Hmmm…” She didn’t sound convinced. Though it was true, I didn’t want another bloke. I didn’t want to be hurt or for the fairy tale not to exist. Plus, I needed to get ‘me’ back first. 

    “Anyway, moving on…” I said as I shot her an ‘I don’t want to talk about my love life anymore’ glare.

    Megan topped up my glass whilst she moved onto another topic of conversation.

    #

“You, y-you are good now M-Millieeee.” Megan flopped towards me, landing in my lap.

    “I knooooow,” I said, patting the top of her head.

    Oh, my god, this wine has gone to my head.

    “I need a weeeeee.” I managed to push Megan off me and stood my grown arse up off the sofa. Holding onto the walls for support, I made my way to the little girl’s room. Geez, why is it so hard to walk!

    Once finished, I stumbled into the table that someone so kindly placed in front of my path.

    Something caught my eye as it darted past the window in front of me.

    “What the fuck was that?” I asked nobody in particular.

    My eyes narrowed as I tried to focus on the trees that surrounded the garden. It was so dark out there that only the silver beams from the moon and the gentle glimmers of the garden solar lights offered some form of illumination.

    Suddenly, a shadow ran out from behind one of the bigger trees that stood at the edge of the garden, where the wild touched the tamed lawn.

    I walked towards the bi-folding doors and pressed my face against the cold glass. The wine clearly made me invincible.

    I saw it again. This time there was no mistaking it. Something ran from one side to the other.

    “WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT!” Screaming at the top of my voice as I tried my hardest to back away without falling. 

    "W-what you are talking about?” Megan waded in with a confused look etched on her face.

    “I SAW SOMETHING OUT THERE. I FUCKING SAW SOMETHING!!”.

    Megan peered through the glass.

    “There’s nothing there.” She said with a hiccup.

    “Yes, there was!! I fucking saw something! What if it was him!” I suddenly felt my body sober up as my senses started to scream at me. It’s him, it’s fucking him.

    Megan unlocked the door.

    “Don’t fucking open it!”

    She looked at me, she was still clearly pissed and not scared in the slightest. Oh, I see, alcohol makes you invincible too.

    Megan pushed the door open.

    Oh, sweet baby Jesus. Nooo!

    My heartbeat felt as though it was trying to escape from my throat. The rhythm of the blood being pushed through my body was all I could hear.

    Stepping outside onto the patio area, she looked out towards the giant shadows of nature.

    “Helllooooooooo…. Isssss anyone theeeere?” Cupping her ears, Megan waited for a reply.

    I held onto the door, too panic-stricken to edge forward.

    “Seeeee. There is no one heeeere.”

    A sigh of relief left my chest. Humm, maybe I have had too much alcohol.

    A loud menacing howl echoed through the trees causing us both to jump. Megan ran back through the door pushing me to the floor.

    “Fucking wolves!” She said out of breath.

    She looked at me and began to laugh. She was infectious, and soon enough, I was laughing too. I mean, it’s hard not to laugh when you both of us nearly shit our pants.

    “That is enough excitement for one day. Time for bed.” I smiled.