Chapter 3: Wolf By The Window

Emma.

The next morning, I sat at the breakfast table, staring blankly at my omelet and half eaten toast. The kitchen was warm, the scent of freshly brewed coffee mingling with the sound of clinking plates, but my thoughts were miles away, back to the woods, to that strange man. And now, the gray wolf.

"Emma, are you listening?" My mother’s voice snapped me back to the present.

I blinked, shaking my head. "Sorry, Mom. What did you say?"

"You’ve barely touched your food, and you’ve been looking out the window all morning,” she set a plate of eggs in front of me.

“Emma said she saw a wolf last night," Alec cut in, curling his salad. My family didn't eat much, in fact, I could say they didn't like food. But mum always cooked for me, she claimed.

I swallowed hard and interrupted him, "I know what I saw, Alec."

"We’ve been over this, Emma. You were in shock. That man you encountered in the woods, he was dangerous, but there’s no wolf. It’s just your mind playing tricks on you."

I leaned forward, "I’m telling you, I’ve seen it. Every night since that day, a gray wolf with piercing eyes stares at me from outside my window. I’m not imagining things."

Her mother exchanged a glance with Alec. "Sweetie, you’ve been through a lot, with Benny being injured and all. It’s natural to have nightmares or see things that aren’t really there. But you have to trust us, there’s no wolf."

I clenched my fists under the table. "You think I’m crazy, don’t you?"

"No one’s saying that, Emma," Alec cut in. "But you need to stop going on silly little trips to that mountain, it's dangerous and you're not a cop! Focus on writing articles,” Alec's voice was hard.

"I don’t have to listen to you, Alec, you're not my dad,” I retorted, standing up abruptly, my chair scraping the floor. "I know what I saw."

My mother sighed, her face softening. "We’re just worried about you, honey. We don’t want you getting hurt. Maybe you should take a few days off work."

I grabbed her bag from the table. "I’m not crazy. And I'm not letting go of my job. I have to go. I’ll be late."

Later that evening, before heading home, I'd met Benny at the cafe after work. The small shop was cozy, filled with the quiet hum of conversations and the smell of pastries. Benny, now fully healed from the bruises she'd gotten, had greeted me cheerfully.

"You look better," I said, sitting down and wrapping her hands around a warm cup of tea.

"Yeah, I heal fast," Benny said with a smirk, "how's work going? Old man Karl is still giving you problems?”

I leaned in, lowering my voice. "I’ve been seeing things, Benny. A wolf. Every night, it’s outside my window, just watching."

Benny's eyes widened. "A wolf? Are you sure it’s not just a stray dog or something?"

"No. It’s like the same wolf from the woods. I know it."

Benny paused, tapping her fingers on the table. "Okay, this might sound crazy, but… maybe it’s connected to that man. What if he wasn’t just some random attacker?"

I bit her lip, considering it. "I don’t know. It feels like it's the same wolf from the forest. Is that even possible for a wolf to stalk me?"

Benny's eyes lit up. "We should look into it."

Emma raised an eyebrow. "Look into it? You mean investigate?"

"Yeah," Benny said, nodding. "I mean, if you’re seeing this wolf, and if it’s connected to that man, we need to figure out what’s really going on."

Emma felt a rush of relief. "You believe me?"

Benny nodded but this time, I shook my head. “Not happening. You're lucky to heal, there's no way I'm taking you back to that mountain."

Rolling her eyes, Benny pinned me a stare. "My brother just got into town, remember? He's ex-Marines and he'll come along."

I sighed in relief. After detective Shaw had bailed on me, two officers called me crazy, I figured it was pointless getting the authorities involved. “Okay. You talk to your brother and let me know."

That might, I couldn't sleep. All I did was curl up in my bed, hoping sleep would somehow find me.

I wasn't that lucky.

“Hey, Emma?" I jerked up at the sound of my mum's voice and rushed to the door. She was with a tray of some chocolatey liquid and it smelled amazing.

“Hey, mum," I mumbled. As much as I appreciated the gesture, I wasn't really hungry.

She looked inside my room and walked in, dropping the tray by the bedside. “Will you be alright?" She asked. I nodded.

It was two days after the incident in the woods. Two days of sleeplessness and seeing wolves everywhere she turned. But of course, she couldn't tell her mother that.

“Yeah, I'm just getting a few scripts ready for tomorrow," I replied. Like I was in the mood for any work.

Mum nodded and left the room. I grabbed the cup and turned to the window. Then I froze. Right there, just beside the old nail box was a wolf.

A huge gray wolf staring right at my room. I shook, stepping back as its dark eyes bore into mine. I didn't know when the cup fell from my hand and shattered on the floor but right then, Alec was by my door.

“Emma?" His tone was sharp as he tapped twice.

I couldn't move, couldn't respond. The wolf was still there, staring right into my room.

A hand fell on my shoulder and I whipped around, startled.

“Are you alright?" Alec asked as he steadied me.

“There's a wolf outside," I blurted without a second thought.

Alec arched a brow at me as he looked outside. "Emma, there's nothing outside.”

I turned to face the window and the gray wolf was gone. "It was right…there,” I mumbled,

He looked outside and for a second, his nose flared. He touched his ruby ring and then sighed as he held my shoulders. "Come on, get some sleep, Emma.” And with that, he left, closing the door.