Five: Run Little Wolf!

SORAYA

“Oh my God, Oh my God. Oh my God! Oh my fucking God!” I say while hanging in the air like fucking Spider-Man. I don’t scream because if I do, people will look up to see me hanging. But I don’t have sticky fingers; I have just sprung up long-ass claws that are strong enough to dig deep into concrete.

“Shit shit shit.” I try not to look down, but curiosity has gotten the best of me. I was supposed to be holding each balcony as I go from one penthouse to the other, but I accidentally have my fingers in the hard-ass wall, and I don’t know how to get it out gently so I don’t fall to my doom.

I don’t know if I’m going to land on my feet or if I’m going to die and come back to life because I have nine lives (Wait, that’s a cat, I’m a wolf. I’M A FUCKING WOLF!) I don’t know if I will break some bones and heal again.

That will be amazing, but I still don’t want to feel any kind of pain. Maybe I should have thought this through before throwing myself off the building. Now I am going to die. I am going to die before I become a successful fashion designer.

This is why I don’t date, and I see dating as a distraction. If I didn’t go on that date, I would not have been in this position. But also, if I hadn’t gone on that date, I would not have known what I am. What even am I?

Fuck this, I’m not dying, not tonight.

I can do this, I know I can, think like Spider-Man even though I’m not Spider-Man. All I have to do is look down; I have to eliminate all kinds of fear if I want to get down safely.

I move my head slowly to look down, and when I see how far I am from the ground, I shriek, and I close my eyes.

God, I have to do this; I have to stop being a pussy and get down from here.

“Okay, okay, you can do this, Soraya, you can do this, you can do this,” I whisper to myself, and then I take in a deep breath, and I let it all out.

Breath in

Breath out

Just like my mom always taught me when I’d get nervous or anxious. God, I miss her so much.

Okay, I’ve got this.

Dare to eliminate fear.

Is what she would always say.

And I am going to use that mantra to get me out of this bullshit I’ve gotten myself in.

I let out a final breath, and I open my eyes, and as I turn my head, I remind myself not to look down at the road and the cars passing by but to look at the other balcony I was aiming for before I got stuck.

As soon as I put my head down, my vision is sharpened; it’s like I can see everything, including the road, but in a wide lens. That road is not my focus; the other person’s house is. Whoa, it’s like I have a new set of eyes.

I look up at the claws I dug into the wall, and I remove them with ease. I do it without fear, and instead of falling to my doom, I get a hold of the balcony.

I laugh hysterically.

“Yes bitch!” I shout, and then I see myself in the reflection of a glass door. My eyes are glowing red; I guess that explains why I’m seeing everything clearly. Wow, I really am not human, am I? This is crazy. THIS IS FUCKING CRAZY!

I keep going.

I look down, and my focus is on the other balcony. I’m almost done. I just have to keep going, so I move, and I get to the balcony, but this time I’m not alone; there are two little girls playing, and they’re looking at me.

“Oh, hey girls.” I laugh nervously. I hope they don’t scream because there’s an intruder with red eyes hanging from their balcony. “I know this is strange, but I promise you that-” I stop when I see their eyes are golden just like Miguel’s, and they’re smiling at me.

“Oh, oh my God, are you werewolves?” They nod their heads in unison.

“You’re pretty,” one of them says.

“I love your hair,” the other one says.

“Why thank you,” I say, smiling at them. “You girls are so pretty too. I wish I could stay and chat, but I have to get down from here, okay? I’ll see you later.”

So I drop.

Nah, I don’t think I’m seeing them again, but it feels like I will; it feels like I should because those girls were werewolves and I’m a shifter, an alpha. They’re real; I thought they were just stories that Mom used to tell me.

Oh my God, Mom used to tell me stories about werewolves who protected the world from evil. I thought they were just stories; that means she knows all about this. I don’t want answers from these people; I want answers from Dad. Is he a shifter too? Does he know about all this?

I finally get down, and I let out a loud. “Whooo!” I did it. I actually did it!

“Hold up.” A man with a cigarette stops me, and I stop to look at him. “I know you; you’re that naked girl in Jose’s arms,” he says with a smile on his face.

Shit.

“No I’m not!” I say.

“Yes, you are. I remember because you are so pretty.” he looks me up and down and licks his lips. What a fucking creep.

“Maybe we can just-” he moves closer to me, and I quickly punch him in the stomach, and he goes flying in the air, and he lands in the bushes.

“Oww!” he whines like a dog.

“What the fuck?” I say, looking at my hands. I can’t be that strong. But then again, I’m not human either.

“That fucking hurts!” he whimpers. And I make a run for it. I manage to reach the road. The road is full of cars.

“Wait, Soraya, wait!” I gasp when I see Miguel and Jose running after me. “Soraya, watch out!” Miguel shouts, and I gasp once again. Then, when I face forward, I see a truck heading toward me.

I instinctively jump, and when I do, I’m doing a backflip until the truck passes, and then I land on the ground like fucking Spider-Man in an old lady’s dress.

“Whoa!” Miguel and Jose say in unison. I look at the truck driving away without even touching me.

“Holy shit. That was amazing.” I mutter to myself. I look at Jose and Miguel, and I make a run for it, sliding across a car that almost hit me, and I run faster when I hear my name over and over.

I have to throw them off. I look around to see how I can do that, and I see where. Fuck, I have to use the fucking subway? Ewww.

Ugh, I have no choice though. So I rush down the stairs, and I run and run and run for my life, and as soon as I see a train, I run into it.

The doors close before Jose and Miguel can enter. I watch Miguel and Jose hitting the door over and over. I smile at them, and I wave. Then the train goes, and as it goes, I continue waving until I don’t see them anymore.

I sigh, and I sit down. I’ve lost them, and I hope I never see them again.

I look up, and I almost jump at the masked individual who is staring at me. He looks like some kind of vigilante, and he’s just staring at me like I’m his next hit.

So fucking weird. I look away immediately. This is why I don’t like taking the train. It’s filled with weird-ass New Yorkers and rats.

I can’t believe I lost my phone. I’m so cooked. Fuck! At least thank God I don’t put my designs there, but I put it on my iPad or my sketchbooks. I have to get a new one. Diana, Celeste and Zayden are probably worried about me.

I have to go home first- no, not the home I share with Diana, the one I was raised in. I have a lot of things to discuss with my dear old dad.

The train arrives at my destination, and I’m really lucky to have gotten into a train that would take me from Manhattan to Brooklyn.

I immediately walk out of the train, and I go to look for a cab that will take me home. I spot a large rat and my face twists in disgust.

I feel something in my gut, and it’s not just the rats. The masked man who was on the train is still looking at me and is following me.

The most logical thing for me to do is call a cab, so I get in and escape from this creep, but no, I don’t do that. I walk and walk on the sidewalk. He’s still following me.

A lady should not be walking alone at night, but this man doesn’t know I’m not just a lady; I’m a shifter, a mother fucking alpha.

Even though I just found out a few minutes ago.

I run into an alleyway, and in the speed of light I go up the fire escape so casually and impressively, like damn, I feel like Spider-Man and Catwoman.

My suspicions were correct; he wants to harm me because he’s brought out a sword.

This bitch!

I go down, jumping on him and pinning him to the ground. He struggles.

“Who the fuck are you bitch? What do you want?” he doesn’t say anything; he just struggles and struggles. He really wanted to kill me, not until I kill him first. I raise my hand, and my claws come out. I smile at it, and I’m about to attack him, but he kicks me until I go flying toward the trashcan and I hit my back.

THUD!

“Ow.” But the pain goes away as quickly as it came; maybe that’s the beauty of being a werewolf: you experience less physical pain. The masked man gets up, and he holds his sword firmly, and he’s ready to end me.

Fuck, I think I’m cooked. Can a girl catch a break tonight?