seven

Ruby

A nearby sound penetrated my sleep, but only enough for an eye to crack open and then immediately close again. I was exhausted after spending hours crying.

It was the first time I’ve cried, a true cry, since the start of the downward spiral my life has taken. There is a time for everyone when a cry that’s started by one thing becomes a cry about everything, things from your past and present. You let all your emotions out and leave yourself bare, but afterward you feel so numb, so light, the only thing left to do is sleep, a dead sleep.

The next time the sound came, however, it was enough to wake me completely. I sat straight up, my eyes darting around my room frantically.

Why did that howl sound so loud? So close?

I gripped the sheets at my sides as I listened. The night had returned to silence, but shortly after, another howl rang out. A horrible feeling settled in the pit of my stomach. Throughout my time here I hadn't seen a single wolf in wolf form. I hadn't even heard so muc