Mundahlia (The Mundahlian Era, #1) (10 page)

After school, Sarah offered me a ride after I had gotten a text from George saying that he and Celeste were stuck in traffic on their way back from San Antonio.

“That’s all I need, to be left alone with a deadly wolf roaming around behind my cabin,” I sighed as Sarah parked by the side of the road in front of Celeste’s house.

“I’d stay with you, but my mom wants me to do the dinner rush.” said Sarah. “Why don’t you try giving it food or something so it doesn’t see you as a threat. Wolves and other animals tend to act aggressive toward unfamiliar things, so my advice is to get familiar.
Oh!
And they are also
very
territorial.”

“Thank you, Ms. Animal Planet! But do you realize how crazy that sounds? Me—alone. In the forest—alone. With a rabid wolf that tried to kill me the other day. Seriously,” I pretended to look around left and right, “where is the camera and the release I’ll refuse to sign?” I exited the car and walked to the driver’s side window. “Thanks for the ride, see you tomorrow.”

“Keep me posted.”

Sarah reversed and sped away into the distance in her beat up bass-blasting car that faded into the horizon.

I had opted out of lunch at school earlier after a guy sneezed in the line. Of course, over the food I had in mind.
Dick.
My stomach growled at me—scolding me for not satisfying its hunger.

Inside Celeste’s kitchen, I opened the pantry and cupboards trying to find something quick to cook.
I really hope they stop at the groceries on their way back
. Nearly all of the cabinets were bare. Only stocked with things that would take too many steps or too much time to prepare. Where’s a Hot Pocket or instant cup of noodles when you need one.

Luckily, I found a box of macaroni shoved in the back of the pantry. I poured water into a small saucepan and let it come to a boil over the flame from the stove top.
Clink, clink, clink
. Dried macaroni poured into the water as I tilted the box after removing the cheese packet. It took a couple of minutes to cook and only two basic ingredients aside from the cooking pasta and cheese packet: butter and milk. When it was finally done, I scooped the cheesy pasta into a green ceramic bowl and set the dirty pan in the sink with the intent of washing it later—or hoping Celeste or George would do it.

I opened the fridge to get a bottle of water and my eyes caught sight of stringy, ground beef in a clear bag. There was only about a handful of meat left, and from the looks of it—had been forgotten and abandoned in the back. “
So my advice is to get familiar,”
Sarah’s words echoed in my head.
Hmm...
I sent her a text and opened a drawer of knives, testing the sharpness by touching the tip of my finger to the tip of the blade.

You (6:02pm):
Taking your advice and getting familiar. If I die, I’m sooo coming back and haunting your ass for life. If I don’t respond in a few hours, notify the guardians that they can find my mangled body somewhere in the forest. I’m taking a knife just incase though.

Sarah (6:05pm):
:o Calm down there assassin! Be careful. I’ll pray for you! lol jk. You’re gonna be fine amiga! Like you were saying, if it didn’t attack you the other day, then why would it attack you now. Wait! it’s not bipolar right? That could be iffy. :\

In a way, I began to feel crazy sitting in the middle of the forest across from the headstone. I’d brought my bowl of macaroni and cheese and ate—the meat sat on a paper plate a few feet away.
“…it’s your senior year! You need to do something that you’ve never done before.”
Those
were
Celeste’s words after all. And I couldn’t think of a time that I had ever eaten dinner across from a headstone, whilst waiting for a wolf in a deep scary forest behind my cabin. That is, until
now
.

About a half an hour had passed and the night was slowly creeping its way up in the sky, inch by inch. Turning the golden light into a deep orange that was now slowly fading into purple. I had long finished my meal and set the empty bowl and fork aside.

The dense trees and shrubs hid the sight of exactly how deep this forest was.
Great
. I spotted the owls I’d listened to many nights, sitting high in the trees and hooting—setting the tone for the night that was upon us. It was getting too late. Only minutes of sunlight left. Probably only enough to make it home.
Oh well
, I thought.
I tried
.

Just as I was about to stand, I heard a rustle—then
Snap!
The leaves of a bush shook violently, almost as if they were being shaken by hand. Then, from within the greenery, the same dark brown wolf from before, emerged—prowling about. Slowly progressing toward me—its teeth, hidden this time around. It was watching me carefully with every step it took—untrusting, as it hovered over to the meat.

Sniff, sniff.

I could hear its nostrils inhaling the ruby red meat. Then, it huffed. Almost arrogantly. Obviously displeased. Instead of eating the meat, it bit the end of the plate and jerked it off—chucking it at me. The cold, wet ball of muscle hit me in the chest and fell onto my lap—leaving stains behind.

“Eww!” I screamed in disgust, tossing the meat aside. “What was that for? Jerk!”

The wolf returned its intent gaze to me. As if my words had triggered something.
Can it understand me?
It began its previous stride towards me. Its heavy paws, each about the size of my hand, leaving groves of paw prints in the dirt with every step it took. I tried to move as far away as I could but hit the hard bark of the tree I was propped up against. The handle from the knife I had procured from the kitchen poked through my pocket. I gripped my hand around it, ready to strike at the moment I saw it making its move. But I cowered as its large shadow shaded me as it was now just inches away. We were face to face—again.

I flinched and held up a hand to block my face. I’ve seen the movies. This is how it ends. The wolf tilts its head nicely and I’ll think everything is going to be okay, until it goes
Cujo
and rips my freaking face off.

Sniff, sniff, sniff.

The hot air between each sniff brushed against my fingers. I felt frozen—numb even. A warm, wet lap from the wolves tongue tickled my hand, leaving wet marks behind.

Easing my hand down slowly, I faced the beast. It was panting and looking at me—tongue dangling out like an innocent dog. I held my hand closer to the wolf and watched as it sniffed the surface and licked it again. Was it a male or a female? I tilted my head to get a better look. Yup—a male.

“Huh. You’re not such a big, bad, menacing, and sadistic wolf that could rip me to shreds in the matter of seconds after all, are you?” I motioned as if I were going to pet its long fur. His eyes flinched then he jerked away slightly, taking a few steps back, and debating whether or not he should let me. “Okay, I’m sorry.” I backed my hand away—watching him gaze into my eyes, seeking the trust I tried to show I should be given.

Finally, after moments of thinking, it blinked and bowed its massive head—eyes closed, as if saying, “Go ahead.” The tips of my fingers met with the delicate fur. Like cotton candy with debris of small broken twigs and caked-on mud. A stench of sweat, musk, dirt, and a hint of that familiar scent all canines seem to have in common, circulated around the wolf. Dog? Was that the name of that scent? Sweaty dog?

It opened its wide eyes to meet mine again. His gorgeous eyes, almost like a golden-brown, focused on my own for a moment. The wolf broke the gaze to lower its head. It gripped the bottom of my shirt with his teeth, stretching the fabric as he tugged back softly—trying to lift me up. It let go once I was standing and headed for the same area from which it came. Turning his head to make sure I was behind, the wolf trudged into the deeper part of the forest in a guiding manner.

“Oh, so now we’re playing follow the leader, huh?” I said, trailing cautiously behind it. These parts of the forest seemed to grow increasingly unfamiliar with each step. There were now walls of bushes and the trees grew denser, looking more and more like a rainforest in the amazon rather than a small forest set in the heart of Texas. It was significantly similar to a maze—in a sense that the farther I went in, the area from which I came became difficult to locate. A strong feeling within me told me I’d seen this before—déjà vu.

The
leader
looked over at me again, tongue out. Appearing almost as if it were laughing. “What? Why are you looking at me like that?”

Suddenly, the wolf dashed away, further on down the dirt trail.

“Hey, where are you going?!” I sprinted after it, trying to keep up as it zigzagged and lead me who-knows-where. My heart began racing and sweat began forming on my forehead and upper lip. I had already picked up the smell of outside and old meat, now sweat was being added to the mix? Just as I was about to catch up to it, it jumped through a wall of brush and disappeared, leaving me alone.

“I’m gonna find you!” I said aloud, then cut through the large thick bush myself. To my surprise, there were no sharp branches inside—only leaves and vines. Almost like a hidden passageway. I heard some huffing that sounded canine and saw through the vines the wolf, waiting for me on the other side. I leapt out, “Aha!” but there was nothing once I was out from the bushes.
Huh?
I looked back in and around the towering shrub, but the wolf was nowhere in sight. I scoured the area—all I could hear were the screams of singing cicadas as they shed their skin on nearby trees.

It was in the beginning of the night, and I still didn’t know where the hell I was. The stupid
Houdini
wolf had taken me too far into the forest and then vanished. As much as I hated to admit it, I was lost. Wandering around in unfamiliar territory. The wolf was far more devious than I’d thought. Befriending me, then leading me further into the forest where it knew I wouldn’t have a chance to make a run for it this time. There were probably more of them. Studying me from behind something. Waiting for the perfect moment to attack and feast upon my flesh as they-

“Find what you’re looking for?” a vaguely familiar voice called from behind me. I turned to find a man in his late teens or early twenties standing behind a small shrub. It took a few seconds of me squinting at him in the dark to process that he wore no clothes. He was in the buff—or in other terms, nude.

“Oh my god!” I shielded my eyes. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to stare. I-I-I was following a wolf that disappeared, and now I can’t seem to find my way back home.”

“A wolf, you say?” He scoffed. “Here in Austin? Not for a while, kid.” His hands were at his sides in an almost victorious stance—as if he didn’t mind that had it not been for an odd cluster of bunched up leaves in front of him, I would of seen his manhood. Seen it right then and there—in the open, and dangling.

I felt the need to get out of there as quickly as possible settle over me in a rush of heat I came to understand as blushing and embarrassment. “So, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll just be-”

He cut me off, “Didn’t anyone ever teach you not to wander around the forest by yourself,
kid
?”

I lowered my hands—promising myself that I would keep my eyes on his the whole time and on nothing else. “Like I said, I can’t find my way back home.” I had a hard time resisting the urge to peek. It was only natural. Like people and car accidents. Their eyes are magnetically drawn to the scene as they pass it on a street or highway. Checking out the damage. Making sure that no one was seriously hurt, and if, by chance, they happened to know someone involved in the accident.

“Well, you’d better find it quick. Things can get pretty scary here at night.”

Or so I’ve heard.
“So, I take it you have a habit of roaming the forest nude at night?” I didn’t mean to sound sarcastic. Okay—I did, but just a little though.

“I guess you can say I have a routine, so—yeah.” He grinned. “How’s that baby cut of yours, anyway?”

How in the hell would he know about that?
Wait a minute.
“Are you that guy that touched me the other day!” I said, pointing an accusing finger at him.

“Well,” he grinned, showing me his pearly whites. “—when you put it
that
way. By the way,
that
guy has a name—Jett.”

He was different then what I’d pictured him looking like after he’d left that night. Granted, I’d only seen his clothes and shadowed face. Speaking of his face, now that I could see it, I had to admit he was pretty handsome. Better looking than I’d expected. I thought he was purposely hiding his face to keep from showing me a disfigurement of some sort. Very
Phantom of the Opera
-ish. But—no, he looked more than perfect, to me. Well-structured face and a tall robust physique—caught between buff and brawny. Muscular, but still looked soft enough to cuddle with. Built like a Greek god, as though he were a statue, crafted from only the finest material. The same lengthy dark hair I’d seen before, was now messy at his shoulders. He had
some
body hair, not a lot, but just right. Just enough to distinguish that he was indeed matured. He also had very little stubble speckled across the lower half of his face, another sign of maturity. I couldn’t really feel my eyes slipping farther down his body, until-

“
Ahem!
” he cleared his throat to get my attention. I snapped my eyes back to his. “Usually when a person introduces themselves, the other person returns the favor. Or did your parents not teach you
that
either,
little girl
.”

“Oh! I’m sorry! I’m Rini,” I held out a hand, but then retrieved it a second later.
Don’t know where his hands were
. “And I’m
not
a little girl.”

“Well then,
Rini
. How old
are
you?” he inquired, eyeing me up and down. I felt both flattered and violated. A weird combination that only added to the awkwardness of his nakedness.