Intertwined

The moment it spotted her, it jackknifed to its feet, lips pulling back from its teeth, revealing long, white fangs. A growl rumbled from its throat, low and menacing.

“D-Dad,” she tried to yell, but the sudden lump in her throat muted the sound of her voice. Oh, God, oh, God, oh, God.

One step, two, she backed away, her entire body trembling. Blood rushed through her ears, terror screaming through her mind. Those green eyes were cold, hard … hungry? She spun, meaning to sprint back inside the house. The beast leapt in front of her and blocked the door.

Oh, God. What should she do? What the hell should she do? Once more, she found herself backing away. This time, it followed, keeping the same, too-short distance between them.

She inched backward another step, and the heel of her tennie caught on something. Down, down she tumbled, landing on her butt with a painful thwack. What had—Her backpack, she realized. It now provided a comfy rest for her knees. When had she dropped it? Does it matter? she thought with a wild laugh. I’m as good as dead.

No way could she outrun the wolf now. Not that she’d ever had a chance, really. And it was a wolf, probably a wild one. It was simply too big to be a dog. She swallowed a whimper. Would have been nice to lead it on a chase, though, rather than splaying herself out like an all-you-can-eat dinner buffet.

Her only hope was that someone was outside, watching the confrontation—someone who’d either run to help or call 911. A quick peek to her left showed that Penny’s Mustang GT was sitting in the Parkses’ driveway, but there was no sign of life outside or even inside the house. A quick peek to her right showed her other neighbor had already left for work. Oh. God.

The wolf was on her a second later, its front legs pushing her shoulders into the ground. Still she couldn’t scream, her voice gone, stolen.

Don’t just lie there. Do something! She reached up, clamping its mouth shut with one hand and trying to heave it off her with the other. It merely jerked its muzzle from her grip and then batted her other arm away. Never had she felt so helpless. At least it wasn’t drooling.

Slowly it leaned down. She flinched, pressing herself as deep into the ground as she could, a sound finally escaping her: a whimper. Rather than eat her face off as she’d assumed, it sniffed her neck. Its nose was cold, dry, its breath warm as it exhaled. It smelled of soap and pine.

What. The. Hell?

What should I do? What should I do?

Another sniff, this one lingering, and then it was backing away from her. When she was free of its weight, she gradually rose, careful not to make any sudden movements. Their eyes locked, emotionless green against fearful hazel.

“G-good doggie,” she managed to get out.

It growled.

She clamped her lips together. No speaking, then.

It motioned to the right with its muzzle. A get out of here gesture? When she remained in place, the animal did it again. Gulping, Mary Ann lumbered to her feet, dragging her backpack with her. Her legs were still trembling and she almost toppled over her own feet as she backed away. While she retreated, she unzipped her pack and reached inside for her cell phone.

The wolf shook its head.

She stilled. One heartbeat, two. You can do it. Just need to press 911. Now that she’d recovered her voice, common sense was returning. No way she’d scream for her dad and have him come racing to the rescue. He despised guns and would be helpless against such a large creature.

Move it! Mary Ann inched back into motion, finally latching onto her phone. The wolf growled when she pressed the first button. Again, she stilled. He quieted. Her blood crystallized in her veins, an ice shower that only increased her trembling. Even the sun’s strong morning rays refused to warm her.

Another button.

Another growl. This time, the wolf stepped toward her, front legs bending, placing it in the perfect position to pounce.

It couldn’t know what she was doing. It couldn’t know what would happen if she pressed that final button. No matter how much intelligence seemed to glow from those meadowlike eyes.

Her muscles tensed as she applied pressure to her thumb. In the blink of an eye, the wolf launched at her, snagging the cell between its teeth. Mary Ann gasped, momentarily paralyzed with fear, relief and uncertainty. Those teeth … they’d come so close to ripping into her palm, but they hadn’t even grazed her.

Forcing herself into action, she whipped around, knowing better than to give the creature her back for any length of time. It was waiting at the base of her dad’s favorite plum tree, the black plastic still stuck between its lips, sitting as calmly as if it were picnicking. Once again, it motioned to the side.

Slowly losing her fear, Mary Ann stumbled in that direction. Even though the wolf hadn’t hurt her and seemed to mean her no harm, she arced around it, keeping as much distance between them as she could.

She walked backwards, too, keeping it in her sights.

A weary breath left it. A sigh? And then it was loping forward, in front of her, maintaining a steady pace, the scrape of its nails against the ground ringing in her ears. Every so often, it glanced backward to make sure she followed.

Not knowing what else to do, she did.

Somehow it—he—knew the way to school. Though there were three ways to get there from her house, he took the route she preferred. Had he followed her before? Could he scent where she’d been?

Were my waffles sprinkled with crack? she wondered. This couldn’t be real.

Smart as he clearly was, the wolf remained in the shadows, out of sight from traffic. Mary Ann suddenly wished she knew more about animals. But she didn’t. Her parents hadn’t liked them—or their pooping and peeing and shedding—so she’d never really been around them. Perhaps that dislike had even rubbed off on her. Penny owned a Chihuahua named Dobi, but Mary Ann avoided that barking, growling little crap machine as though her life depended on it.

Finally Crossroads High came into view and she breathed a sigh of relief. It was a new building, large and red, winding into a half circle. Cars meandered through the parking lot, Go Jaguars written on the windshields. Kids milled around outside, basking in the warm summer haze that would soon be replaced by an ice-cold fall. Except … Some of her relief faded. Would the wolf attack them?

Tucker’s truck sped past her, and then his tires were squealing as he jerked to a stop. Thank God! The wolf dropped her phone and backed up. When he was far enough away to ease her mind, she raced forward and grabbed the cell. Her gaze remained locked on him as she backpedaled, throwing open Tucker’s passenger door and flinging herself inside. The wolf disappeared into the thick green trees and bushes that surrounded the school.

That last look he’d shot her had been laced with disappointment. Even anger. She gulped. At least he hadn’t sprung forward and started chomping at the truck.

“This is new,” Tucker said, deep voice drawing her attention.

He had shaggy, sandy hair and gray eyes, coloring that might have been dull on anyone else. On Tucker, with his boyish face, dimples and athletic body, it was heart-stopping.

She’d never understood why he’d chosen to ask her out, much less why he’d wanted to keep dating her, since they so rarely spent time together outside of school. All the cheerleaders adored him, especially their leader, Christy Hayes, the beloved beauty responsible for wet dreams statewide. But Tucker wanted nothing to do with her, was always brushing her off to be with Mary Ann. Which, she hated to admit, did as much for her self-esteem as Tucker’s compliments.

You’re so beautiful, he was fond of saying. I’m so lucky to be with you.

She would smile for hours afterward.

Tucker chuckled, pulling her from her thoughts. “Now this is what I’m used to.”

“What do you mean?” The longer they sat there, the more her trembling faded.

“You’re ignoring me, lost in your thoughts.”

“Oh. I’m sorry.” Did she do that a lot? She hadn’t realized. Would have to make more of an effort to stay focused. So what had they been talking about, anyway? Oh, yeah. “What is new?” she asked.

The truck eased forward. “You’re pale as a ghost and eager for a ride. Why?”

To tell him about the wolf or not? Not, she decided without any deliberation. Didn’t take a genius to know she would be laughed at and ridiculed. A wolf had escorted her to school? Please. Who would believe it? It wasn’t something she truly believed.

“Just, uh, nervous about my chem test tomorrow.” Lying wasn’t something she usually did and guilt quickly began to eat at her.

He shuddered. “Chemistry sucks. I still don’t understand why you signed up for advanced studies with Mr. Klein. Guy makes a doorknob look fun.” Before she could reply, he added, “You look smokin’ today, by the way.”

See? Who else would even think of saying something like that to her? She grinned. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, but I wouldn’t say it if it wasn’t true.” Tucker parked.