ʜɪꜱ ᴘʀᴇʏ || вαηg ¢нαη

Chapter 1: Wolf in Sheep's Clothing

The snow flakes hailed down from the sky at a speed too fast to see them, but since there were so many it was obvious. The snow was everywhere, at least 2 feet by now. I stopped looking out the window of our old cottage to look at my grandmother. She's the only one who lived with me, so I was always very caring and cautious when it came to her. I watched her as she stumbled around the kitchen frantically, trying to find the big wooden spoon she always uses when cooking.

"Check the drawer on the bottom left of the stove." I suggested. She didn't even need to ask for me, I was always there.

She did as I said, checking the bottom drawer. When she found it, a rewarding smile appeared on her face. "Oh thank you. My little Collie, always knowing when I need help. Such a bright child," She said while shifting her focus back on her cooking.

The wind howled like a wolf. A very angry wolf, at that. It only took a few seconds for the snow to come down even harder, which earned another remark from Grandma.

"Oh my goody good goodness. The rain- I mean snow is coming down hard, huh? How high is it right now?"

"Around 3 feet"

"Oh no," Grandma made a ticking sound in disapproval at the sound of my answer. "You know what? This calls for a slice of chocolate cake and some hot cocoa by the fireplace. We can go through the photo book together too."

I smiled at her, even though she wasn't looking at me. Whatever she says, goes, so I didn't even have to say yes. She whipped out her all-so-famous homemade chocolate cake from out of the pantry. The cottage was very cold since the only heat was the fireplace, so none of our food went back easily. It was already January yet we were getting so much snow. Out of nowhere too. By now we should've had our rain storm. The weather here was practically on crack, it was so unpredictable that one day we could have a tornado, and then next day perfectly good weather. Tomorrow there could be a heat wave but I wouldn't know.

Grandma set down a tray onto the table next to the fireplace. One the tray were two generously large slices of chocolate cake and two giant mugs of hot cocoa, each with over-sized marshmallows in them. She sat down as I quickly grabbed the photo book from the small bookshelf that we had next to the fireplace in the living room. I set it down. Together, we opened it.

The first page had only 3 photos. It was of relatives I knew of, just haven't met. The photo book was very organized, from oldest photos to most recent. But that also meant I was the last photo in the book. Grandma ran her wrinkly fingers over an old photo of her on her 16th birthday. She was with her now ex-husband in the photo, wearing a beautiful dress at a party. You see, she married grandpa at a young age. Since then they have been inseparable. He passed away though. It took a while for her to cope with it, that's one of the reasons I lived with her now.

"Ah, yes. I was so young. This photo was taken when I was around 16 or 17. Do you remember your Grandpa? He's right here," She said, pointing to the photo of him next to the other photo. "He looked so young and dashing. You probably don't even recognize him from his last state-" She was cut off by the sound of her own crying. I jumped up from my spot on the floor where I had been sitting. Plopping down next to her, I gave her a tight hug.

"It's okay. He's in a better place now. He's probably smiling down at you from heaven as we speak. I do recognize him. Even on his deathbed he was still 'dashing." I tried to comfort her. Somehow it worked and she eased her crying a bit.

"Oh thank you Sweetie. I never want you to forget him, alright? Even when you're an old hag like me living in a shack in the woods. I giggled a little. "Grandma, you're not a hag. You're a beautiful elderly woman living with her equally beautiful grandchild in a cottage in the woods."

She laughed out loud at my statement. "Oh, child. You truly are quite spectacular," she took a deep breath. "Okay, where were we? Ah, yes." She said as she flipped the page.

There were three more photos. One was of grandma and grandpa again, slightly older, yet still young enough to be in black and white. They were dancing in the photo. I didn't even have to see the color in order to know that grandma hated the color of the dress she was wearing. But that didn't matter when she looked so happy. A big smile was plastered on both of their faces in the photo. Must've been nice there. They truly loved each other. I wish one day I could have a relationship like them, even if it means living with my granddaughter in a "shack in the woods" as well.

I took a sip of my hot cocoa while she explained the rest of the photos.

"This one is of your mother. She was born bright and early on a chilly Tuesday afternoon. The look of excitement Grandpa had on his face when he saw his beautiful daughter was truly a blessing." She explained while pointing to a photo of my Grandpa holding a baby. The baby was my mom. "I remember clearly that day what he said. 'Hello my little bundle of joy." She remarked as the smile spread again on her face. I smiled too.

My eyes shifted to the photo underneath. It was my mom again as a 3 year old. She was eating Grandma's chocolate cake and had made a mess while doing so. Chocolate was all over her face. Grandma chuckled again. "Oh heavens, she was a cute child but a messy one." The light bulb flash one in my head once I remember that I, myself, had a chocolate cake waiting to be eaten.

sticking the fork in it, I shoved a huge piece of chocolate cake in my mouth. Mmmmm. Her baking was the definition of 'To die for'. I remember being so young and her telling me stories of how people would line up for her baking whenever she'd sell them. The reason her chocolate cake is all-so-famous is because it was quite famous among the people in the neighborhood.

She flipped the page again, this time my eyes landed on a photo of my father. Grandma scoffed at the sight of his face. "Do you know who this is, Collie?" She asked me, her voice coming off slightly sarcastic. "This is a wolf in sheep's clothing. Remember, stay away from predators like him. When you get a bad feeling about someone, it's always best to trust it and stay away. Your mother didn't listen to me. Unfortunately, it was too late."