Claws

Chapter Seven

It had gotten late in the blink of an eye, and I was forced to leave Linda and Robin to meet curfew.

"As much as I hate to leave you guys, I need to catch up with my parents," I sighed as they walked me to the front door. I'll see you tomorrow, though."

"Tell your parents they are free to come over for breakfast! I'm planning on making French toast in bulk," Linda offered, opening the door for me.

"Thanks, I will. They love your cooking almost as much as I do, so they'll be happy to hear that," I smiled as Linda hugged me tightly.

"Good," Linda sounded genuinely pleased. I loved her. "Well, go on home. It's getting late. We don't want you missing your curfew. Your parents are probably waiting for you."

"Waitwaitwaitwait!" Robin scoffed when I waved at him and Linda, tugging me into a hug. "Are you really going to hug my mom and not me?" He sounded betrayed.

"Of course not," I smirked, wrapping my arms around Robin's torso.

He squeezed me tight. "I missed you, Maemae. I would walk you home, but I have a night shift. An alpha party just ended, so I need to make sure everyone's alright down there."

"Don't get hurt," I said with a frown. "Anyways, I'll see you guys later, so don't miss me too much."

Robin snickered and gave a snarky retort as he squeezed me tighter. I had to remove myself from his grip and force myself out of their house.

When I walked through the path, exiting their property in the relaxing cold, I made an instant decision—in a midair jump—to shift into my Claw form so I could see better. The moon lit up the trees and pathway ahead just enough for me to make it home, but I could see everything so much better as a wolf.

My eyes caught the movements of every moving insect exploring the trees and in the air, the crisp indention on each side where the path ended and the forest began, and the direction in which the path ahead curved. The sound of Erewhon at night was as serene as ever. Other than my paws hitting the gravel beneath me with every step I took, it was mostly silent.

Until it wasn't.

Not long after my journey from the Ailswood house, I heard loud crunching sounds from the forest in the east. For a moment, I figured it was a Claw just passing by until I realized that the noise was coming closer and closer my way.

Instinctively, I put my guard up, stopped my journey, turned my body in the direction of the visitor, and bared my teeth, warning of whoever was approaching me.

It was a male Claw, that was for sure, and a huge one. I would have thought it was my dad because of how fast he was running, but their gates were different. Was there a Claw as quick as my dad out there? Was it an intruder?

I bent down, preparing to face the wolf that was targeting me, and just when a massive black beast leaped from the bushes, I attempted to dodge.

Unfortunately, I underestimated the speed of my attacker.

Before I knew it, I was being crushed against the pebbles in the ground underneath the black wolf. The scent of cinnamon pheromones and alcohol radiated off him. It was a drunk Claw from the alpha party that Robin was going to.

Snarling, I looked up, preparing to throw this clueless man off me, stopping short as I took a good look at him. It was the black wolf I'd seen at the river that afternoon. He seemed even more herculean up close. He was so much bigger than me; it was almost unreal. His tail wagged like before, and his crystal blue eyes glimmered with humor. He seemed so familiar, but not at the same time. Did I know this guy?