The Wolfs Maine

CHAPTER Eight



I turned slowly, scared to death to know what I was turning around to see. It was either going to be Nicholas or a wolf that just killed him. There was no way I was coming out of this unharmed. I turned but I didn't see anything. I knew I felt something or someone behind me or maybe I'm just freaking out and imagining things. I begin to turn back around when I hear something. I swing around and still nothing until I look down and I see someone lying on the ground naked and bleeding so I bend over slowly to check. It's definitely not Nicholas; this man’s hair was much darker. I move the hair away from his eyes and realize its John! John was lying in front of me completely naked, curled up in a ball with cuts and scrapes all over him; he looked like he had just been through a war.

"John! Oh my God! John!" How was I going to help him? I couldn't carry him. I lifted my cell phone and began to dial 911 but no signal. I had to get him help and fast. Just then I heard rustling like someone running towards us. It can't be Nicholas; the man would kill us both. I had no idea what to do other than sit down in front of John and pray. Before I knew it a man was rushing towards me, it was Michael.

"Michael! What are you doing here?" Why I asked I'll never know.

"I sensed something was going on and then I called John twice and he didn't answer. It's not like him not to answer at least the second time I call so I came to the first place I could think of." He immediately bent down to examine John, looking him over carefully. He was checking his head, his back, his arms, his chest. Once satisfied he looked over at me.

"John will be fine Avalon. Are you okay?"

"No. I'm not okay. I'm freaking out." I couldn't stop shaking.

"I don't know what the hell is going on anymore! Why is John here? Why are you here? Why was there a wolf trying to kill Nicholas in my house? Not that I'm not grateful but it just doesn't make any sense." Michael was up and in front of me in the blink of an eye then he put my hands in his own.

"Avalon, everything is going to be fine. I need you to stop freaking out just for right now. All your questions will be answered very soon but right now we need to get John somewhere safe. Nicholas could very well still be fine and could head this direction any second. Let’s get you and John to his house and then we'll begin with your questions once everyone has rested." I don't know if it was the warmth of his hands or the calmness in his eyes but I immediately calmed down and thought about John. We needed to get him somewhere safe, especially if Nicholas is still out here.

"Okay Michael but how are we going to get him anywhere? He's hurt and not to mention naked. I tried calling for help but I don't have a signal." Michael bent down to John then began to lift him up into his strong arms. There was no way he was going to try to carry John was there? Michael picked John up like he was nothing.

"No worries Avalon. My car is just up the way, past those trees." He nodded towards the road I was headed for.

"But you can't carry John the entire way."

"Yes I can, if we go now." Michael started walking and I could hear him talking to John.

"You are one lucky bastard that I drove my car this time." I had no idea what Michael was talking about. What did he mean by ‘this time’?

He surely wouldn't have run the whole way here. Men and their stupid inside jokes. We made it to Michael’s car; he placed John in the back very carefully and then opened the passenger side door for me. I looked back at John to make sure he was okay as Michael got in the car and started to drive away.

The further away we got the better I felt. Nicholas would have no idea where John lives so we would be safe there. We could get to Johns house and I could help him heal. How on Earth did he get hurt so badly? Had he gone to the house and tried to fight Nicholas or fight off the wolf and why was he naked? I had so many questions running through my head and nothing I could think of made any sense.

Right now I would just focus on getting John well then I'm sure he could tell me everything. I look over at Michael knowing damn well he wasn't going to answer my questions before John could so I just looked ahead as he drove.

It had to be midnight by now. It was completely dark with no life in sight. With the street lights on you couldn't even see the stars which was a shame because those were my favorite part about night time. I always preferred night anyway, not sure why. There was just something calming about the night. Everyone was usually asleep and/or tucked away in their homes, very little cars were on the road, and it was just quiet. Michael looked over at me; I could tell he was concerned.

"I know you must have a million questions right now Avalon." None he was going to answer.

"I do but I know John needs to be the one to answer them. I can wait. Right now I just want to get him home so I can take care of him."

"He is lucky to have found you." He smiled then went back to paying attention to the road. He kept pushing all kinds of buttons on the car none of which I had any idea what they were. Come to think of it I didn't know what this man did for a living but he had a very nice car. It was completely black, on the outside. On the inside was beautiful tan leather which John was now bleeding all over and there was wood grain all up and down the car, it was down the sides of the doors and across the dash it was very elegant looking. I would have never pictured him driving something like this, especially since he was a jeans and t-shirt wearing kind of guy. I couldn't help but wonder if he was single. He was very sweet and would make a nice partner for Jaci. He was tall, like John but instead of dark hair he had dirty blonde. He was very well built, like John and was about six feet tall. Instead of gray eyes he had blue and just one dimple. Him and John seem to match pretty well in the body department, almost to the point to if you put them side by side and put a bag over their head it would be hard to tell one from the other. Of course I would be able to tell I knew that for a fact.

Suddenly I recognized John's long driveway and knew we were almost there. Thank goodness because I was about to come unglued. As we pulled up Michael tossed me his keys so I could go open the door while he got John. I still couldn't believe he just picked up John like he was nothing.

We walked into the house and he set John down in the living room while I went to fetch towels and bandages but when I returned I noticed John had stopped bleeding and had already start to heal. It made no sense to me. The way he looked when we were leaving looked as though we should be going to the hospital. I just knew we would get here and I would have to bandage him up and call Jaci to come look him over but now he looked fine, just cuts and bruises that were quickly fading, and he was actually starting to wake up.

"Ava?"

"Yes John I'm here. Everything is okay." He sat up quicker than I could blink around the same time Michael came back in with clothes that he tossed to John.

"Cover yourself up man. You’re making me jealous and probably turning her on." I hadn't even thought of that but now that Michael mentioned it, wait what was I thinking? John looked up at Michael and then down at himself and realized he was still naked.

"What the hell happened? Ava, are you okay?" Michael looked at me then looked at John.

"Ava is fine. She found you in the woods not far from her house. You were hurt and lucky for you I was nearby in my car. We got you and brought you home. We figured you two would be safer here." John was putting his clothes on as he listened to Michael obviously taking it all in and trying to remember what had happened.

"I was in such a rage." John sat back down; I could tell his mind must have been racing.

"John, we don't need to talk about this right now. Let’s talk later." Michael didn't think I noticed but of course I did, his eyes went to me as he was talking to John. What would they need to talk about without me? I could tell John wasn't finished though. He looked like he was struggling to remember something important.

"The last thing I remember was seeing Nicholas attacking Ava and then everything goes blank after that." That woke me up.

"Wait, you what? What were you doing there?" I could tell John realized he just gave something away.

"Were you there when the wolf came in? Is that why you were hurt so badly? Did you try to fight off the wolf?" John and Michael just looked at each other and I was getting aggravated.

"What?" Michael then looked at me and back at John.

"John, my friend, I think it's time to tell her."



What would they possibly need to tell me? I was definitely aggravated and I hated feeling like there were things going on that I didn't know about. John took me by the hand and led me over to the couch where we all sat down.

"Alright Ava dear. I need to talk to you and I need you to one have an open mind and two, Stay calm. Can you do that?" I looked at Michael then John and nodded.

"Open mind, check. Stay calm, I'll try." John took my hand in his and the first thing he did was kiss my cheek.

"Okay, here it goes. I did not fight the wolf, I was the wolf." He gave me a minute to let that register then continued.

"I was worried about you and got a funny feeling after talking to Michael and decided that I would just check on you. If you were okay I would go back home but then I saw Nicholas and you through your window and I saw Nicholas just throw you across the room like you were nothing and I went off. I bust through the window and it was me attacking Nicholas. I was the wolf Ava. Me." I looked at John, at first thought he must be joking but I could tell from his eyes that he most definitely was not.

"You were the wolf." It was half a question and half a statement, I knew the answer.

"Yes my love. I was the wolf." John squeezed my hand as if reassuring me but my mind was racing.

"So was this a one-time thing or can you always turn into a wolf?" He took a breath as if glad I hadn't gone running for the door and began to explain.

"Actually I can turn into anything I wish, whenever I want. I usually choose the wolf because the wolf is my favorite animal. Ava, I am a shape shifter. I can shift into anything. Just like Michael." He looked up at Michael as if in agreement then Michael looked at me.

"Yes, I am a shape shifter as well. My favorite animal varies on the situation. I tend to favor the wolf on most occasions though myself." So John and Michael were shape shifters. I didn't quite know how to process this. You grow up thinking these things are not real and then you find out they are it makes you wonder what else is real and what is fake. Then it hit me.

"Wait a second. You say you were a wolf when you came to check on me tonight at the house right?" John looked right at me.

"Yes dear."

"So was that you that night outside the club when the girls and I went out?" That took John by surprise. He probably didn't think I would put two and two together but the wolf that was at my house fighting Nicholas looked exactly like the wolf I saw that night. John continued to look at me like he had no idea what to say until Michael spoke up.

"John. Snap out of it!" He snapped his fingers right under John’s nose which on a normal day would have been funny but today I was getting annoyed.

"Yes. That was me." He almost looked like a puppy I just swatted with a newspaper but he did save my life that night. I was speechless.

"Oh."

"Ava. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to follow you all over town. I just wanted to make sure you were safe. I promised your mother I would make sure you were always safe." I saw Michael’s eyes get the size of golf balls.

"Shit John! Now that you opened the jar you might as well keep going." I was completely lost now.

"Did you just say my mother? My mother is dead." I looked at John but he was sitting there frozen solid with a blank oh my god stare on his face. Michael kicked John’s foot to get him to explain. John finally snapped out of it, took a deep breath and began again.

"Shit. Okay, I know your mother is gone because I was there when her and your father passed. Your mother used her final breath to ask me to watch over you." My jaw hit the floor.

"Wait. My parents died in a car crash, how were you there? How did you even know them? And why on Earth would my mother ask you of all people to watch over me?" I could see that one kind of stung him but really none of this was making any sense to me at all.

"It's a long story Ava dear. Why don't you get some rest and I'll explain more later." There was no way I could wait until later. I had to know everything now, especially now that he brought up my parents.

"NO!" I didn't mean to scream but it just came out that way. It must have worked though because John started talking. I sat there and listened while John told me everything from how he met my parents when he was young and didn't know how to control his changing and my parents took him in and taught him how.

He told me that he was there when I was born and how much my parents loved me. He explained to me how my parents died, truly. All my life I thought my parents died in a car accident but really they were killed by vampires? Really? Vampires? Then he explained to me that there were in fact vampires. What else was real that I had read about in books? Trolls? Fairies? I guess people got information for their books from somewhere I just never would have thought it was real.

Then he dropped the bomb on me that my parents were in fact shape shifters like him. So my parents could change into animals? Did that mean I could be one as well? I could feel myself get short of breath but I couldn't stop my mind from going over everything John just explained to me.

My parents were killed by vampires, the man I love knew my parents, and my mother asked him to watch over me, I may be a shape shifter. It was all too much to take in; I thought my mind was going to explode. The shortness of breath was getting worse, my head was pounding, and it was getting hot. Great, I was having a panic attack. I stood up because that was the only thing I could get myself to do. I had to get out of that house, even if just for a few minutes.

"Ava! Are you okay?" I kept hearing John talk to me but I couldn't respond. My body wasn't my own and I felt myself run for the door. All I could think was that I had to get outside. My head was pounding so hard it felt like something slamming a sledge hammer on my brain over and over again. I was getting so hot to the point of scorching, I felt like my body was on fire. I needed outside where it was cold.

I ran outside as fast as I could but it didn't help. I could feel John and Michael behind me but it didn't matter, I couldn't even speak. The pain was too much. For some reason I just began to run. I didn't know what was going through my brain, maybe that I could outrun the pain but I just kept running right into the woods.

I couldn't stop, not even for John. I could hear John behind me screaming for me to stop but I just couldn't. I ran until I collapsed and then all I could see was darkness.