The afternoon with Santiago felt like that easy, breathless kind of fun that made the walk back to “real life” a total comedown.

  School, meanwhile, was just a monotonous drag—half the class was out sick, leaving the hallways feeling empty and eerie.

  I ditched the building and found Santiago waiting at the tree line as I left school on a slow, boring Thursday.

  The sun was hitting the woods at an angle, catching the pale blonde of his fur. He tilted his head at me, giving me the classic “You coming or what?” look.

  I took a deep breath and dove into the brush, my legs already aching and my backpack thumping against my shoulders. Santiago bounded ahead, making it look effortless while I stumbled over roots and cursed under my breath.

  He stopped and looked back patiently, waiting for me to catch up.

  “Wait up!” i shouted as i caught up to where he stood.

  He lowered his body as i approached, the movement so smooth it felt like an invitation. Without overthinking it, I climbed on, gripping the thick fur at the ridge of his neck.

  It was a little hard to steady myself on his back at first but the second my weight settled, my stomach did a little flip. I was too excited, it felt like I was floating.

  When the bare skin of my thighs brushed against his, I felt a bolt of excitement rise from my lower abdomen and made its way up my belly.

  A tingling sensation that made my skin feel alive and yearning for more, I let my thighs clamp harder onto him.

  Then, we were flying.

  The ground became a blur as Santiago cleared rocks and roots. My hair whipped into my face and the sunlight danced across the forest ground in streaks.

  With every stride, I felt this massive swell in my chest that was part exhilaration and part total trust.

  I let out a raw, loud laugh that surprised me, and he flicked his ears, giving a soft, almost smug huff.

  I could feel the muscles working beneath in a steady rhythm like I was riding a horse, or just riding him.

  The trees started to thin out. Santiago slowed down as we reached the top of a small hill, and I slid off, landing in the textured grass that tickled my shins. My heart was hammering, but I felt more exhilarated than exhausted.

  The view was insane—a massive hilltop of wild grass bathed in the late afternoon sun, with the sky fading into those soft purples and pinks. I spun around with my arms out, just laughing because I couldn’t help it.

  I felt free, and euphoric and serene. There were no eyes to judge me here. No one to call me a brat and definitely no therapist prescribing my life.

  Santiago padded over and flopped down beside me, his breath rumbling in his chest. I leaned back against him; his warmth and the steady beat of his heart felt stronger than usual.

  “This place is so very incredible,” I whispered. “And you are even better for bringing me here”

  He just tilted his head, eyes sparkling and tail thumping against the grass. This was his spot, his secret, and now our secret.

  I laid back in the grass, feeling the sun on my skin and the wind messing with my hair. “There’s… someone,” I murmured after a minute of spacing out, feeling a bit shy even saying it out loud.

  “I met him about a week back” releasing a sigh, I continued “I don’t know if you have seen him around but if you do see him, tell him I am still waiting.”

  Santiago nudged me with his nose—a soft, encouraging little bump—and I patted his head. I knew he understood.

  I smiled and leaned closer. “I don’t even know why I’m thinking about him this much,” I admitted. His blue eyes met mine, looking so knowing that for a second I blushed

  “You actually remind me so much of him, I wonder when we shall meet again…”

  A thrill ran through me, if I could talk to this creature and it doesn't hurt me then maybe, anything is indeed possible. This place, this moment, being here with Santiago—it was the most freedom I’d felt in months.

  Finally, I pushed myself up and brushed the grass off my jeans. “Come on,” I laughed. “Race you to the bottom.”

  Santiago sprang up with a huff. I took off running—slower than him, obviously—but he adjusted his pace, staying beside me to make sure I didn’t trip.

  My chest felt light, my stomach was fluttering, and as we headed down the golden hill, I realised I finally felt unapologetic

  My legs were already trembling by the time we reached the bottom.

  The run had taken more out of me than I had expected. My lungs burned as if the cold air had scraped their insides raw, and every step sent a dull ache through my calves.

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  I slowed from a run to a jog, then finally to a walk, pressing my hands against my sides while I tried to steady my breathing.

  Santiago slowed almost immediately, falling into step beside me as if he had been waiting for the moment I needed to slow down.

  Evening was beginning to settle between the trees, draining the last warmth from the golden light that had filled the woods earlier.

  A bluish shadow crept in under the branches, turning the pale trunks of the birch trees into tall, ghost-like shapes standing silently in rows.

  Neither of us hurried anymore.

  The quiet didn’t feel empty the way it had earlier in the day. Now it felt calm, almost peaceful. My breathing gradually steadied, the pounding in my ears fading until all I could hear was the soft rustle of the forest around us.

  Dry leaves cracked beneath my brown hiking shoes with each step. Somewhere in the distance a raven cawed once before flying off.

  Santiago moved beside me with an easy, powerful rhythm. His broad shoulders rolled smoothly with each step.

  Every now and then his tail brushed lightly against my leg, the soft contact almost deliberate, as if he wanted to remind me that he was still there.

  A small smile tugged at the corner of my mouth as I stared ahead into the deepening woods.

  But then, I heard a muffled sound.

  At first it was so faint I thought my mind had invented it. So I ignored it completely, thinking it to be nothing but the wind. But a few seconds later I heard it again, like someone whimpering.

  I stopped walking.

  Santiago stopped instantly too, I was sure he must have heard the sound before I did. How come he hadn’t shown signs of wanting to check it out?

  It didn’t matter, I held my breath and focused on it's source.

  For a moment there was nothing but the distant whisper of wind through the branches.

  Then it came again.

  A soft, broken noise.

  Whoever it was, they were trying so hard not to be heard.

  “Did you hear that?” I whispered quietly, even though I knew Santiago couldn’t answer me.

  The sound came again, clearer this time.

  A sob.

  Someone was crying.

  I turned towards the direction it had come from and began stepping carefully through the undergrowth, pushing aside the low branches that hung between the trees like a detective.

  The woods grew darker as we moved deeper between the trunks. The trees stood closer together here, their branches weaving a thick canopy that blocked most of the fading light. My eyes strained to adjust while I listened for the sound again.

  Another muffled cry drifted through the air.

  This time there was no mistaking it.

  I quickened my pace.

  A few more steps carried us through the thicker trees, and then I saw movement ahead.

  There was a small clearing just beyond the last line of trunks.

  A woman stood by a sycamore tree, her shoulders shaking in small uneven motions. She looked young—maybe twenty-five, maybe younger.

  Long dark hair spilled loosely over her shoulders, hiding most of her face.

  There was a man standing directly in front of her.

  I couldn’t see clearly what was happening. His body blocked most of my view, and the woman’s quiet whimpers were the only thing that reached my ears.

  My chest tightened and I felt a rush of blood.

  Was he hurting her?

  My mind jumped instantly to the worst possible explanation.

  Sexual harassment.

  Or worse.

  “Hey!” I called out sharply as I stepped into the clearing.

  The man didn’t react.

  The woman didn’t even lift her head.

  The stillness of it made a cold sensation crawl up my spine.

  I marched forward, anger rising in my chest faster than the fear.

  “Hey!” I shouted again, louder this time. “Get away from her!”

  Still nothing, no reaction, which was enough.

  I reached forward and grabbed the man roughly by the collar of his jacket, yanking him backward.

  The moment his face turned towards me—shock slammed through my body like a bolt of lightning.

  His mouth had been pressed against the woman’s neck.

  Blood covered the skin there, a thin red line running down from the small wound just below her jaw. The dark liquid glistened in the fading light as it slid slowly along the curve of her throat.

  More blood smeared across the man’s lips.

  He lifted his head slowly.

  And his eyes met mine.

  They were dark red.

  His teeth were wrong too. They were too long and too sharp.

  A drop of blood fell from one of them and splattered against the ground between us.

  My lungs refused to move. My muscles froze where they were, like my mind had simply shut down.

  The man stared at me with an expression that twisted slowly from confusion to excitement.

  Behind him, the woman gasped and staggered backward, one hand flying to her neck as she clutched the bleeding wound.

  But I couldn’t look at her.

  I couldn’t look away from him.

  My mind refused to accept what my eyes were seeing.

  This wasn’t real. It couldn’t be real. There had to be an explanation, I had to be dreaming or hallucinating or something….something believable. Something with meaning…

  Except, it wasn’t.

  Then the man took a step towards me, the movement sending me crashing to the ground in an attempt to force my frozen limbs to run.

  Before he could reach me, Santiago exploded forward, I had completely forgotten about him.

  One second he was beside me.

  The next he was a blur of pale fur and muscle launching through the air.

  His body slammed violently into the man’s side, knocking him off balance and sending both of them crashing to the ground with a heavy thud.

  The man snarled as he tried to scramble back to his feet, but Santiago was faster. Way faster.

  His jaws clamped down hard.

  The sound that followed froze my blood.

  A sharp, sickening crack echoed through the clearing.

  Bones snapping.

  The man let out a scream that didn’t sound human at all. It was high and raw and twisted with pain as it tore through the silent forest.

  Behind me, the girl suddenly bolted past, stumbling as she ran blindly between the trees, one hand still pressed desperately against her bleeding neck.

  It took a few seconds for the sound to die down completely. I had forced my eyes shut to avoid watching the scene unfold.

  Santiago finally released the man, except it was now flesh and bones.

  I had been too terrified to feel the blood touch my skin. But when I opened my eyes, somehow time started moving again.

  Santiago’s muzzle was slick with blood, dark and wet against the pale fur around his mouth. It dripped from his jaws and spattered onto the leaves below with, horrible taps.

  And he was looking straight at me.

  My breath hitched.

  A thin, broken sound escaped my throat before I could stop it.

  I pushed myself backward instinctively, my palms digging into the cold dirt as my body tried to move away from him. The ground scraped against my skin as I dragged myself back, my legs useless beneath me.

  My heart slammed violently, threatening to jump out.

  The thing standing in front of me wasn’t the lovely wolf who had been running beside me through the forest minutes ago.

  It was a massive rogue wolf gone feral.

  He moved a step towards me and I panicked.

  My back hit the rough base of a tree, leaving me nowhere else to go. My palms pressed harder into the soil, fingers curling into the damp earth as if it could somehow anchor me in place.

  “Please…” I breathed, though I wasn’t even sure what I was begging for.