Page 74 of The Boy Who Cried Bear
The beast stands less than ten feet away, its golden eyes fixed on him.
Max is imagining things. He must be. Even if he is awake, this has to be a husky. People use huskies instead of wolves in movies all the time. Except Max has always been able to tell the difference, and if he saw this canine in a movie, he’d know it was an actual wolf. Its head comes up to his chest, but most of its height is legs. Long legs and a powerful body, with gray and white fur rippling in the breeze.
He is looking at a wolf.
He knows how he should react. Caution but not fear. Even before he met Sheriff Eric, he’d done a school project on wolves, and he knew that attacks on humans were much, much rarer than bear attacks or mountain lion attacks or even moose attacks. A single wolf is only going to go after him if it’s starving, and this one clearly isn’t. Nor is it making any move to attack. It just stands there, head slightly down, growling softly as it watches him, as if trying to figure out whether he’s a threat.
“Hey,” he says, and he extends his hand, because that’s what he does with dogs.
The wolf’s head snaps up, as if he’s thrusting out a knife. Max pulls his hand back.
“Hey,” he tries again, and the wolf’s ears swivel.
Now what?
Back away. That’s what Sheriff Eric would say. Back up slowly, keeping your gaze just below its eyes, not submissive or aggressive.
He takes a step back … and the wolf steps forward. Max’s heart leaps into his throat. He tells himself to be calm. The wolf is just curious.
Another slow step back.
The wolf matches him.
Max swallows. Yes, it’s curious, but it can also be curious about things like “Would that two-legged creature taste good?” and “Would it be easy to kill?”
He reaches into his pocket, fingers closing around his knife. He’s pulling it out when a noise sounds in the strange little cabin, and the wolf lunges at Max, snarling. Max leaps back and stumbles, and for a second, he imagines the wolf leaping on him. He twists, managing to avoid a fall, and starts to run.
He makes so much noise running that it takes a moment to realize that’s the only noise he hears. He slows and glances back.
There’s no sign of the wolf. It didn’t come after him.
He’s considering what to do next when he hears a voice.
A woman’s voice.
When he strains, he picks up words. “—out here, Nero? Whatever you scared off, it made a hell of a racket. I don’t suppose you’ll tell me what it was?” A pause. “No? Come on inside then. I picked up some treats in town.”
Silence falls as he continues to strain, hoping for more.
That was a woman. He was sure of it. A woman who seemed to be talking to the wolf, promising it … treats? Really?
Was it a husky?
No, he was certain it’d been a wolf.
Max flexes his hand around the knife. The strange little cabin belongs to a woman. She seemed normal enough. Well, except for talking to a wolf, but if he had a wolf, he’d talk to it, too. As for having a wolf at all, that was weird, but also kind of cool.
Should he go back there? She seemed to take the wolf inside with her, so it won’t be outside anymore. He knows just because she’s a woman didn’t mean it’s safe, but it feels safer than walking up to a cabin with a man inside.
A woman living in the forest with a wolf? a little voice whispers. She might as well have a house made of candy. She’s a witch, obviously.
He scoffs at the voice. That’s baby Max talking. Scared Max. He needs to be grown-up Max. Practical Max. He’s lost in the forest, after being held captive by a man who’s part bear. He needs to get back to Haven’s Rock. If he has the chance to get help, he should take it.
He licks his lips and swallows.
Should he wait until morning before he knocks on her door? He’d be safe sleeping out here.
Unless she lets the wolf outside again, and it finds him.
