The Wolf Wants Curves by Arwen Rich Page B

Mark had instructed, I took out my camera and started snapping photos of the moon – but none of them were satisfying. Something was wrong.
    And then the howling began.
    Long, chilling howls that swept across the valley, and echoed all around me. They were horrifying, like the screams of dying animals. Suddenly, I felt more alone than ever. Once again, the hair on my neck was standing up. I placed more wood on the fire, until it was roaring, and continued to snap photos of the ascending moon. The pictures became blurry as my hands shook with fear. The night was alive with howls now – more and more continued to resound.
    I put my camera away in my bag, and took out my bear repellent. I huddled near the fire, continuously adding more fuel.
    And then, through the flickering flames, I saw a big yellow pair of eyes staring back at me. Terror flooded through me. I stood up, and watched the beast advance from the darkness and into the light.
    A wolf.
    It was enormous, twice as large as a normal wolf, and its fur was dark as coal. Its teeth were bared as it came closer – razor sharp, dripping with saliva. Its yellow eyes were alight with a cold, calculating intelligence.
    And from behind it, another identical wolf emerged.
    I tried to scream, but my vocal cords refused to work. The bear repellent was clutched in my hand, but my arm refused to work, refused to raise and spray the animals as they padded towards me. Deep growls emanated from their throats. I closed my eyes, petrified.
    A new sound erupted in the darkness behind my eyelids. The pounding approach of another animal, smashing through the foliage. I opened my eyes in time to see a huge white shape explode from the night and into the firelight. Shocked, I fell back onto the grass.
    It was another wolf, larger than the first two, snapping viciously at the darker wolves as it came, its golden eyes fiery with rage. A scar on the white wolf's neck was lit suddenly by the flames of the fire. Something, beneath the fear flooding my veins, caught my attention on that scar. It seemed familiar somehow. But then the thought was gone, drowned with black terror.
    The two darker wolves turned away from me to face this new interloper. The three of them circled around, until the huge white wolf was between me and the others. The way that it took position before me, and stood growling at the other wolves, made it seem almost as if it was protecting me.
    I heard myself sobbing as I lay on the ground. Consumed with fear, all I could do was watch as the giant wolves growled and snapped at each other. They looked like demons, dancing furiously around the orange flames.
    Suddenly the huge white wolf leaped forward and sank its teeth into the neck of one of the smaller, darker wolves. The sound of bones crunching filled my ears. The darker wolf shrieked in agony, and, tearing its neck free from the white wolf, it jumped away to safety.
    As the white wolf came after it, he was attacked from the side by the other dark wolf, which closed its jaw around the white wolf's leg and latched on. The white wolf roared in pain, its face a mask of fury, and then descended upon this second wolf, biting down on the back of its neck and shaking it viciously from side to side.
    The darker wolf yelped and wriggled free from the white wolf's powerful jaws, then too leaped away,  beside the other dark wolf. The pair were on the other side of the fire now, their yellow eyes flickering behind the flames, as they snarled at the white wolf.
    The white wolf reclaimed its place in front of me and stood its ground, lifting its injured leg and staring defiantly into the faces of the other two. After a moment, the two darker wolves slunk away and melted into the shadows. I heard them crashing through the underbrush as they fled.
    The giant white wolf turned to look at me then, peering searchingly into my face with its golden eyes.
    When I saw those eyes, my fear suddenly began to ease. They contained no hint of