Charlotte woke up shivering. The snowstorm they'd been expecting hit last night and the cold artic wind had battered the basement windows relentlessly until they were buried in snow.
She had gone to bed, as usual, wearing all of her clothes in layers. It was often cold in the basement, so wearing multiple layers was a clever way to keep warm. However, she didn't own enough clothes to chase away snowstorm kind of cold.
Her body protested as she de-cocooned herself. Tossing the thin lilac blanket to the side, she rolled out of bed.
The girl took a moment to crack her back and stretch out her stiff muscles before trudging upstairs to brush her teeth. It was warmer in the main part of the house, but not by much. It seemed the family preferred to keep a fire lit over traditional heating. While it didn't do much to heat the house, the sound of crackling was pleasant.
Snow was falling heavily outside. Even from inside she could hear the wind screaming.
How was she going to get to school in this mess? She wondered.
Walter had the T.V. on in the living room. She snuck up close to the threshold to listen. The weatherman was talking about the storm. He said it wouldn't let up until the late afternoon.
School's all over the state were canceling classes it seemed. Yet, not a word was said about N.N.R. canceling school
Greeaaat, she thought drawled sarcastically.
With about 45 minutes to make it to school, Charlotte quietly lingered inside for as long as possible. Fortunately, it seemed Walter either didn't notice or didn't care, but it was soon clear if she didn't leave now she wouldn't make it.
Sighing, she steeled herself as she crossed the distance to the front door.
The cold air hit her like a mack truck as she stepped out. The wind was so strong that Charlotte struggled to pull the front closed while Walter angrily shouted at her for letting snow in.
Outside, the snow was as thick as molasses in winter, making it difficult to walk let alone see.
Charlotte felt as if she had been treading through deep snow for hours, but she was probably only half a mile down the road when an old brown truck pulled up next to her.
The truck creaked to a halt just feet from where she was standing.
Was she about to be kidnapped and murdered in the middle of a snowstorm? That would certainly be more interesting than freezing to death.
The truck's driver-side window was slowly cranked down, but she still couldn't see through all of the snow. She did however recognize the voice that called out to her.
"Get in you idiot."
It was Danny.
Charlotte hurried to pry the door open and jump in. Her stiff frozen fingers struggled to grip, but after a moment she was able to get the heavy door open.
"Thanks!" She said gratefully, sliding onto the seat. Her teeth chattered together uncontrollably as she pressed herself closer to the heater, trying to defrost.
Hot air was being forced through the vent as the old heater fought to warm the truck cabin. She splayed her fingers out, directly in front of the vent to warm them.
Danny grunted in response to her gratitude.
A chip off the old block, Charlotte mused, as the two teens fell into an awkward silence.
"Crazy they're making us go to school in this." She commented, still hunched over the heater vent. Darting a quick side-eye over to her foster brother, she gauged his reaction. He was acting rather aloof, although that wasn't all that surprising.
Danny mumbled something unintelligible. His blue eyes stubbornly remained focused on the road in front of them.
More awkward silence.
"Are you looking forward to the weekend?" Charlotte asked, studying the younger teen's profile.
"Look, we're not friends. Especially at school. I don't know you, you don't know me." Danny grumbled, his hands tightening on the steering wheel. He didn't look over at her, still choosing to focus on the road.
"Got it," Charlotte answered, copying her foster brother, she turned her attention to what lay in front of them.
Her lips twitched into a frown.
Of course, she didn't expect them to be friends. Danny had made it pretty clear that they weren't. She was just trying to be polite.
Charlotte remained quiet as they drove toward the school.
They covered the distance much faster than she was used to. Only a short time later, her brother was pulling the truck into the school parking lot. She'd started to jump out as soon as the truck stopped.
"Wait," Danny called out stopping her. Charlotte turned back to look at him just in time to catch what he threw at her.
"It's one of my old coats. You can keep it." The teen explained quickly, before taking off toward the school without waiting to see her reaction.
She blinked down at the material in her hands in surprise. It was a simple navy-colored coat insulated with warm wool.
"Thank you," She responded quietly, even though she knew he was too far away to hear her.
Perhaps Danny wasn't as heartless as he tried to appear, she thought with a small grin. Slipping the coat over her own thinner one, she trudged into the building.
She headed to her first class, but as soon as she arrived Mr. Davenport handed her a bright blue slip and directed her to the principal's office instead.
"Take this and go to the office," he said.
Charlotte looked at the teacher, puzzled. She opened her mouth to ask why she was being summoned but Mr. Davenport just shook his head, he didn't know why the principal was calling for her either.
Clutching the blue slip in her hand, the brunette left the classroom and nervously trudged over to the front office, wondering what the principal could possibly want with her.
When she arrived at the front office, the secretary was finishing up a phone call.
Not wanting to stand there staring at the woman, yet not knowing what else to do, the brunette busied herself looking around the room.
It was a typical school office, a motivational poster hung on one wall while the others were mostly blank, save for a corkboard with school information on it; the school schedule, a holiday calendar, and information about afterschool activities were all pinned to the brown board.
"Sorry about that, Principal York is waiting for you in his office, go on in." The secretary said as she hung up the phone.
Peeking over her glasses, the woman gestured for the girl to come around back where the offices were.
The teen followed her directions, walking around the secretary's desk to the back where there was an open office door. A nameplate next to the door denoted the principal's title in gold letters.
She entered the office cautiously, not bothering to knock since the door was open.
"Hello, Mr. York. You wanted to see me?" She greeted, hesitantly meeting the principal's relaxed gaze.
Mr. York was a tall man with broad shoulders. He wore a sharp charcoal-colored pinstripe suit which he somehow made look casual as he leaned back in his chair. His shiny black loafers were propped up nonchalantly on the desk in front of him.
What appeared to be an expensive Rolex adorned his wrist. The gold glinted ostentatiously even in the somewhat dim office.
"Ah yes, Ms. Lightningstorm. Please take a seat." He said, folding his hands over his lean stomach.
The girl obediently dropped down onto one of the office chairs. Sitting somewhat stiffly, she waited for the principal to begin. She still wasn't certain why he'd called for her.
The man looked down at his laptop, then back at her as if trying to organize his thoughts.
"I do apologize for not meeting with you sooner," he started. "I like to meet all of the new students, but unfortunately, my wife fell ill this week and we have three youngsters... all under four years old if you can believe." York sighed, looking unfocused as he ran a hand through his hair tiredly.
Then he shook his head lightly, seemingly realizing he was getting off-topic.
"—anyway, I stayed home to take care of my wife and the gang of heathens... I mean blessid little children." He corrected with a grin, letting his hand drop back down.
"I'm sorry to hear that, I hope she is doing better." Charlotte offered.
"Yes, she is! Thank you. We are all quite relieved to have her back." Principal York replied, grinning widely. He had plucked a fountain pen from a container on his desk and was now spinning it between his fingers.
"I didn't call you in, just to tell you that though." The man laughed, tipping his salt-and-pepper hair back. "I wanted to see how you are liking it here." He explained, looking at her expectantly as he waited for a response.
"I like it well enough." She shrugged, drumming her fingers against her jeans anxiously.
"Is it much different than your other schools?" He asked curiously.
The girl tilted her head to the side thoughtfully. "No, the building is different...more... posh? than I'm used to, but the rest is similar." She said, searching for the right words.
Charlotte wasn't sure why he would ask such a question, it struck her as a bit odd but she supposed he was just trying to be friendly.
"Ah, that's good," He paused, one of his thick brows furrowing. "We do things a little differently here in N.N.R. We are a very old community, so we have a lot of traditions that may seem quirky or unusual to you, but they are near and dear to us. If you notice anything... different... that maybe you're unsure of I'd like you to come to me, so we can work it out."
The teen nodded. Principal York seemed pleased.
"Brilliant! I feel assured you'll do the right thing. It's important that you know you can trust us and come to us first. I expect you'll direct all inquiries to me or your foster parents—for however long you're here in N.N. Rochester," He said, dropping the fountain pen onto his desk with a thud. His tone was calm, but his words felt a bit more threatening than they had previously.
The girl eyed him warily, still not sure if he was someone she should trust.
"Go on back to class now, Mr. Davenport will be waiting." Principal York told her. He didn't hold as much trepidation toward her as others did—he'd been principal long enough to know teenagers were all the same regardless of the species. Still, this was a situation where they would have to tread carefully.
"Yes sir," She mumbled, before hustling out of his office.
York watched her scurry off curiously. The girl might not know it, but he would be keeping a close eye on her. A very close eye.
The secretary stopped her on the way out, handing her a new slip to take to class, this time a green slip.
Charlotte ambled down the hall slowly, her conversation with Principal York felt odd, particularly in light of the conversation she overheard on her first night. However, the man himself seemed a bit unusual so she shook it off.
"What are you doing this weekend?" Madison asked her at lunch.
"Oh, I don't know, probably nothing," Charlotte replied, unwrapping a brown square, revealing a rather sad-looking ham sandwich.
"Aw, I would say we should go to the outdoor mall but I'm visiting my aunt and uncle this weekend." Madison sighed.
"That's ok, shopping isn't really my thing. It's easier to buy online anyway," Charlotte shrugged. She also didn't have money to go shopping but she didn't tell them that.
"Nonsense! It can be fun to go in person and we always go down to the arcade, so it's not really shopping so much as hanging out. You should go with us. You have to celebrate surviving your first week of school somehow." Amelia argued, watching the girl pick at her sandwich dubiously. She'd offered to pay for her lunch several times throughout the week, but Charlotte always refused.
Charlotte laughed at the other girl's dramatic flare. She'd learned rather quickly that the black-haired girl tended to be very stubborn in getting her way. Her quick, witty responses were entertaining, to say the least. Although less so when they were directed at her.
Madison was the more relaxed and easy-going of the two. She had a sweet, kind nature which was admirable.
"Maybe we can celebrate my first week of school next week," Charlotte suggested teasingly, as she finished her sandwich.
"Don't be absurd," Amelia said, rolling her eyes as Charlotte and Madison laughed.
The brunette played along but did her best to dodge Amelia's plans. When the bell rang she quickly scurried off to her next class to avoid any further questions.
Amelia had a different class so her scheming would have to wait.
Charlotte tried her best to appear interested throughout class but the teacher drolled on about topics she had already learned.
That was one of the problems with switching schools so much—the curriculum was identical but schools didn't always follow the same schedule. As a result, there were some topics she missed learning and other topics she was forced to learn twice.
Another way the state failed foster kids, Charlotte thought sighing.
Letting her mind wander, the girl doodled in her notebook, hoping it appeared she was taking notes. Three whole pages were filled by the end of the day, most of them featuring wolves.
As her last class was coming to an end, she closed her book and glanced outside. The weatherman's prediction had been correct. The snow had almost completely let up.
With the weather taking a turn for the better, it seemed like it would be ok to walk home.
After school, Charlotte looked for Danny so she could let him know that she would walk home and didn't need a ride.
However, the teen was nowhere to be found. His kindness earlier had either been a fluke or he had come to the same conclusion that she could walk home, Charlotte reasoned.
Shrugging her new jacket on, she took off toward the forest.
This time she decided it would be best to take a shortcut home. Instead of following the road, she cut straight through the forest. It was more of a direct path which would hopefully save her some time. Getting back sooner was appealing since it remained quite cold out.
The girl was still a little nervous about running into the black wolf again, and she found herself looking around surreptitiously. However, if it had wanted to kill her surely it would have done so by now, the brunette thought, reassuring herself.
Crisp air and fresh pine helped clear her head as she walked along.
Her first week of school hadn't been nearly as bad as she thought it would be. She was really starting to enjoy Amelia and Madison's company. Even Danny had been somewhat nice to her today. The coat he had given her that morning was keeping her quite warm.
The brunette was somewhere between school and the house when she heard a branch snap from close by.
Surprised, she turned toward the noise.
Somehow she had previously failed to notice the dark hulking figure which stood just a few yards away.
The figure rose up even higher as it noticed her as well. A deep, guttural roar rumbled the air. The unmistakable sound sent her heart beating faster.
Grizzly bear.
It lowered itself to the ground, intentionally taking a couple of steps toward her.
"Go away!" The girl shouted fearfully.
In response, the bear stretched its neck out, roaring again. Warm air turned to mist as it huffed from the bear's mouth.
Saliva dripped from its yellowed teeth.
Knowing she couldn't outrun it—not with the thick freshly fallen snow slowing her down.
Feeling a sudden burst of courage, she shouted at the bear. Yet, the bear continued approaching. Gathering up a palm-sized clump of snow she chunked it at the beast, trying to scare it away.
With a reverberating growl, the bear began charging toward her.
Charlotte screamed as the brown beast barrelled closer. Her face morphed into a mask of fear as she turned, sprinting away from the approaching bear.
But the bear was faster. It had already almost caught up to her when she tripped over her own shoelaces, landing face-first in the powdery snow.
The girl cowered, bracing herself for the worst. Hot tears escaped her eyes, her lip trembled as she waited for the dreadful sting of claws that were no doubt about to tear into her.
She could feel the bear's hot breath inches away when suddenly there was a flash of black fur.
*** GIO ***
Gio cursed to himself as he watched his mate foolishly throw snow at the angry bear. He'd already been on his way to intervene when she provoked it.
The grizzly was something neither of them had expected. Perhaps he would have noticed it sooner if he'd not been admiring his mate.
Still, it was unusual for a bear to be awake this early in the season, and the ones that woke up early like this were usually hungry and pissed.
Sure enough, Gio watched as the bear started charging toward his mate.
The black wolf snarled angrily as he moved to intercept the grizzly. Throwing his weight forward, he crashed into the bear at full speed just as it reached the brunette lying in the snow. She'd tried to run then tripped, later he would worry over why his mate was so clumsy, but for now, he had more important things to think about.
The wolf and the bear crashed into the ground, a terrifying mess of teeth and fur. Each struck at the other, desperately trying to land blows in the hopes of injuring or disorienting their opponent.
The grizzly was similar to Gio in size but not in strength. Still, the position they were in was dangerous, a claw to the belly could kill either one of them. Neither had the upper hand while rolling on the ground.
Gio got his legs underneath himself and pulled back suddenly. Crouching low he extracted himself from the bear's limbs while doing his best to avoid the snapping teeth and flailing claws.
Drawing himself into a crouch meant the wolf became a smaller target and his organs were better protected.
The grizzly hadn't expected him to draw back, it struggled to turn and get to its feet but Gio was much quicker. Before the bear could get its hind legs up, the wolf launched an attack—this time his movements were organized and focused.
He lept on top of the animal, grabbing onto the bear's neck with his jaws. He dug his claws into the bear's hide to stay on, leaving long wounds stretched across the bear's flank.
Angrily, the bear jerked its head, trying to grab the wolf and toss it off. Gio quickly adjusted his grip on the bear's neck to prevent it from turning around and snapping at him.
Within moments, he had the bear pinned underneath him.
The beast roared again, trying to get the wolf off, but the sound soon turned to gurgles.
With the bear weakening, Gio bit lower, latching onto its throat. Mercilessly, he crushed the grizzly's neck between his jaws.
Hot arterial blood gushed into his mouth as the bear went still in his grasp.
The brunette sat frozen, watching in horror as the wolf viciously crushed the bear's throat in front of her. The sound of bones snapping made her feel nauseous.
Even after the bear went limp, the wolf shook the animal by its neck to make sure it was dead. In doing so, he sprayed bright red blood all over the white snow.
Blood painted the ground, transforming what was once a wintery wonderland into a murderous scene.
Then the wolf slowly turned its head to her.
Its silver eyes were blazing and its muzzle still dripping blood. Silver? Charlotte realized with confusion.
"Good wolfy" She whispered nervously, pressing herself into the trunk of the pine tree that stood behind her.
The wolf looked at his mate sadly, realizing that she was afraid of him. He could hear her heart pounding wildly.
She was trying to make herself as small and non-threatening as possible.
How could he show her that he wasn't going to hurt her? If only he could speak to her, he thought grumpily.
Gio approached the small brunette slowly. She was sitting close to where she fell when she tripped.
"Good wolfy" Charlotte whispered again nervously. Gio's ear twitched in agitation at being called wolfy.
"Please don't hurt me," The girl pleaded as he got close to her, hiding her face behind her scrunched-up knees.
Hearing her pleas made Gio feel awful. His mate shouldn't be afraid of him.
The wolf moved slowly, laying down in the snow, he crawled on his belly until the girl was just out of reach. Then, he tucked his back legs underneath him and stretched his front legs out.
Charlotte watched anxiously as he moved toward her.
Whining sadly, the wolf crawled a little closer before resting his head down on top of his outstretched paws.
The girl might have found the gesture cute had his muzzle and paws not been covered in blood.