Mishka watched as Bruce got up and spoke to the people next to him, then he began to walk away from them.
"He seems to be coming in this direction, or is he? Did he hear me singing?" Mishka asked herself in a panic.
"But, he knows my voice, so he won't allow his pack to do anything to me. Now then, why would he be coming over to me? Will he introduce me to his folk?" Mishka wondered to herself as she stood still for a few moments.
She then instinctively turned around and began to walk away along the way that she had come.
"Wait, if he sees me cross the lake he might try to stop me and call me back. I'm not ready to meet his wolf friends. It's too much at once. I have to get used to the idea of seeing them first. One step at a time, but what to do now?" Mishka asked herself as she turned around trying to spot Bruce, but he had disappeared amongst the trees.
"Let me go back to the bridge leading towards Gillian's home. I can hide amongst the trees as long as I don't get onto the bridge itself. He will see me easily if I go onto the bridge," Mishka told herself as she rushed along.
She found a large rock near the stream and went to sit behind it.
"He won't notice me if I don't move around," she told herself as she sat there. The only sounds were the birds singing above her in the trees and the distant sound of the party music.
"I'm far enough away from them now, so if I hide for long enough Bruce will stop searching and go back to his pack," she told herself.
After a while, Mishka rose from her position and began to walk back in the direction of the lake.
"He must be gone back by now," she muttered as she walked.
Mishka stood still in her tracks when she heard her name being called next.
"Now who can that be? Can it be him? So, Lyle must have told him my name, but why is he so interested in meeting me here in the woods? I did promise to pay them a visit. Does he have some news for me about the video we recorded?" Mishka asked herself in confusion.
She scratched her head and frowned as she walked up and down in the more densely wooded area.
"Maybe he wants to tell me something important away from Lyle? Let me go anyway and find out. I will back down as soon as my instinct tells me to," she said out loud. So, she began to walk in the direction of the voice that she had heard.
Mishka soon spotted Bruce standing still and looking in a certain direction without flinching.
"He must be listening to hear if I'm gonna answer his call," she told herself as she walked closer. She felt as if her heart was beating loudly in her throat.
She was very close to him when she noticed that he seemed to be looking at something specific. Mishka then followed his gaze until she saw a white wolf up ahead of him, a distance away.
"Oh, no! It's as trap!" she thought to herself. "Did he call me so that I could be caught up between him and another wolf? Is he now also gonna turn into a wolf and search for me?" she wondered wildly.
"But, he can't even sense me here so close. So, that means that he can't track me down so easily even if I turned around. His focus seems to be on that wolf," Mishka thought in a panic.
"What do you want?" Bruce then yelled out at the white wolf and Mishka let out a whimper in shock. She could not stop the sound from escaping her throat.
Bruce then turned around sharply and spotted her standing there, a short distance away from him amongst the trees.
"Oh no! Now he's seen me! What are they gonna do to me?" Mishka asked herself on the inside. Her stomach cramped from panic as she stared back at Bruce.
"But why does it seem as if he doesn't want the other wolf there? Are they not together then?" Mishka wondered as she tried to focus and stop herself from panicking.
Bruce stared at Mishka for a while with his eyes widening up in surprise and what seemed like delight to her. Then he seemed to notice her fear and he glanced back at the wolf.
"Wait, Mishka, don't be afraid. She won't do anything," he said quickly, holding his hand up towards the wolf as a sign that she should remain where she was.
Mishka felt frozen to the spot. She was listening to Bruce, but she was also very aware of the wolf which seemed to be staring at her now.
"What do you mean she won't do anything? Are you sure?" she asked without taking her eyes off the wolf.
The white wolf then began to snarl in their direction.
"Don't you dare come closer!" Bruce called out with his gaze focused on the wolf.
"Where are you going to, Mishka, I can take you halfway?" he asked then without looking away from the wolf.
"I'm headed towards the boat, but if you can keep the wolf away from me I can get to the lake by myself," Mishka responded. She was shifting her gaze from Bruce to the wolf in turns as she spoke.
"Do you live beyond the lake?" Bruce asked.
"Yes, I can cross easily if you keep the wolf busy on this side," Mishka replied in a shaky voice. The wolf looked big and unusual. She had not seen one like that in the woods yet. The wolves were not interested in people, though.
"But, what about the wolf that stared at me while I was walking to Gillian's house during the week? Was that just a wolf or was it a werewolf?" Mishka asked herself as she observed Bruce more carefully.
"Can I take him at his word?" she asked herself.
"Do you really wanna walk on your own?" Bruce asked with a confused frown on his brow.
"Well, I can if you can tell the wolf to stay away. It seems as if she's listening to you," Mishka replied, fixing her gaze on the wolf which was just pacing up and down now.
"Okay, then. I still think that I should walk you. But, do as you wish," Bruce responded with his hands up in submission.
"I promise to keep her away from you then," he added as he glanced at Mishka and then smiled reassuringly.
Mishka looked away from his charming smile and returned her focus to the wolf.
"He knows that it's a female, so that means that he knows her as a wolf. Why doesn't he use her name then?" Mishka asked herself before looking back at Bruce who was still gazing at her in amazement.
"What if it's a female wolf who's interested in him romantically and now she wants to stop him from following me? How do I deal with a jealous female wolf?" Mishka asked herself in alarm as the realization hit her. She glanced back at the wolf briefly. It was not coming closer.
Mishka turned to Bruce then and breathed in deeply before speaking.
"Okay, I'm gonna walk away slowly and then I trust you to keep her away from me until I sail away with my boat. She won't be able to follow me then," Mishka stated in a steadier tone of voice.
"Yes, she will run away from here soon, I promise," Bruce responded.
Mishka stared at the wolf which was still watching them.
"She seems stubborn and determined, though," Mishka told herself.
"So, now you won't feel like singing anymore," Bruce remarked as Mishka turned around to leave.
Mishka stared at him in confusion. Was he really thinking about her voice training at a time like this?