Secret Wolf

SOPHIE

After exploring our apartment, it didn’t take long for our parents to arrive. My parents were in awe of the place.

Bonnie’s parents apparently already knew how awesome it was. They were both very happy for us.

When all the boxes were moved into our new home, we said goodbye to our parents.

It took us all day to turn the apartment into our home. After a long day of moving and unpacking, we both plopped down on the couch.

We looked at each other and squealed.

“This is going to be so amazing, Soof,” Bonnie said. “Now let’s make ourselves something good to eat.”

I agreed with Bonnie and stood up.

When I walked to the kitchen, the bell rang. I looked at Bonnie and she shrugged her shoulders. I turned on my heels and walked to the door.

When I opened it, I took a step back. A very large muscular man stood in front of me.

You could see his perfectly shaped body through his leather jacket and gray-washed jeans. He had a handsome face with a sharp nose and a strong jawline.

His dark-brown (almost black) hair was short and spiky. His blue eyes scanned my body, and for a second I thought he inhaled deeply through his nose, as if he wanted to smell me.

No, that must be my imagination, I thought.

As soon as he looked back into my eyes, he flashed a big smile.

“Hi. You must be Bonnie’s friend, Sophie,” he said.

Before I could answer him, Bonnie pushed me away. She almost crashed into this man and wrapped her arms around his neck.

“Oh my Goddess, Ben, what are you doing here? Come in!”

Bonnie stepped aside to let him in. She turned to me and introduced us.

“Ben, this is Sophie, as you’d already guessed. And Sophie, this is Ben, one of my cousins.”

I stretched my arm to give him a hand, but before I knew it, he pulled me in a bear hug. When he let me go, I stumbled a little bit.

“Hi, Ben, it’s nice to meet you.”

Ben smiled at me and walked straight to the kitchen.

“My dad thought it would be nice to welcome you with some Italian food,” Ben said while putting a large white bag on top of the bar.

I could already smell the mouthwatering food in the bag. “Wow, that smells delicious,” I said.

Bonnie clapped her hands together. “Italian is my favorite,” she said. “Please tell Uncle Steven that he’s too kind for us.”

Ben chuckled and was about to say something, but then he looked at me—or rather, he looked at my necklace. He walked toward me and studied it. His face flashed different emotions. His jaw clenched.

“Where did you get this necklace?” he asked me. He took the pendant between his fingers.

“I got it from my parents,” I answered, a little unsure.

The pendant was made up of two symbols entangled. It looked like a pentagram with an eternity symbol through it. I thought it was beautiful. I never took it off. Or well, I couldn’t take it off—the clasp was busted somehow.

“How old were you when you got it?” he asked me.

I was surprised by this question. What a peculiar thing to ask. I frowned at him. Bonnie saw my uneasiness and jumped in.

“Ben, do you want to join us for dinner?” she said, trying to distract him.

Ben’s face flushed for a moment with confusion. He released my necklace and turned to Bonnie.

“No, I’m good. I must go home. Some of us have responsibilities to take care of,” he answered.

“Well, we’ll see you next weekend, anyway,” Bonnie replied. “But again, thanks for the food!”

Ben walked to the door. Just as he was about to open it, he turned around once more. He looked at me like he wanted to question something but then changed his mind and walked out.

“That was weird,” I said to Bonnie.

“Oh, don’t mind Ben. He probably thought your necklace is unique or rare. He studies history—maybe he’s seen it before or something. It’s probably nothing.” Bonnie waved her hand to dismiss the whole thing.

I shrugged and followed Bonnie into the kitchen.

“Let’s eat!” I said, and we attacked the food like starved wolves. After dinner we collapsed on our beds and fell asleep.

The first night in the apartment I slept great. The bed was divine. I had a dreamless long night of rest.

The next day, Bonnie and I went to the university to get our schedules, books, and other stuff. The day was filled with activities on campus.

At the end of the day, we knew exactly where everything was and who our professors were. We both went to bed early because the next day our classes would begin early.

That night I had one of my strange dreams. They were always very vague and different. But there was one similarity—the man in my dreams was always the same.

I had no idea who he was or how he looked, but his scent was always the same. He smelled like cacao and cinnamon. It reminded me of a cold winter night.

In this dream I was swimming in a lake. The water was warm, and I felt really relaxed.

In the distance I saw a man diving into the lake. I couldn’t make out his appearance exactly. After a few moments, I felt him behind me.

Before I could turn around, his arms snaked around my waist, and he pressed my back to his chest. I smelled him—so delicious.

He kissed my neck and shoulder. His teeth scraped against my skin. My whole body shivered.

His hands stroked my belly and then he moved one hand higher. He cupped one of my breasts and squeezed my nipple between his fingers. His other hand lay flat on my tummy. A moan escaped my mouth.

He tried to tell me something, but it was as if I was underwater. Suddenly, I felt anxiety rush through my body. His voice was unclear.

I wanted to turn around and let him know that I didn’t understand what he was saying. But as soon as I turned around, he disappeared into thin air like a ghost.

I looked around but didn’t see him anywhere. I let myself glide under the water and scream. All the air in my lungs came out in bubbles.

When I tried to reach for the surface, I was pulled down. Panic started to take over. I couldn’t breathe. I was suffocating!

I kicked my arms and legs, but I only sank deeper. Darkness surrounded me. With the last air in my lungs, I screamed again.

Suddenly, there was a light and a voice. I knew this voice.

“Soof, Soof, wake up, girl!”

My eyes wrenched open, and I took in my surroundings. My body was completely tangled in my blankets. Bonnie shook my shoulders and looked at me with concern in her eyes.

“Soof, are you awake?” she asked.

“Uh, yeah, I believe so.” My body was covered with a thin layer of sweat.

“My Goddess, girl, you scared me,” Bonnie said. “I heard you scream all the way in my bedroom. You’ve got volume!”

I blinked my eyes a couple of times and looked at her. “I’m fine, Bee, I just had a nightmare or something.”

“Don’t tell me it was that man again, Soof. This isn’t normal for people like you, you know.” Bonnie suddenly stopped and looked down as if she’d said something she shouldn’t have.

That was weird.

“People like me, Bee? What do you mean by that?” I asked her.

She looked at me with a bit of shock on her face, but she quickly put on a smirk.

“I mean, crazy people like you,” she taunted. She stuck out her tongue and ran out of my bedroom. “Take a shower, Soof, you sweat like a pig, and we have classes in an hour,” she screamed over her shoulder.

I sighed and got out of bed. She was right. I put the dream away in a far corner of my head and went to the bathroom.

Half an hour later, we were both ready to go to our classes.