2_ A World Unknown
I watched the door shut behind Dylan, his footsteps fading as he walked down the hallway. The room felt odd. Too small, too still, nothing like the forest I had known for as long as I could remember. A strange tension lingered in the air, making it hard for me to breathe. Everything was so unfamiliar—the bed, the walls, the very scent of the place. The blankets were soft beneath my fingertips, but they did nothing to calm the storm inside me. My parents’ faces flashed before my eyes, their voices a haunting echo in my mind. What happened to them? Where had they gone?
I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to push the memories away, but the more I resisted, the more vivid they became. The war. The chaos. The last moments before everything changed. I remembered their arms around me, their whispers of love and protection, and then—nothing. My chest tightened, my heart beating too fast, a caged bird fighting to break free.
I couldn’t stay here. The walls pressed in on me, the silence unbearable. I needed to be outside, where I could breathe. Without thinking, I stood up, moving toward the window. The moonlight spilled into the room, illuminating the space in a pale glow. I pulled the window open and leaped out, my body moving with the grace I had always known in my wolf form. The cool night air wrapped around me, and I ran, the wind whipping through my hair as I raced back to the woods.
The moment my feet touched the soft earth, I felt at peace. The trees welcomed me, their ancient whispers soothing the turmoil in my soul. I found a quiet spot beneath a canopy of leaves and lay down, the ground cool and comforting beneath me. My eyes fluttered closed, and for the first time in what felt like ages, I slept.
“Are you crazy?!” Dylan’s voice snapped me awake, his words laced with panic and anger.
I blinked, groggy from sleep, and found him standing over me, his face twisted in a mixture of frustration and disbelief. The sun was up now, casting long shadows through the trees, and the forest, which had felt so peaceful just moments ago, now seemed foreign under his gaze.
“What were you thinking?” Dylan ran a hand through his hair, pacing back and forth. “You just… ran away in the middle of the night? I thought something happened to you!”
I sat up slowly, my body stiff from the cold ground, and stared at him, unsure how to respond. I hadn’t thought of it as running away. The woods were my home—how could I have stayed in that cramped, suffocating room?
He knelt down in front of me, his eyes searching mine. “Do you remember anything? Your family? Where you come from?”
The memories tugged at me again, a painful reminder of all that I’d lost. I shook my head. “No… I don’t remember. Just… bits and pieces.”
Dylan sighed, his shoulders slumping. “Okay… okay, we’ll figure this out.” He stood and pulled out his phone. “I’m calling the police. Maybe they can help us.”
I watched him from where I sat, the sound of his voice blending with the birds chirping overhead. He was talking to someone, his tone serious, and I picked up on words like “missing person” and “runaway.” The conversation felt distant as if I were listening from underwater. Dylan’s concern, his frustration, it all seemed so foreign to me.
When he hung up, he turned back to me. “The police said it’s probably just a runaway case. They think you might be… I don’t know, a troubled kid or something. And since you’re eighteen, there’s not much they can do unless someone reports you missing.”
I didn’t know what to make of that. Eighteen. That number was supposed to mean something. Freedom, adulthood. But I felt more lost than ever.
Dylan’s face softened. “Look, you can stay with me until we figure things out. I don’t feel right just… leaving you out here.”
Stay with him? I glanced back at the trees, the place where I’d always felt safe. But something in Dylan’s voice, in the way he was trying to help, made me nod.
“Come on, let’s get you cleaned up.” Dylan gestured toward my dirt-streaked arms and legs. “You slept in the woods all night.”
When we got back to his apartment, he handed me a pile of clothes. “I don’t have anything that’ll fit you, so you’ll have to make do with these.” He gave me a small smile. “It’s just a shirt and shorts.”
I stared at them, unfamiliar with the textures, and the shapes. He asked me to go take a bath and joked about knowing how to use the shower. Nothing he said made sense to me though, and my blank stare made him sigh. He led me to a small room with a glass box and strange knobs, showing me how to turn the water on. I watched the stream pour out, mesmerized by the clear liquid.
“Okay, just… do your thing,” Dylan said, backing away. “I’ll… uh, I’ll leave you to it.”
Without thinking, I peeled off the jacket he’d given me earlier and dropped it to the floor. Dylan’s eyes widened, his face turning red. “Wait, wait! You can’t just… not while I’m… Oh my God.” He spun around, covering his face with his hand. “Just… wait until I’m gone!” he then hurried out the door.
I stepped into the water, letting it cascade over me. The warmth seeped into my skin, easing the tension in my muscles. It reminded me of the lake, the way the water felt in my wolf form. I closed my eyes, standing still, just letting the sensation wash over me.
When I was done, I noticed a large reflective surface on the wall. I stared at it, confused at first. Then, as I moved closer, I realized it was showing me… me. My reflection. I tilted my head, touching my face, and my arms, watching the mirror copy my movements. I’d never seen myself like this before, not in this form. The sight was both strange and fascinating.
Eventually, I managed to put on the clothes Dylan had given me, though it took some struggle. When I came out of the bathroom, he was in the kitchen, doing something I couldn’t understand. The room smelled strange, and I watched him curiously, trying to make sense of what he was doing.
“You look cleaner,” he said with a half-smile. Then his eyes narrowed. “But your hair is still wet. You’re dripping water all over the place.”
Before I could say anything, I shook my head from side to side, the way I’d seen animals do in the forest. Water splashed everywhere, some of it landing on Dylan.
“Hey!” he shouted, grabbing a towel. “You can’t just—ugh, never mind.”
He started drying my hair, his hands moving gently through the strands. I stayed still, watching him, mesmerized by his touch. Our eyes met, and for a moment, I felt something warm stir inside me.
“There,” he said after a moment, stepping back. “All done.”
We ate in silence after that, though I had no idea what the food was. Dylan had to coax me into trying it, and once I did, I devoured everything on the plate. He looked at me, stunned, shaking his head with an amused smile. “You’re so… weird.”
After breakfast, Dylan disappeared into another room, leaving me alone to explore. I wandered through the apartment, touching everything—metal tools in the kitchen, strange frames on the walls, a large black box that he called a TV. I had no idea what any of it was, but it all fascinated me.
When Dylan came back, dressed in something different, I found myself staring. He looked… different, clean, put together. Something about the way he carried himself made me feel strange, my heart beating faster than before.
“I’ve got to go somewhere,” he said, grabbing his keys. “Are you going to be okay here by yourself?”
I nodded, not fully understanding his question. Alone wasn’t a new concept to me.
“Just… don’t run off again, okay? Promise me?”
“I promise.”
He showed me how to use the TV before leaving. But after a while, the silence of the apartment became too much. The world outside called to me. I made my way to the front door but didn’t know how to operate the large metal box that Dylan had used earlier. So, I did what felt natural—I jumped out of the window again.
The city was much louder during the day. The scents of humans and their strange machines filled the air, but Dylan’s scent was still the strongest. I followed it, weaving through unfamiliar streets until I found him at a large building surrounded by green fields. People stared at me as I walked inside, but I ignored them.
When I finally found him, his face went pale. “What the hell? How did you find me?” He asked extremely surprised.
"I followed your scent," I told him. His eyes widened, and he looked at the two people beside him, who started laughing. He quickly grabbed my arm, pulling me to the side. “You followed my scent?”
I nodded. Of course, how else would I have found him? He then looked down at my feet.
“You walked all the way here barefoot?” His voice was incredulous, and I saw his frustration growing again. “You can’t just… Katrina, this isn’t… ugh!”
"What is this place?" I asked curiously as I looked around the environment.
He took a deep breath, rubbing his temples. “This place is called a college,” he explained as if that meant anything to me. “But you shouldn’t be here.”
Without waiting for my response, he led me to the familiar yet strange machine on wheels and told me to get inside. It moved fast, making my stomach twist with unease, but I trusted Dylan.
When we got back to the apartment, he was quieter. After a long silence, he finally said, “I want to help you. But I need to understand. Can you tell me… anything?”
I hesitated, the memories flashing through my mind again, but this time, I didn’t push them away. I told him everything—the war, the forest, my parents, the curse that bound me to this human form.
When I was done, Dylan looked at me with an intensity I hadn’t seen before. “I’ll help you,” he said, his voice steady. “Whatever it takes. We’ll figure this out.”
And for the first time, I felt like I wasn’t alone.