Frostbitten (19 page)

Everyone says the werewolf
is bad, but I don’t think so. Last summer, when I was camping with my parents,
I got lost in the woods really late at night. I was so scared until I heard a
gentle whimper and saw the prettiest eyes. I knew he was my friend and that he
wanted to help me, so I followed him. He brought me back to my campsite and
after he left, I heard him howl like he was happy. Of course, when I told my
parents, they thought I was lying because they never saw him, but I know the
truth.

Even though Anastasia
wanted to listen to more, she switched the recorder off, knowing that she’d
stayed in her grandfather’s study long enough. She quickly put everything back
where they belonged, all the while wondering why her grandfather was collecting
evidence of the werewolf’s existence. She couldn’t figure out what the point of
it was – almost everyone already believed anyway.

After turning the light
in the study off and shutting the door firmly behind her, Anastasia hurried to
her bedroom, where she proceeded to sit in her rocking chair, with a soft
blanket wrapped tightly around herself for comfort. Unfortunately, finally
taking a minute to rest didn’t stop her from dwelling on the crazy events of
today and especially the potential consequences.

Her world now felt
unreal because she could no longer deny the reality of supernatural creatures
and perhaps all things that went bump in the night. While her initial reaction
had been to confront her grandparents, she wondered if that was actually a
smart idea. What if they wanted to send her home to keep her safe now that she
knew the truth? They’d already proven they were willing to go to great lengths
to make sure she was out of harm’s way. She just wasn’t ready to take that
chance because leaving Cedar Falls meant saying goodbye to Frost.

Although Anastasia
couldn’t bear the thought of being without Frost, that didn’t stop her from
feeling very frustrated with him. In fact, he was as bad as her grandparents.
She was certain that he knew about the werewolf because he was smart, observant
and apparently more knowledgeable about Cedar Falls Woods than anyone else.
Constantly telling her
not
to believe in the werewolf had been such an
obvious attempt to cloud her judgment that she felt foolish for not realizing
it sooner.

Despite all this, Anastasia
sensed that there was another reason for Frost’s behavior. Even though she was
positive that he wanted to protect her, it was more than that. Could he have
been trying to protect the werewolf, too? And if that was true, why? It seemed
like a million questions were going through her mind, but Frost was the only
one who could give her the answers she was seeking. She needed to get him
alone, face-to-face, so they could have a serious conversation. Unfortunately,
with Frost no longer coming to her window at night as well as his hectic work
schedule, the next chance they would have to talk was tomorrow night, when he
picked her up from work.

Getting up and walking
to the window, Anastasia pulled the curtains aside to look out. Everything was
still and silent, and with the snow-covered trees and ground glistening in the
moon’s glow, it seemed like just another ordinary night. However, she knew what
was really out there, lurking in the woods as both man and beast.

“And I thought
I
used to lead a wild life,” Anastasia muttered, her eyes locked on the dense
trees that rose high into the starry night sky.

* * *

It was after seven
o’clock on a Friday evening as Anastasia worked alone in the library. She
wasn’t meant to be by herself, but her co-worker had called in at the last
minute, saying she refused to work after dark as long as the beast was on the
loose. Anastasia knew that her grandparents wouldn’t be happy with this
situation; however, she saw no other alternative since she couldn’t close the
library early nor ask her grandmother, who was at another impromptu town
meeting, to fill in for the absent co-worker. Anastasia wasn’t that concerned,
though. After all, it wasn’t like a werewolf could open a door. She almost
laughed at the thought.

Placing a stray book
upon the shelf, Anastasia realized that there was nothing else to do. The
library was meticulously clean and organized, probably due to the fact that no
one had entered for over two hours, and she’d long ago finished all her
assigned tasks. With the opportunity at hand, Anastasia could no longer resist
the urge to hurry toward the library’s main computer and turn it on. This was
the computer which held a comprehensive database of articles entitled The Cedar
Falls Archives, and Anastasia was dying to access it.

Typing the password
she’d once seen her grandmother use, Anastasia quickly found the database and
then searched
Cedar Falls Werewolf
. Ever since she began taking the myth
seriously, she’d kept mentally replaying two conversations she’d overheard. Both
the girl in the lunchroom at school and the medical assistant had said a
werewolf attack occurred seventeen years ago. If this was true, the story must
have been all over the Cedar Falls press, regardless of how small and poorly
funded their printing operations were.

The database was slow,
with the search taking almost a minute to complete; however, once it was done,
Anastasia was left with an abundance of articles. In anticipation, she began
skimming through them, but she was soon disappointed to learn that they offered
no information about the werewolf. It was like Cedar Falls wanted to keep it
their dirty little secret.

Frustrated, Anastasia
was seconds away from abandoning the search when one particular article caught
her attention. Dated seventeen years ago, the article was about a large female
wolf who had been captured and killed in Cedar Falls Woods. According to the
journalist, the wolf was hunted solely because of her size, with no rogue-like
behavior having ever been reported. As the accompanying image finished loading,
Anastasia gasped; the wolf wasn’t just large – she was huge! Even more shocking
was the wolf’s eyes because, despite being dead, they were still open,
vibrantly blue and looked exactly like Frost’s. In an instant, she knew that this
wolf was actually a werewolf, even if the publisher was too scared to state the
whole truth.

With a racing heart,
Anastasia shakily stood up and began searching for a book that someone had
returned earlier today. She soon spotted the spine of the book, which read
A
Guide to Wolves
, and then pulled it from the shelf. Trying to stay calm and
as rational as possible, she opened the book and read feverishly.

Immediately, the book
instilled in Anastasia the significance of the wolf. They were strong, brave and
territorial animals who were at the top of the food chain, with no predators
other than humans. Wolves truly were the rulers of the woods and a symbol of
knowledge and power.

Just like Frost
,
Anastasia thought with a chill, while remembering the time he’d somehow known
that they were being stalked by a cougar. The way he’d handled the situation
displayed strength, bravery and territorial traits, and that cougar was
definitely submissive to Frost. There had been nothing normal about that
encounter, and her suspicions were heightened by Frost’s mysterious claim that
he had a great affinity with nature.

Gulping, Anastasia
continued to read, discovering that several case studies had proven wolves to
have excellent memories.
Frost has an unhuman-like memory,
she recalled.
There’s no way he could’ve remembered being an abandoned baby in the woods.
That is, unless he’s not human...

Anastasia could hardly
believe the thoughts that she was having, but it was all too coincidental. The
more she read, the more connections she made between wolves and Frost. Wolves
were warm-blooded, with temperatures naturally rising to 102 degrees; Frost was
always hot, and he would never give her a real explanation for this oddity. As
for the ability to withstand the cold, he’d insisted on staying on the other
side of her window, despite the freezing weather, and he actually seemed to
enjoy it! Even his night vision was unlike an ordinary humans’. He saw too well
in the dark and could navigate through the woods in the harshest of conditions.
These traits also belonged to wolves.

Then there were the
little things, like how his intense eyes glowed in the dark, exactly like an
animals’. The way he’d reacted when hearing people talk about the Cedar Falls
werewolf was also unusual, especially for someone who had proven himself to be
unafraid of dangerous creatures. He’d been scared and tense, as if fearing the
exposure of a secret. Additionally, the way that Frost had abruptly stopped
coming to her window at night when the werewolf hunt increased was beyond
uncanny.

Everything Anastasia
had once found alluring about Frost now frightened her. She’d been too
infatuated with him to see that his behavior and traits crossed the line of
unique and entered abnormal at best. However, despite all of this, she couldn’t
forget how Frost was always there for her, saving her both mentally and
physically. He was loving, gentle and most definitely incapable of the
accusations which had been hurled at the werewolf. Better yet, there was a
strong possibility that Anastasia was completely wrong about Frost. Maybe she
was sick with more than a cold; maybe she was starting to hallucinate.

“Anastasia.”

Gasping, Anastasia
looked up to see Frost standing at the library’s entrance. She hadn’t heard him
come in, and she’d temporarily forgotten that they’d made arrangements for him
to pick her up after work. Was it already that late? Anastasia looked at the
clock to confirm that she should’ve begun closing up ten minutes ago.

“Hey, Frost,” Anastasia
replied in a strained voice, while shoving the book onto the shelf. “I’m, um,
not quite ready yet.”

“Take your time.”

Working quickly,
Anastasia turned off all the computers and then retrieved her coat. The whole
time, Frost had stood there, silent, still and watching her. This gave
Anastasia a creepy feeling, but it was more than just that. Frost appeared
unhappy and stressed. Normally, she would’ve begged him to tell her what was
wrong; however, she now wondered if she really wanted to know.

“I’m ready,” Anastasia
said, before switching off the lights and following Frost outside.

After locking the
library door, she entered Frost’s SUV. Apart from a few casual niceties, they
didn’t speak during the drive to her house. Anastasia was positive that
something was very wrong. Did Frost somehow know that she suspected him of
being the werewolf? It didn’t seem possible, but who knew what type of special
skills he possessed.

Finally, Frost brought
his SUV to a stop outside her house and then sat there, as silent and reserved
as ever. He looked as if he wanted to speak but couldn’t find the right words.
Anastasia knew that look very well; she’d seen it upon her mother’s face many
of times.

“Can I come in?” Frost
blurted out.

Anastasia was taken
aback since Frost had never shown any interest in entering her house. Before
tonight, if he’d made the same request, she would’ve assertively answered
yes
.
However, she was now uncertain, and she could tell that Frost sensed this
hesitation.

“I know your
grandparents are out,” Frost continued, “and we really need to talk – tonight.”

“Okay,” Anastasia
hardly whispered as she numbly unbuckled her seatbelt and exited the SUV.

As she unlocked the
front door and held it open for Frost, she wondered if she was making a big
mistake. What if Frost wanted to eat her? That’s what werewolves did, right?

“Can we go to your
room?” Frost asked, after Anastasia had gestured toward the couch in the living
room.

“Um, sure,” she
replied, while slowly leading him there.

Once in Anastasia’s
room, Frost began pacing like a caged animal. She couldn’t help but see the
irony in this; however, she was more concerned with how distressed he appeared.
Although Anastasia now felt a little wary around Frost, she still cared about
him a lot.

Suddenly, Frost stopped
pacing and grabbed hold of Anastasia’s hands. “I’m leaving,” he said in a
sorrowful tone.

“What?” Anastasia was
hardly able to choke out. She would’ve been less shocked if he’d admitted to
being the Cedar Falls werewolf, because she’d never once thought that he’d ever
leave her. “Why?” she demanded, when Frost failed to offer an explanation or
even respond.

“I...I can’t tell you.”

“You can’t or won’t?”
Anastasia snapped as she tore her hands from Frost’s grasp; his touch was
getting too hot for her to handle, anyway.

“Please try to
understand, Anastasia. I’m doing this to protect you.”

“Protect me from what?”
she challenged.

Frost opened his mouth
to answer, but no words came out. Instead, he cast her an apologetic look and
said, “You have to trust me.”

As Anastasia looked at
Frost, anger and upset swelled within her. This caused her to recall a certain
chapter from the book about wolves. It had said that wolves used a combination
of instincts and emotions to guide their behavior. Naturally social animals,
they were capable of displaying love, hate, loyalty, and fear. These emotions
were so strong that even mild-tempered wolves could become aggressive and
unpredictable.