Hope snuck back into her room with the stuff she 'borrowed'. It took a few trips but thankfully, Mary seemed distracted by something.

When she reached her room, she grabbed her backpack and duffle bag. She put the cash, grimoire, phone, along with the paper she wrote on earlier.

Next, she grabbed her stuffed wolf and put it in her backpack.

What else did she need?

Clothes, some snacks, a hairbrush, and a blanket...was that it?

Hope frowned thinking hard.

Then she remembered.

Her art supplies.

It would suck if she left that behind.

Hope got to work, putting random clothes in the duffle bag along with her brush and her favorite blue blanket. Then she proceeded to gather her art supplies and stuff them into the duffle bag.

Once that was done, she went to the kitchen and grabbed some snacks in case she got hungry or thirsty.

She made sure to grab some juice boxes, Capri Sun, and two water bottles. Then she grabbed a bag of chips, some fruit snacks, some granola bars, and some candy that her mom thought she hid well.

That should be enough right?

When she reached her room, she put some of the snacks and drinks in her backpack. A water bottle, a Capri Sun, 2 granola bars, and a packet of fruit snacks.

Then she put the rest in the duffle bag.

Hope glanced at the door, knowing that Mary would come to say good night soon, and after she left that would be the time to enact her plan.

She stuffed the bags under the bed, making sure to grab her stuffed animal because Mary would find it suspicious if she didn't have it.

She put it on the bed and went to look through the clothes she didn't grab.

She grabbed a dark blue short-sleeved top and blue tie-dyed leggings. She also grabbed a black sweatshirt with a crescent moon on it, so that she could keep warm.

The last things she grabbed were her sneakers and a baseball cap.

She hid the clothes in the corner of her room and changed into a pair of her pajamas. She got on her bed and pretended like she was getting ready for bed.

The door to her room opened and Mary walked in.

"Someone's ready for bed," Mary said, with a smile.

Hope smiled back. "I'm just tired."

"Of course, sweety," Mary replied and took a seat on the bed, pulling the covers up and over Hope. "I want you to rest easy, dear. Your mother will be fine and will be back real soon."

'Unless my dad's family kills her' Hope thought darkly to herself.

But she didn't say that aloud, instead, she gave Mary a grateful smile.

"I know...I just don't like being away from her. Not that I'm not happy you're here but..." Hope trailed off.

"She's your mother...if you didn't miss her, I'd be worried. Now, dear one, you need to go to sleep, alright?" Mary said as she made sure Hope was tucked in.

"I will, night-night Mary," Hope whispered and proceeded to close her eyes.

Hope heard Mary soft reply as she left the room, turning off the light, as she closed the door.

Hope waited for what felt like hours but was probably only 10 minutes.

Once she was sure everything was quiet, Hope slipped out of bed and pulled out the bags. She put her stuffed wolf back in her backpack.

Then she changed out of her pajamas and put on the shirt and leggings she hid.

Hope picked up the sweatshirt and looked outside.

Would she be cold?

It was night, so probably.

Hope slipped on the sweatshirt and her sneakers, as she put the baseball cap on.

Then she grabbed her backpack and put it on her back, frowning at the weight.

This was going to be exhausting to carry around.

But she didn't have much of a choice.

Hope sighed and grabbed the straps of the duffle bag, which was surprisingly lighter than the backpack.

Was the backpack super heavy because of the grimoire?

It must be...

Hope slugged the duffle bag's straps onto her shoulder and quietly left her room.

She walked down the hallway, keeping her steps as light as possible.

When she finally reached the front door, she unlocked it, wincing at the loud click it gave. She held her breath and pulled the door open.

She stepped into the cool air and shivered as she realized how cold it really was right now. Hope was grateful she grabbed the sweatshirt or this would have sucked.

Hope turned and slowly closed the door.

However, she didn't immediately leave. Instead, she focused on the door handle, picturing it locking.

Hope felt the surge of power as her magic reacted to her request and she heard the click as the door locked.

Now, Mary wouldn't think she went through the front door, which would confuse her as she tried to figure out how Hope left.

Sorry, Mary.

Hope turned and crept down the steps, knowing that until she was completely out of sight, she had to be quiet.

When her feet met the grass, Hope sped up slightly in the direction of the woods. When she reached them she relaxed slightly.

Hope looked back at her house, feeling her fear and uncertainty rise.

What if she couldn't do this?

She was a kid...

Then, Hope shook her head and focused on the anger she felt when she learned the truth and her fears melted away, overwhelmed by her anger.

She had to do this.

She had to find out the truth.

Besides her mom deserved a small scare for not telling her the truth.

Hope faced forward determinedly and started walking, keeping in the forest but following the road.

As Hope walked, she glanced around.

A part of her was scared of the woods, especially at night but the other side of her felt at home...like she belonged here.

Under the stars, breathing in the fresh and cool air of the night.

It felt peaceful...no, she felt at peace.

Hope's eyes trailed the trees as she walked, observing the shadows that seemed to move around her.

Hope had been walking for around 30 minutes and she began to get bored.

This was harder than she thought.

Snap

Hope froze.

What was that?

Did Mary realize she was gone and come looking for her?

Or was it someone else?

...or something else.

Hope heard shuffling behind her and turned slowly.

A wolf...

Hope's mouth dropped open in shock at the creature.

It had reddish fur, that had lighter shades and darker shades within it

Its eyes were orangish-gold.

It was beautiful.

Hope looked at it curiously.

It didn't look fully grown.

But it also wasn't a pup.

More like a wolf stuck between puppy-stage and adult-stage.

It was around the size of a German Shepherd or a Husky.

Its intelligent eyes watched her and it cocked it's head to the side, sniffing the air.

After it did that, it seemed to relax.

Did it smell her wolf side?

"Hi..." Hope whispered.

The young wolf approached cautiously and Hope hesitantly reached out with her magic, brushing it over the wolf causing it to freeze and stare at her intently.

Did it feel her magic?

Hope had no idea wolves could feel that.

Hope continued to prod it with her magic, relaxing as she became sure that it was a real wolf and not a werewolf.

And it was male she realized.

Then again, it wasn't a full moon, so that wouldn't have been possible but it was possible for wolves to be in wolf form on days that are not the full moon based on what her mom told her about her pack.

He walked forward again yet Hope didn't feel afraid.

So instead of running, Hope knelt down onto her knees to make herself less of a threat, putting her duffle bag on the ground beside her. The wolf stopped when he was right in front of her.

The animal and tribrid were now, face to face.

His eyes stared through her as if it could see all her flaws, making her feel vulnerable. But Hope still wasn't afraid.

He leaned forward and boopped his nose against her's.

Hope burst into giggles.

The wolf moved backwards in surprise.

Hesitantly, Hope reached out her hand, opened palmed.

He nudged it with his nose and gave it a light lick, causing Hope to giggle again.

What?

It felt funny...

Hope smiled at the wolf as it sat down in front of her.

"I'm on a mission," Hope said to the wolf. "I'm trying to find out the truth about my family because my mom is a liar."

The wolf chuffed softly in reply and Hope blinked in surprise.

"You're a pretty wolf." Hope complimented, reaching out a hand again.

And to her surprise, he bumped his head against it.

Hope grinned and began petting him.

"Do wolves like being scratched behind the ear?" Hope wondered. She knew dogs did but what about wolves?

The wolf just watched her, not giving a hint of understanding like it did before.

Hope hesitantly tried scratching behind his ear and the wolf immediately responded by pressing his head closer to her hand.

Hope smiled and continued scratching the wolf behind both ears before pulling away causing the wolf to whine.

Hope smiled at the animal.

"I can't stay...I have to keep moving." Hope said in explanation.

He watched as she got back up and got to his feet as well.

"It was nice to meet you, Mr. Wolf," Hope said, softly, picking up her duffle bag. And turned to leave. She started walking away but heard movement behind her.

She turned to see the wolf following her.

Hope gave him a confused look. "I'm leaving. You have to return to your pack." Hope said, softly.

The wolf stopped and gave a low whine.

Hope paused.

"Do you not have a pack?" Hope asked, frowning.

He gave another low whine and took a step forward.

Huh...this was either a smart wolf who understood what she was saying or was understanding her because of her wolf side or he was just reacting to her body language...

Her mom had said that animals are really good at reading that. Apparently, body language is something all species of all kinds can understand.

Hope didn't completely understand what that meant but oh well.

Hope observed the wolf.

"Do you want to come with me?" She asked, softly.

The wolf straightened instantly and gave a small yip.

A smile broke out on her face. "I'll take that as a yes...I suppose I could use the company..come on, we have to move." Hope said, waving the wolf over.

He immediately bounded over and the two started walking.

Hope glanced down at the wolf as they walked.

"I need to give you a name," Hope declared, as the two continued in the direction she had been going earlier.

A/N: Name suggestions for him?