The wolf stared at me with perked up ears. I stared back at it with my heart in my throat.

I knew there were plenty of animals living in these woods, including large predators, but I had never seen a wolf. Especially not one this massive—it had to be over six feet long. Others had mentioned seeing bears or wolves in the past, but that was during camping trips. Neither predator were supposed to come this close to town. Maybe that was why Boris wanted to build a fence around his garden. To make sure wild animals couldn't just walk in when he had his backdoor open.

Shit, I hoped Boris didn't leave his back door open.

I knew better than to turn my back on a wolf or try to run. It was faster than me anyway, so I slowly started shuffling backwards while keeping my eyes and my phone's torch trained on the massive animal. While the wolf kept its gaze on me, it didn't seem to follow me.

I continued moving and planned my next actions. If I managed to get myself to safety, my next priority would be to make sure Boris and Aquila knew there was a dangerous animal in their garden. When I'd put a few more feet of distance between myself and the wolf, I dared to slowly move my other hand to my phone to call Boris.

The moment I tapped my phone's screen, it turned out Boris wasn't the one I should be worried about right now. It was me.

With a bark, the wolf leapt out of the garden through the opening in the fence and ran onto the path. It closed most of the distance I'd tried to put between us, and stood right in front of me, only a few feet away now. I froze, my breath coming in short bursts. From up close, I could see even better how humongous and muscular this wolf was. It was also really fast. This wasn't a normal animal.

"Okay, uh, good boy," I started blabbering in my panic. "I don't have any food for you, so you run along now, okay?"

The wolf just stared at me. Because it was a fucking wolf that didn't understand a word I just said, and I was the food.

With trembling hands, I tried to dial Boris' number again, this time to save my own hide. The wolf barked and took a step closer again, making me take a step back and freeze. We were caught in a strange sort of waltz, the animal and I. It didn't seem to want to attack me, but each time I tried to call Boris, the wolf barked and stepped forward, making me stop. It was almost like it didn't want me to use my phone. That was ridiculous, however. Wolves had no concept of what a phone was, and shouldn't be responding to it.

Still, I had no strategy or other ideas here, so I went with my theory of the wolf reacting to me tapping my screen. Slowly, I lowered my phone to show I wasn't going to use it to call, but kept the torch mode on to keep an eye on the wolf. It tilted his head to the side, but didn't follow me this time when I shuffled backwards.

I had to fight my instincts screaming at me to run away now that I could put more distance between myself and this terrifyingly gigantic wolf. With small, quick steps, I kept walking backwards, until I heard leaves rustling behind me as well.

My breath caught in my throat. My body went rigid, and I was pretty sure my heart just stopped. Wolves were pack animals. There would be more. I didn't dare to turn or move, and I almost screamed when a loud, booming, and familiar voice rang out behind me.

"Get out of here!" Boris stepped beside me, waving his arms. "Scram!"

Immediately, the wolf's ears flattened, and it lowered its head. With a soft whine, it then turned and ran back into the bushes. The rustling sound swiftly faded into the distance, and I released the biggest relieved sigh of my life.

"Jesus Christ," I muttered under my breath.

Boris patted my shoulder, almost making me jump from the adrenaline still coursing through my veins.

"Easy now," Boris reassured me. "It's okay, he's gone."

"Yeah, right, thanks," I breathed, briefly closing my eyes before looking up at Boris with a frown. "I was lucky you were here and could scare it away, but this isn't good. Wolves aren't supposed to get this close to town, o-or approach people."

"No, they are not," Boris agreed.

"This is really dangerous," I continued. I kept my eyes trained on the bushes, as if the wolf could jump out at any moment again. "Do you think people have been feeding it during bonfire nights? I'm not the only one taking walks here now and then. We should really warn people not to feed them."

"Nah, people haven't been feeding this wolf," Boris replied vaguely.

I looked at Boris, furrowing my brow. "How do you know?"

"Because we tell everyone not to, of course."

Boris shot me a friendly smile. He acted very breezy and unconcerned about this all, which confused me.

"Yeah," I said. "I also tell people not to make out in the bushes near the road because there's a lot of nettles there. But I still hear of people getting stung in places they don't want to be stung at."

"Ha! Glad to hear the wolf didn't scare away your sense of humour."" Boris let out a hearty laugh. "Come on, kid, I'll make you a cup of tea inside so you can catch your breath. You still look terrified."

I breathed out through my mouth. I would've kept a brave face and speed-walked back to the bonfire if Boris hadn't offered to go inside for a sec, but I was glad he did. "That sounds good."

Boris and I walked to his front door together. I'd been in Boris' house countless of times, but only during the day with my parents there as well. Usually, we visited or invited him over for dinner after he fixed something in our home. Boris absolutely loved venison steak, and my mother worked at the butcher shop, which mostly had meat of wild animals in stock. Boris gladly gave us a discount on handyman work if my mom or dad prepared a good steak for him.

Being alone with Boris inside his house made me feel a little awkward, but that feeling quickly went away when we stepped into his cosy living room and Boris immediately walked on to the kitchen to make tea.

Interior-wise, the place was a complete mess with mismatched couches, and carton boxes containing various items ranging from packs of flour to old books scattered across the room. Items frequently landed in the most peculiar places in Boris' house. He'd leave things like a kettle or toothbrush on the windowsill because he'd get distracted halfway through a task and abandon it.

I grinned when I saw a pair of working shoes on the windowsill today, wondering how those had ended up there. Then I noticed the backdoor was open a crack behind swaying curtains and my smile faded.

"Shouldn't you close the back door?" I called out. "You know, now that there's a wolf out there?"

"No, leave it open," Boris said from the kitchen. "Aquila is outside, going for a run. He needs to be able to enter when he gets back."

My jaw almost dropped. "Aquila's outside?" I repeated, my voice rising. "With a wolf out there? Shouldn't you call him or look for him?"

Boris snorted loudly. "Nah, don't worry so much! Aquila lived in the wilderness all his life and knows how to handle other animals and other wolves."

"Uh, okay?" I hesitantly replied. Judging from the answers Aquila gave at school regarding his skill set, I didn't doubt he would know what to do when faced with a wolf. Still, he could be caught by surprise. I wasn't entirely at ease as I took a seat at Boris' table when he returned with two steaming cups of tea.

"Thanks," I murmured at the table's surface as Boris pushed one cup my way.

"Hey, Xavier, don't look so down. There's no need to be concerned, okay?"

I raised my eyes to meet Boris'. There was a flicker of worry in his amber eyes, but that worry seemed to be for my sake.

"Wolves don't tend to attack people," Boris said. "In fact, the wolves of Pinewood are special. They're protectors of this region and everyone in it, including the people... Especially the people."

For a moment, Boris looked dead serious. Then he cracked a heart-stopping smile, his eyes crinkling kindly. "That's what the legends of Pinewood say, at least, don't they?"

"Oh." I blinked, then tentatively smiled back at Boris. "Yes, they mentioned those stories at school when I was little. Large wolves who would guide those who were lost back to the path, and even wolves who'd save little children by pulling them out of the river they fell in. But I also heard Mrs. Bennet put a stop to sharing the legend of the protector wolves with the really little ones. She thought it may encourage the children to go looking for wolves in the woods."

Boris hummed and took a sip of his tea. "Mrs. Bennet is probably right," he said. "The wolves aren't the danger lurking in Pinewood's forests, but it's probably best not to go looking for them."

"Right. And neither should the older kids or the adults," I added. My eyes were pulled to the ajar door behind Boris. "Are you sure Aquila is alright?" I asked.

"You've seen him in school." Letting out a deep sigh, Boris dragged a hand up his forehead. "He's fine in the woods. Really, don't worry. But he's most certainly not alright. What a piece of work. What am I going to do with him?"

"Well, he uh..." I opened and closed my mouth, trying to find something positive I could say to Boris about his nephew. "He's talking to me now, at least," I offered. "And I saw him show a bit of interest in the bonfires. I tried inviting him tonight, but he didn't want to go."

"Huh." Boris' eyebrows raised. "You invited him to a party," he repeated slowly, the corners of his lips tugging up. "Are we talking about the same Aquila here? Growls? Rips up schedules? Scares the shit out of principals for fun? You thought it a good idea to invite that Aquila to a bonfire?"

I chuckled and scratched the back of my head. "Well, if you put it that way, it sounds like a bad life decision. But I don't know, I don't want him to end up isolating himself. That's not going to make this any easier either. And my mom said..." I trailed off. I probably shouldn't remind Boris I had initially thought his nephew was an escapee from juvi who had to learn how to behave before he hit adulthood. "My mom said to treat everyone the way I want to be treated and to not judge."

A small smile appeared on Boris' face. "You're a good guy. I'm glad Aquila has one friendly face at that school."

My cheeks flushed at Boris' compliment and the way his gaze lingered on me for a while before he turned back to his tea. "Anyway, drink up," he told me. "I'll bring you back to the bonfire after we finish our tea, yeah? The wolf is gone, but I wouldn't be able to face your parents if I let you walk off in the dark alone after that."

"Thanks," I said, genuinely grateful. "But I think I've had enough excitement for one evening, and I have some work to do. Could you bring me home instead?"

"Of course," Boris agreed with a nod. He started chugging down the tea like it wasn't piping hot. I'd always wondered how he could do that. And come to think of it, I had never seen Boris drink coffee either. He didn't react strongly to it like Aquila, but he always declined, saying he was allergic.

I raised my cup to my lips, taking significantly smaller sips of tea than Boris.

We only made small talk after that while we finished our tea and Boris walked me home. But I couldn't stop thinking about the wolf's strange behaviour and how Boris didn't seem to be worried about Aquila. There wasn't much I could do about either, however, except put out an email when I got home, warning people there were wolves nearby town and to not feed them.