A bone-shaking scream escapes my lips. Bizbee stands in front of me and bares her teeth. She’s trying to act brave for me, trying to protect me. But her entire body shudders. She’s terrified. We both are.

The white wolf curls its own lips back, showing us its fangs as it stalks towards the cave. Like it’s smiling at us… an evil smile!

“Go away! Get out of here!” I scream my lungs out, trying to scare the wolf off. My shout echoes down the mine shaft. Beside me, Bizbee lets out a fierce growl. The fur on her back rises up, going all bristly.

The white wolf is not impressed. Slowly, it keeps prowling towards us, like it has all the time in the world.

Bizbee and I scurry backwards, deeper into the dark mine. But it’s no use. There’s no way we can escape a wolf. I clutch my bloody arm and cringe. Always thought I’d be an old lady someday. I’d play cards with my old lady friends and give my grandkids birthday cards with money inside. Guess that’s not going to happen now. Instead, I’m gonna be EATEN ALIVE, like some dumb kid in one of those grisly fairytales.

SNIFF. SNIFF.

I open my eyes to see the white wolf at the edge of the cave. For a long time, the beast stands there, smelling the air. It’s only a few feet away. I can hear it panting. I can even feel its hot breath. But the wolf never enters the mine.

After a few blood-chilling moments, the wolf simply turns around and trots back the way it came. Right before it disappears into the woods, the beast turns back and looks at me. Those wet, black eyes gleaming with moonlight.

See you later, the wolf whispers.

I hear myself gasp in surprise. Then the whole world turns into one big shadow.

***

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“Where am I?”

I have blurry vision and my arm hurts like crazy. I squint, seeing my mom gripping the steering wheel of our family’s Jeep Cherokee. It’s still night and we’re racing down the highway. Whoa! Mom is breaking the speed limit. Things must be bad.

Emily and Bizbee are mushed together in the passenger seat beside my mom. Emily hugs our dog tight. I think she has tears in her eyes. I can’t believe it. I haven’t seen my sister cry since she was four years old.

I’m lying across the back seat. A bandage is wrapped tightly around my wounded arm. A red splotch seeps through. A red circle of blood. Mom takes a quick glance at me over her shoulder.

“Kat, you’ll be okay,” she says. But Mom doesn’t sound so sure. “Everything is going to be fine.”

I touch my wounded arm. “A wolf bit me. A real-life wolf.”

“You’re safe,” says Mom. “We heard Bizbee barking and found you in that cave. Now we’re taking you to the hospital.”

The jeep’s engine growls and I see trees whipping by my window. Jeeze, we’re going fast. “There was another wolf,” I say. “One that talked to me.”

My mom’s eyebrows scoop downward. They always do that when she’s confused. “What did you say? The wolf did what?”

“The white wolf talked to me,” I say. But my words must come out all mumbles, because Mom acts like I didn’t say a thing. Suddenly, I’m very tired. I feel all floaty and my eyelids are heavy. I can barely keep them open.

That’s when I see the older boy by the side of the road. Our jeep zooms by but somehow, I still catch a clear glimpse of him. He’s maybe seventeen, leaning against a tree in the middle of nowhere like he’s waiting for a bus. He wears dingy blue jeans and a white tank top that shows off his muscles. His hair is long and midnight black. His eyes are cool gray.

It must be a dream, I think to myself. What’s this guy doing in the forest alone in the middle of the night?

If it is a dream, it’s a bad one. Before I fall into a deep, black sleep I see the teen’s sinister smile. He has blood on his teeth.

***

Killer Paw stands beside the road and watches the jeep speed past. The young girl in the back seat presses her face against the window. She sees him. Killer Paw is sure of it.

Good. He wants her to see him. He wants her to be afraid.

The jeep zips around a curve in the road and disappears. Killer Paw turns and stalks back into the forest. Sharp pinecones crunch under his bare feet. But he doesn’t feel a thing.

The white wolf slinks out from behind a bush, its glossy black eyes shining in the moonlight. It has been waiting for Killer Paw.

The teen bows his head. “Don’t worry,” Killer Paw says to the wolf. “I got a big bite of her.”