Secrets of the Wolves

Chapter 4: We're All Dogs Here

“N-no thank you,” I stammered and I looked back down, my face blazing like a furnace.

She slid into her seat and leaned towards me, her dark curls bouncing towards my face. “C’mon, Sigrid. I’d love to show you ‘round town.”

It won’t be worth it, I thought forlornly. It will never be worth it.

“Or we could chill at my house if you want.”

The idea of actually having a girl friend was so tempting my insides were boiling, rioting in my face, protesting me saying ‘no’. My hands were nearly shaking. What could one day hurt? Tomorrow I could act like I had a horrible time and then ignore her. At least then she would’ve felt successful in the act that she would’ve tried, seen me as a helpless case, and would proceed to leave me alone.

“Sure,” I said, my eyes flicking to hers.

She lit up like a light bulb. “Awesome!” Raylor grabbed my agenda and opened to today’s date. “Here’s my address. Come over any time you like.” She stole the pencil from my hand and scrawled it down. “My number’s there also, in case you can’t read my handwriting.” She smiled at me again, her white teeth glowing.

“Okay,” I said, looking down at the agenda.

“I have to go meet Tobias,” she said and she stood up. “I’ll see you later, Sigrid.”

“Bye,” I said softly as she leapt out the door. My blood was cold. I had never been so anxious in my life. First someone else gets in my head--not to mention it’s a wolf--and then I say yes to hanging out with someone? Merriweather was really doing a number on me.

………

I pulled up to the humane shelter after school and immediately the dogs started barking. I saw Pheeter, Dee, and Dum, and all the other dogs I had yet to associate myself with. I headed inside and my heart squeezed at the sight of angry, hissing cats.

Chandra appeared when the bell on the door rang and she smiled when she saw me, her black eyes narrowing to crescents. “Hello again! I’m glad you came back.”

A brief smile crawled upon my face. I fished the form from my back pocket and gave it to her. “My parents signed everything.”

She clapped her hands and took the paper from me. “Excellent! The dogs have been so antsy since you left. I think they really want to meet you.”

Yeah and rip my throat out, I thought.

We could take ‘em, my wolf said.

I resisted rolling my eyes as Chandra led me into the dogs’ room. Of course we could, dumbo. She silenced herself and lay down, watching everything around us.

“The dog food is way back here,” Chandra said, taking me to the door on the opposite end of the room filled with cages and barking dogs. “Stop it!” she said to a German Shepard who was scratching the floor to get out of his cage. He growled, but lumbered over to his bed. His nametag said ‘Rocky’.

Chandra led me into the room and I saw a giant sink and a stack of dog bowls beside it. There was a line of different dog foods, about half of which had slits cut in them. The room was roughly small, but it held everything. In a pile in a corner there were dog beds, and a few of them had rips in them. A stack of towels were beside it and I was a little astonished at the effort Chandra put into this shelter.

The last shelter I’d helped out at was grungy and the dogs were scrawny and starving. Here . . . this was luxury for a shelter. These lucky dogs. I noticed a door in the back that was marked ‘Employees Only’ and I could smell the scent of drugs leaking out of the bottom of the door. I swallowed uneasily, feeling sick, realizing this was not a no-kill shelter.