The Mouse and The Wolf - Chapter 23: Chapter 23

-Jaden-
Oliver got scared again. Why? He was right here in his home! We made sure he got to the orphanage after school without anyone bothering him, and I couldn't smell anything weird on him when he came out, so I assumed he had stayed indoors the entire time. And yet, he got scared again.
I thought things were all right for him at the orphanage. He only got scared at school. Maybe his bully called him? Or maybe there's someone in that building that was horrible to him as well. But that didn't make much sense. The few times I had seen him going home he always hurried his steps, like he couldn't wait to get there.
Great. Now I had to stay and see what was going on in here as well. I hoped that whatever just happened to him, it didn't have anything to do with the orphanage, since the poor kid had enough to deal with at school already.
"Am I crazy?" he asked quietly with a weak voice. "I'm seeing things and hearing things and then there's... there's..."
He trailed off when his anxiety was kicking in. He hid his face behind his hands and tried to take deep breaths to stay calm. It was happening again! Right in front of me! Someone was scaring him, but there was no one around? Maybe I was going mad as well since I could almost feel someone right behind him. Someone really bad.
I almost panicked. I stood up, ready to protect him, but there was no one near us! What the hell was going on? My fur was standing up, my instincts were going crazy and Oliver was getting even more scared, and I couldn't do anything about it! It was only after he wrapped his arms around my neck and squeezed me tightly when he started calming down. The danger was gone, whatever it was.
Was he crazy? There weren't that many beings that could turn invisible, and even then, they would leave sounds and I should be able to smell them at least, but there was nothing. No smells, no sounds, nothing. Maybe he really was hallucinating, and I could feel what he was feeling through our bond.
"Oliver!"
Both Oliver and I jumped when we heard a woman's voice. I retreated behind the tall bushes they had in their yard, and peered at Oliver behind the branches. He stood up and turned to face the person who was calling for him.
"There you are! I was so worried!" The woman hurried to him. "Why are you outside in this weather without a jacket on?"
"I'm sorry, Mrs. Bundt..." Oliver muttered.
She stopped right in front of him, and made sure he was all right. Then, she spotted my pawprints. I felt a bit restless, but the lady didn't say anything about it when she turned to look at Oliver again.
"Let's get back inside or you'll catch a cold," she said, and started leading him back indoors.
Oliver turned to look at me for a brief moment and waved his hand. I felt so sorry for him. He looked so lonely. He was lonely. And confused and afraid. There was nothing I could do about it. Everything would be so much worse for him if he knew werewolves existed.
I watched them walk to the door, and soon, Oliver stepped in, vanishing from my sight. The lady he was with turned to look in my direction. There was something odd about the way she looked at... me? Did she know I was here? No, she couldn't... right? She then followed Oliver, closing and locking the door, and I was left alone in my confusion.
When I sneaked past our territory lines later that night, I was still thinking about what happened. I was so deep on my thoughts I didn't notice I wasn't alone, until I was suddenly lying on the ground, covered in gray fur. I managed to slip away from whoever had slammed into me, and I turned around to face one of the biggest wolves in our pack.
Beta Ryder himself.
He stepped closer to me and studied the scents on my fur, before he snorted loudly and turned into human.
"A human?" he spoke in curiosity. I changed my form as well, and bowed my head a little, which made him even more suspicious. "What are you up to?" he asked, and I sighed.
"I was just taking a stroll in the woods," I said, and continued walking towards my home.
"No, no, no, I'm not falling for that. You three have been too quiet this past week," Ryder spoke and followed me. "I don't like it."
"It was you who told us to behave," I scoffed.
"Yes, I did, but I didn't believe for a second that you'd actually obey me," he said.
"Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you," I muttered.
He laughed and shook his head. "I suppose you're not telling me why you're sneaking out every night without Arch and Tilly, and return smelling like a human?" he asked, and leaned closer to take another sniff.
"I told you I was just out for a run," I said. "By the way, have you ever heard of anything that can turn invisible, doesn't make any sounds or smell at all?"
He gave me a curious look. "Is that a riddle?"
"No," I muttered. "I don't know... It felt like there was someone there, but... It was just a feeling."
"A feeling?" he repeated. "You lost me."
I stopped and thought about the... whatever it was. "I could almost swear there was someone. Someone really bad. But there was nothing. Absolutely nothing. But I could feel it."
Ryder stopped as well. He had a deep frown on his face and he didn't reply to me in a moment. "Is there anything else you can tell me?" he then said.
"Not really," I said. I didn't want to tell him about Oliver. It just made things complicated.
He took a deep breath, and shook his head. "Well, I can't think of any actual being who could do that. Where did you get that feeling?"
"Uhh... It was in the town, right where the forest ends," I said, pointing in the direction where I came from. "There's this... orphanage."
He turned to look behind us. "I see..." he muttered and turned to look at me again. "Well, I don't have a clue, but I can ask around if you want."
"Thanks," I sighed. "It's possible I was just imagining things."
"It could be..." he muttered absentmindedly and started walking.
I didn't follow him right away. Something was off. "What?"
"What?" he turned to glance at me. I still wasn't following him, so he stopped and smiled. "I'm sure you were just imagining things, but I can ask around like I promised."
"Or you know exactly what it was and don't want to tell me," I said, crossing arms over my chest. "I'm not a little kid anymore."
There was a small pause of silence between us, before he sighed. "I don't know. All I know is that there's something going on in this town, and weird feelings and occurrences are getting a bit too normal for my taste. Arch – our only Diviner – gets sick when he's in town, but we can't find anything..." he trailed off and looked towards the town, even though he couldn't see it behind the trees. "Whatever it is, it's old world. I just know it."
I shivered without intending to. Old world never meant anything good. It was back when old gods ruled the earth. There were only a few ancient creatures left, who could use the darkest, most terrifying magic the world had witnessed. Us werewolves were just babies next to them. But it wasn't just beings that were called that. There were items, books, symbols and abilities as well that were much older than time itself. Everything that came from that era was simply called an old world.
"It could be anything," I sighed.
"I need you to keep this to yourself," Ryder said. "I have no idea why an old world would be here in this little town, and I sure as hell hope I'm wrong, so there's no point starting to spread a rumor like that."
"What are you going to do?" I asked.
He took a deep breath. "As a matter of fact, you may have pointed me in the right direction."
"What do you mean?"
"I'm sorry," he gave me a smile, "Your parents and I made a promise a long time ago, and I'm going to keep it. One day, it will become your secret to keep, but not today."
And with that, he left, leaving me more confused than I already was.