Page 42 of A Wolfe in the Woods

Eventually, my eyes began to drift shut.

In the strange place between reality and dreams, I heard it.

Scratch.

A sound at the door. Faint.

Just like the first night,I thought.

I didn’t move. I just lay there, breath shallow, listening.

Wondering if I was still alone and afraid of what might be scratching at my door in the darkness.

CHAPTER 11

JONATHAN

Iwoke on a floor.

Naked. Hot. Humid. Covered in dirt.

Mouth dry. Lips parched.

Taste of blood…there, still.

Where am I?I thought.

Slowly, the blur sharpened and my surroundings came into view.

A ceiling loomed over me, its wooden beams catching the pale light of early morning. I was in my cabin.

I looked down. Scratches on my arms. A scrape across my thigh. Something dark streaking my side. I didn’t remember getting back here. My shoulder ached. My ribs throbbed. My jaw felt like I’d been chewing gravel in my sleep.

I scanned the room. Half the furniture was knocked around. My boots were missing. The front door…unlatched. A breeze whispered through the cracked frame.

What time was it?

Sitting up slowly, I felt pain flare low and deep. My muscles screamed. Every inch of me felt wrung out. I felt like an aging furnace, smoldering embers from a previous fire.

The blanket I kept by the door, my usual fail-safe, was draped haphazardly over me. That meant I’d made it back at some point. On foot. On instinct.

My fingernails were filthy. I didn’t want to check my teeth. The mirror would confirm what I already knew.

Another blackout.

Another episode.

Fragments splintered my mind. I remembered…the moon, inky-black night. Running. Branches whipping at me as I dashed through thickets. Chasing. Blood in my mouth. Fresher than it tasted now, dry and crusted.

I rose unsteadily, gripping a side table for balance. My knees shook. My body was caught between two skins—neither felt right.

I was losing control. Slowly and gradually. Ever since she’d gotten here.

My memory came back slowly.

Last night, I’d gone up to Cryer’s Point.

With Blanche,I remembered.