Chapter 22

• Snapping branches jolted me from my thoughts, and my heart nearly stopped as two wolves walked into the clearing. I had never seen wolves in person before, only in pictures and movies. These wolves were enormous, much larger than I expected. Both had midnight-black fur, shiny and glistening. I had always assumed wolves, living in the wild, would look much dirtier. While I wasn't certain of their geographical range, I was fairly sure wolves didn't live in Georgia. What troubled me even more was that I wasn't afraid. It was as though my mind and body had simply accepted my death as inevitable.
• My mind played through the scenario: Sophia eaten by wolves. Jessy would probably dance with joy while Kat and the twins wondered what happened to me. Would Lauren even notice when I failed to come home? Did wolves leave any scraps?
• Lost in these thoughts, I hadn't noticed the wolves were now sitting only twenty feet away, staring at me as though I were the anomaly. They locked eyes for a moment, then resumed their gaze.