A Howl In The Night by Lorelei Sutton (best novels for students TXT) 📖

“Well...”I hesitate, staring at his face. He’s so…pretty when he laughs.

What am I thinking?

“Don’t answer that,”he says quickly, as if he is afraid of my response. “Are they gone now?”

“Yes, but we probably need to seek cover. This rain is not going to let up any time soon.”

“What did you do to them?”A small voice asks, and I look down to see a small toddler. I can’t prevent a smile from crossing my lips.

“I guess we can always tell time with Danae,”I joke, sensing Xavier’s eyes on me.

“I’m see-ri-us,”she whines, making me laugh even harder. I never get used to seeing her this young.

“I’ll explain later,”I respond calmly. I don’t even fully understand myself about this world or how to explain anything I have experienced so far.

“Are you…back to normal?”she asks quietly. I ponder the meaning of her question. Is there even a normal anymore? What does she mean by the word?

“About as normal I will ever be, I guess.”

“That’s great.”She smiles, and I am blinded by flashing teeth. I start to feel uncomfortable looking at her optimistic face.

“We should probably get going,”I turn away to talk to Xavier, “You can put me down now.”

“No,”he smiles mischievously, making my heart flutter incomprehensibly. Sometimes I just can’t understand myself.

“Um, really, it’s okay. I can walk.”

“Let me take care of you, Mona. You can’t fool me again.”I stare at his chest as he starts running, the others probably following right behind him. Feelings are coursing through me, confusing me to no end. Why do I feel like I want to touch him? Why do I even care at all?

It is as if I can’t reign myself in any longer. I imagine stroking his neck, unable to look away from his face as he stares ahead. This lack of control throws me off guard, and it seems to only happen when I am around him.

This may be something I just need to get out of my system. Regardless of how I got this strange desire, maybe some indulgence would satisfy me quickly and end this desire once and for all.

That’s it. He affects me just because I’m attracted to him. There isn’t any real feeling involved, besides this burning need I’m experiencing.

I loosen up, leaning my head against his chest, nuzzled against his body. I’m going to ride this one out, and only afterwards will I take my prescribed dose before leaving them. And this time, I am never coming back.

I can’t help but feel as if I am lying to myself, but soon become lost in the thoughts of the future.

“Mona,”Xavier’s low whisper dances to my ears.

“No…five more minutes,”I stretch my arms out with my eyes still closed, grabbing something and squeezing really hard. “I’m comfortable here.”

“Mona, you’re choking me.”My eyes snap open, and I quickly loosen my grip on his neck. Xavier seems amused, causing a blush to spread across my cheeks. My mouth opens and closes, almost like a goldfish. Mentally I scold myself for not coming up with a suitable response.

“You’re so cute,”Xavier smiles, and then slowly brings me to the ground. I suddenly notice that the rain is not pounding on me anymore, and the ground isn’t wet, either.

“Where are we?”I choke. My stomach growls as I survey my surroundings. Is this…

“It’s an alcove in the side of a mountain,”He looks up and away from me, “it’s small, but it’ll do.”He lights a flashlight and sets it in the corner.

“Where are the others?”

“There are series of caves and little alcoves in the mountains around us, and since none was big for all of us to sleep in together, we split up. The others are staying in a slightly bigger one a couple of miles away.”He smiles, and then digs around in his backpack. I watch his strong fingers as he pulls out a very strange-looking object. It is covered in sharp thorns and is about the size of a pear. “You must be hungry,”he smiles, giving it to me.

“Um, thanks.”I say quietly, surveying the fruit cautiously. “How do I eat it?”

“Oh,”he laughs, “I forgot that you wouldn’t know how to.”His long eyelashes suddenly flutter beside my eyes as his face grows close to mine. “You grab the top of the fruit, this stem, and one of these long thorns, pulling them away from each other as hard as you can.”His biceps are strained as he rips apart the fruit’s shell, leaving some blue thing in the middle of it.

“Are you even listening to me?”Turning to me exasperatedly after a few seconds of no response, he looks at me with concern. I watch the contours of his face—how his expression morphs from one to the other and how every movement just seems so tantalizing.

“I’m hungry…”I stare at him, almost as if in a trance, reaching one hand out towards his face. It is then that I suddenly realize what I am doing and pull back. There is no need to act like a freak, Mona. That is not how you seduce someone…even if you wanted to.

My hand suddenly turns and reaches for the blue object instead. As if to wash away my embarrassment, I stuff it in my mouth all at once, measuring the flavor of the fruit. It is unbearably tangy, leading me to almost spit it out all at once.

“Mona, what’s wrong with you?”Xavier leans in, his arms wrapping around my body to support me from almost falling over.

“I’m…sorry,”I apologize, taking one agonizing swallow. It makes me shudder, burning all to way to my stomach.

“It’s these clothes,”Xavier mutters, touching the wet fabric of my shirt. “That’s what’s wrong.”He rummaged within his small backpack, looking for something.

He’s right that my clothes are soaked, but that isn’t the problem at all.

“I have a few extra t-shirts,”he pulls out some clothing and lays it on the ground. “I’ll build a fire, and you change.”

“Change?”Subconsciously I back up against the stone wall, my expression of alarm. “Here?”There is no secluded section of this little alcove, with not much between the inward walls and the pouring rain.

“Would you rather do it outside?”He stares at me piercingly, a smirk on the edge of his lips.

“Uh…uh…”

“Well, get to it. I won’t look.”He turns and looks in his backpack again, swearing as he does so. “If only I had my knapsack…”

I reach over and grab a large t shirt, and then scamper to the wall. “Face the other way,”I squeak as he suddenly turns to gather some dry sticks from the alcove. He looks at me in amusement.

“Okay, if you insist.”Smiling, he slowly turns to face the rain. I can almost sense the laughter emanating from his being, laughter that almost sends steam out of my ears. Calm down, Mona. It’s okay.

I quickly undress, probably faster than I ever have in my entire life. My undergarments are soaked too, so I remove them as well and put on the huge t shirt. It swallows me up, but it isn’t very thick. It’s dry though, which is a huge plus.

Xavier turns around without waiting for me to say so, and his first glance is at the clothes I left on the floor. “Hey!”I exclaim indignantly, but he wordlessly crosses over and takes my wet garments without even looking at me.

“Everything, huh…”he murmurs, and then starts to laugh inexplicably. Sitting down by his little pile of sticks, he casts his first glance at me with that same smile on his face. “My clothes look good on you.”

I blush, turning beet red as I gesture to him wildly. “What about you? Your clothes are wet!”

His smile grows even wider. I’m sick of seeing it in some ways, and in others intrigued by how far it could possibly stretch.

“I suppose it is my turn.”He stands up, and almost simultaneous pulls his shirt over his head. My breath sucks in at the sight of his upper body, and I am unable to look away no matter how hard I try. He casts a glance over to me, and winks.

I can’t stand it. These feelings of…lust that are turning me into a mere animal. A beast, even.

He turns away and starts rubbing two large sticks together furiously. It takes only seconds before sparks fly and the fire is built. The clothes are laid out close to the fire, since there is no way to hang it from above.

“Aren’t you forgetting something?”I ask, my voice unusually high. At this, he faces me again, smiling like a devil.

“I figured we could use the rest of the shirts as blankets. It’s a little chilly out here, is it not?”

At his words I shiver unintentionally, and he extends one finger towards me. “Come closer,”he says in a tantalizing manner. As if frozen, I just stare at him. “I have food.”He obviously can sense my hesitation.

For some reason, the only thing on my mind is him, no matter how much I wish otherwise. The sight of his strong muscles is embedded in my thoughts, barring me from basic actions such as…sitting. Or talking.

Chills run down my back.

He sighs, and pulls another small fruit from his bag. “Don’t make me come and get you.”Pulling the fruit’s shell, he waves the treat towards my face.

Almost robotically, I walk over to his side and slide onto the floor. “Good girl,”he smiles, patting my head. My hand automatically raises to knock his hand off, but the warm feeling that accompanies his gesture causes it to stop right before doing so.

He starts laughing again. Why is this crazy kid in such a good mood? I’ve never seen someone laugh so much in such a short amount of time. “What’s up? You’ve decided to be nice to me today?”he teases, flicking my forehead with his finger. It stings really badly, and I give him the worst glare I can come up with.

“That wasn’t the plan,”I mutter, reaching for the fruit as my stomach emits a particularly embarrassing growl that echoes within the cave. My expression twists into anger as he pulls his arm out of my reach.

“Let me feed you,”he says quietly, splitting the fruit with his hands. It looks almost like an orange, with the way he could separate it easily into sections. I try to ignore my own face, which has betrayed me by turning beet red once more.

“Where did you get this stuff?”I asked while scooting against the wall. He mirrors my action while holding the luscious treat. I can’t take his gaze—it’s honestly the scariest and most intriguing thing I have ever experienced.

I really just want to go jump back into that well. Anything is better than this humiliation.

“We found several bushes scattered across the forest, all with different types of fruit growing. At first, we thought they were all dead, but it was just the abnormal shape of the fruit that threw us off. But hey, don’t try and distract me.”He leans in, our thighs almost touching. “Open your mouth.”The fruit dangles in front of my nose.

“You’re insane if you think I’m gonna…Oomph!”I suddenly can’t speak as Xavier shoves a piece into my mouth. The tangy flavor sends shudders throughout my body.

“Now, that wasn’t that hard, was it?”He keeps grinning, watching my expressions. “I just love teasing you.”

“I hate you,”I snap at him after I hurriedly swallow it.

“You’re so cute,”he responds genially, rubbing his hand through my hair and traveling downwards to trace the back of my neck. “Even if you don’t know it yet, you’re mine.”His low, throaty whispers send goose bumps down my arms. I don’t understand why my body seems to be telling me again and again that he isn’t lying.

“N-never,”I stutter, leaning even farther away. When I look back, I see him completely turned away, looking in his backpack once again. Confusion enters me as a strange feeling of unsatisfaction clouds my thoughts. “I don’t even know why you t-think t-that.”I stand up roughly, planning on escaping while I still can.

“You said it yourself.”He comes up with his best imitative voice. “I’ll never leave you again!”he copies me, over exaggerating my diction.

“It