The Prophecy Series Book 2: Red Wolf

Old Highway 41 is the only way in or out, which means everyone knows when someone is coming or going.

That is why I’ve stopped here. As soon as I go any further, everyone will know I’m back, and that will mean that things are real.

I never thought this day would ever come.

I never thought I’d return home.

Red Wolf has always been a small town, meaning everyone knows one another, and not much happens under the radar.

I wasn’t born here, but I grew up in Red Wolf. I don’t remember exactly how I arrived in this small town all those years ago, but I was eight when I came to stay with my aunt and uncle.

The memory is a bit of a blur… One day, I was living in a small apartment with my mother; the next, she brought me to my aunt and uncle’s house, where I was given my very own room.

Timothy and Genevieve Wolf welcomed me with open arms and raised me as their own.

I remember I was distant for the first few years. The memories from that time are still a bit foggy, but I suppose it is because I was in shock over my mother’s sudden disappearance.

All I could discern was that my mother had left me with them and, then disappeared shortly after. By the time I turned ten, I’d realized she wasn’t coming back for me.

As for my father, well, he was nowhere. He’s been missing since before I was even born.

I never really asked my aunt and uncle how or why I was with them and not my mother, and they never went into any detail about it either.

I assumed they just didn’t know. I assumed they’d be honest with me if they knew anything.

But I’m not sure I believe that anymore.

Times have changed. I have changed. And I’ve come back here for answers.

I am here, now, in the car, psyching myself up, because this isn’t going to be easy. They are more than just my aunt and uncle. When I was twelve, they officially adopted me, and I became a Wolf.

They explained at the time that they would never try to replace my parents but, also, they wanted me to know that they would never leave me.

I don’t regret becoming a Wolf. Being a Wolf is an honor, and while I never understood the unrelenting respect the townspeople gave us, I can’t say I didn’t appreciate it.

The whole town treated my aunt and uncle like leaders of sorts, and that meant no one dared to mess with me growing up.

In high school, the other students would whisper behind my back, and anytime I asked what they were talking about, they would change the subject.

But while I didn’t understand all this, it was normal life for me. I only realized later, when I went to college, that not every town is like Red Wolf. That the people here are…different.

After I graduated from high school, I enrolled in college at Miami University, and from the moment I arrived in Florida, I was shocked.

I soon realized that the rest of the world is much bigger and crazier than little Red Wolf. It works very differently, with most people not showing respect to anyone or anything.

But through it—through all my doubts and hardships and adjustments—my aunt and uncle supported me, and they were in the front row at my graduation two years ago.

I don’t know why I never visited Red Wolf after leaving for college. I guess, after seeing what the rest of the world was like, I realized how different it was. How unusual.

Maybe I felt embarrassed? I’m not sure. But regardless, I stayed away. I stayed on campus during the holidays while all my friends went home to see their families.

Until now.

I’m not sure why, but the questions about my mother’s disappearance have begun gnawing at me in a way they haven’t done for a long time.

It’s silly really. It’s obvious she just didn’t want me and abandoned me. Heck, she’s probably dead at this point.

But I can’t shake this uncomfortable feeling…

If nothing else, I figure it’s about time I come home. I’ve been away long enough, and after all my aunt and uncle have done for me, all the love and support they’ve shown, they deserve to see me.

And who knows, maybe I’ll even find out why everyone treats them, and me, so differently here.

I take a deep breath, start the car, and pull back onto the highway.