Read Online Wild by Naomi Clark - Free Book Online

sleeping here all night?”
    “I had a nightmare. I just …” She sat up, trailing off. “I couldn’t sleep.”
    “Flashbacks to your adventure in the church?” he asked, a touch of sympathy in his voice that surprised her. “This has really messed you up, hasn’t it?”
    Hell yeah. She shrugged and rose, stretching aching limbs. “I’m going for a shower. What time’s Vic getting here?”
    “About an hour.” Harris began flicking through TV channels, his sympathy all used up.
    Lizzie resolved to be out of the house before that.
    ****
    Possessed with an urgent need to escape, Lizzie threw on a pair of sweatpants and a worn Buzzcocks t-shirt and drove to Whitley Gardens, deciding a good jog was what she needed. It had been a year or so since she’d done any proper exercise – she’d given it up along with her degree - and the rocky park was a good place to start over. Large enough that it was worth jogging around, but small enough that she wouldn’t have to push herself.
    A light drizzle kept most people away from the park, apart from a few kids skiving off school. Lizzie balanced against the metal fence ringing the park and stretched her calves, surprised to realise she was enjoying herself. It felt good to be outside, away from Harris and the ever-present shadow of drugs. Her wolf dreams seemed distant, almost laughable in the light of day. Fuck acid, seriously. She was staying away from that one in the future.
    Of course, she was staying away from everything, because she was going to quit, wasn’t she? Right.
    She began moving, setting an easy pace and counting each step in her head as she went. The rainfall grew heavier, splattering off her hair and dripping off her eyelashes. The sudden downpour quickly cleared the park of the few other people there, but Lizzie couldn’t stop yet, needed to run off all the confusion and frustration. She quickened her pace, ignoring a slight twinge in her calf muscles. Cold rain sluiced over her, spurring her on. Her trainers churned the grass underfoot to mud as she ran.
    Lightning cracked across the sky, flooding the air with the clean tang of ozone. Thunder followed, booming like the heavens were splitting open. She jumped at the sound, a squeak of surprise escaping her dry lips as she slipped on the path. She landed on her arse, winded and wincing.
    Swearing, she struggled back to her feet and decided to give up. She turned to head to the gates.
    A blur of black raced towards her.
    Lizzie screamed and fell over again as the creature rushed her. A fleeting impression – burning eyes, ivory fangs, hot breath - branded across her mind. She raised her hands, squeezing her eyes shut, waiting for the pain.
    It never came. Gasping for breath, she rolled onto her stomach in time to see the wolf land a few feet away from her, body low to the ground, eyes narrowed. Rain washed over the coal-black fur, slicking it against the creature’s lean frame until it looked like animal was coated in tar.
    “Wolf,” she rasped, remembering staring up at this same creature not two weeks ago. A hysterical laugh bubbled up inside her. It was the same one, the one who bit her. She could tell by it’s mangy fur and gaunt frame.
    The wolf raised its lips soundlessly, red tongue lolling. Not threatening, just watching, just … waiting.
    For a few seconds they stayed like that, the wolf’s gaze burning into her. Then lightning flashed again and thunder broke across the sky, breaking the spell. The wolf rose and raced past her, heading for the thick line of trees at the other end of the park. For a minute, Lizzie couldn’t move. Fear, anger, confusion and panic wrestled inside her, freezing her where she lay on the path.
    The rain slowed, the storm’s brief fury spent, and she could move again.
    ****
    She drove home and sat in the car outside the house, listening to the radio. She didn’t want to go inside yet. Vic would still be there, him and Harris cutting lines and high-fiving each