NORA

I slam the window shut once I feel like the smell is getting to me. The latch goes back on, and I get down on my knees again to arrange what remains of the box. A few books, notebooks, diaries, and a couple more things that I'm quick to arrange in the room before I head over to the bathroom and splash some cold water over my face.

My head is still heavy, still pounding, and now I'm sure it's because of the lack of sleep. I haven't slept properly in days. Of course, it's going to hurt.

I dry my face, and then just as I set the towel back, I hear that sound again. However, it's clearer this time. It's a low howling that echoes in my ears, and it sounds as if it's coming from right behind me.

I leave the bathroom and step near the window again. My head leans out, and my eyes wander around the entire acre of land that this manor sits on, and it's a lot. There's nothing that I see, but I feel like my hearing is becoming better by the second because I'm hearing a lot.

A lot of wild noises that make my heart race in fear. I've been to many hikes, and I know what I'm hearing.

Wolves.

A lot of them.

The howls come from every direction that my eyes fall upon, yet I can't see anything. There's no other light out there except for the ones that surround the house, but I can still hear it.

There must be a pack of wolves nearby. That's the only thing I can assume. But I've never heard so many of them before. Or maybe I've never paid attention.

I step away from the window, not liking the way my heart is beating. It's fast. Faster than it has been since the day my parents were killed. My knees feel weak at one point, and I don't know why, but fear catches up to me.

My parents, from what I know, were killed by an animal. That's what attacked them, and that's what killed them.

And I don't want to go down the same way.

I lock my window and then step out of my room slowly. The noises continue, but they're a little quieter now compared to when I had the window open.

I walk across the hallway while the hair over my skin rises. I shouldn't be feeling this, I really shouldn't. I'm safe in this house. No animal would attack us here. This is different. I'm not alone. I'm safe. I repeat the words in my mind and walk further down the hall until near where I think Mrs. Sofia's room is. I haven't been here before, but I think it's right here. I knock on the door softly, hoping that it'll be enough to wake her.

It does.

"Come in." She says from the other side. I don't think she's asleep either.

I open the door and step inside. The warmth in her room engulfs me. She's leaned back on a lounging chair, legs crossed, and a book in her hands, while glasses are perched over her nose.

"What's wrong?" she looks up briefly.

"There are wolves outside," I tell her, not knowing what else to say. "Lots of them, it feels like." And it scares me. But I don't tell her that.

"They're just wolves, Nora. Nothing to fear."

Her eyes drop down on the book, and she turns a page. "They'll be gone soon. It's a full moon tonight, and they get restless on these days. It's the first since you've arrived. But not the last. You get used to it after a while."

"But—" My hand flung toward the window. "What if they come around? What's going to happen then? Henry told me that the property stretches into the woods."

"They'll not cross the property line." She says with such confidence, as if they're trained to stay away.

"And if they do?"

She looks up again, for the second time. This time, she takes off her glasses and closes her book partly. "They won't. And even if they do, they're harmless. There's nothing for you to worry about. Just get some sleep, and it'll be gone in the morning."

She brushes it off like it doesn't even faze her that there's probably a pack of wild freaking wolves surrounding her. How? How can she not worry? They're wild animals, and I've seen enough documentaries to know what they do when they get restless and hungry.

"Lock your door, if it makes you feel any better."

Right. Well, that doesn't make me feel better.

I wait for a few seconds before turning on my heel and leaving her room quietly. If she isn't bothered, maybe I shouldn't be that scared. Once I reach my room and the silence inside it, I begin to hear it again.

Even after locking the door, my body trembles at each sound, and I can't get rid of it. It doesn't go. My eyes close as I curl under the cover, trying to shut out every voice and every noise.

Sleep. Sleep. Sleep.

It does help me get a few minutes of sleep, but the nightmares that follow are worse than the howling. I wake up, cold and sweating at the same time. The voices in my head are louder than before, and the nightmares have taken on a new shape and meaning. I'm not sure what to think anymore.

I can't do this anymore.

All of this, everything, it's becoming so overwhelming that I don't know what to do or how to stop this. And then there's Mr. Marcelli. I shouldn't be thinking of him. Not the way that I am.

Where did he even go?

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