The Wolf

By Kayla Perrin

The Raven Hills forest. Rumor has it that a werewolf roams among the woods day and night, searching for victims. Students at Raven Hills Junior High believe that a kid from their school became a victim of the werewolf after he vanished...without a trace.

Connor and Emily Graham, thirteen-year-old twins from Kansas, are having a hard time adjusting to life in Raven Hills, Pennsylvania—where they have gone to live after the tragic death of their parents. They're misfits in their new town, not able to relate to anyone but each other. They especially don't believe the crazy story about a werewolf.

In fact, Connor often seeks solace in the woods. And that's what he does after he has a horrible fight with his sister. He goes into the woods as he always has, needing some alone time to think.

Only he doesn’t come out.

Emily, determined to find her brother, searches the woods day after day. Haunting dreams seem to give her an ominous message, however—that her brother is no longer who he was. That he has been turned—into a werewolf.

However, nothing will stop Emily from looking for her brother. But she will soon learn that the Raven Hills forest holds deep and dark secrets. Secrets that will change their lives forever.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kayla Perrin
• Release date: Mar 19, 2014
• ISBN: 9781310733765

Kayla Perrin

Kayla Perrin is Essence bestselling author of more than twenty-five novels including The Delta Sisters, We'll Never Tell, and What's Done in Darkness. She was featured in the documentary Who's Afraid of Happy Endings. She lives in Toronto, Canada.

Book preview

THE WOLF

by

Chloe Perrin

SMASHWORDS EDITION

*****

Published by:

Kayla Perrin

The Wolf

Copyright © 2013 by Chloe Perrin

Edited by Kayla Perrin

Smashwords Edition License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author’s work.

Publisher’s Note:

This story is a work of fiction. References to real events, organizations, or places are used in a fictional context. Any resemblances to actual persons, living or dead, are entirely coincidental.

Find Kayla online:

www.kaylaperrin.com

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Printed in the United States of America

© 2013 by Chloe Perrin

No part of this ebook may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical—including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system—without permission in writing from the publisher.

CHAPTER 1

Connor Graham kicked a rock as he walked through the sprawling forest of Raven Hills, Pennsylvania. Pain shot through his big toe, causing him to wince. Stupid! he muttered to himself. The rock had been too large to kick. But he was upset and wasn’t thinking.

As he often did, Connor had come to the Raven Hills forest this evening because he needed some time to himself.

He made his through the tall pine and majestic maple trees until he finally found a small clearing with a large boulder in the center. He climbed onto it and sat down with a sad sigh. His feet dangled off the massive stone as he looked toward the sunset. He watched the forest swallow up the sun as the light slowly disappeared.

Maybe I should just go back. Emily will forgive me.

Connor slid off the rock and down onto the soft grass. He took one last look at the stretch of amber sky that was growing darker every minute, then turned to leave the forest. It was time to go back to Emily. Time to work things out with his twin sister.

Walking through the darkened trees, Connor stopped dead as he heard a growling noise of some sort. Or was his mind playing tricks on him? There were rumors that a werewolf lived in the Raven Hills forest. The kids at his junior high school talked about those rumors all the time. According to them, before Connor and Emily had ever come to Raven Hills, a kid named Frankie had disappeared after going into the woods. He hadn’t been seen since—anywhere—and the kids at Raven Hills Junior High were convinced that he’d become a victim of the werewolf. They even said that sometimes, Frankie—now a werewolf himself—could be seen lurking near the school’s baseball diamond, where he had once been an acclaimed pitcher.

Connor had never believed the outrageous stories. Perhaps that was one of the reasons he had failed to fit in with the kids in his seventh grade class since moving to Raven Hills three months ago. The day summer break had started had been a huge relief to him, because it meant that he didn’t have to see those losers for two whole months.

Now, however, Connor couldn’t help remembering their crazy stories about a werewolf. He started moving again, this time more quickly.

And then came more growling, along with the sound of breaking twigs.

Connor started to run. His foot caught on a tree root, and he stumbled forward, landing with an oomph. The sun was gone. Only the full moon and countless stars provided any light. He had to admit, he was pretty creeped out.

Getting to his feet, Connor wiped his hands on his shorts. The growling noise grew louder until it turned into a howl. His eyes widening and his heart pounding, Connor ran as fast as he could through the endless trees. He could hear barking behind him, and knew that a wolf must be chasing him.

Connor ran as fast as his legs would carry him, but the wolf was very quick and caught up easily. He could hear its feet thundering on the ground, its angry breathing. He knew it was close…

The wolf jumped into the air and landed on Connor’s back, knocking him onto his stomach. Shrieking, Connor squirmed and tried to get away, but was only able to turn onto his back. Which made things worse in a way, because now he could see the massive beast that was holding him down with ease. The wolf bared his sharp teeth.

Connor squeezed his eyelids shut and screamed as loud as he could before feeling powerful jaws sink into his throat.

The seconds ticked by. Slowly, Connor opened his eyes. The wolf was glaring at him with hungry, yellow eyes. It sat there and watched him screaming as blood gushed out of his throat onto the forest floor. His screams were disturbed by a horrible choking sound, and blood began to bubble out of his mouth. There was no more air inside his lungs…

Blood continued to spill out of his neck as he gasped for even a little bit of air. He lay on the ground with one hand on his neck and the other reaching out toward the sky.

Connor’s hands were covered in blood. His arm was slowly falling as he was dying. He