Chapter 2

Levi

I would die out here.

I would so die out here.

I would be one of those tragic stories on the news. Young, gullible, taken advantage of by a greedy manager, even though you usually had to be famous for that. I wasn't famous. I wasn't rich. I was just a guy who overshared on social media.

And now I was the guy who'd die in the wilderness—and it was my fault for being dumb enough to sign that damn contract with Alistair. I'd had a bad feeling about it right from the beginning, but logically, he'd said all the right things. His arguments had been solid and the prospect of someone taking a bit of the ever-increasing workload off my shoulders? Yeah, it'd been tempting. Too tempting.

If it sounds too good to be true, that usually means it is. At least, that's what my mom used to tell me whenever she'd seen one of those skeezy ads promising you to lose fifty pounds in a week or a way to become a millionaire in a year.

I should've listened more closely to what she'd had to say. If I'd done that, maybe I wouldn't be here.

Sighing, I started stuffing everything back into the backpack. I didn't know what to do, but I knew I couldn't stay here. The wind was picking up and getting colder and colder, and the water started coming closer to where I was sitting. The only problem was that I really didn't want to go away from here, just in case Alistair realized what a bad idea his plan had been, or because it'd all been a really, really , really bad prank.

Were prank-videos still in?

I didn't know. Then again, I hadn't known that abandoning people with no survival skills whatsoever in the wilderness was a thing now, so I might just be the wrong person to ask.

A loud snapping sound made me flinch. I turned my head in the direction the sound had come from, and my heart stopped for a moment as I saw a huge, sandy-brown wolf emerging from the thick underbrush.

Holy shit.

My eyes widened as I took his form in, unsure of what to do. Could I even do anything? The wolf was massive, bigger than I'd ever expected a wolf to be. Like, I knew they were bigger than regular dogs. I also knew people tended to underestimate how big a wolf really was, but that thing far exceeded any of my expectations.

And it was coming right at me.

Was running away an option?

Was I supposed to run away?

My legs were firmly rooted to the spot, my ass glued to the tree trunk I was sitting on, and my heart hammering as I watched the wolf slowly, casually approach me.

It looked… happy?

It was ridiculous. The wolf wasn't happy to see me. Or maybe it was because it'd just found a tasty snack wrapped in a bright red jacket that screamed ‘ I'm here ' from a mile away.

How did one behave if they saw a wolf? Was I supposed to look intimidating? Yeah, good luck looking intimidating to a wolf that was almost as tall as I was if I was when standing. Or was I supposed to play dead? Would it help to just drop to the ground and hope for the best?

The wolf was still coming my way, his tongue lolling out of his mouth on one side, a spring in his step. No matter how ridiculous it sounded, the wolf did indeed look happy.

Something inside my chest eased. Maybe this was me starting to accept I wouldn't make it out of here alive. Maybe it was the way the wolf's head lolled from left to right with every step as he was trotting closer.

The wolf came to a halt directly in front of me. Raising its snout, it loudly sniffed, scenting the air. Its tail started wagging, and I could swear there was something flashing in its eyes.

Ri-di-cu-lous , I told myself again.

But the wolf didn't attack. It didn't look aggressive or dangerous in the slightest. Instead, it dropped his butt onto the beach and cocked his head, taking me in with what I'd describe as curiosity.

"Uh… hey little… well, big guy," I said, my fingers twitching with the need to bury them in his fur. Which was crazy. Even without knowing anything about wild animals and wolves, I did know that petting them wasn't recommended. They might bite. They might kill me. They might have fleas or rabies or some other disease I definitely didn't want to contract.

Still, there was this urge inside of me to hug the damn thing. Its fur looked so damn warm and cuddly, perfect to just hide my face in.

A yipping sound made me flinch again, but before I could react, I had a snout right up in my face that made me stop dead in my tracks. A cold nose sniffed me, then the wolf proceeded to nuzzle my face, rubbing its cheek against mine.

Was this the moment the wolf marked me as his prey before hunting me down?

It didn't feel like it. Well, it did feel like it was marking me. My friend Lola's cat had always rubbed herself against me to scent-mark me, and this felt an awful lot like that.

Which was… good? I think. At least with cats it meant they liked you.

Did that mean the wolf liked me?

I could live with that. A wild animal liking me was far better than it trying to eat me. Okay, there would be no trying; I had a perfect view of his teeth. They were ginormous and sharp. If it wanted to eat me, it would.

But it didn't. Instead, the wolf rested its head on my shoulder, its warmth seeping into me; the thick, coarse fur tickling my nose. It was almost like the wolf was hugging me. But I swear, if it put a paw around me, I'd scream.

But also… I let out a breath and relaxed against the warmth. I knew I shouldn't do this. I knew in my head that what I was doing—what the wolf was doing— was completely illogical, but I was so utterly alone and terrified and the wolf was… here and warm and appeared to be friendly, and I just didn't want to be out here alone anymore.

Tears welled up in my eyes again. I tried biting them back, but it didn't really work. And then there was a hot, wet tongue licking at my cheeks, chasing the tears away.

"Ew," I said, carefully trying to shove the wolf away—which was a fruitless endeavor. His head alone was heavy as fuck and didn't move an inch. "Stop it, Wolfie!"

I could swear the wolf huffed at me for calling him—‘ Wolfie .' Maybe it was a coincidence, or I was losing my mind after all. It certainly felt like I was. Cuddling with a wolf almost as tall as me definitely wasn't what anyone would call safe, sane, logical or, well… anything besides reckless and crazy.

Yet here I was.

The wolf finally let go of me, sat back down on his back legs, and proceeded to study me with an expression that seemed far too deep and intelligent for an animal.

"Uh… hi," I told the wolf, raised my hand, and waved at it… him? I had a feeling it was a male wolf. I didn't know for sure, and I certainly wasn't about to take a peek, but in my mind the wolf was a he.

The wolf huffed again, his tongue lolling out of his mouth, head cocked to the side. He looked cute. Adorable . Which should be impossible for such a big ass predator.

"I'm Levi."

Great, tell the wild animal your name. I'm sure he'll appreciate the introduction.

"I'm kinda lost, if you haven't figured that one out yourself," I continued, because talking to a wolf was better than not having anyone to talk to.

Crazy.

Completely, utterly crazy.

Yet, the wolf looked at me like he was waiting for me to continue. As if he was actually listening and understanding what I was saying.

Yeah, I'd definitely lost my mind.

"You probably don't know a safe place for me to stay the night, do you?" I asked, furrowing my brows before adding. "And maybe a place to fill up my water bottles?"

I wasn't expecting a reaction. Really. I might be crazy enough to talk to a wolf, but I wasn't crazy enough to expect him to understand me, let alone answer me.

So I was more than shocked when the wolf suddenly rose, turned around and started heading back in the direction he'd come from.

He'd probably lost interest in me, I thought, my stomach dropping. A strange pang of disappointment hit me right in the heart.

I'd be alone again.

Yeah, that had to be it. I just didn't want to be alone out here. Being with a wolf seemed like the safer option—at least if he didn't decide to eat me after all.

Halfway toward the forest edge, the wolf paused, turned his big head around, and yipped at me before nodding in the direction of the underbrush he'd come out of.

"Do you want me to follow you?" I shouted, even though entertaining this thought was pure and utter madness.

Apparently, the wolf didn't think so. He yipped again, and it almost looked like he was raising his eyebrows at me.

For a moment, I just sat there and stared at the wolf. Was this really happening? Was I hallucinating? Maybe I was already on the brink of death, lying somewhere in the forest, severely dehydrated, coming up with an alternative scenario in which a wolf was rescuing me while, in reality, there was a wolf happily chewing away at my legs.

I shuddered. Nope, I wasn't going to think about that.

The wolf yipped again, louder and more insistent this time. As if it was asking me what the fuck was taking me so long.

Which, granted, was a fair question, considering I'd asked him to show me the way.

No. Not a fair question. This wolf was behaving… off. Not like I'd expect a wolf to behave. Maybe he was sick. Didn't wild animals sometimes seek out humans when they were sick? If so… great. I'd probably already gotten what he had because he'd licked my face, and I'd let him.

So, considering I'd probably already caught whatever disease the wolf was carrying… what did I have to lose by actually following him into the forest?

I could get lost, for one, which would suck. I could fall over a root and break my foot. The wolf might be luring me in so he and his pack could eat me..

But what were my other options? Staying here? I didn't have fresh water; I had no shelter, no nothing. So… why not follow the wolf?

I couldn't believe I was considering this, and I definitely couldn't believe I actually got up, stuffed all the gear back into the backpack, then grabbed it, and started following the wolf right to the edge of the forest. In the middle of the underbrush, there was a small, barely visible path, probably created by the wolf and his pack.

Where was the pack, anyway? Wolves were pack animals, weren't they? Or were there special kinds of wolves? I mean, the term lone wolf existed, so maybe there were indeed a few wolves without a pack.

"Do you have a pack waiting for you?" I asked the wolf.

He turned his head to me, his eyes searching mine for a second. They were a light yellowish-brown and almost appeared to be glowing.

"Stupid question. I know you can't answer me."

With a huff, the wolf turned back and disappeared between two big bushes. And by big, I meant as tall as me.

As a city boy that didn't have any relatives living anywhere besides major cities, I'd never really been anywhere rural. I was probably the antithesis to the Canadian stereotype; I didn't know how to chop wood, I didn't know how to fish, and I didn't know anything about surviving outdoors. I did, however, I did like maple syrup—a lot. Not that it was at all useful right now.

After a couple of steps into the forest, I had to pause. Shrubs were tugging at my jeans, hitting my face left and right, and even though there was a small path we were following, walking here wasn't exactly easy. I only knew these kinds of wild woods from pictures, but I hadn't expected them to be so dense. In those stunning, high-res photos, the brushes looked like knee or hip-high, not up-to-my-head high.

False advertising , I thought to myself, while stumbling through the woods, desperately trying to keep up with the wolf who didn't appear to have any troubles walking here.

After a couple of minutes, I was drenched in sweat.

By the half-hour mark, I was huffing and puffing and felt like I'd just been climbing up the StairMaster for ages. Still, I ignored the burning in my legs and kept going. By now, what other choice did I have? Turning around and heading back wasn't an option, seeing as a look back told me I couldn't even see the path we'd taken for more than a couple of feet before it just disappeared right in front of my eyes.

Also, there was still the problem with me needing water and while there was an abundance of water in the form of the Pacific Ocean at the beach, even I knew that wasn't drinkable. I didn't want to speed up my death with dehydration, thank you very much.

Finally, after already contemplating if I should try talking to the wolf again, I heard a promising sound—splattering. That meant there was water close to us.

I sped up my pace and caught up to the wolf that took a turn to the left, leaving the path we'd been following. We headed up a small hill that, fortunately, didn't have any of the thick bushes we'd been hiking through. The sound of water hitting stones got louder and louder the farther we went up the hill, and when we finally reached the top, I gasped.

Right in front of us was a small waterfall, a small stream steadily flowing down something that resembled a set of stairs made out of rough stones, pooling into a small, crystal-clear lake. This was incredible. Stunning. So beautiful I wanted to take a picture.

"Water!" I shouted, tears pooling in my eyes. "You really showed me where to find water!"

Heading closer to the edge of the lake, I felt my legs shaking, exhaustion settling into my bones. I'd been awake since five AM and damn, I was thirsty as hell.

Dropping my backpack next to me, I went to my knees and pulled out the water bottles, then proceeded to fill both of them to the brim. The water was so clear it looked like regular drinking water I might buy in a store. I just hoped it didn't have any bacteria in it. Bacteria were small enough to be undetectable.

Raising a bottle to my lips, I sighed as the icy cold water hit my tongue. I drank a big gulp, a second one, then a third one, until the dry feeling was washed away. The water tasted like heaven. Taking a fourth sip, I let my head fall back and stared at the canopy above me. Dark greens were mixed with bare branches, and yellow, brown, and reddish leaves. The sky above was a light grey, announcing the fast-approaching nightfall.

"Thank you, Wolfie," I said upon turning around to my strange companion. I smiled, raising my bottle at him. "I don't know how you knew what I was saying, but… thank you."

I wanted to hug the damn thing again. It was like a pull deep inside my chest, urging me to seek the wolf, to leave the shore of the lake and head over to where the wolf was patiently waiting.

"I'll just fill up the bottle again, and then… do you know of a place for me to stay? Please say yes."

The wolf yipped in what I hoped was affirmation and kept watching me like… like a wolf eyeing his prey. Just without the about-to-kill-and-eat bit.

I hurried along, following him back to the thick underbrush we'd just walked through.

Not gonna lie, but my heart sank a little at the prospect of having to walk all the way back through that utter hell of tugging twigs and thorns. Fortunately, the wolf took a turn to the right and trotted along the edge of the bushes. I sighed in relief, as walking over the almost bouncy forest floor was so much more comfortable than trudging through the never-ending sea of man-high bushes. Not even the thick roots crossing our path could deter me. Actually, it was quite the opposite; they helped me get up steep inclines, functioning as nature-given stairs.

Still, I hoped I wasn't going to have to keep walking for much longer. The water might've helped to restore a bit of energy, but all the walking made my stomach growl in hunger because, of course, I hadn't eaten anything today. Photoshoots didn't turn out good if you were bloated, so fasting for a day it was—at least that's what I'd heard and since I didn't have any prior experience with modelling, I'd just followed that advice, thinking I'd reward myself with poutine or a pizza afterwards.

No matter where the wolf was leading me—that was if he was leading me anywhere—I had the strong feeling I wouldn't get my poutine or pizza anytime soon.

The air grew colder and colder, and it felt like it was raining, while in reality it was just a very fine mist of sea water. The wind was blowing right at us. That probably meant we were heading back to the beach? I mean, the air definitely tasted more salty than it had at the lake.

Oh, I kinda wished I could've stayed there.

A yawn escaped as I made the descent down another small hill, my wolf patiently waiting for me at the bottom until I'd caught up to him.

Then he turned around and yipped. As weird and illogical and utterly crazy as it was, by now, I knew what this meant. He wanted to make me aware of something.

Turning my head, I studied the forest lying ahead of us. Thick trees, small trees, fallen trees and tons and tons of leaves and pine needles covered the floor. In the distance, I could see more of those fucking horrible brushes as well as… cabins.

I might've shouted a little in relief. Located to my left, there were a couple of small cabins. I started running. The exhaustion chased away by the prospect of people living in those cabins, of someone being able to help me get out of this fucking ridiculously impossible situation.

However, as I got closer, I realized the situation wasn't quite as amazing as I'd hoped. Yes, there were cabins, but they didn't look like someone was living in them. There was no glass left in the windows, green moss covering the outer wooden walls, and the steps to the first cabin looked rotten, like they might collapse as soon as I stepped onto them. Still, they were cabins.

I stopped as soon as I stood right in the middle of the small… settlement? If three cabins in the middle of nowhere could be called a settlement. Slowly spinning around in a circle, my chest filled with a mix of dread and relief. Dread because I still hadn't found a way to get out of this situation, and relief because at least I'd have a roof over my head tonight.

The sky above had changed from a light grey to a very dark grey, reminding me that the day was almost over. Whatever I wanted to do about my stay here, I'd have to do it tomorrow. For tonight, I'd have to hope that no predator—other than my wolf— would visit me in one of the cabins.

Speaking of my wolf… I turned around to find him standing a couple of steps behind me, looking almost smug—which he had every right to be.

"I have no idea how you did this, but… thank you," I said. "Again." I snorted and gave into what some part of me was urging me to do ever since he'd shown me that lake. I ran towards him and wrapped my arms around his neck.

Insane, I knew, but I still did it. And it felt… good. Weirdly right. Which definitely wasn't what I was supposed to be feeling upon hugging a wolf so big my arms barely reached around his neck.

"Thank you," I whispered against his scratchy, coarse, but oh-so-warm fur. "Thank you so much."

The wolf yipped again, but this time, I didn't know what he wanted to tell me. You're welcome?

He took a step back, and I reluctantly released him from my embrace.

He yipped again, then turned his head in the direction we'd been coming from. Another yip, another look to me, then back to the forest, and back to me again.

"Do you have to leave?" I asked, still not really expecting an answer. "Because you can, you know. I mean… I'll definitely stay here for the night. Maybe tomorrow I can find a cabin that's actually inhabited, but for tonight, this is perfect. So… thank you."

My heart sank as the wolf actually started walking away, albeit slowly. He looked back at me a couple of times, but in the end, he started running and was gone within seconds.

It took me a while to recover enough from what'd happened to get back into motion. Turning around, I tried to estimate which cabin would be my best choice, deciding to have a quick look at all of them before making any hasty decisions.

After all, it wasn't like I had anywhere else to be tonight.