□3□

The following day - a SUNDAY, mind you - got off to a good start again. Actually, I would sleep in on the weekend. And just so we understand each other correctly: my sleeping in means waking up around eleven o'clock at the earliest, enjoying the warmth for a while and getting used to the light, and finally considering getting up. But the boys apparently had other ideas. Or maybe they just liked to annoy me.

Jared loudly decided to go into my room at eight o'clock, open the curtains and then steal my blanket. His loud laughter filled my entire room, but it wouldn't last long. Because I would make him pay for it.

"JARED!!!" I shouted angrily and sat up suddenly. He dropped my blanket on the floor, just turned around and then walked away again towards the living room.

Still pissed, I reached into my bag and pulled out a cozy sweater. It was a simple black color and had two white bars around the arm at the elbows. I quickly put it on and did a loose braid before I went downstairs too.

Everyone was already waiting there and looking at me eagerly. They seemed to be waiting for me to snap, but I wouldn't give them that satisfaction. So I just sat down at a free Seat and looked towards the kitchen, where I thought Emily and Sam were.

"So, slept well, sunshine?" Jared asked when I still showed no emotion. Embry and two other boys I didn't know started grinning. Even though they tried to suppress it, you could clearly see it.

“Actually very good. But I had a weird dream towards the end, you know? There was an asshole cowering in the corner crying and repeatedly begging for forgiveness. When I woke up and thought it was over, I realized that this person really existed. Unfortunately, the guy looks even scarier in reality than in my dream," I said calmly and looked at him with innocent eyes. The boys immediately started laughing, only Jared looked at me offended.

The next moment, Emily and Sam came into the living room, each of thema plate full of pancakes. A smile immediately formed on the faces of the anabolic steroid guys. I could have even sworn they started drooling.

"Good morning, Aurora" Emily greeted me warmly and placed the first plate directly in front of me. Sam also nodded at me, giving me a brief smile.

“Hey! Why is she the first to get something to eat?!?" Jared complained again, but no one responded. Instead, Sam briefly introduced me to the other two boys. The younger one was called Seth. Fortunately, he still looked normal and wasn't a closet like the others. The second guy's name was Jacob. He really fit the bill, the next one with anabolic steroid problems.

After everyone got their portion of pancakes, we started eating. What struck me immediately was that compared to the boys, Emily and I had a tiny number of pancakes. But I wouldn't be able to eat more than I had now.

A few minutes later the boys had eaten everything while I was still nibbling on the last one. The looks of the ravenous pack seemed almost pleading. They kept staring at me. It almost felt like they were devouring my food with their eyes.

"I certainly won't share with you!" I said calmly, looking everyone in the eye. Jared in particular seemed disappointed, but that didn't bother me much. I sensed a chance to tease him.

Without further ado, I moved closer to him and even turned in his direction. Smiling sweetly, I continued to eat in peace. Jared's look became more and more sad and longing. But I didn't give up. No, instead I briefly waved my last piece in front of his nose around and then pushed it into my mouth with relish.

I heard the boys' laughter very clearly and Emily also giggled quietly to herself.

"That's not fair!" he complained immediately and crossed his arms over his chest.

“Little revenge for before. But don't worry, that's not all," I said and then stood up. Emily had just disappeared into the kitchen with the empty plates and cutlery. So I decided to help her.

This time she even accepted my help. Sam also joined us a short time later with the applesauce and jam that we had eaten with the pancakes.

"You know, there's one thing I'd really be interested in," I interrupted our silence. They both turned their heads towards my direction and gave me their attention. So I just kept talking.

"Why me? Why did you adopt me?" I finally asked. My facial features and voice remained constant so that no one could read my feelings. I didn't want to show anything. No matter what answer I would get.

I actually asked this question to just about every family I came into. Many answered me with a fake smile and said I was the perfect child for them. Others said they couldn't bear not giving a poor girl at least a chance at a normal life. But in the end it always came down to the same thing. All the families wanted to appear selfless and self-sacrificing on the outside, but inside they were just waiting to be able to deport me again. None of the families I've met so far really wanted to help me. No, I was beaten, groped or taken advantage of by them.

So why should things be different here? What could be better this time?

“I heard about the closure of the orphanage. So I decided to ask if we could take in a child here. The director then suggested a few children to me who were around your age and then we decided on you," Emily explained to me, beaming as always and shrugging her shoulders.

"Yes, but why me?" I asked and turned to the two of them. Sam had once again wrapped his arms around Emily's waist and pulled her close.

“There’s something about you. We couldn't quite figure out what, but there is definitely something," Sam explained to me, even though I didn't quite understand what he meant. But at least it was a different answer. And I couldn't see any signs of a lie in their eyes, so...

I ended this conversation with a short nod and then went back into the living room. Luckily the boys were gone. It suddenly felt so pleasantly quiet in the room.

Suddenly Sam appeared behind me and gently pushed me aside. I was still half in the door, so he couldn't get through any other way.

“I'm going away for a while. See you two tonight.", Sam said goodbye and disappeared from the house not a second later. Emily now came into the living room and looked after him. I looked in the same direction, but not because of Sam, but because of the forest. That's how long it took It's been the last time I had peace and freedomcould enjoy what a forest offered me. It almost magically attracted me.

“If you want, you can go out for a bit. But please don't go too deep into the forest and don't stay away for too long," she said worriedly and interpreted my thoughts correctly. She had apparently also noticed my longing look.

I didn't need to be told twice. I quickly ran up the stairs to my room to change and then grabbed my jacket, my cell phone and my headphones. I quickly stood back in the living room and said goodbye to Emily beaming. She really became more and more likeable to me.

I ran a few meters into the forest. At first I stayed close to the house as Emily watched me. But, after she went back in, I move on. I could hear the gentle sound of the sea from far away. A pleasant smell of fresh wood and the gentle gusts of wind that made my hair fly gave me slight goosebumps. I closed my eyes for a moment and turned in a circle a few times before continuing on. Deeper and deeper into the forest. At some point I arrived at the sea. A large beach stretched beyond the edge of the forest. Numerous cliffs appeared on the left side, otherwise the beach was only surrounded by forest and sea.

A big smile formed on my face again. My feet carried me across the cool sand of their own accord. It took a while until I finally reached the water. Wild waves kept rushing towards the beach. I slowly crouched down and lowered my hand into the icy water.

I would have loved to go swimming, but I would

probably freeze to death before I can fully enjoy it. Even though the desire to have my body surrounded by water and to feel weightless was enormous, I couldn't fulfill it.

Although it would certainly be pleasant for my back. The cool water would numb it and make me forget the pain for a while. But I would probably wake up tomorrow with pneumonia and a high fever.

So I went back to the edge of the forest and sat down by a tree there. I carefully leaned my back against the rotten wood. It still hurt, but it was somewhat bearable. I reached into my jacket pocket and pulled out my cell phone. I put the headphones in my ears and looked for a good playlist. With the music pounding in my ears, I closed my eyes and relaxed. It almost felt like all the burdens and worries were lifted off my shoulders.

Apparently I had fallen asleep because when I woke up, I realized that the sun was slowly setting, turning the sky a warm red-orange color. The sea also seemed a little calmer, but it was a lot colder than before.

I'd better hurry up. After all, Emily had told me not to stay away too long. Well, technically I violated both orders. I had gone far too far into the forest that I didn't even know my way around, and I had been gone almost all day.

I sat up and stretched first. When I went back into the forest, I realized that I didn't even know the way. My sense of direction was already almost zero, what should i do now? I didn't know this place and you can get lost in the woods if you leave the path.

If I was lucky, I just walked through the forest, always straight ahead. After all, I had only walked straight on the way here. So I would definitely find my way somehow. The forest couldn't be that big.

After half an hour, however, I could no longer say that. This forest was monstrous, almost infinitely large. By now it had also become dark. The freezing wind blew around my ears, sending shivers down my spine. And my legs were starting to get tired too.

"Damn it!" I swore loudly and angrily kicked a tree.

I ran my hand through my long, dark blonde hair, exhausted.

Suddenly I heard a crack behind me, making me jump. I immediately spun around in the direction the noise was coming from, trying to see something in the dark. For a moment I thought I saw two shining eyes, but the next moment they were gone again. It was probably just my imagination. Still, it kind of scared me, so I kept running quickly. But a short time later I heard a faint rustling in the bushes to my right.

“No matter who is there, I don’t find it funny anymore.Please come out or just disappear," I thundered. My voice sounded stronger than I actually felt. The mental movie was already starting in my head. I could already see a drunk man or maybe even a monster coming out of the thicket and attacking  me.But it didn't happen like that. It took another minute for something to happen, but then I could see those beautiful dark brown eyes again. This time they came closer, but very slowly. Once the creature was close enough, my breath caught in my throat. A huge wolf stood in front of me! Crap! How much bad luck could a person actually have in one day?!?

I quickly turned around and ran away. Even though I knew that the dark silver wolf could easily catch up with me. But running away was better than doing nothing and just waiting to die.

But of course my luck still wasn't ready to do its job. No, instead I tripped over a fat root of a tree and landed roughly on the ground. It can only get better!

I turned around, panting. The wolf slowly came towards me, in a stooped posture. He had his head down, but always kept an eye on me. Still, it scared me, so I crawled further and further back until I had a tree on my back and was gasping in pain. Great!!! I was trapped. The wolf would eat me, leaving only my bones.

Suddenly the wolf laid down on the ground in front of me. He briefly nudged my hand with his nose before lowering his head again. I observed his behavior somewhat irritated. He didn't really seem dangerous or bloodthirsty to me at the moment. Probably more like a shy puppy. Well, quite a big puppy.

Without thinking about it, I raised my hand and held it out to him. He seemed to notice my gesture because he lifted his head again and gently rubbed it against my hand. His fur felt so soft and, above all, warm. When I was sure that it was nothing to be afraid of being touched by me like that, I let my hand wander further over his head. I scratched his ears a little longer, which he seemed to like. A small smile crept across my face as he began humming with pleasure.

"AURORA???" I heard distant voices calling. It was Sam and the others, they were obviously looking for me. I had almost forgotten that, I actually wanted to find the way back.

The silver wolf suddenly stood up. He rubbed his head on my hand one last time and then slowly moved away from me. With a sad look he finally disappeared into the darkness again. I watched him go, a little overwhelmed by the whole situation.

"AURORA?" This time they were closer. I could clearly hear that they were worried, but I didn't know why. They had only known me for a day and besides I don't really belong to the family. It wouldn't matter at all whether I came back to them or not.

"I'm here!" I finally called back. I only now noticed that I had apparently twisted my ankle. So I couldn't take another step, it would be far too painful for me.

The next moment I was illuminated by a flashlight. It took me a while to realize that Sam was standing in front of me. He seemed totally tense, but somehow also relieved.

“We finally found you. Where the hell have you been? Do you know how worried we were?! Emily told you not to walk so far from the house!" he suddenly thundered. His voice was trembling with anger.

“'Sorry. I didn't want to go that far either, but then I heard the sea. And well, then I just got lost and ended up tripping over this stupid root," I explained quickly. I didn't know what Sam would do when he was angry. A lot of men got brutal when they were angry, I've had that before and felt it very often it would be better not to repeat it.

I intentionally left the tame wolf out of my story. He would just get unnecessarily upset. I would probably keep that to myself, another little secret.

He sighed briefly and then crouched down in front of me. He eyed my ankle skeptically.

“Emily should take a look at that. Come on, I'll carry you," he said finally. Before I could even defend myself, he placed one arm behind my back and the other under the back of my knees, and then simply lifted me up. It almost seemed like I  weigh nothing at all.

The warmth that emanated from Sam slowly spread to me and gradually lulled me to sleep. I leaned against his upper body and then fell asleep again, exhausted.

----------♡----------