Willow looked through the peep-hole to find Lila Gupta standing outside. Why was she here? Thought Willow. Lila was her co-worker at the Small Bean. The only one who she was close at her work place, but they weren't close enough for Lila to visit her.

Maybe Willow could ignore her and she would leave? Willow wasn't ready to face Lila, she was still embarrassed from the occurrence the before. Of how she had broke down in Rowan's arms. Willow blushed furiously. What if Lila had witnessed it? What if Lila had personally seen Hunter humiliate Willow?

The bell went off again.

Willow could let Lila believe that no one was at home. And it was true, there was no one home besides her.

Her mother was still working. Rowan and Felix had stepped out to buy Rowan a new phone, since he seemed to have broken his. She feared that they might get lost in the town, but she herself had been too lazy to go with them. Though the truth was that she wanted to go with them, wanted to spend some more time with Rowan, but she was scared, scared of her growing feelings for him, scared that he won't accept her, scared of him finding about her being bullied. She didn't was him to think of her as a weak person, someone who was waiting to be saved by him. She wasn't a damsel in distress.

It wasn't that she had stayed quiet and let them all bully her, she had fought back but it was of no use. They never got off her back, as if it was their life mission to bully her, though she was completely powerless when it came to Hunter. She feared him, she didn't know why but at the same time she had a huge crush on him, she didn't want to but there was nothing she could do to let go of her feelings for him. Absolutely nothing. She tried hating him, hating him for what he had done to her, of what he had made everyone else do to her.

Sighing Willow thought of opening the door as the bell went off for the third time. She sprang to go to her room and grabbed her headphones, putting them around her neck she walked back to open the door to her house and grabbed her phone in her hands before doing so.

"Oh hey!" Said Willow, acting as if she hadn't heard the bell thrice before opening the door.

Lila who had walked down the front steps, turned to look at her before sighing. "And here I thought no one was home."

Willow gave her a sheepish smile. "Did you wait long?"

"No, it's fine." Said Lila. "Actually I dropped by to give this to you." Lila handed Willow an envelope which she had been holding.

"What is this?" Said Willow.

"Boss told me to pass on."

"Oh," Said Willow, feeling guilty. "Why don't you come in?"

Lila shook her head. "Gotta go now."

"No, I insist."

"Can't do."

"Just for a while."

"Gotta roll."

"I feel bad for making you wait out here."

Lila paused. "Why Willow, are you trying to hold me as a hostage?"

Willow blinked. For sure it did seem like she was trying to do just what Lila had said.

Willow stepped back and shut the door on Lila's face, without missing a beat.

"Hardy har har." Willow heard Lila say though the door.

Willow opened the door in a few seconds to see Lila already on the porch, she turned around when she heard the door open and threw a peace with her fingers at Willow.

Sighing Willow shut the door and leaned against it. She was glad that Lila hadn't questioned her about the before. She opened the envelope and she found money inside.

Willow received her salary on a weekly basis. The week had just started and Willow had only worked for three days, so Willow was shocked to find the payment of a week. There was also an office paper that said 'SORRY'. Willow couldn't help but smile.

Willow returned to her easel, which held a blank canvas. She didn't know what to paint, though she wanted to paint yet another portrait of Rowan, she felt it would be wrong without his permission and she didn't want to be caught yet again.

Making up her mind, Willow packed a bag with her paint tubes and brushes. She picked the canvas out of the easel and grabbed a lighter easel which would be easier to carry. She also packed some ChipsAhoy, if she were to get hungry. She stepped out from her back door, heading into the forest behind her house.

The sun shone brightly overhead. But the canopy of trees shielded Willow from the summer heat. She didn't go deep in, no, she stayed close to her house. She was aware of what lurked deep in the forests. Bandits, thieves, drug dealers, kidnappers and wolves. Or so she had heard, of wolves lurking in the forests though she herself had never seen any of the above mentioned in the forest and she'd like to keep it that way.

Placing the easel down, she placed the canvas on it. Willow hanged the bag on one of the branches of the tree behind her. She held her pallette as she pondered on what to paint.

The trees? No. Birds? She couldn't find any. A rabbit? The same case as the bird. The canopy above her? No. The crickets which she could hear? But she couldn't see them. Rowan? Yes.

No! She shouldn't.

Grabbed a random tube out, it was black. Squirting some on the pallette, she then proceeded with brown, white, peach, red and blue.

Long before she knew what she was doing, she had already traced out a very familiar man. What he doesn't know wouldn't hurt, right? Right.

Willow added the dark blue streaks on the already black hair, then put some white streaks which highlighted his hair.

Willow was parched by the time she was squirting golden which was followed by black and white.

She took her phone out to check the time. She couldn't believe it was already way past five, she had spent three hours in here and she hadn't even felt the time fly by. Now that it was mentioned, her legs started to ache. She had been on her feet for three hours!

The painting was almost complete and only his eyes remained which she always left for the last moment.

Though engrossed in the painting, Willow didn't fail to hear the crunch in the soil. Willow shook it off. But then she heard it again. She froze. Bandits, thieves, drug dealer, kidnapper or wolves, please be none of them. Though the last was of the least possibility.

It stepped again, closer. Willow couldn't just stand there to be robbed, raped or kidnapped. So she whipped her head to look behind her. Her heart sank.

Adrenaline rushed in her bloodstream as she felt rooted to her spot. She was not going to be robbed nor raped or kidnapped, instead she was going to be eaten!

An early dinner for the huge black wolf standing in front of her. Or maybe a late snack served with some warm tea.

One would fail to notice it at night for its fur was night, which helped it blend in the dark. It was the night sky in its darkest form, without the moon or the stars. Just black and endless darkness.

No, she was wrong, the wolf did have a moon, on his forehead, right in the center. But that didn't help the fur which was as dark as the night.

The wolf stared at her with his onyx eyes. They seemed oddly familiar to Willow, but she couldn't place why. It blocked her way to her house. Even if she were to make a run for it, he would have caught up with her, his late snack or early dinner, she couldn't make out which was the right one.

Was this it? Is this how she dies? She didn't want to die. Not now. She had a life to live. But she could see everything slipping away and her being wolf food.

She tried looking for ways to escape when the wolf had just stood frozen. Maybe she could play dead and the wolf would not want to eat dead humans. Or maybe the wolf was a dog! A giant dog who doesn't eat human, yeah that made sense.

Willow slapped herself for even having such ridiculous thoughts. The wolf stepped back. Willow can't read wolves faces, but she could see that he probably thought that she was cracked somewhere in her mind, which made her an easy catch.

The wolves eyes snapped to her side, just as Willow was about to sprint away, it growled. Willow almost froze but she urged herself to run. As she ran, so did the wolf and was now in front of her in a blink.

Her life flashed in front of her, no she wouldn't go down like this. Not by being wolf food. As she was about to make a run for her house, the wolf pounced on her and landed gracefully on top of her.

Her heart beat quickly, without a pause. She felt a heavy feeling rise in her stomach as she felt the wolf's soft fur, which was too soft.

The wolf growled again, making her heart beat faster than it already was beating, if that was even possible.

"Please please please." Willow started talking when she found her voice at the back of her throat. She didn't know what she was even talking. "Let me go. I promise you lots of food. I'm not even tasty." Tears had already started rolling down her face, she hoped that the wolf miraculously understood what she had just said. "Lots of tasty food, I-I'll get them all for you. Don't eat me."

The wolf stared at her. Before it lowered it head to her neck and sniffed her. Willow still couldn't believe she would die in such a horrible way. That she would feel every bite, every scratch but will be able to do nothing about it.

The wolf licked her neck, she couldn't help the a shiver from going down her spine. The wolf pulled back and it sat back and lolled its tongue out. Willow couldn't help but blink, surprised at the development.

The wolf acted like a dog, so had it been a dog all this time? As long as Willow knew, wolves are carnivore in nature. Maybe the wolf was actually a dog. But then again dogs aren't this huge, nor are wolves. Willow shook it off as she dragged herself back from the wolf, her blue eyes not leaving the wolf's black ones. It once again growled making Willow stop.

Willow raised her hand to pat the dog, she denied believing it to be a wolf. She once had a dog, it was pretty small lived for seven years, Willow had been twelve when it passed away and she couldn't get over it for over a month. After that she never took in another pet. She had named him Cookie, so she imagined the dog in front of her to be Cookie, though the huge dog in front of her was nothing like her tiny Cookie

As Willow touched the dog's head, it rubbed his head against her palm. Willow couldn't help but smile as she remembered Cookie doing the same thing.

The dog once again licked her. Willow couldn't help but laugh, she suddenly stopped laughing, what if this was the dog's trick to let her guards down and then eat her because he was actually a wolf? After all wolves are said to be quite smart and very good at disguising themselves into grandma's and mother goats. What if this wolf was disguising to be a dog? Her heart sank again.

"Okay big boy," Willow started. "I have to leave now. It'll be dark soon." And easier for you to eat me. The wolf whined. Melting Willow's heart in the process. She had to snap out of it! "I'll be leaving now, but I'll come back, with some treats." She added as she got in her feet. She didn't bother getting her supplies, her life was more important. Even though she didn't want to leave the painting of Rowan there, but she'll come get it, the next day. For now she had to escape from being wolf dinner.

She started walking backwards, not trusting the wolf to let her go so easily. She feared that when she turned he would pounce for her. Only when she felt the trees lessening did she turned and sprinted for the door. She looked behind her to see the wolf still in her line of sight. She whipped her head forward as she got in and shut the door behind her, bolting it. When she walked in she jumped in surprise as she saw Felix lounging on the couch.

"Hey," Felix trailed off. "Are you alright?"

"Very." Willow gave him a thumbs up with her shaky hands.

"You don't look so good." Said Felix. He pointed at his hair.

Willow raised her brows as she felt her hair, it was disheveled. She tried patting her hair as she felt her face try to match her hair color.

"I was just walking through the forest, and I fell." She said as she saw Felix's eyes glint.

"Are you sure?" Willow's face grew hotter as she understood what Felix was referring to.

"Of course!" She said as she threw her arms up. She was sure there were dirt stains on her from being pounced on and also paint stains. "I fell. Or else I wouldn't have these. " She pointed on those stains.

Willow didn't know why she hid the truth from him. Probably because he'd tell her she's going crazy. Which she wasn't.

"I don't know. Maybe you rolled on the ground." Said Felix. "With someone."

Willow flipped the bird at him. Felix burst out laughing. Willow shook her head in a hopeless manner as she headed to her painting room, where she had stored her old paintings. Going through them all she found the one she had been looking for. The Wolf.

She had painted it a few months back when she used to repeatedly dream about a black wolf with night fur and a white crescent on its forehead, with onyx pools for eyes.

The very wolf she had escaped from earlier.