What if…what if…what if…had now been replaced with I hope…I hope…I hope statements.

And then even those thoughts disappeared under a ton of memories of her life coming back to her, each one in vivid, surprising detail. Memories of her childhood and roaming free in Gloucester. Of wreaking havoc as she played with the other children of the village. Then she was in her pre-adolescent years, trying to wrap her immature mind around the world at large, wondering why things happened the way they did. After that were her adolescent years when she spent diving into the exploration of…things with others, specifically the boys around her age but sometimes the other girls too.

Then came the memories she was most anxious about coming back. Memories of Drake and his wolves laying waste to Gloucester. Killing her mother and father. Slaughtering her friends. Murdering the others she had known her whole life. Drake had come in and in less than a few hours time, he had butchered not just her home but part of her soul as well. A part she missed deeply. Even now, as she ran for her life, she could feel tears on her cheeks. The pain was a harsh, ragged thing inside her but she realized that the time she had spent with Russel seemed to heal it a bit. She didn’t feel better by any means, but she at least felt like she could go on living.

Thoughts of Russel inevitably led to her memories of him and the time they spent together. A werewolf himself but different from Drake and those that had been with him. Russel felt like a human first and a wolf second. She wasn’t even sure if that was the right way to describe him but in her fear-muddled brain, it was the best she had.

He saved her life. Trained her. Protected her countless times. Even offered her sanctuary. And he never once asked for anything in return. The way he didn’t hesitate when everyone else would have run for the hills stunned Lola.

Why?

It was a question she had asked herself a lot since they had left Gloucester behind, the flames still eating away at the village’s buildings.

Why did he protect her?

It was, she realized, probably a pretty simple answer. One she could feel echoing inside herself too.

It was love.

He loved her.

And, she realized, she truly did love him too.

The werewolf was still behind her. That insane bloodlust was unmistakable but instead of continuing to run away, she stopped completely. She wasn’t even sure how far away the werewolf was but that didn’t matter. This was the move. Running away wouldn't get her anything except maybe to delay the inevitable. Besides, she had a hunch and she was pretty sure it was going to work.

Slowly, her heart beating so fast it thumped constantly in her ears, she turned around.

A wash of cold, iciness went cascading all throughout her body. The werewolf was much closer than she had guessed. It was so close to her she could easily pick it out on the landscape as it charged toward her. The lantern-like glow of his eyes was unmistakable.

Despite that, however, she held her ground.

And still, the werewolf came.

She tried to breathe steadily to help still her racing heart but it only helped a little. Her legs still felt so wobbly, they threatened to send her to her knees. She held firm though. Her hands tightened into fists and her jaw clenched tightly. Her eyes still glistened with tears.

The werewolf was only two dozen or so feet away. If he jumped at her, there would be no stopping him.

“I…” She bowed her head and placed both hands over her chest. Then she looked up at him with a sad smile on her face. “...love you, Russel.”

The werewolf saw her standing there. He saw words form on her lips and knew she spoke something. The rush of the air moving so quickly past his ears, the thudding of his paws on the ground, the beating of his own heart, all came together to drown them out.

Then she spoke again, louder this time.

“Russel!” the human girl screamed.

The smell of her was rich and cloying now. Fear was mixed inside it too which only added to the werewolf’s bloodlust. It picked up speed.

“I love you!” she screamed out. “You hear me! And I know you…I know you won’t hurt me.”

Despite knowing she was about to be killed, Lola stood firm. Her chin rose and she kept her eyes on the werewolf.

She didn’t back down.