Julian Stone's Arc

Chapter 2 of 2

Julian returned to the square the next night, early. He had spent the day pacing his cold rooms, hunting for words. He knew what the wolf was. He knew its eyes because he carried the same curse. But he could not say that to Rose. If he warned her, she would ask how he knew. And when he answered, she would run, the way others had run before. So he came with no plan, only fear. Rose waited under the cherry trees. Petals drifted down and caught in her hair. She smiled when she saw him and patted the bench. "You came back," she said. "I wasn't sure you would." Julian sat. His hands felt like stone. "Rose, I have to tell you something. It will sound strange." "Say it anyway," she said. He opened his mouth. Nothing came. How could he explain the wolf without explaining himself? He looked at her warm brown eyes and lost his nerve. "There is an animal near here," he managed. "A wolf. It watches you. Please be careful walking home." Rose tilted her head. "A wolf? In town?" "I saw it last night. It stared at you the whole time." She studied his face. Her smile faded, not into fear, but into something softer. "You're afraid for me," she said. "But you're not telling me everything. Your hands are shaking." Julian pulled his hands back. "I've said too much already." "No." She reached out and took his cold fingers again, the way she had the first night. "I saw it too, Julian. Last week. A gray wolf by the fountain. It looked at me like it knew me." She swallowed. "I told myself I imagined it. But I didn't, did I?" Julian stared at her. She was not running. She was leaning closer. "No," he said. "You didn't imagine it. It's real. And it isn't only a wolf." "Then what is it?" He stopped at the edge of the truth. He could not cross it, not yet. "Something like me," he said. "That's all I can give you tonight." Rose held his gaze for a long moment. Then she nodded slowly, as if she had decided to trust the gap he left. "Something like you," she repeated. "Alright. I won't push. But I'm not scared off, if that's what you thought." A branch cracked in the dark beyond the trees. Both of them turned. The lean gray shape stood at the edge of the lamplight, ears flat, human eyes fixed on Rose. It had heard him. It knew he had warned her now. Rose's hand tightened on his. "Julian," she whispered. The wolf did not run. It stepped forward into the light, no longer content to only watch.