Kings of Decay (The Winston Brothers Duet #1)

2. Willow

Chapter two

Willow

T he Alaskan night was dark. For the first time in my life, I could see the moon clearly, surrounded by a blanket of tiny twinkling stars. It was beautiful in an eerie way.

I tore my eyes from the window and refocused on my laptop. The blue glare lights up the entire cabin.

“And once you solve for ‘y’, you can move on to the next question.” I heard the professor’s words, but I didn’t really listen. It’s hard to concentrate on the lessons when there are no repercussions for it.

At twenty years old, I felt ancient in this freshman class. I was supposed to start classes at UCLA two years ago, but life had different plans. When Dad took this job in the mine, he told me I could stay with my Aunt in California, but I couldn’t leave him like that.

It didn’t help that UCLA had rescinded their offer when I nearly failed my senior year. Apparently, losing a parent wasn’t a good excuse for letting your As fall to Ds.

So, I settled for asynchronous classes from a community college.

I clicked on the next video and started following along with the math problem.

If I wanted a chance to get my life back on track, I had to ace these classes and hope for a transfer.

Ping!

My phone lit up with a notification from Poppy. My best friend and the only one who’d stuck with me through the past few years. My heart squeezed with happiness when I saw her texts.

Ping!

A text from my dad quickly shoved down her notification.

Make sure the windows are closed tight. It says. A storm is coming tonight, and I’ll be gone until morning.

Sure, Dad. I texted back.

I felt like I’d barely seen him since his twelve-hour shifts started. It didn’t help that he worked the night shift, so he was asleep most of the day. I know he did it on purpose. The further he could disassociate from the world, the happier he was. “Happier” being a very loose description of whatever emotions he hid from me. Maybe “less destroyed” was more accurate.

How are things?

I read Poppy’s text and responded as quickly as possible. I felt like a lost pet, desperate for any sort of attention from anyone.

Message not delivered.

The spotty cell service was enough to make me want to throw my phone into the snow.

Just as I tried again, a terrible sound cut through the silence of the night.

A screeching howl echoed somewhere out in the snow. It’s distant but still too close for comfort, especially because my nearest neighbor is a mile down the road. If someone or something decided to break into our little cabin, I’d be severely fucked.

I dared to peek out the window, but I was barely able to make out more than shadows in the moon's light.

I pulled my prematurely-purchased UCLA hoodie tighter around my body as I dared to flip on the porch light and crack the door open.

The golden light flickered before flooding the front yard with a warm glow. It was impossible to see where the yard ended, and the gravel road began. The only indicator was a few tire tracks swerving along the narrow road. It looked like Dad had slid while leaving earlier. Aside from that, there was no sign of a disturbance.

The terrible howl rang out again, sending me backward to the door. My hand grasped for the doorknob, cold as ice. Ice crunched under my slippers.

“Wolves?” I wondered aloud.

Wolves wouldn’t approach a human settlement without a reason. I didn’t know much about nature, but I’d read something like that before in National Geographic or something.

My curiosity got the best of me as I dared to take a few steps toward the road. Twin lines of pine trees flanked on either side of the road that dashes through the wilderness like a scar. The moonlight cast long shadows across the snow, and the wind swirled up tiny sparkling shards of ice before throwing them along the ground.

The howl erupted again.

Wolves. I was sure of it.

Another howl joined the first, then another, a chorus of voices rising and falling in the distance. My breath caught in my throat as the haunting sound of the beasts rolled through the snowy night.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I’m supposed to use breathing exercises when I start to feel anxious, according to the therapist my dad paid for until we moved. I didn’t think it helped. Shivers run through me, a combination of fear and the cold.

Suddenly, a pair of headlights flashed through the dark, and a massive SUV appeared. The white and black vehicle came to an abrupt stop, sending a shower of snow up from beneath the tires. After a brief pause, the driver got out – an Alaska State Trooper. He clicked on his flashlight.

“Everything okay here, missy?” He asked.

I nodded. “I just thought I heard something,” I said.

The trooper stayed next to his SUV. “Not safe for anyone to be out here alone and unarmed.”

I nodded. “Sorry, I’ll go back in. I just thought I heard something.”

“Heard what?” the trooper asked, pulling his toothpick out from between his lips. He couldn’t get more stereotypical if he tried. …Well, maybe if he had a dozen donuts.

“Sorry,” I said again, without knowing why I was even apologizing. “Wolves.”

A weird expression flashed over his face before he rested his hand on his belt.

I subconsciously let my eyes flick down to his holster before I looked away.

“There are wolves everywhere, missy,” he warns. “You’d better get back inside.”

I don’t wait another second before running back inside. I shut the door with a bang and peeked out the window, holding my breath until the State Trooper drove away.

“What the hell was that?” I breathed.

Troopers have more things to do than just patrol around the outskirts of town, right? What were the chances that he’d drive by just as I was walking out? I couldn’t forget the way his expression went pale when I mentioned the wolves. The thought made my stomach turn.

I double-checked the lock and returned to my laptop, burying my head in my homework and forcing the thoughts away.