The further we walked, the quieter the forest became.
The only sounds were birds singing high in the trees, the crunch of leaves beneath our boots and the occasional snap of a twig somewhere in the undergrowth.
I stayed close to Jace.
Not because I was frightened of the woods.
The woods had always been kinder than people.
Trees didn’t judge.
Animals didn’t laugh.
The forest had been my escape for years.
It was people I didn’t trust.
Tony walked a few steps ahead of us, humming quietly to himself as though guiding two complete strangers through the middle of nowhere was something he did every day.
Maybe it was.
“So…” he said over his shoulder.
“You two hungry?” Jace looked at me.
I looked at Jace.
Neither of us wanted to admit it.
Tony smiled knowingly.
“I’ll take that as a yes.” He reached into one of the many pockets of his dark camouflage jacket and pulled out three chocolate bars.
He tossed one to Jace.
One to me.
Then unwrapped his own.
I stared at mine.
“Aren’t you going to eat it?” Tony asked.
I looked up cautiously.
“You mean…” I swallowed.
“…it’s for me?” He frowned.
“Well, I wasn’t planning on just throwing it at your head.” Jace burst into laughter.
I couldn’t help smiling.
Slowly, I peeled back the wrapper.
The smell hit me instantly.
Chocolate.
Real chocolate.
Not the weird cooking chocolate I’d once stolen from the kitchens.
I broke off the tiniest square imaginable and placed it in my mouth.
It melted almost instantly.
“Oh…” My eyes widened.
“Oh wow.” Tony chuckled.
“First tine trying chocolate or something?” Tony grinned nodded.
“It tastes…” I searched for the right word.
“…expensive.” Both Tony and Jace laughed.
“I’ve never heard chocolate described like that before,” Jace grinned.
I found myself eating it painfully slowly, determined to make it last.
Tony noticed.
“You know…” he said gently, “there’s plenty more where we’re going.” I looked at him.
He wasn’t joking.
Something about that nearly made me cry.
After a while of walking, the trees began to thin.
Sunlight poured through the canopy in dazzling shafts of gold.
The smell changed too.
Freshly cut grass.
Wildflowers.
Smoke from a distant chimney.
Tony stopped walking.
“We’re here.” Jace stepped beside me.
I frowned.
“Where?” Tony smiled.
“Watch.” He walked towards what looked like an enormous wall of ivy.
Then…
He pushed two thick branches aside.
Hidden beneath them was a huge steel door built directly into the hillside.
My jaw dropped.
“You’ve got to be kidding”.
“You’d be surprised how many people walk straight past it, we plant all types of flowers to confuse the scent, Susan’s idea, you’ll meet her eventually” Tony said with a grin.
I exchanged a glance with Jace.
Neither of us spoke.
Beyond the entrance stretched a wide stone road winding gently downhill.
And at the end of it…
I forgot how to breathe.
An entire village.
Wooden cabins.
Stone cottages.
Flower gardens.
Children running through the streets.
People laughing.
Someone pushing a wheelbarrow full of vegetables.
Smoke curling from chimneys.
Dogs chasing each other across a huge green field.
It looked…
Peaceful.
Beautiful.
Alive.
“This…” I whispered.
“…is your wolf compound?” Tony smiled proudly “And more…Welcome home.” Home.
Nobody had ever used that word in connection with me before.
I wasn’t sure I deserved one.
As we walked through the gates, conversations slowly faded.
People looked up from whatever they were doing.
Not with suspicion.
With curiosity.
A little girl no older than six waved enthusiastically.
“Hi, Tony!” Tony waved back.
“Hello, Evie.” She spotted me.
Then Jace.
She smiled brightly.
“Are they staying?” Tony crouched beside her.
“I hope so.” The little girl looked at us.
“You’ll like it here.” Then she skipped away holding a giant sunflower almost as tall as herself.
I stared after her.
“She…” I blinked.
“…she wasn’t scared of me.” Tony looked genuinely puzzled.
“Why would she be?” I didn’t answer.
Because where I came from…
Children learned very quickly that talking to me usually got them into trouble.
The deeper into the Compound we walked, the more amazed I became.
There was a blacksmith’s forge where sparks danced into the air.
A bakery filled the street with the warm smell of fresh bread.
People called greetings to Tony wherever we went.
“Morning, Tony!” “Afternoon!” “Who’s your new friends?” He seemed to know everybody.
And everybody seemed to love him.
“You’re popular,” I observed.
Tony laughed.
“I’m old, there’s a difference.” Jace smiled.
“I like him.” “I heard that!” Tony called back.
“Good.” Eventually we reached a large open square.
In the centre stood a magnificent oak tree.
Its branches stretched so wide they shaded almost the entire square.
Benches circled the trunk.
Children climbed through its branches while adults chatted beneath it.
“It must be hundreds of years old,” Jace murmured.
Tony nodded.
“It was here long before the Compound.” “We built everything around it.” I slowly reached out and rested my fingertips against the bark.
It felt…
Warm.
For reasons I couldn’t explain, it made me smile.
A voice suddenly shouted across the square.
“TONY!” We all turned.
A girl came jogging towards us.
She looked about eighteen.
Long blonde hair swung behind her in a ponytail, and she wore black cargo trousers with heavy boots and a fitted green tank top.
She looked athletic.
Confident.
Like she could probably knock someone unconscious without breaking a sweat.
She slowed as she reached us.
Then her bright blue eyes landed on me.
Jace’s jaw dropped when he saw her….ha…..subtle.
“Oh!” Her face lit up.
“You found more strays.” Tony folded his arms dramatically.
“I prefer the term ‘future residents.’ ” She laughed.
“Whatever helps you sleep at night.” Tony turned towards us.
“Lilah.” “Jace.” “This is Nelly.” “My biggest pain in the backside.” Nelly gasped dramatically.
“I am offended.” “You love me.” Tony sighed.
“I tolerate you.” She grinned.
“Liar.” The two of them bickered like family.
Not forced.
Not awkward.
Just…
Comfortable.
It was strangely nice to watch.
Nelly suddenly stepped towards me.
Without warning…
She wrapped me in a hug.
I froze.
Every muscle in my body locked.
I couldn’t remember the last time anyone had hugged me.
Not properly.
“Oh…” she whispered.
“You look terrified.” She gently let go.
“Sorry.” “I hug everyone.” I stared at her.
“You…” I laughed nervously.
“…you just hugged someone you’ve never met.” “Yep.” “Why?” She shrugged.
“Because life’s too short not to hug people.” I couldn’t argue with that.
For the first time in years…
I found myself smiling without forcing it.
Maybe…
Just maybe…
Tony had been telling the truth.
Maybe this place really was different.