Chosen Wolf

I was running faster than I ever thought possible. Branches smacked and cut my arms, but it didn't slow me down. Not this time. My pounding feet kept the same beat as my pounding heart. I didn't feel afraid as I raced through the woods. I was excited, but I couldn't remember why. My lungs began to burn in my chest. I didn't care. I kept running. Soon, the sound of wolves howling filled the otherwise quiet forest. I smiled. 

I wasn't one hundred percent sure where I was, but it looked like the woods outside the hotel. Even though I wasn't sure where I was going, I knew I had to keep going. I could never remember if I was running to something? Or away? I just knew I had to keep going, and my life depended on it. I made it through the deepest part of the forest, and the trees began to thin out. I was grateful for the lack of branches to cut my arms on. The sting of the cuts soon faded as I stepped further towards the small clearing. I wasn't out of the forest yet, but I was able to see the light of the full moon breaking through the darkness of the forest. I slowed my pace as I took a deep breath. I knew what was coming, so I decided to take in the beauty of the full moon as I moved from the forest to the open area.

"Ah, finally, I made it through the woods," I said out loud to no one in particular, because, well, I was alone. Until I wasn't. An unnaturally large white wolf emerged from the forest next to me so that it could stand in front of me. I looked deep into the wolf's eyes, the same emerald green as mine. Something in my bones filled me with a sense of familiarity, which used to unnerve me. I was used to seeing this strange wolf after years of this dream. Now I stood in front of it unafraid. Something in my head screamed a single word, mine. That was new, and it confused me before I could fully wrap my head around what was said. The wolf pounced on me, but did not bite me like it usually did.

I woke up with a startle. Sitting upright, one hand on my fast-beating heart. My other hand ran through the tangles of my golden-brown hair. That dream again. I used to have that dream once in a while as a kid, but since my dad passed away six months ago, it has only gotten worse. A lot about it has changed since I was a kid, but not everything. Before I would trip and fall before I made it out to the clearing. Now, there was the white wolf. It was so massive that it used to scare me, but now it doesn't. It was just a dream. When I was afraid of it in