10 December
A303, near Salisbury
17:45
I was driving down the winter road that skirts the edge of the forest, a familiar journey Id taken hundreds of times before. The woods stretched out on either side, dusted in snow, their gnarled branches arching over the verges. It was so quietfewer cars than Id expected. Id let my shoulders drop, music playing softly, my mind wandering to the little things Id left undone at home.
And suddenlybrake lights flared red ahead of me.
The car in front came to a screeching halt. Instinct took over and I slammed my own foot hard to the brakebarely stopping in time, my chest thudding with adrenaline as I stared at the windscreen. My heart leapt straight into my throat.
What on earth? I muttered, peering through the falling snow.
Thats when I saw what had forced the traffic to stop.
Wolves. Not just one or twoa proper pack.
They emerged from the treeline, slow and steady, as though they had all the time in the world. Their fursilvery grey on the fresh white groundblended with the twilight. In the glow of the headlights, their eyes glimmered, reflecting off the glass like tiny lamps.
I froze, my hands gripping the steering wheel until my knuckles turned white. The wolves came closertowards the stopped cars.
One wolf in particular sauntered right up to the bonnet of my Ford and locked eyes with me. For a brief, endless moment, it felt as if he could see right inside me. Neither of us blinked, hearts hammering in our own chests, our breath fogging up the cold air between the glass.
I tried to reverse, trembling all over. But in the rear-view mirror, there they werewolves everywhere. Flitting between the trees, pacing silently behind and beside the car. I was surrounded. Completely alone.
My breathing grew shallow, my chest tight. I squeezed the steering wheel so hard I thought it might snap. And then, out of nowhere, the wolf at my bonnet lunged.
There was a heavy thuda blur of fur and brute strength. The wolf landed on my bonnet, its paws scraping against the ice-cold metal, claws screeching. He smacked the bonnet again and again, wedging his snout near the glass, letting out low, chilling sounds that turned my blood icy.
I screamed.
It was then, in that split-second while I sat thinking this was itthat I wouldnt be making it home, that the glass would shatter and thered be no escapesomething utterly strange happened.
Just as my mind hissed its final thoughtThis is the endthe air around us changed.
From deep within the woods came a different sound. Not a howl, not a growl, but a low, resonant callso powerful, I felt it vibrate through the cars frame. The wolf on the bonnet froze mid-movement. His ears pricked up, twitching. He snapped his head towards the forest.
From the shadows, a leader strode out.
He was larger than the rest, moving with a calm certainty, every step measured and deliberate. He didnt look angryhe wielded the kind of authority that needed no bluster. He stopped in the middle of the road and gazed at his pack.
With just one look, everything changed.
The wolf on my bonnet slipped soundlessly to the ground, no growl, no flash of teeth. The others began to melt away one by one, back towards the trees. The leader made another deep, brief sound.
In that moment, I realisedthis wasnt an attack, but an order.
It struck me as if he was commanding: No. Humans are not prey. Cars are not our enemies. The pack accepted his word instantly.
One by one, they turned and vanished back into the forests shadow. The leader waited until the very end, the last to leave. Before disappearing, he paused and turned his piercing eyes to meet mine.
There was no hatred in that gazejust measured calm and something deeper, as if he understood exactly what he was doing.
Then he, too, faded into the trees. The road fell utterly silent.
I sat there, hands shaking, breath fogging on the chilly glass for several long minutes. I could not move. Only afterwards did I truly realiseif not for him, it could all have ended so very differently.
