Chapter 8 The Truth About Tarik Wolf

• Clea's worry dissipated once she laid her eyes on the grinning sheriff. She and Kali had been worried, wondering what could've warranted a visit from the town overseer within hours of their arrival. Clea suspected Inna had something to do with this, and that assumption was soon proved right.
• "To what do I owe the pleasure of these beautiful young ladies visit?" His mouth was stretched wide in an almost-scary grin. At least, it seemed genuine.
• "We were wondering quite the same thing," Clea said. "To what do we owe the pleasure of your visit? I hope we're not in trouble," she added lightly.
• The sheriff feigned surprise. "Trouble? Oh No." He held out his hand for a handshake. "Sheriff Sherlock."
• Clea took it. "Clea McEnery."
• "Kali Nightingale."
• Clea raised a brow at Kali. Nightingale...?
• "Beautiful surname," the sheriff commented. If he noticed the weird look Clea gave Kali, he didn't show it.
• "Thank you."
• They were soon seated in the lounge.
• "First of all, let me give you a proper welcome. Welcome to Ohalo! You're going to love it here."
• "Google says otherwise though. 80 percent of your visitors had—" Clea nudged Kali, trying to make her stop. It didn't work. "had bad experiences. There was even a person who said coming to Ohalo was the biggest mistake of her life."
• The sheriff sat speechless as Kali maintained her polite smile. When the silence dragged on, Clea forced a laugh to ease the tension.
• "She's joking. This is her... sense of humor. I know, it's weird."
• "I'm not joking though."
• "Kali!"
• "I like you," said the sheriff to Kali, trailing his goatee. "I'm glad I don't have to maintain a facade."
• Kali smiled smugly and used her eyes to say, 'see?'
• "But if you're indeed aware of the dangers of this town as you claim, why are you out here... frolicking with a dangerous man?"
• There was a tense silence.
• "A dangerous man?"
• "Even to the point of endangering Inna."
• In only a few seconds, the sheriff had moved from warm to cold. From exuding kind vibes to exuding sinister ones.
• "And who may you be talking about?"
• Sherlock's eyes dallied between them. "Tarik Wolf."
• Something spiked inside Clea. "His surname is Wolf."
• "Yes," he eyed her, "and it isn't Wolf for no reason."
• Kali was unmoved. She thought he was bluffing, wasting their time. In her calculations, he had a lot of free time on his hands. Why else would he, a sheriff, be 'welcoming' visitors on a Wednesday morning? "Can you cut out all the dramatic effects and get to the point? Okay, Tarik Wolf is a dangerous man. How is he a dangerous man?"
• "Kali," Clea cautioned.
• Kali shook her head. "Stop Kali-ing me. Don't you see what he's doing? He's trying to scare us. Intimidate us."
• "He is," Clea agreed. "I'm also very curious about what he has to say. Sheriff Sherlock, we met this guy. And we think he's a great person," she remembered the feeling of waking up on his chest but quickly tossed it out of her brain. "Forgive us, if we seem defensive. That's only because he's our friend."
• Sheriff Sherlock's jaw was hanging by now. "Friend?"
• "Yes," Kali agreed. "So you'll need a lot more than 'he's a dangerous man' to convince us."
• The sheriff swallowed under the heavy stares of the two ladies. His forehead scrunched up in a frown as he realised he had to tell a story he didn't like telling. He sighed and began.
• "Ten years ago... the wolfs' were attacked. Family of three. Their car developed a fault just outside Ohalo. Wouldn't move. They thought they could make it to town on foot... never did."
• "Why?"
• "They were attacked by a wolf. There are wild animals in the forest, ladies. Wild beyond your imaginations. But no towner had ever been attacked by them. It was probably because they were coming from outside, and it was nighttime. It was also... a full moon night. Tarik Wolf managed a distress call to the hospital. When the ambulance got there, Jacob and Marina Wolf were dead. Mutilated by the beast. Tarik suffered a deep bite to his neck and shoulder area. The staff wheeled him to the hospital before they realised..."
• "Realised what?!" Clea and Kali shouted together. "What's it with the dramatic pauses, Man, " Kali complained.
• "Before they realised he wasn't dying! I thought you smart-asses could piece that together yourself! He had a huge bite on the shoulder. And neck! If I slice your neck, Miss McEnery, you'll die within seconds."
• Clea was stoic-faced. "I know that."
• "If you know that, then you should understand what I'm saying. They got him to the operation theatre, the doctors set to work on him and HIS SKIN STARTED PUTTING ITSELF TOGETHER RIGHT BEFORE THEIR EYES!"
• "It was midnight."
• "I know those doctors were exhausted out of their fucking minds."
• Clea and Kali fist-bumped.
• Kali pointed. "You know, Girl, for a moment there I was scared you were eating this up."
• "This is the most ridiculous thing I've heard my entire life. I wouldn't believe it even if I was high."
• Sheriff Sherlock laughed. It was both full and dry. Its abrupt end further sealed the deal that it was sarcastic. "How do you explain him not dying from the neck bite then?"
• "So... because he healed faster than regular from a wolf's bite, you guys... stopped him from living amongst y'all?"
• "He is not a man. He is a—"
• "Werewolf," the two friends said at once.
• "Yeah, we knew you were gonna say that." Kali chuckled. "See, this is why people need to be more educated on what fiction is. They gobble up movies like popcorn, and at the end of the day, they mix real life and fiction. Then act surprised when they're taken for the ridiculous beings they are. I just know Teenwolf is your favourite show."
• Clea had a lot to say, too. But she had so much to say, that she didn't know where to start. It was reeling inside her head. She was at an edge. She was feeling anger, pain and perplexity at full levels. And it was making her head reel.
• Ten years ago. He was probably still a teenager then. God. These towners were ridiculous. She hated them already.
• How could they treat him like that? At that point, he must've been in a lot of physical and emotional pain. Rather than support him, they chose to cast him out. They chose to protect themselves from the fear they self-created in their hearts for him. They chose to tend to obtuse beliefs. Chose to be cruel to him.
• He had lived like that... alone... bearing all of that shit by himself... for ten years.
• She shot up from her chair and headed out.
• "Clea?" Kali called.
• "I'll be right back."
• "Where are you going?"
• "I'll be right back!"
• She didn't stop running until she was standing in front of a disguise bush, panting. She rushed inside, and Tarik happened to be sitting on the front porch, feeding something to Wolf. He stood up in shock immediately she entered.
• His mouth opened to question her presence but Clea reached him first. Throwing herself at him in a tight embrace and bursting into tears.
• Tarik's jaw dropped. He was so confused. He raised his hand cautiously to her head which was pressed tightly to his chest. "Are you okay? Clea. Did someone hurt you? What's wrong? Is it your friend? Is she not okay?"
• Clea released him and looked around. "You've... lived like this for ten years?"
• Tarik's face turned pale. "What are you talking about?"
• "How old were you then... when it happened."
• He blinked. Once. Twice. Thrice. Didn't answer.
• "Clea!!" A loud, sharp voice rang from behind.
• Clea rushed outside just to see Kali trip on a root and fall. Kali stood up, ready to continue her chase when Clea called out.
• "You're going in the wrong direction!"
• "Bitch!" Kali screamed when she saw Clea. She trudged towards her. "How dare you do this to me?!"
• "I told you I'd be back."
• "When do I ever listen to you?? I'm definitely not gonna start in this weird ass town. What are you doing here? What the fuck did you run here for??" She was shouting like she was angry but Kali's eyes were full of worry for her friend.
• "I... I..."
• What did she run here for? That was suddenly lost on Clea. Tarik joined them outside, and she turned back to stare at him. Right... she'd been overcome by her emotions. At that moment, she couldn't think of doing anything but hugging him. Comforting him.
• His face was solemn. "Were you crying because of me?"
• "No!" Clea said, with force. But as she looked back at Kali, the truth was everywhere, dancing in between them.
• She had been crying because of him. She had been thrown into distress upon learning of his travails.
• She only met this guy the night before. And somehow, she was already losing her mind over him. Something was happening, and Clea didn't like it.