Ryder threw her backpack and pink sports bag, in their usual corner next to the front door. She could smell the lingering aroma of dinner, their family's Bolognese sauce's scent still filling the house.

She made her way to the living room, hearing the crackle of the fire before she rounded the corner. Both her parents smiled up at her from over their books, as she took a seat by the fire.

"How was studying with Tairin? Did you get enough to eat? We have leftover pasta if you're hungry." Her mother suggested.

"No I'm fine, thanks mom. The studying went well." She could hear the disappointment in her own voice. Neither of her parent registered her tone and went eagerly back to their books.

Ryder's mom, Nancy, was nothing like some of Mikaila's friend's ridiculous moms that tried to compete with their daughters. Her mother was intelligent but quiet. Her soft blue eyes, blonde hair, and petite frame, looked nothing like Ryder. She was a reserved woman who had enjoyed trading her busy L.A. lifestyle for a quiet country one when she met Ryder's father Anthony, during his residency. It pained Ryder that her mother couldn't have more children, if anyone deserved them it was her, but nature had thought otherwise, and barley granted her Ryder.

Ryder's father Anthony, was a doctor and looked the part. Wearing wire rimmed glasses that complimented his salt-and-pepper goatee. He now had the stature of a man who spent most of his time helping others, forgetting to make time to take care of himself. His time as an elite martial artist almost like another life.

Ryder followed her parent's example and looked to reading the fire, its blue and orange flames so beautiful. The heat quickly became too intense and she had to turn away, but the mild burning sensation was a welcomed distraction from the heartache that was growing inside of her.

She couldn't believe how bad things had gone while hanging out at Tairin's house. How could she be so stupid? How could she have thought he was into her like that? The memory of his weight pressed against her back as he corrected her hand placement on the pool stick, brought a different kind of heat to her face.

He had spoken critiques in her ear, but she hadn't been able to absorb them, too distracted by how his breath tickled her ear. And when she had absently sunk the purple four ball into the corner pocket and turned to look into his prideful face, she could only hear her heart beating, heavy, and urgent. She could have sworn it was loud enough for him to hear as well, that he would be able to tell what she was feeling.

But he hadn't. She had had to fight the overwhelming urge to grab him by the collar and kiss him hard. He had simply stood there, smiling at her like a friend. How could she be this bad at being a teenager? Her first real moment of desire was met with an, 'at a boy' form of praise.

Ryder clenched her eyes shut, trying to force away the memory.

Once the sting in her eyes had subsided she opened them again, focusing back on the fire. She loved to watch it, how the flames wrapped around the wood. The way the wood changed from the smooth grey-brown almond branches into jagged crystal embers. She didn't see the fire as destroying the wood, but as two elements, wood and air, coming together to give life to the fire, and birth to a new form of life for the wood. She thought it was a beautiful dance of existence.

Soon she realized someone was missing from the family gathering, Toby. "Have you guys seen Toby?" She asked standing to look around.

A twinge of panic ignited a small burn in her chest as she looked to her parents questioning faces, both forgoing their books.

"I guess we haven't really seen him tonight." Her dad answered, his eyebrows stitching together as he thought back.

They both looked to Ryder's mom, "I was out all day. I don't know when I last saw him."

Anthony rose from the couch, Nancy following suit. "I'll grab a flashlight and look out back."

"I'll check the messages and make sure no one called about him." Nancy said, sweeping past Ryder, towards the office.

"You check the rest of the house Ryder, and if you don't see him come join me in the back and we'll look together" her Dad directed, taking control of the search.

Ryder rushed through the house, with no sign of Toby. She was heading to the laundry room to grab a coat and a flashlight to join her dad outside, when she stopped outside of the downstairs bathroom, the door was ajar. Pushing the door open, the weight in her heart lifted as a golden tail sticking out from around the corner of the L shaped bathroom began to sweep back and forth. She called to her mom, "Mom! I found him!"

"Hey boy, what the heck are you doing in here? We were starting to worry about you." She stepped around the corner and swore her heart stopped beating at the sight of blood, everywhere. Toby's neck and back were saturated so thoroughly you would never guess he was golden colored.

Ryder squirmed in the uncomfortable waiting room chair. She let her head fall into her hands, so she could stare at the white and black speckled linoleum floor. Her mind wandering across the random designs, seeing small images pop out of the cluster of speckles. They had been waiting in the Veterinarian office for over an hour now. The staff had ushered Toby straight to the surgical room the moment they entered in the most dramatic fashion. Anthony, all 5'9" of him, somehow carrying Toby's 150lb blood-soaked body. A blood trail marking their path just added to the drama.

Finally, a vet tech emerged and called for the Shaw Family. But Ryder's Relief instantly dissipated when she saw Toby laying very still on the metal table. They had pretty much shaved his entire body, the true extent of his injuries had been covered by matted, bloody fur. The vet had wrapped his whole neck in a thick layer of gauze. Ryder didn't want to know what his neck looked like now that the matted fur wasn't there to hide the carnage of his wounds, but images of hamburger meat came uninvited.

Toby's tail began to lightly thump against the stainless-steel table. Ryder moved swiftly so he could see she was there. His big brown eyes stared up at her, still with a glint of unique intelligence, despite the heavy medication.

A knock came at the door, followed by the entrance of the evening's veterinarian, Doctor Nelson. Without delay he went right into the debrief. "As you can see Toby is stable now. The X-rays show no broken bones, and no internal bleeding, all very good things. You will be able to take him home this evening. Do you have any questions for me?"

Of course, I have questions, Ryder thought.

Before either of her parents could speak she was on the vet, "What did this to him?"

"To be honest, we aren't actually sure." Dr. Nelson said, his tone changing. "We do know that he was attacked by something canine, we deduced this by the pattern of the teeth impressions on his neck, so that ruled out big cats. Our confusion stems from the fact that there are no animals big enough in this area to have impressions this large. His wounds suggest large wolves, which aren't found in California."

Ryder's brow furrowed. "What are you saying? That Toby was attacked by wolves that don't exist?"

She was brought out of her rising annoyance when she felt the warm creature under her hand start to move. Guilt flooded her as, Dr. Nelson, and her dad tried to gently hold Toby down. She knew better, Toby always responded to her moods. He was there to stick his large muzzle under her hand when she was upset, and would become instantly defensive if she ever began to feel scared. Sometimes she didn't even realize she was having an emotional reaction until Toby reacted to her. Like now.

She had to calm herself before Toby would stop his fight to sit up. She pressed her cheek against the side of his face, and took a deep breath of the sinus clearing alcohol they had used to clean his wounds. As she let go of her frustration she felt Toby begin to relax and stop fighting to stand.

Ryder's father gave her a knowing pat on her shoulder as he walked past.

"We'll have to up his medication; we don't want him trying to be that active for a while. His neck is pretty chewed up, it would be very bad if he opened any of those stitches." Dr. Nelson said, concern showing in his tone despite his attempt at professionalism.

Ryder hated the thought of him being drugged more than he already was, "He'll be ok from now on. That was my fault, I shouldn't have gotten so worked up. I'm sorry for being rude."

"It's ok, I understand your frustration, but we are truly baffled by the facts that lay in front of our eyes." The doctor said bewildered. "Have any of you seen signs of...Wolves... In your area?" Dr. Nelson asked, clearly feeling ridiculous.

Anthony answered, picking up the slack in the conversation that Ryder's new choice of silence had left. "I don't believe any of us have seen a difference in the wildlife living in the orchards. There are a few packs of coyotes, but we have never had any major issues with them."

"Well, keep your eyes open for anything that stands out as odd, and be careful in the evenings if you go out. You should let your neighbors know what happened as well, so that they can keep an eye on their livestock, and their own dogs, so that I don't have any more visits like this." Dr. Nelson said seriously.

"We definitely will. Thank you for your time." Anthony said moving forward to shake Dr. Nelson's hand.

Once home Ryder lay on the living room floor next to Toby on his large dog bed. She stroked his head as she watched the embers in the fireplace glow, the lively fire now reduced to ash in just a few hours. A lot had happened that day.

She heard the coyotes start their howling song to each other, loud and chaotic. Most people found it chilling, but Ryder had been born into that sound, it had always made her smile as they yelled to the moon. Not tonight though, their song just made her scoot closer to Toby, wanting to make sure he wasn't scared by what now might sound like the enemy.