Why was I still alive

Nora

I was trembling with terror while staring at his red eyes, he was thrice my size and the way he glared at me made it known that this was my last day on earth.

Tendons stood out on my neck as I blinked rapidly, hoping this could turn out to be my imagination.

Rumors had it that there was a monster in this pack that had lived for more than a century and although we all thought it was just midnight tales, it turned out to be true.

“S… I… Please… Please…” These were the only words I could utter while shaking under his intense gaze, his gaze made my skin crawl and I couldn’t stop glancing at the blood on his paws.

His eyes were burning, with hunger, fury and goddess knows what else, he was enraged to see me and his nose was flaring.

Sweat trickled down my face as I tried to move back. I tried to scream for help but the moment my mouth opened, my voice disappeared, I couldn’t utter a word and it made me whimper uncontrollably.

I began to crawl back in fright, my trembling feet felt too heavy to move and all I could picture was myself being the next in his large hands.

“Is this how I’m going to die?”

He tossed the piece in his hands aside and my eyes widened. I almost pissed myself out of shock but that gave me an opportunity to run.

It was the craziest idea I’d ever thought of.

Everywhere was pitch dark but my instincts were enough to get me to safety.

I turned around and ran as fast as I could towards the house, his huge footsteps echoed in my ears. Every now and then, his presence was dangerously close and it made me run even faster.

“HELP!” I screamed as I dashed into the house, praying for someone to come to my rescue but I was alone in this.

His growling tone was low and menacing, it sent fear round my body and the goddess knew where I got the strength from but much to my amazement and relief, I managed to get to my door.

Pulling the door like my life depended on it, I slid inside and bolted the door as fast as I could. Sliding to the floor as I caught my breath. I was panting heavily.

I had just escaped death. It felt impossible to believe but it was true and the joy that flooded my heart was beyond description.

My breathing slowed and I wiped the sweat beads off my forehead. The house was dead quiet, much to my astonishment, the maid I shared the room with was pretending to be asleep because I could see her trembling on the bed.

It all felt absurd like it was some kind of nightmare but it was real as hell, realer than anything I’d ever seen in this world.

Only the goddess knew how long I had stayed on the floor but when my breathing returned to normal, I stood up and headed to the bed.

I wanted to get some sleep although I knew I’d be awake throughout the night. The door was a flimsy excuse, offering little to no protection and I couldn’t shake off the feeling that he could burst in at any moment.

It was too weak to protect me and why he hadn’t broken them to pieces to pick me out of this room was still a border.

“Why didn’t he follow me inside? Maybe there was something inside the house which stopped him from harming anyone, maybe this was why it was a taboo to be outside.”

My heart almost jerked out of my chest when I heard rumblings beside the window. I froze for a moment, my whole body quaked as I tried not to make any sound.

Tears rolled down my cheeks, a surprise even to myself.

Today was the most terrifying day of my life. All I could think about was how it would have been better to die at my stepmother’s hands rather than being eaten by a monster.

He was everything they had described him to be, ruthless, dangerous and bloodthirsty. He was extremely tall with a huge body which was twice of the average wolf.

No one had ever appeared before him and survived, except for me but I wasn’t safe yet, there was no telling if death wasn’t around the corner.

I heard a small rumble from the transparent window again and to my astonishment, he was there, his fangs bared as he glared at me.

“Please… Just let me go… I don’t want to die.” I pleaded even though I knew he couldn’t hear me.

He growled even louder, his tone was filled with terror, it made my body shiver.

I felt an inexplicable pull towards him, the same force that had driven me outside.

It was as if I was being drawn to death itself and my heart pounded in my chest, the sound almost deafening as I watched him.

“Kill me.” I whispered under my breath, unable to bear it anymore. I was tired of running and hopping from one problem into another.

Our eyes were met and although I was horrified, I found it almost impossible to avert my gaze. I felt a mix of fascination and war inside of me.

As I gazed into his eyes, something inexplicable stirred within me.

I was stuck, my body had gone numb and a voice kept screaming inside of me to turn around, ignore his growls and go to bed but I couldn’t.

“Stop! He’ll devour you! Pretend this never happened and hide!” The voices in my head yelled but like one in a trance, I stood by the window side, watching him and waiting with bated breath for death.

This made his growls reduce, he stopped scowling and the flame in his eyes disappeared, I saw his emotions flickering and my heart began to drum furiously.

I was frightened but at the same time there was another emotion, it was hard to say what it was because I wasn’t in the right state of mind.

His gaze dropped and to my surprise, he slowly sank to his knees. As this happened it got me even more nervous.

I broke out in cold sweat all of a sudden and I began biting my lips anxiously as I wondered what was happening to both of us.

The ferocity in his eyes had disappeared, replaced by a humbled expression and I felt connected to it in a way.

It felt like I was the reason for everything happening even though it was hard to wrap my head around it.

I found myself sitting on the only chair in the room, staring at him intently.

His eyes were calm, filled with concern and a great secret almost knocked me out.

“He had no intention to kill you, the only reason you had escaped was because he let you… Maybe he had other reasons for chasing after you but killing you was never a part of his options.” One voice whispered.

“Maybe not now but it doesn’t change the fact that you’ve tasted the forbidden apple and you will be punished for it.” The voice added.

Why was I still alive? What plans does he have for me and what was he going to do to me now? What kind of punishments?