The wounded wolf

THE WOUNDED WOLF

Running away felt easier in my mind.

In reality, every step hurt. The cold night air bites at my cheeks, my lungs burn from breathing too fast, and branches keep slapping against my cloak. But still, I forced myself forward.

Anything is better than being forced to marry a ruthless Alpha.

The forest is dark, deeper than I’ve ever gone. My aunt never let me go this far, always saying wolves like me should stay hidden because “no one wants to see a body like yours wandering around.”

Well… now she has no choice.

My wolf encourages me with soft whispers.

“Keep going, Lena. You’re almost far enough.”

But I don’t know where “far enough” is. The forest seems endless, and fear follows me like a shadow.

After nearly an hour of running, my legs ache so much they feel like they might snap. I lean on a tree, panting hard.

“I just… need a moment…”

I close my eyes, taking slow breaths.

Then I hear it. A low, broken howl.

It echoes through the trees, sharp with pain. My eyes fly open, my body freezing in place.

Another howl follows. Louder, angrier and hurting.

My wolf stiffens.

“That’s not just any wolf.”

My heart starts to race. I should run the opposite direction. Any normal wolf would. But something in that howl… something in that pain… pulls me toward it.

Before I can think, my feet start moving. The deeper I walk into the trees, the louder the painful sounds become,growls mixed with choked howls.

Then I see him.

A huge figure lying on the forest floor.

A wolf. But not just any wolf.

He is massive,bigger than any Alpha wolf I’ve ever seen. Thick black fur, broad shoulders, and glowing golden eyes that cut through the darkness like two burning suns.

My breath stops.

But what makes my heart twist is the wound.

His entire left side is torn open, bleeding heavily. Fresh blood stains the earth. His chest rises and falls unevenly. He lets out another pained howl, the kind that makes your soul shake.

I take a step back out of pure fear.

My wolf whispers in awe.

“He is… powerful.”

Powerful and dying. The great black wolf turns his head slowly when he senses me. When his eyes lock onto mine, I nearly jump behind a tree.

His gaze is sharp, wild and dangerous. My heart pounds against my ribs.

I wanted to run, or I should run. But instead… my feet stay rooted.

I swallow hard and take a small step forward.

“H-hey…” I whisper, terrified. “I won’t hurt you.”

Why am I talking to a strange wolf in the forest?

He growls softly, his fur bristling.

“I know,” I say gently. “You don’t trust me. It’s okay.”

My hands shake, but pity rises in my chest, stronger than the fear. I’ve seen animals in pain before. This wolf looks like he’s fighting death itself.

Slowly, I crouch down a few feet away, keeping my palms where he can see them.

“You’re hurt,” I whisper. “A lot.”

He huffs, a short angry sound, like he hates being seen like this.

I almost smile. “Still proud even when you’re bleeding all over the forest?”

The wolf lets out a low rumble, but it’s weaker this time. His head drops to the ground, and he lets out another shaky breath.

My fear slowly softens because he’s suffering.

Won’t someone help him?

I scoot a little closer just enough to get a better look at his wound. Blood drips steadily from his side, soaking the soil.

“How are you still alive?” I whisper.

He raises his head, looking at me again.

I freeze under his intense gaze.

Then, slowly… he lowers his head to his paws again. He’s letting me stay, maybe even asking me to.

I move closer until I’m just a few steps away. His size is overwhelming. Even lying down, he’s huge. If he stood, he would tower over every wolf in the pack.

My hands tremble, but I reach out slowly,very slowly. He growls a little, warning me.

“Okay, okay…” I whisper. “I won’t touch you. I just… stayed so you wouldn’t be alone.”

His ear twitches.He is listening.

“I don’t know why I came here,” I whisper. “I should be running far away. I’m trying to leave this pack before they push me into something I don’t want.”

The wolf’s eyes open a little wider.

I sigh and sit on the ground, hugging my knees. “I didn’t plan this. Any of it. I just… couldn’t stay.”

Then…….

A loud snap echoes behind us.

The wolf’s head shoots up, ears perked. He growls, louder than before, teeth showing.

“What is it?”

He doesn’t answer, obviously, but the way he tenses his body makes fear crawl up my spine.

Then I hear them.

Voices, deep angry voices.

“Spread out!” One roared. “She ran this way!”

My blood turns to ice. My pack?They’re hunting me. This is why I hate my weight, no matter how I ran, I didn’t go far enough.

I jumped to my feet, shaking. “No. No, no, no!”

The wolf growls louder, pushing himself upright despite bleeding. His legs wobble, but he stands tall, snarling fiercely at the approaching voices.

“Don’t,” I whisper frantically. “You need help. Let them heal you.”

For the first time, the wolf looks straight into my eyes,not angry, not wild. Just… focused.

Like he understood every word.

“Lie still,” I whisper urgently. “They’ll help you. This is good. This is what we were waiting for.”

I start backing away.

The wolf growls at me suddenly, louder and sharper.

I freeze. “Stop! Why are you acting like this?”

He growls again like a warning. Like he doesn’t want me to leave.

But I don’t have time to think about that, because bright lamps break through the trees.

Voices get louder. “Over there!”

I let out a shaky sigh of relief. “Thank the moon goddess…”

Finally help had arrived.

I look at the wolf again. “Stay still. You’ll be okay.”

I turned to run finally, finally ready to keep fleeing the pack and my fate but a loud howl from the wolf echoes through the forest.

Fierce, and threatening .

The search party panics.

“Hurry!”

I try to run…but a figure steps in front of me.

“STOP!”

A hand grabs my cloak, pulling me roughly back.

I screamed.

“Got a rogue!” a voice shouts behind me.

“No…No! Let go!” I screamed.

“Caught a rogue!” The voice repeated.

I kicked and struggled , terror ripping through me. Wolves grab my arms, my waist, my cloak, dragging me toward them.

“I’m not a rogue!” I cry out, but my voice is drowned by shouts.

They didn’t care, they think I’m a threat.

A lamp swings toward my face……

and Beta Antonio freezes.

“Wait…..STOP!”

The hands holding me loosen instantly.

Antonio steps forward, eyes wide.

“LENA?”

He stares like he’s seeing a ghost.

I breathe hard, tears streaming down my face. “Let me go. I didn’t do anything. I wasn’t…”

“Why are you here?” Antonio shouts. “Why were you running away? Didn’t your aunt tell you….”

His voice breaks off because the men behind him are pointing ahead of us.

“Beta… the wolf…”

Antonio turns sharply to the spot where the huge black wolf laid bleeding only minutes ago.

But the ground was empty. Blood still stained the leaves,with deep claw marks on the sand. But the giant wolf was gone.

Completely gone.

Antonio swears under his breath.

“What the hell…?”

A warrior speaks shakily. “Beta, that was no normal wolf. It… it radiated power.”

Antonio frowns deeply. “It doesn’t matter right now. Find the Alpha. He needs to hear this “

“Beta,” another warrior interrupts, pointing at the blood on the ground.

Antonio stared hard at the empty spot.

Then his eyes snap to me.

“You…” He steps closer, voice low and strange. “Do you know what wolf that was?”

My heart thuds painfully. I shook my head.

Antonio watched me for a long moment, his face unreadable.

Then he said something that chilled me to the bone.

“That was no rogue, Lena. That was Alpha Damon.”

My breath stopped,the forest around me spins.

“N-No…” I whispered ,shaking my head. “That’s not possible… he was… he was hurt”

Antonio steps closer, gripping my shoulders.

“And you were found right beside him, going where exactly?”

My knees buckled.

“You,” Antonio says slowly, staring at me like I’ve become a puzzle he can’t solve, “were chosen as his Luna.”

He dragged in a breath.

“And the girl chosen for the Alpha… was found alone in the forest… with the Alpha wounded beside her…”

“Beta we should go. Word just came that Alpha Damon was engaging with a rogue before he was wounded.” One of the warriors said, and eyed me. Perhaps my size had finally been noticed.

But where was the rogue?

“We can’t leave this girl all alone here, especially as the rogue escaped.” He continued.

I almost fainted from fear. I didn’t want to return back to my aunt, especially as she had warned me to be at my best behavior. Worse of all, I didn’t want to go to Damon.

“Round up the men.” Antonio ordered. “ She belongs to the Alpha.”