Helpful whispers.

I screamed like I had never before, my mouth splitting wide as I called for help.

The cruel hold he had on my ankle was agonizing. I knew he could rip my foot off clean if he wanted to. But that was not what he did.

He kept his bite strong on my ankle and used it to drag me down.

My other foot slipped, my knees buckling at the pain shooting up and down my body.

My throat felt raw as I collided with the ground real hard, the air getting knocked out of my lungs. I felt the uneven ground scratch my skin as he dragged me a few steps back for good measure.

The second I was down, he let go of my ankle and aimed his fangs on my shoulder, his paws pressing me down to the ground to make sure I wouldn't leave.

"PLEASE, STOP!" I screamed even though there was zero chances of him letting me go.

If anything, he sunk his teeth deeper into my flesh, raising another scream from my throat.

"HELP!"

My desperate calls for help echoed through the dark woods, yet not a single life form came to my rescue.

The wolf pulled at my shoulder, and I heard a pop.

Another scream climbed up my throat, tears streaming down my cheeks.

He let go of my shoulder to direct his fangs to my neck.

Because I was facing down, he didn't have a good aim just yet. He snapped his teeth at me, angerly trying to get the best route to my jugular.

The whispers echoed through my head again, and I was able to hear certain words.

There were a few whispering the word 'Shift', and few saying 'Run', and a few saying 'Rock'.

It felt as though the whispers were trying to tell me to save myself. I couldn't shift anymore even if I wanted to.

A few seconds ago, I didn't shift because I was scared he might hear the cracks of my bones. But now I couldn't shift because the pain was already too much for my body, my wolf barely being able to heal the already conflicted wounds.

I couldn't run either, not when my right ankle was torn up. I doubt my dislocated shoulder would let me go that far either asthe pain shooting from my shoulder to the rest of my body.

But a rock...

A rock was what got me discovered in the first place. I glanced around, my vision blurry from the tears.

The wolf was now circling me, his growl loud and terror striking. It was as if  he was taking his time to finish the kill, enjoying the rush of murdering an innocent woman.

What kind of curse is this?

"Rock." The whispers boomed again, and I looked around the ground to see that there was one just out of reach.

I glanced at the wolf, who was busy pacing around, his glowing eyes giving a dim view of the scarred face.

I slowly and carefully reached for the rock with my good hand, extending my arm without disturbing the fallen leaves on the ground.

Whatever the wolf was doing, I needed him to keep himself busy until I could reach for it and...

And what?

What was I going to do with the rock? Kill him?

"Rock." The whispers demanded.

I bit my lower lip to stop the whimpers from escaping my throat and tried to pull my body just a little bit closer so I could reach the rock.

The small movement caught his attention, his sharp sense of hearing giving him the upper hand.

He growled again, his eyes facing my direction. The aggression on the face of the wolf quickly returned after he heard me move, and it was like whatever was keeping him busy no longer mattered.

He crouched lower to the ground, preparing to launch himself on me, preparing to end the hunt once and for all.

I pushed myself closer before he could attack me again, not bothering to stop the pained groan from leaving my lips when the movement of my body was shooting more pain from my shoulder.

Everything happened in a few seconds. The moment I grabbed the rock, he had alreadg jumped towards me. With my fingers tightly clenching the rock, I blindly swung my arm and threw the rock at him.

The rock caught him on the right eye. I saw blood splattering the second the rock connected with his face, and he went crashing down on the ground with a loud thud.

"Run." The whispers screamed at me, and despite being in absolute pain, I forced myself to my feet and tried to run.

My speed was too slow, and the limp caused by the wounded ankle made my escape plan worse.

"Left." The voices collectively said. With how desperate I was to get away, I was willing to believe them.

No matter how unnatural the voices were, no matter how much they scared me, they didn't scare me as much as the large, scarred wolf I'd just thrown a rock at did. 

"Left." The voices chanted, and I turned left without a second of hesitation.

I wasn't sure if he had recovered from the blow to the face and was chasing after me while I was following directions given to me by odd whispers in the woods.

Right, left, left, another right.

I had no idea where I was going, if they were leading me away from the Alpha or straight into another trap. It wasn't long before the voices stopped again.

I stopped running to look around me.

I couldn't hear the growl or pounding of paws against the ground. I wasn't sure how far I had gone, but I was sure I wasn't far enough to brush the danger and think thag I was safe from the wolf.

I limped forward, once again biting down on my lower lips to suppress the hiss. 

I shivered at the feeling of my blood oozing down my arms. I could barely move my ankle at that point. 

A few steps later, I came to a stop at the sight of a small opening.

A cave.

Was this where the voices were leading me to? Where are you trying to tell me to hide in there?

I stepped closer, feeling my stomach turn.

My vision started to darken, making me realize that if I didn't hurry, I might pass out in the open and lose the only chance at survival.

The wind picked up around me, blowing leaves around. I glanced over my shoulder, thinking I would see those two golden glows. But I didn't.

What I saw managed to shock me even more.

The strong wind wasn't just a random blow of air. No. It was forcing leaves and dust to cover my tracks.

The bloody footprints I was leaving behind disappeared under the leaves, and the entire woods smelled like dust. It would probably be hard to scent out anything else when the scent of the dust was strong.

I didn't want to linger around to finger out what had caused that and lose my chance at survival.

While there was a huge possibility that he might discover me in the cave, it was at least much better than my original plan to hide behind a tree and hope that he wouldn't find me.

I limped through tears and crashed on the ground the second I entered the cave, my knees giving out. I felt faint, my head extremely light. Nausea made my stomach turn, but I forced the bile down and used my one good arm to drag myself further into the cave.

While it looked small from the outside, it was certainly enough to keep me tucked in. Hopefuly, the wolf wouldn't think I had the strength to crawl in there. I settled once I reached the other side, just a few feet away from the opening, and pressed my back against the cool wall.

I could feel my heart slowing down. The blood didn't stop gushing out of the two open wounds, leaving my body as weak as it could ever get.

The cave was my last chance at surving the night, and while it was giving myself false hope, I closed my eyes and imagined that I'd made it out alive. I imagined myself walking out of the cave once the sun came up and walking myself out of the pack land.

I imagined never looking back at this horrible night, cutting off ties with the family that signed my life away just to protect themselves. I imagined that I would never allow anyone to do this to me again, that I wouldn't let myself be the sacrifice, that I would put myself first no matter what.

I also dared to imagine moving to the human world like I have alwasy dreamed about, and becoming the teacher I knew I could be, one that would lead with a good example and teach from the heart.

As my vision darkened for the worse and I stopped feeling my arms and legs, I had to hold on to the imaginations for comfort, knowing that the chances of me seeing the sun rise was slim to none.