Chapter 3: Leaving My Safe Spot

Salem

My four feet were carrying me from the depths of the forest, further away from my home. I could feel how unsafe it was where I was heading. The more I trotted, the more I glanced behind me until my home was nowhere in my sight.

What was I doing?

As much as I feared dying of hunger, I, too, could die outside of the depths of the forest.

I paused, panting under a large tree, at my troublesome thoughts.

My tongue hung from my mouth as I took quick breaths, and my heart palpitated as I observed my new surroundings. The sight of it gave me chills. There was too much light where I was. I was visible and easily seen by other predators, such as wolves, which was not good. I could never feel safe here.

My ears and nose were on alert the entire time for any wolf that could possibly spot me. Luckily, I sensed none. I had enough time to quickly catch my prey and hurriedly return. My back rested against the tree, and my body quivered nervously as my eyes closed and my nose raised, sniffing through the air for any small creature lurking by. My eyes peeled open, and my body jumped, sensing a rabbit nearby. I could be lucky enough to find its burrow. I trotted through the forest. My heart leaped with joy, and I darted between the bushes. I saw food: a fat brown rabbit having its breakfast of grasses. It was a great time to slowly sneak up on it. I glued my eyes to it as I stealthily crept toward it. No, I foolishly stepped on a piece of dried stick. The rabbit heard me and started fleeing. I raced behind it and grabbed it by the neck before it could jump into its burrow. I killed it and was fortunate to be guided to its home. My mouth was covered with its blood. I took his lifeless body into my mouth, ready to return him. Suddenly, I halted, and my gaze fixated on its resting place. A small hole in the ground. If I could find one or three more of its kind, I could survive for days without having to leave my home for hunting again, and hopefully, things will get back to normal at home.

I laid my meal on the grass and began digging into his home. With excitement, I dug faster. Hearing about 6, I assumed. They tried to escape as soon as I spotted them. It was a member of its family, along with a tiny baby. I had planned to eat the baby first to gain enough strength to return. I killed all five and threw them beside my first kill. The baby rabbit squeaked terrifyingly as my sharp teeth pierced into its neck. On the spur of the moment, my body flew into my catches, causing them to spread about. I quickly stood up, and my eyes widened, scared to death. A large, dark brown wolf was standing before me. His eyes glared into mine while he growled. I spun around for a split second to escape. I was scared stiff when I discovered that more wolves were behind me. They encircled me. Six of them have different shades of brown and black. They were large—too large for me—and seemed strong enough to put up a fight.

I whimpered.

There was no way I could escape them alive. At that moment, I wished I had never broken my grandmother's promise, for my pack enemies had found me. I was going to die. I will no longer be the last wolf in my pack alive.

Their sharp teeth snapped at me while they growled and snarled. I was horror-stricken within the center. My head kept turning to see if anyone was trying to secretly attack me from any angle, and my body kept quivering. I was having a hard time standing on my four feet.

One on my left tried to attack me from my side. I growled at him, scared to the bone to back away. He stopped, not at my warning but at another wolf's command.

"Damian, remember, punishing an outsider is not our job."

"I see you've all caught the outsider, a rather filthy one." I smelled another wolf, different from the six wolves who surrounded me.

I glanced behind me to see where the seventh wolf was, and my body felt like it received a hard strike at how frightened I was. It was the first time I saw a male wolf in its second form, human form. His skin was furless, and he was covered in some strange covering that was as if it were human fur. The strange object he had was smooth, like skin without fur.

As the man's dark eyes went to mine, my body lowered, and I tucked in my tail, whimpering out of fear.

Was he the alpha, the leader of the Grey Pack? I worried. I felt the urge to cry, but I tried not to.

My marks weren't showing. How could they possibly see I was a survivor of The River Pack?

"Put her down after completing your training," he instructed.

Was I going to die? I whimpered for my life.

"I'll take her out on my own," said the first wolf who attacked me as he entered the circle.

My body went downward into the grass, onto my side, surrendering to him. There was no way I could possibly take on him or any of them.

"She's submitting to you, Alaric. She knows she is unable to beat you," their leader said.

"Tie her up," he then added.

The first wolf shifted into his second form. He had dark brown eyes and hair, and he was tall.

I whimpered on the ground as they threw him a chain.

"You have no right to hunt in the Dark Blood Pack without our permission," he told me.

At that moment, I realized they were not my enemy's pack.

My eyes widen as the dark-brown-haired male raises the chain in his hand and quickly lowers it to my head. It closed as the chain came down with force.