The Wolf's Claim

Lana's P.O.V. There was no hiding the fear in my eyes as I stared at the broken man in the bed before me. For years he had taken pleasure in every bruise, cut, and broken bone he had inflicted upon my body. Yet, karma had finally caught up with him, and we were going to be free from his torture. In the past, I had been his only victim. The only one to feel the pain brought on by his rage and fists. But one drink too many, and he found himself thrown through his windshield with his car imbedded in the back of a pickup truck. Thankfully, the couple he hit had walked away with minor injuries. My husband wasn’t so lucky and that made me happy. The steady beeping made my eyes narrow as I willed for the line on the screen to stop bouncing up and down. It would only be the perfect ending to our horrific marriage. The plugs right behind the head of his bed taunted me as I imagined locking the door and ripping them from the wall. Only there were no locks on hospital room doors, and pulling

Lana's P.O.V. The sound of thunder roaring and echoing through the forest made me wake with a start. It appeared to be something I would have to get used to as we never had these kinds of storms in the city, yet they seemed to occur every other day here. After two weeks, it was finally starting to feel like home. I had cleaned it, started a garden with the seeds from the groceries I had brought, and all that was missing was to find and get rid of the rat that was pooping everywhere before he started to eat the wiring. But now, I was back to walking on eggshells in my own home as I had been stupid enough to bring a wild beast into my living room. Dragging him inside last night was a feat in itself. The massive animal must have weighed at least 200lbs, if not more. Since he had been able to pull himself onto the blanket, I had assumed he was healthy enough to help me get him into the house. Instead, he just laid there and watched me struggle. If I hadn't known better, I would have t

Lana’s P.O.V. “He needs a name you know,” I said to Maddie as she walked next to me, her hand in mine. It had only been a day with him, but I was already feeling this pull demanding that I never return him to his owner. As wary as I was of him at first, now I wanted to be selfish and keep him as our wolf. The large beast trotted along, on the other side of Maddie, scanning the area carefully. He had gone off a ways to go the bathroom and when we had followed him, he let out a growl that I hadn’t heard before, telling us to stay back as he bared down. It should have scared me and made me worry for the safety of my daughter but for some reason, it just made both of us burst into giggles. When he returned, his head was down and he refused to look at us. It was the most bizarre reaction I had ever seen from an animal. “That’s silly. He has a name.” Maddie said as she stopped to pick up a rock, not caring about the critters beneath it that quickly burrowed into the ground. I eyed her h

Oliver’s P.O.V. I sat back on my haunches, watching with amusement as Lana moved around the animal with the steak knife, trying to figure out how to start. I wanted to help her, but there was only so much that could be done in my current form. She had just been staring at the animal for twenty minutes. The meat was getting cool and the longer she waited the harder it would be to get the skin off. I let out a grumble before getting off the porch and moving over to the animal. The sooner she did what she had to do to fill their freezer, the sooner I could eat the rest. She froze as I latched my teeth around the animal's back leg, pulling it to the side so she had room to start skinning it. Our eyes met, and she watched me cautiously. It seemed as though she was expecting me to tell her what to do as she stared at me with raised eyebrows. I dropped the leg 'huffing' at her as I stomped my front paw into the ground. "Well, what is that supposed to mean? Eat it if you're so hungry! I d

Lana's P.O.V. The horrid sounds of the animals fighting outside had the small hairs on my arms and neck standing at attention. Each whimper and cry of pain made me flinch as I imagined my wolf hurt or possibly dead. There was a pain in my chest that restricted my breathing as I imagined anything happening to Olly. Maddie curled up in the bed. Her tear-streaked face and runny nose was a heartbreaking sight, but she kept calm as I walked into her room behind her and turned the television on. Even with the poor reception, the static-covered show was a relief as it helped to mask the growling. I was hoping the sound of the small picture box would distract her enough from what was happening outside for her to fall asleep. "I'll be right back. Try to go to sleep, okay?" I asked, but the sound of a wolf yowling in pain made my spine straighten. My heart was pushing me to grab my gun and go help, to protect Olly, but my brain was telling me not to get in the middle of a pack of wild wolve