Valera's Payback

Valera’s Point of View

As usual, I began to thread my way through the lonely bush. Today, I didn’t feel like eating; I just wanted to taste a different kind of food. I was tired of my usual meal, and I decided to rummage through the jungle for different kinds of food. Suddenly, I noticed footsteps behind me. I had encountered many wolves and animals in the past that had tried to attack me, only for me to take them down with just a stretch of my hand. I was a lion wolf myself in the jungle.

"Hey, you!" A deep voice caught my attention, making me halt my steps. It was evening, and the sky was turning gray. Hideous sounds began to emerge from the bush as usual. I was familiar with all kinds of noises. I could understand and hear the languages of all animals. I don’t know if I was born in the bush, but I grew up here, alone, taking care of myself with the help of all sorts of animals. I was also an animal, though the only thing that distinguished me was that I could change into other species and stand upright sometimes. I looked exactly like the species that came to hunt for animals in my bush. They were called humans.

The voice pierced through my heart, and I immediately shifted into my wolf form. Most of the time, without humans around, I stayed in my human form. I felt happy, like the boss of the jungle, when I was in my human form. The animals were familiar with my face and heeded my call whenever I summoned them.

As soon as I transformed into a wolf, the other animals fled behind me for protection. The humans were armed with dangerous weapons that could kill with a single shot.

"It’s better we run for our lives. I doubt we can confront these humans! They look dangerous!" a deer echoed, its voice only heard by us. Within minutes, we all took to our heels.

"Oh no! You have to catch that wolf among them; she's a beautiful one." I heard a voice echo through the air. It was the voice of a young man I assumed to be their leader.

At a fast pace, they bombarded us, chasing us down. Before I knew it, the sound of human footsteps faded, and everyone started running helter-skelter like wild animals. It was then that I discovered these weren't humans—they were wolves too. They had shifted into their wolf forms like me.

"Stand and fight them! You don’t need to keep running away!" my heart uttered deeply. Fear of the unknown filled me. This kind of chaos had never happened in this jungle before.

"What are these people up to?" I kept asking myself.

"They’re just like you. They have less power. Fight them—you can do it!" My inner voice pushed me. I stopped running and stood my ground, determined to heed the voice. Eventually, I started attacking them, knocking them down one after the other. The more I fought, the stronger I became. The other animals stopped running; their confidence boosted as they joined in the fight.

It seemed their power couldn’t match mine any longer. Suddenly, the loud sound of gunfire echoed through the lonely bush. A deep scream erupted—it was a voice I knew all too well. It was the voice of my best friend, the one who had always protected me since I first became aware of my existence.

“Valera, save me…” he spoke in a language only I could understand. I turned my head and ran toward the direction of his voice. I saw my friend lying in a pool of his own blood.

"Lani! I’ll save you!" I tripled my speed, jumping higher in my wolf form than ever before. But just as I was about to reach him, a gun fired again, and the bullet hit me in the arm. I groaned in excruciating pain and fell into a deep black pool of water. My body shifted back into human form. When I opened my eyes, I saw men standing over me, their faces grim.

I wasn’t sad because I was caught—I was heartbroken because my best friend, Lani, the brave tiger of the jungle, was gone. I was devastated that I couldn’t save the one who was so dear to my heart. I wanted to endure the pain, shift back into my wolf form, and fight these evil men with their guns. But something strange happened—I couldn’t shift anymore. I wasn’t sure if it was because of the black pool or the gunshot. I didn’t even initiate the shift back to human form. I wasn’t sure how it had happened.

“You cowards! Why didn’t you fight me wolf to wolf? Why did you have to use guns?” I asked, my frustration boiling over. I felt like tearing them apart.

"Get a grip on her!" one of the men ordered. Two others walked up to me, jerking me to my feet and dragging me out of the black pool. I had roamed every corner of this bush, but I had never seen this black pool before. It was as if it had appeared just to destroy me.

They dragged me to a stop, and I looked up. I had seen humans come into the bush, but I had never set eyes on one as handsome as the tall, bearded man standing before me.

“Alpha Kelly, we’ve brought her,” one of the men said, still holding my arms firmly. I locked eyes with the man they called Alpha Kelly. A strange sensation coursed through my body. I didn’t know why, but I felt a connection with him. Then, everything went black.