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As I get closer to the growling, I weave through the trees and mind my steps. Once I’m within the wolves’ earshot, I slowly creep through the woods, making my steps silent to not alert them of my presence.
I peer through a bunch of bushes and count sixteen wolves, and they aren’t the ones I’ve seen in the past. These are much larger and seem to be moving in a calculated pattern. Watching their movements, I catch a glimpse of an injured human woman in the middle of their swarming.
It’s Dana, the woman I’ve seen at base a few times. She is striking, but I’ve never spoken to her. What gives her away is a scar burned onto her chest that I can see from here. She looks oddly confident in her stance; a particular one Loki taught me when I first arrived at the clan that’s vital when enemies surround you.
I watch as she viciously brandishes a knife at the wolves, spinning around as they yap and snap their jaws at her intimidatingly. I watch the wolves’ movements, their light gray fur bristling as they stare at her primally, stalking their next meal.
She pivots on her feet and spins in circles slowly, making eye contact with the wolves as they circle her and mock her with their noises. She yells and jabs at them with her knife, which only makes them bite back at her with intimidation.
I’ve never seen this formation before. One circle around her is moving in one direction, and the wolves on the outer circle are moving in the other. No matter which way she tries to break, they will catch her.
It’s also highly unlike them to spend time intimidating their prey, and I wonder if this specific pack has adapted a ritual of sorts. Now I have to figure out how to break the pattern and get her out of here; there’s no way she can take all of them on; I’m not even sure I can.
I look to the ground on my left side and see a large rock. Looking at the side of the pack, I notice a large boulder sitting behind a few trees. If I can throw this rock against the boulder, the sound might be enough to distract them for a moment while I rush in and grab her.
I pick up the rock and turn it in my hand before swinging my arm back and chucking it. To my surprise, it hits the rock, and the sound makes them turn their heads. They snarl and rush off in that direction, and I watch Dana break away from them.
I run after her, hoping to catch her before she gets too far. I know she must be injured, and she can’t go on long until she hurts herself more. I dart toward her and see her fall into the woods in front of me. She rolls over and groans, holding her leg with her hand as she looks at it.
“Are you alright?” I ask as I approach her.
She flinches and points the dagger at me before breathing a sigh of relief. “Oh God, I thought….I don’t know what I thought. I’m so sorry.”
“No, don’t be.” I lean down and look at her injury.
The gash is deep; it looks like she fell on a jagged rock. At least it’s not a wolf bite; their teeth can sever through the bone if they’re hungry enough, and this pack looks hungry. I run my fingers lightly around the gash, trying to open it slightly to see how deep it goes.
She grabs onto my arm and cries out as I look at it. I instinctively put my hand over her mouth, knowing wolves can hear from up to three miles away. I take my hand off her mouth and pick her up, sweeping her up in my arms as the sounds of the predators spears my ears.
I hold her in my arms, not even thinking about how she must feel, before I see a confused look on her face. She locks eyes with me, and I place her down nervously. I eye her and admire how calm she is despite almost being eaten by a pack of wolves.
She’s more striking up close. I find myself almost paralyzed as we lock eyes, and I stammer, looking for my words. It’s very unlike me to invade a woman’s personal space like that.
I’ve always prided myself on being a gentleman. When I met Flora, she told me of the horrific things orc men had tried to do to her, and I vowed I would never scare a woman as they did.
“I’m….I’m sorry I touched you,” I say, surprised at how instinctual it was for me to pick her up.
“No, it’s just….”
Her sentence is cut off by the sounds of snarling coming in our direction. I grab her arm and begin running opposite the sound, hoping to get away from them as quickly as possible.
I reach a cliff and look down at a roaring waterfall. I glance to either side and see the wolves stalking us from all angles.
Dara has fallen behind, and I don’t realize until I’m a quarter of a mile ahead. I dart back, hearing the growling of the pack getting closer. She has tripped again and clutches onto her leg, looking at me as I kneel over her.
“Leave me,” she says as she winces at the pain. “I can’t outrun them, and they’re smelling my blood. They won’t find you if you keep going.”
I grit my teeth and see the wolves approaching through the trees. Loki’s clan has saved my life and taught me everything I know, and I can’t abandon one of his clan members to a pack of wild beasts.
I look behind me at the waterfall and then glance around us in a half-circle. The pack is stalking us in their formation again, but instead of circling, they’re weaving around each other and staring at us.
I look at Dara and see her looking at the beasts with defeated eyes. I try to think of options for how to get us out of here. There are too many, even for both of us to fight, and there’s no way to distract them from us now.
Looking behind me, I gauge the drop of the waterfall. It’s steep, but it seems like it’s our only option. I look at Dara, and she glances at me with fear in her blue eyes.
“Do you trust me?” I ask firmly.
“Trust you?” she asks as she scoffs. “I don’t even know you!”
