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‘Female,’my wolf growled, annoyed that another would dare come onto her territory.
‘Someone passing through?’I didn’t want to get into a territorial fight tonight.
My wolf ignored me and kept tracking the scent until we reached the small pond that no one went to but me, it seemed. It was secluded and didn’t have enough water to swim in. Light from the moon lit up the pond, making it glow against the gloomy surroundings.
Our chest rumbled with contentment. Regardless of the past or the future, this was home.
A snap to our left drew our attention. Our ears stood erect as we listened to the sounds around us, waiting for more clues.
The underbrush around the pond grew quiet, and I could hear the blood pumping through our body. A steady rhythm that reminded us of the moonlight that gave our species life.
A howl rang out somewhere in the distance while a wolf-like sneeze sounded from behind us.
We whipped around, our eyes searching through the trees for any sign of another wolf. We growled, a low menacing sound, warning whomever it was that we weren’t to be messed with.
Dried leaves crunched under paws as the other creature stalked closer. Our jowls lifted, and our head lowered, ready to tear whoever it was a new asshole.
As if reading my thoughts, a yip followed by a soft whine reached our ears. We huffed through our nose, listening as they retreated the way they came.
Satisfied, we turned back to the pond then settled down on our haunches.
“Well, that was rude,” a voice said, interrupting the pleasant silence.
We jumped to our feet, turning so we could face the newcomer. A woman stood by the bank dressed in a white shift that seemed to reflect the moonlight.
“Oh, cut it out,” the woman grunted, walking to a log and sitting down on the rough, weathered wood.
Her bare feet dug into the soft dirt, like she’d never felt the mud between her toes. That thought gave us pause. We took a closer look at the woman and found that her shift was tattered and dirty. She looked like she’d just escaped from somewhere.
“Stop that growling and come here,” she said, grumbling about wolves who didn’t listen.
My wolf approached hesitantly, wondering if we should call for help. The woman’s face had been hidden in shadows, but as we drew closer, they shifted.
She was old. Wrinkles lined her face, but they couldn’t hide the hideous scars that ran across her cheeks. Claw marks.
The sight of it made us freeze. We inhaled, catching her scent as we did. She was a wolf; it washerscent we’d followed out here in the first place.
We surged forward, and my wolf let me take the lead. The change was quick, and then I was back in my naked human form.
I knelt in front of her, not shy about my bareness. Wolves were pack animals, and that extended to us shifters. She looked like she’d been starved of contact for years, decades even.
Her fingers were twisted and mangled, like they’d been broken repeatedly so her wolf healing couldn’t keep up.
Anger gripped my chest, and my wolf snapped her jaws in my head.
“Who did this?” I asked her softly.
“Never mind.” She waved away my concern, and I noticed more scars on her wrists. She’d been restrained.
“Where’d you come from?” Maybe I could backtrack and find the ones who did this and make them pay.
A hand slapped my cheek, bringing me out of my rage-filled daze.
“Didn’t you hear me? Never mind about me. It’s too late anyway.” She muttered the last part then readjusted her seat on the log.
“My house isn’t far from here,” I offered, thinking she’d be much more comfortable in a chair.
“There’s not much time,” she said then coughed into her hand. It sounded wet, and her lungs rattled. I could hear the sickness in her chest.
