Chapter 6 - Easy Prey

I had reached the highest possible vantage point, dusk approaching as I swept my eyes over the terrain below, searching for any sign of the wolf that was hunting me. Knowing that the countdown had ended some time ago, I heard the faint snap of branches on the ground, unable to tell if it was the beast hunting me or some other creature in the forest. I tried to calm my breathing until a deep, menacing voice echoed through the wilderness, “AAAA, little human, you're more cunning than I thought, you've masked your scent!” A sinister laugh followed, “You've made things more interesting!” I covered my mouth as I realized that his heavy paws were rapidly approaching me. In my mind, I prayed to every available deity to make me invisible to my mortal enemy. “I'll find you, little mouse!” His snarling, amused howl made it clear that he was enjoying the game. I tried to climb higher, afraid of being discovered. My feet slipped on the branch and it snapped. The crunching sound echoed through the forest and sent a shiver down my spine. I hoped its thirst to catch me would distract it from the surrounding sounds. “I HAVE FOUND YOU, MY PREY!” Suddenly, I jumped from the branch and watched him effortlessly climb the tree. His movements were agile, his sharp claws digging into the trunk, keeping me a few feet away from the werewolf trying to reach me. I imagined those claws sinking into my insides, and the thought sent shivers of fear through me. I grabbed the knife in my pocket and pointed it in his direction. “I'm not going down without a fight, do you hear me?!” I shouted in one last promise. “I will be strong for Conan!” I shouted, praying to my parents and sister for strength, wherever they were. “Ah, Human, that's what I want. Fight until you wither in my mouth, like a desperate deer fighting for its life!” The beast's eyes were dilated, almost black, its fur standing on end. I had never seen a wolf so large, a wild creature salivating over its defenseless prey. In the blink of an eye, it reached the branch that held me up. We were at least eight feet high. I continued to move toward the tip of the branch as he approached with subtlety. “What's your escape plan, little bunny?” With his canines exposed, he let out a defiant growl. “Don't come any closer; I won't hesitate to hurt you with this!” I raised the stiletto in my hand and pointed it in his direction. He laughed at my defensive posture and jumped over my body, bringing us abruptly to the ground. We hit some branches that broke our fall, but as we hit the ground, my head hit the underbrush, sending my senses spinning. The ruthless Alpha grabbed onto my already injured ankle, making me gasp in pain. He began dragging me through the forest, leaving a trail of blood gushing from my leg between his sharp teeth. I tried to lift my body to attack him with my stiletto, but the pain in my head made me fall again, almost knocking me out. I started to kick him with my other leg, forcing him to respond with more pressure in his bite. Meanwhile, my back was scratched by the stony, branch-filled ground. I grabbed a stone that had rolled to the side and kicked it with my free leg, causing him to stare at me. I threw the stone directly at his snout, forcing him to release my leg and back away as he shook his head and pawed at the injured spot. Blood trickled down his snout, forming drops in his fur and threatening to stain his mouth. He stopped in front of me and sat down, smiling. The blood made him even more menacing, and he ran his huge tongue over his nose, tasting his own blood. “Human, human, do you want to suffer before you die?” He snarled through his fangs. “Why don't you just devour me?” I screamed. “I would rather you kill me here and now than take me back to Conan and force him to hear my cries of despair as he devours me.” “Is that what you're worried about?” he laughed. “Isn't he afraid of the pain of death?” “I fear leaving an innocent being like my nephew in the hands of a psychopath like you!” I pulled at the injured leg and examined it. The pain was unbearable, my flesh was exposed. I wanted to scream and cry in pain, but I couldn't give in. I took off my shirt and wrapped it around my ankle, improvising a bandage, tying it. Contrary to what I had imagined, the wolf before me examined me without hindering my actions. Her gaze was analytical, tracing every inch of my body. Strangely, his eyes landed on my breasts, half exposed by the clear lace bra. He stood there for a few moments until I encouraged myself to provoke him. “Now you look at me in a predatory way, differently. Both give me shivers!” “Don't be conceited, human, maybe it's the only place where there's more meat to enjoy when I devour you!” — Fiercely, he threatened to bite me again. “If you wanted me dead, you would have let those cemetery wolves kill me or killed me in the tree, but you're dragging me through the forest back to the cabin, why?” — I asked, intrigued. His threats didn't match his actions; he wanted me to be afraid, and I felt there was a plan behind his actions. “I see your resemblance to your sister goes beyond appearances,” he finally declared, transforming back into a man. His beauty was truly surreal; if it weren't for the excruciating pain and his thirst to kill me, I could contemplate his sculpted body. “Now you're looking at me in a predatory way, human!” — There was audacity in his slightly curved lips. “Don't be condescending, Alpha King,” I ignored, shrugging off his disturbing comment. He approached me without asking permission, scooped me up in his arms, and walked back to the hut. “Let go of me! Weren't you going to eat me?” — I struggled to free myself from his strong arms, but to no avail. “You can crawl back with a broken ankle, or I can carry you in my mouth like a dead corpse!” — There was an intensity in the depths of his eyes that I couldn't decipher. I resigned myself to being carried back to the cabin when he just threw me to the ground. “Ouch…” — I complained. — “Where's Conan?” — I looked around anxiously. “He's not here anymore!” — He explained coldly. “What did you do with him?” — I tried to get up in anger, but the pain was too much and forced me to stay where I was. — “You gave your word!” — I reminded him. “He's safe and sound!” — Finally, a wolf at the cabin entrance, the same one that had threatened me earlier, declared. “What are you going to do to me?!” I shouted, trembling. In the background, I heard distant howling from the forest, as if a pack of wolves was announcing their arrival. “What's going on?!” — I shouted, looking at the Alpha, who was staring at the wolf that had been at the cabin door. “You, my prey, served as bait to lure your accomplices!” — He replied ironically. “Accomplices? I have no accomplices, I already told you… That's why you didn't kill me.” — I looked at the Alpha, who had a bizarre anger in his eyes. — “That's why you dragged me and left a trail of blood in the forest, you wanted them to sniff me out and find me!”