Wolf's Heart

I squeezed my eyes shut, my body tensing as the wolf came closer. I prepared for the attack, already knowing how much pain I’ll be in when a louder growl rumbled around me. A gust of air swept past me as I felt fur glide across my skin. More growls and snarls surrounded me and the ground vibrated.

When the pain and bite didn’t come I opened my eyes and looked over, staring in shock as I watched Ulric fighting with the wolf. The size difference between them was astounding, but that didn’t stop the smaller wolf from fighting with all he had.

Ulric grabbed the wolf with his hand, his fingers gripping the nape of the animal’s neck. He lifted the wolf up and roared at it until the wolf submitted, the animal relaxing in Ulric’s grasp. Ulric roared one last time before releasing the wolf, the poor animal falling to the ground.

Once down, the wolf rolled and showed Ulric its stomach, lying still so that Ulric wouldn’t attack again. I swallowed, my mouth still dry with fear as Ulric backed away, moving to crouch above me. I lay as still as the wolf while Ulric continued to snarl, his eyes moving around the perimeter of the clearing.

Frowning, I rise up on my elbows and search the perimeter as well, not seeing what had Ulric so upset. Sitting up further I try to slide out from under Ulric, but he grabbed my arm, holding me still as he maintained his snarls and growls.

I glared at Ulric, tugging on my arm when he didn’t let go. All he did was continue to growl and stare around the clearing, not even looking at me when I tried to pry his fingers from my arms. Just as I was about to pull out the fur on his hand a black wolf stepped into the clearing.

I gasped, causing Ulric’s growling to get louder, when a white one followed, both of them going to the brown wolf who continued to lie on the ground. They sniffed at him, licking in a few places before they pushed him over and got him to walk back into the forest. Ulric’s growling reduced to deep rumbles when the brown wolf disappeared. Ulric’s grip on my arm loosened a little, but he still didn’t remove it.

Both white and black wolves turn to look at us before they disappeared as well, leaving Ulric and me alone again. For a few seconds his rumbles didn’t stop, but after a while he finally fell silent and released my arm, bending his head down and looking at me. His tilted his head, staring at me upside down as I tried not to laugh.

“Thank you,” I managed between giggles, “for saving me again. You seem to do that a lot.”

He tilted his head the opposite direction then stepped back, moving around me and walking to where the wolves had left the clearing. I choked on my shock and turned away as he began to mark the place, moving from there to where the black and white wolves had entered. I pretended to study my nails and he walked the entire clearing, and when he walked up to me I glared at him.

“Don’t even think about it.”

One of his ears cocked back, giving him a goofy look as he moved to lie beside me. I was okay with his closeness, becoming more comfortable with being near him, when he changed positions and put his head in my lap. I froze, a little shocked when he let out a small rumble, the sound ending in a tiny ‘woof’. The sound made me laugh and I relaxed, even going so far as to run my fingers through the soft fur around his ear.

The softness surprised me, his fur looked as if it should be hard and matted, but it wasn’t. My hands roamed his large head, the entire thing bigger than my lap. Moving to scratch his neck I laughed again as another soft rumble vibrated through him, his eyes closing as he wrapped his hand around my foot and leg.

The forest was calming, the natural noises of crickets and birds soothing my nerves after the wolf fiasco. My eye lids started to droop, growing heavy as a yawn stretched my lips. I was moving to lay my head against Ulric’s neck when he lifted his head and growled, turning to stare behind him.

I rolled my eyes, “Leave the wolves alone. They were probably just curious.”

He roared, ignoring me and jumping up. Another roar sounded in the distance, the sound eerie and unsettling. Ulric roared again and charged out of the clearing, leaving me alone and afraid. I stood up quickly and looked around, turning in a circle as I felt eyes watching me.

Goose bumps raised my skin, chills running down my back as growling erupted behind me. Spinning around my eyes widen as another Creature slowly walked into the clearing, this one grey instead of Ulric’s black. He snarled, his fangs dripping with saliva as he advanced.

He was similar to Ulric, a little shorter, his head a fraction smaller and his body had a little more meat on it. His growls were a higher pitch than Ulric’s, the sounds scaring me more than Ulric’s ever had. His fur was mainly gray, but the closer he got I could notice the white and black hairs that were scattered all over.

He stopped a few feet away from me, his growls disappearing to be replaced by an even scarier popping sound. I watched as his bones began to move under his skin, popping and cracking and the fur on his body receding and disappearing. His head shrank as his muzzle receded.

My fear escalated as I watched this wolf like Creature transform into a man, a sinister smile on his face as his shoulder length grey hair shifted in the wind.

“Well, hello, seems you’re a little lost.”

I screamed, Ulric’s name screeching through the forest.