Hunted

Chapter Five

Hunted
5

My scream echoed through the trees and my eyes stayed tightly shut. I could hear my heart pounding in my ears like a drum sounding to the beat of my awaiting death.

But the pain never came.

Maybe I just died instantly and felt nothing.

Then all at once, snarls erupted from a few feet in front of me. I opened one eye to see the red eyed wolf tumbling around in the dirt with a different wolf. One that looked nothing like the pack I was prey to.

The newcomer had a dark auburn pelt, its fur looked so soft I was tempted to go and touch it. It glanced over to me for a split second and I caught sight of deep, chocolate brown eyes.

My breath caught in my throat and I felt frozen. It was just like when Austin looked at me on my birthday. That awestruck glance with a slight smirk. But I must've been imagining things because a wolf can't smirk! I shook my head to clear it and the wolf continued fighting my attacker.

That's when I focused back on my surroundings and realized the amount of wolves around me had doubled, and they were all viciously clawing and biting one another. I had a strange feeling the new wolves were there to protect me from the first group.

I glanced around and observed something else about my protectors. While the red eyed wolves all had nasty grey fur, the newcomers' pelts were clean, glossy and in a variety of colors.

I spotted more auburn wolves, some light chestnut colored fur, a few red wolves, and then only three with purely white fur. The white wolves I could tell were stronger than the others. They were bigger too, screaming that they were powerful. I guessed they were the alpha family but I could've been wrong.

Teeth snap close to me and I jerked sideways with a gasp, widening my eyes at the red eyed wolf directly to my left. I yelped and scooted backwards, not sure what to do.

The wolf pulled back its muzzle in an ugly snarl just before a flash of auburn knocked it down. Instead of rolling with it like I'd expected, the good wolf leaped back, standing in front of me with its hackles raised. It snarled as the bad wolf stood up, looking ready to pounce.

I yelped again as the red eyed wolf darted forward, snapping its jaws near the good wolf's face. The auburn wolf jerked backwards, closer to me. Its tail was now brushing against my face.

I didn't feel any fear of this wolf though. I knew he was protecting me. Why? I didn't have a clue. But the second his fur touched my skin, I became instantly calmer.

My parents always told me I had the gift to connect with wild animals but even this was new to me. I'd never felt anything like this. And oddly enough, I craved more. I wanted to throw my arms around the wolf in front of me.

It's like Austin. I thought suddenly, remembering how I felt after he grabbed my hand and sparks literally flew.

I didn't have much time to think it over, though, when I was suddenly knocked to the ground. My shoulder banged against a tree root and I groaned in pain. This made the auburn wolf bark for some reason.

I blinked away the pain and looked up to see white. More specifically, white fur. I inhaled sharply as I realized I was underneath a wolf.

After a few moments of trying to figure out what just happened, I came to the conclusion that this particular wolf felt like I'd be protected better if I was covered with its body. That made me smile a little despite the situation.

I mean, c'mon! I was lying underneath a giant white wolf for goodness sake! If I put a hand over my face, I could touch its underbelly.

I stayed there, lying in the dirt for several minutes, unsure if I could get away anytime soon. Finally, the white wolf stepped over me, and I found myself staring at the trees above.

I slowly sat up, rubbing my now aching shoulder. Glancing around, I realized the red eyed wolves were gone, either killed or driven off. My eyes circled around the forest before they landed on my protectors. There were at least fifteen of them, and at the head were the three white pelted wolves and that auburn one.

I put my hands out in front of me, closing my eyes and sighing in relief. "Thank you," I told them, not really sure if they would be able to understand what I'm saying. "I could've died today. But I didn't because of you guys. I wish I could do something in return, but I can't think of anything at the moment. I just hope you know how grateful I am."

I looked up and nearly jumped out of my skin at how close the auburn one was to me. It leaned into my outstretched hand, urging me to pet it. I ran my fingers over his ears and down to scratch his chin. This made him wag his tail a little.

"Thank you for saving my life." I whispered, and he licked my face in return.