Wolf Girl (Excerpt)

Chapter 3

Author's Note: Hi everyone! Happy Sunday! Here is the third chapter of Wolf Girl, I hope you all enjoy!

Chapter 3

I woke up with the dawn, still exhausted from the long journey from the day before. And I was starving. Life is a lot harder when you're on your own.

When you're part of a pack, almost anything can be your prey-deer, mostly, but also moose and elk, although we generally hunted the young or the sick. As a lone wolf, I was limited to mice, voles, possibly a rabbit if I was lucky. There was strength in numbers, and unless I was able to form a new pack, I would probably starve to death.

But my main focus was to find out what had happened to my mother. Had she been in some kind of trouble? Was she even still alive? These were questions that I asked myself on a daily basis ever since I realized that she wasn't coming back.

In the beginning, I was confident, or at least hopeful, that she would return for me. When Brian suggested that we move on to new hunting grounds, I had protested. What if my mom couldn't find me again? But with all the time that had passed, I could see it in Brian's eyes that he no longer had any hope for my mother's return. I cried myself to sleep on many of the nights that followed our departure.

My life changed pretty dramatically after that. Eventually I began to live my life like the wolves who were quickly becoming my new family, and I never bothered to return to my human form again. That Rachel was buried somewhere deep inside of me. I wasn't sure if she would ever return, or if it was even possible when I had already changed so much.

I heard a rustling in the undergrowth-a mouse, from the sound of it. I put my thoughts away as I began to stalk my prey. I would need my strength if I hoped to be successful on this journey.

After what felt like several miles, I finally heard running water. Excited, I quickly followed the sound until I found myself standing in front of a wide river. I hurriedly rushed over and started lapping at the water. I hadn't realized how truly thirsty I had been.

Once I'd had my fill, I looked around, trying to decide what to do. Though the mouse had helped, I was still extremely hungry, so I stuck my paw in the freezing water. After about a minute, a large salmon leapt past me, and I snatched it out of the air with my teeth. I carried the salmon onto land, so that I could enjoy my meal in peace. The salmon continued to flop around in my mouth, and I shook my head, crushing it with my jaws. I dropped it on the ground, bracing it with one paw while I bit into its flesh.

It was delicious, and it tasted better with every bite. When I was finished, I went back to the river to grab another. After catching and eating a half-dozen more salmon, I decided to take a rest in the grass. The sound of the water was soothing as it hit the rocks. It was a nice feeling, and I reveled in the warm touch of the sun as well, though it wasn't very bright. I rested for quite a while as the sky grew darker and eventually began to smell of rain. The other animals in the area must have also realized that it was coming, as the forest had grown silent. I stretched and headed back under the trees, counting on the canopy of leaves above to shield me from the coming rain. The sky began to open up and the water came pouring down. I curled up into the hollow beneath a large spruce, knowing that I would not be doing any more traveling until the rain stopped.

And then I saw it all again, the same dream that I'd had on many other nights-only this time it played itself backward as if the dream were being rewound.

We were running back through the forest, where it had all started. "It's the same," she kept repeating. I was confused. What was she talking about? What was the same? Then, suddenly, I wasn't little Rachel any more. I was the present me. "It's the same," she said again, before disappearing.