HOWL (rewritten)

1 - The Black Wolf

--Emilia's Pov--

I sighed as I followed the trail, coming home after a long day of work. Many people wouldn't think working in a bookstore was exhausting but it was, especially when you did the majority of the work. There were labels to make and the books had to be organized via an unnecessarily complicated system the owners made us go by. Not to mention keeping the computers up to date when we sold books.

I was really looking forward to getting home, mostly because it was Tuesday and my mom always made my favorite on Tuesdays. Good ol' homemade lasagna from a family recipe.

As I got closer to the large oak tree, one my friend and I used to hang out all the time, I heard a low growl in the distance. I tried to ignore it only for it to happen again, closer this time. I walked faster practically on the verge of jogging and came to an abrupt stop when a brown wolf emerged from the bushes. I didn't move since I didn't want to startle it, looking into its yellow eyes glowing like embers against the darkness.

It bared its teeth as it growled at me, paws shifting into a pounce stance. The only thing that went through my head was my friend, how she went missing and was never found. The only thing they did find was her phone covered in a bit of blood not far from the trail. I was next in line to be killed possibly by the same animal that may or may not have killed her.

As it moved to pounce, another wolf emerged through the bushes and landed on the brown. It was a black wolf, eyes glowing in the same manner. I watched as it wrapped its jaws around the other wolf's neck, bringing it to the ground.

I took this opportunity to run as they fought. I could hear the growls and snarls in the distance as I came closer to the oak tree. My lungs were on fire as I ran out of breath, straining to get further and further away.

But then another brown wolf jumped from the brush, jaws open as it missed me just by a couple feet. I screamed out as it landed next to me, turning to look at me with the same yellow eyes as the last two. I kept running only to trip over the thick root sticking from the ground, a slight pain in my ankle as I tried to move. I slowly crawled backwards as the white wolf growled at me, showing its teeth as it stepped forward.

This is it. This is my end.

I closed my eyes to prepare for the worst only to hear snarling and growling. I opened my eyes to see a white wolf attacking the other brown as the black approached. I could see blood stains on the little bit of white fur around the black wolf's mouth as it approached me. The wolf it fought must have been badly injured or dead due to the loud snarls and growls.

The second brown wolf yelped out as the white wolf brought down, its jaws clamping down on the other's leg. It quickly let go and growled as the brown wolf limped away into the bushes.

I moved to stand, watching as the black wolf kept its eyes on me. Then the white looked at me as well, softly growling as it walked in a different direction.

The black wolf lifted its snout into the air just a bit and sniffed, like it was either curious about me or debating whether or not it should kill me. It stepped closer, head low as if it was trying to say it wasn't going to hurt me.

Then it stopped as howls echoed in the distance, its ears perking up as it looked in the direction it was possibly coming from. It lifted its head to howl in response, looking back to me before running off.

I quickly stood and ran as fast as I could, ignoring the slight pain in my ankle. I was relieved when I reached the sidewalk where the trail starts. I rushed to get home, struggling to pull the keys from my bag as I tried to calm my breathing.

"Hi Emilia." Karen called from next door.

"Hey." I reply as I get my door open.

"You seem to be in a rush, are you okay?"