The night was cold, the moon high and sharp in the dark sky.
Caleb ----the---wolf moved silently through the forest, his paws slicing through the undergrowth with practice ease. His golden-black fur shimmered in the moonlight, a blur of strength and shadow.
Tonight, he wasn't just hunting. He was protecting his territory, keeping the dark things at bay. But danger was never far in these woods.
A sudden, sharp growl erupted from the trees behind him. Caleb spun, teeth bared, hackles raised. Another wolf. Larger, brutal--looking, its eyes gleaming with something darker. An outsider.
The two clashed---------fangs snapping, claws tearing into the flesh. The forest echoed with snarls, the crack of branches, the scent of blood sharp and hot in the air. Caleb fought hard, but the other wolf was relentless, driven by wild, vicious hunger.
Pain exploded in Caleb side as a sharp tooth sank deep into his shoulder. He yelped, a sound torn from his throat, but he didn't stop. He couldn't.
Blood stained the earth beneath them, the cold air thick with the scent of fury. But Caleb strength faltered. His vision blurred. He was forced back----step by step----until instinct took over, and he fled.
He ran.
Faster than he ever had.
Thought the trees, over roots and rocks, until the scent of pine gave way to the fainted trace of something warm, familiar----------The bakery boy.
Eli
He barely made it to the edge of the woods before the pain overwhelmed him. His body collapsed, breath ragged, heart thudding in his ears. And then-------everything went black.
Eli had been closing up the bakery, wiping down the counter, when something made him stop. Strange pull. ahhhhhhh
A sound, distant but urgent-----like the echo of a wounded animal.
His heart pounded as he stepped out into the night. The air was cold, the sky sharp with stars. And there, just beyond the path two the woods-----
A shape in the dark.
A wolf.
Huge. Bleeding. Shaking with every ragged breath.
Eli froze. His body screamed to run, to hide, but something------some-----instinct----kept him rooted in place.
The wolf was hurt. Badly.
Without thinking, Eli rushed forward, his breath catching in his throat.
''Hey....hey, it's okay.'' he whispered, as if the wolf could understand him.
It didn't move.
Carefully, his hands trembling, Eli heart pounded Eli touched the fur, sticky with blood--------what blood------The wolf flinched but didn't lash out.
Heart racing, Eli whispered his arms around the massive creature, struggling to lift it. It was heavy--------too heavy ---- why you so heavy? -----but somehow, with pure panic and adrenaline, he managed to drag the wolf inside. ''Don't worry, I'll save you.''
The kitchen smelled like bread and sugar, but now it was tinged with the scent of iron and earth. Eli laid the wolf gently on a blanket, his hands shaking as he grabbed towels, water whatever he could find. His mind screamed, this is insane. Why am I feeling like this? Why am I saving this wolf? but Eli heart whispered, you can't leave him.
As he worked, cleaning the wounds as best he could, the wolf whimpered------low, broken sounds that tore at Eli chest. Eli said---Eli voice shaking-------''you're okay, you're safe. I've got you'' Eli tears pricked at his eyes.
He had no idea if the wolf would survive the night.
But something deep inside told him he had to try.
Eli exhaled Shakily, his heart pounded in his cheat.
Something deep inside whispered:
--------------------This isn't over. This is just the beginning------------------------