Page 96 of The Forbidden Villain
Despite everything, I’m so grateful to have him, and I hope every day he’s not just guarding and feeding me so I can grow and become a bigger treat for him.
Who knows?
Maybe young wolves also need to prove themselves to the pack by bringing the biggest prey.
I also watch him hunt, how he assesses the terrain, sniffs the scents, and follows them. His complete focus is admirable. “You aren’t going to eat me someday, are you?” He huffs, his teeth grazing my palm before he licks it, and I giggle. “I’m sorry, I just had to ask.”
We’re almost to the cave when the howling intensifies, and I freeze because it’s never been this close.
My wolf stops in his tracks, too, and after a second, pushes me again, but this time in the opposite direction. Something he has never done. “What’s going on?” I whisper, and he growls, which is his way of telling me to shut up.
He nudges me some more, so I speed up my pace as the howling becomes stronger and closer with each passing second.
No!
The pack found my cave?
Grabbing the heavy rock on the way, I start to run faster as the wolf joins me, and that’s when the howling sounds mix with the gunshots in the air, followed by the crows chirping.
What? No!
The hunters usually don’t come on a full moon, preferring to stay away from the wolves and always killing various ducks and rabbits. The forest becomes quiet when they enter, and the various deer, along with does, wander farther in to avoid them, protecting their young.
It’s the only time I’ve seen all the animals in the forest unite against one common enemy.
“The wolves are fucking here. I can’t believe it!” someone says, and it’s so strange to hear a human speak after all this time. “He was right. Robert was right. They are more active during a full moon.”
“Let’s hunt the fuckers. We’ve got rifles.” More gunshots, followed by the wolves howling, and my wolf hits me with his paw, so we dart to the right, onto the road we never wandered on. “He said if we kill the wolves, he’ll pay us a generous amount.”
“Because he wants the boy.”
My heart gallops in my chest at the implication, and I force myself to run fast, the wind slapping my cheeks as fear glides through my veins, and despite my lungs begging for oxygen, I do not stop.
Stopping would mean dying.
I have to survive, even though on most days I wonder why I made such a promise.
My feet burn, and the wolf continues to push at my back until I end up on the asphalt road, the voices still loud and too close.
My eyes widen at the sight.
It’s straight and spreads wide. I’ve never seen the ground so evenly laid out, and the open space is astonishing. There are no trees in sight but…mountains.
I gape at the open space so different from my usual habitat.
“What is this?” I wander and turn to the wolf who nuzzles my stomach, and I give it a long pat. “You brought me here? Thank you.”
Since more gunshots echo, he gives me one last nudge and then races back into the forest, tilting his head back and howling so loud I have to cover my ears. “Look at the gray wolf there!”
And just like that, he disappears from my view, the voices trailing after him along with the other wolves, it seems, since they answer his call.
He protected me once again.
I get on the road, looking around, not knowing what to do next. Do I wait it out, then go back into the forest?
It might be scary and cold at night, but at least it’s familiar. Here, I don’t understand anything.
The annoying sound of honking disturbs my senses just as bright light blinds everything around me, and I sit on the ground, wincing, completely disoriented.
