The Wolf Wars Saga

Ellie

I ran hard, not daring to look behind me. Maybe the normal people turned into monsters at night. Maybe they lived among normal people. Hell, I didn’t know.

I wondered if the controllers who taught us the rules even knew. If they did, they didn’t say. Just enough to frighten us. Talk about curiosity killing the cat. This was going to be my end.

As I got closer to the border, I froze. I could hear guards and shouting. They must have heard the howls as well. If I went back now, I’d be dead. If I stayed here, I would be dead.

The loud crack of a gunshot and a sharp pain in my arm made the decision for me. Clasping my hand to my arm, I ran away from the border. I could feel liquid running down my arm.

Thankful that the only monsters I could see were the gun-wielding maniacs. I did the only thing I could think of—I headed back into werewolf territory. I just had to find somewhere to lay low.

I quickly scanned the horizon. Past the crop fields and the barn were some woods. I would hide in there until morning.

When I was far enough from the border to be out of range of the bullets, I checked my arm. It didn’t look too good. My hand had done little to stem the flow of blood.

I ripped off some of the material of the vest I was wearing and wrapped it around my arm. I tied it as tight as I could, in an attempt to stop the flow of blood.

By the time I reached the edge of the treeline, I was beginning to feel lightheaded.

It was eerily quiet. The moon shone brightly through the tree canopy, giving the ground an eerie glow.

I sat down on the ground and slipped off the backpack. Leaning against the tree, I closed my eyes for a moment.

My eyes snapped open when I heard the sound of a twig snapping.

A man stood in front of me. When I say a man, he was more like a giant.

He looked at the backpack, then he looked at me. His eyes narrowed.

“What are you doing here, human?”

I felt my heart begin to race, my mouth was suddenly dry.

“I...I...” I stuttered.

He took a step closer. As he did, I pushed myself further against the tree. Not that it helped, but there was no way I could run. My legs suddenly felt like jelly.

“You’re hurt,” he stated.

I looked down at my arm. The makeshift bandage was already soaked with blood.

This was it. I was either going to bleed to death, or the man or monster in front of me was going to kill me.

Was he the monster that they had warned us about? The way he had addressed me as human made me think he was a werewolf. Why didn’t he look that different from us? Granted, he was huge.

Not just tall, but muscular.

He had light shaggy hair, which fell to around his shoulders, and a beard the same color, that was neatly trimmed.

I watched in silence as he knelt down next to me. He took hold of my arm, gently but firmly, and began to unwrap the makeshift bandage.

He frowned, then looked at me.

“Your own people shot you!” he exclaimed.

I nodded. Tears pooled in my eyes with the realization that I could never go back. Not unless I had a death wish. I closed my eyes. I didn’t want to shed any tears.

I had to give the appearance of being strong, even if I wasn’t.

I clenched my jaw and took a deep breath.

When I opened them again, the man was removing his T-shirt.

“This may hurt a little, pup,” he stated.

He ripped the T-shirt and began to bind my arm.

I tried to muffle a cry, which came out as a whimper when he tied off the makeshift bandage.

His eyes then landed on my backpack. I tried to make a grab for it, but he was too fast and snatched it away.

When he opened it, his face contorted in a grimace of disgust.

“Why are you stealing rotten food?” he demanded.

I frowned, “it’s better than what we have.”

He stared at me and shook his head as he stood up, towering over me.

“Can you stand?” he asked.

I nodded and pushed against the tree behind me. Once I was standing, I realized how wobbly I felt on my legs. Had I really lost that much blood?

He glanced at the backpack and tossed it away. Then he took a step towards me. Before I realized what he was doing, he had picked me up like a small child. Settling me on his hip.

“Hey!” I yelled.

I thought about thumping him, but then thought better of it.

“If I let you walk, pup, we won’t make it back until dawn, and that arm needs looking at,” he huffed.

I sighed. He wasn’t wrong, but where was he taking me, and more importantly, what would happen when I got there?

I rested my hand on his shoulder. Was it my imagination or did his skin feel hot?

He smirked.

“Our body temperature is naturally higher than yours. I don’t suppose your human leaders told you that, pup?”

I shook my head, “they didn’t tell us much, except that you were monsters.”

He glared at me. Shit, I shouldn’t have said that. He could probably snap me in two without even thinking, and I was the enemy, after all.

His look softened slightly.

“Don’t worry, we don’t hurt pups, it’s not in our nature. Maybe you should think about that when you think about who the monsters are,” he chided.

I lowered my eyes.

“Sorry,” I mumbled.

He had a point. I’d just been shot by my own kind, and saved by the enemy. Saved for now anyway.

He smiled, then he gently brushed a strand of hair from my face.

“What’s your name, pup?”

“E...Ellie,” I stuttered.

“Well, little Ellie, you better hold tight and close your eyes. I’m going to run, and it might make you feel a bit sick if you keep your eyes open.

“The last thing I need is for you to vomit down my back.”

I put my hands on his shoulders, and I felt his hand on my back, holding me in place.

I did as he suggested and closed my eyes. Goodness knows what he would do if I threw up over him.

I’m not sure how fast he ran, but I could feel the wind rushing through my hair. It also felt like the breath had been taken out of my body.

He’d only been running about ten minutes when he came to a stop.

I heard him chuckle.

“You can open your eyes now, pup.”

I slowly opened my eyes. When I did, I gasped.

We were nowhere near where we had been before. I glanced around; there was no sign of the border. Instead, a large house loomed in front of me.

It was massive. It had about three floors. There were other smaller buildings dotted around, but no people or werewolves. Then I realized it was the middle of the night.

As I looked at his face, his eyes flashed black. His normal eye color had been different. I gasped and tensed. Was he now going to turn into some sort of monster?

Color drained from my face, and my heart felt like it was about to explode from my chest.

Moments later, his eyes returned to normal.

He must have realized what had happened because he gently rubbed my back.

“It’s ok, pup, don’t panic.”

I bit my bottom lip.

“Y...Your eyes...” I stuttered.