Wolfe

1

Chapter 1

Life was simple for Jace.

Wake up, shower, brush her teeth, get dressed, eat breakfast, hunt a deer or two to sell to the butcher shop, head home, shower, eat dinner, brush her teeth, and go to sleep. See, simple. A simple life for a simple person.

Which is why it was surprising to Jace to see a young wolf on her trail back to her secluded cabin. Her hunting rifle was held on her shoulder by its strap as she stood still, her eyes roaming over the wolf as she kept her breathing slow and steady. Wolves weren't completely dangerous to humans but wild animals were still to be treated with caution.

"Oh, you're hurt..." Jace whispered as her eyes took in the sight of one of the wolf's legs clamped tight in a bear trap. The wolf's ears flickered at her words, its head snapping towards her and bared its fangs in a weak snarl as it continued to try and get out of the trap. More blood oozed out of the wolf's wounds and made Jace hurry towards it, a deep growl making her still.

She was a hunter, yes, but she hated to see animals suffer. She loved the land and the animals she lived near. Its why she kept her aim as steady and painless as possible. She understood the chain of nature, never hunting more than one or two deer/caribou a week. She also never hunted large predators like bears and wolves, not only was that upsetting to the chain but it was also just a foolish death waiting to happen. It was also why she didn't have a hunting dog like other Hunters. She couldn't bear it if the loyal pet got injured or maimed during a hunt.

She slipped her rifle off her shoulder, slowly lowering herself into a crouch to lay it on the ground. The wolf's bright blue eyes watching as her hands moved from her rifle to be raised in front of her to show that they held nothing else. The wolf taking notice of the several scars that littered the human's left hand before connecting its gaze with the human's.

Wary bright blue connecting with soft mocha brown.

"I can get you outta that trap." Jace spoke to the wolf, its ears flicking once more as its black lips slowly lowered over its fangs.

"But you gotta promise not to bite me." She finished with a weak chuckle as she kept her hands raised in surrender.

She waited as the wolf's eyes went from her to the trap its leg was trapped in, a weak twitch of the limb making more blood leak out of its wounds and matted down its soft silver fur. It released another weak growl before looking back to the human and let out a soft yip.

Jace let out a soft sigh and slowly shuffled towards the wolf. She kept her movements slow, her body low to appear as non-threatening as possible when she finally made it beside the wolf. Her eyes continued to flicker between the wolf and the trap as her hands went towards the springs on either side of the trap's teeth. She slowly began to press down on the springs, mild surprise in her eyes when the wolf had waited until the trap was completely open to pull its leg out.

The wolf hobbled itself onto its three uninjured legs, its injured one weakly held up to keep any pressure off it as the human broke apart the bear trap to keep any other animals from getting stuck in it. She went to pick it up when a low snort was felt against the back of her neck. The small hairs on her nape rose as she slowly turned around, the wolf's snout only an inch away from her face as it stared at her.

"Hello..." She whispered, the wolf letting out a soft yip as it continued to try and keep its injured leg up. Jace's gaze flickering towards the wounded limb before speaking once more, her voice soft.

"...Would you like me to help patch that up?"

The wolf let out another yip as it took a hobbling step closer to her.