Hers Freely

10. Guilt trip

Wolf

Once I heard those howls take off one by one in the distance, they'd found their pack members bodies.
It'll take no time for them to gather for the hunt but their distance gave us an advantage, well for me anyway.

Consequently, the human was struggling to keep up. So I ran in front of the female to ensure that we weren't running into a trap. Thankfully, that slave handler put us in the right direction.

I went past the steep trail through the thick trees, and lifted my snout up to see if I could catch a whiff of anything.
It seemed clear, I could advance out of this pack and head home easily but why did I feel guilty doing so.

Dammit! I tried helping her, she's human. As I saw it, I gave her a chance. I'm not a heartless monster.

Our pack didn't have humans, my family wouldn't allow it. By mixing with the humans, we would pollute our bloodlines. We were mountain warriors, strong and fierce. Hidden away from human civilization, not that we didn't occasionally venture out for our needs in towns and villages. I'd usually try to have very little contact with them when sent to trade.
Humans were weak, emotional and untrustworthy especially in things they didn't understand and were ruining the planet all for their selfish needs. They were nothing of good, that's what my father ingrained in our pack.
My father and his father made sure our pack didn't weaken by the infestation of human half breeds.

Although other packs took advantage of their weaknesses to gain power  and numbers, especially after the pandemic that dwindled the human race and crumpled their governments. Humans became vulnerable, left on their own, living in small towns or villages. Cities were left in ruins, some roam the ruins in order to trade and survive but little did they know there were predators lurking among them.

However, this little human women was proving different. She intrigued me with her persistent and relentless nature.
Even though life has handed her misfortune and misery she doesn't give up.

"Too bad she wasn't a wolf."

I turned back through the trees to give her a chance to catch up. I settled on a broken log on top of the steep trail.
Coming towards me, she barely had the strength to run, frantically trying to reach me unable to adapt to the changing terrain, she falls forward, head hitting the dirt.

Quickly, she looked up in search of me, relief flashed in her eyes.
I stared back at those fearful brown eyes but it was just wishful thinking to believe she could stand up.  If she did she wouldn't last out in the wilderness. Not for long anyway.

That's why I need to leave her.

The second time, she tried to get up I could see she had no strength left. I had to turn and sprint away despite my wolf's muddled emotions.
You can't save everyone, being a Beta in a pack, you learn to choose who's worth saving for the greater good. I've learned to steel my emotions for a long time now.

.........

Ella

Peering out from my hiding spot it was about late evening, this worried me because it'll be harder to see as shadows were lengthening. However, it wouldn't make a difference for them, these were "creatures of the night "they were adept at tracking by scent.

Aargh! How I hate them.

I don't know how long I have but I need to come up with a plan. For sure that Wolf is long gone by now.
Would I have done the same if I were in his place? I'd like to believe I'm better than that. After all, his kind don't have empathy. All they know is violence.
But I can't stop thinking about my stupidity, what did I expected?
Shaking my head.
"Forget him, I hope he runs off a cliff."

Right now I have to get through this. But how?
I was alone, in pain, and in the forest, bathed in eerie noises from far away.

Maybe they're surrounding me right now.

Just thinking about it gives me the chills. I wasn't afraid of dying, that was a given everyday of my life in this pack. No! death is easy; a peaceful way out of the madness. I was scared of the merciless torture they would inflict. Though pain was a common occurrence, I learned at a young age not to vocalize my suffering. Whenever I had let out my pain, those sick fucks totally reveled in it. And here I am just thinking of the unknown, sadistic things they have planned. This had me wishing I'd died in that dirty, dark cell instead.

Outside, the night was calm, almost too calm for comfort. The only sounds were the branches of the trees moving back and forth with the wind. But then, I started to pick up on something else, something faint. It was like a whisper in the night, breaking the silence every now and then. I remain perfectly still and held my breath.
All at once, the quiet was broken. "Crack! ... Crack!" The noises were sharp and clear, as if they had a purpose.
There it is! ..... Listening attentively, my heart pounded as that sound—there was no mistaking it. It was crackling of leaves.

I couldn't move a muscle as shock swept over me. My eyes went as wide as saucers, and a cold shiver of terror shot down my back. " There here".  I murmured to myself, the words just barely slipping out.

***************

Wolf

As I sprinted through the dense forest, the trees blurred together in a vibrant green mosaic. The wind whipped through my fur, and all I could hear was the rhythm of my breath panting in my ears. I didn't spare a second to look back.  I was almost at the border, no patrol wolves in sight which only made the feeling in my gut more intense. Yet, even though the thrill of freedom was pumping through my body, making me want to run harder, my inner wolf kept tugging at me, trying to take over. 

He kept showing me those big brown eyes.
Brown eyes filled with fear and hopelessness, a silent plea for help that I couldn't ignore. My wolf nudged me again, his urgency vibrating to my core.

He was pushing himself to the fore front of my mind to steer me back to her.

"Find her" his cries echoed in my mind and twisted in my gut.

He was guilt tripping me.

Damn Wolf ! Suddenly he had me backtracking as fast as I can, my wounds still not fully healed but bearable. He needed to find her, my inner wolf demanded, going against my own wishes, grounding me in a mission much bigger than just me.

**This chapter was a bit tricky cause I wanted to have good transition scenes. Hope it was effective.
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Dedicated to my baby boy .Miss u ♥️