Cursed Moon

Chapther 2

STELLA

"I've been through a lot of shit, you better be good, mutt, and let me run away," I whisper with a penetrating look, as he growls in my direction. "Neither of us are going to die today, right?"

I feel pathetic trying to intimidate a wolf, who is clearly twice my height and strength.

I know nothing about hunting or how to kill this monstrosity.

I must be in Lycanthropy, because this region is the land of wild animals and changing beings, those that have human genes but also animal genes, it is an unstoppable race. In our world, each region lives a series of species that are led by their kings and queens. Each race has a position on the rung of the social pyramid, humans are at the bottom.

I lived in Humanity, in a lost village that is now just ashes.

How sad.

The smell of the dead will never disappear in those lands.

I don't know where I am, I only know that the place is dark and it's still night. My whole body is muddy, I feel like closing my eyes, but I can't do it because I have to continue. I want a shower and a good mattress to rest on.

But that wolf keeps looking at me.

"You understand what I'm telling you, you're a changeling, right?" I question him.

He doesn't even look away or let me know that he is understanding. So I keep talking to him:

"I need to go to Brave Lands, I'm looking for a friend. As you can see, I am not at my best and I need help, my village has been devastated. They've killed everyone, I'm the only survivor." My throat scratches because of the sadness that comes from saying it out loud.

The wolf growls again.

I think it's time to run away because something tells me that this wolf is not a changeling and I will be his dinner tonight if I don't move. Everything is happening so fast, so many emotions suddenly, that I am collapsed and I feel it in my body. The open wounds hurt, I am very afraid of my future.

I hold back tears because my father did not teach me to be weak, together with my mother they raised a woman who can do everything even if the world falls on her. And I have to live for them, I have to, because I am sure that they will be proud of my bravery in the world of the dead.

The bones in my body break as I slowly turn away from the area, emerging from the mud puddle with the dirt sticking to my skin like clothing. At no time did he stop looking at the wolf, I simply walked away, not quickly because that could upset him.

I use my hands with gentle gestures to hold on to the trunks of the trees that I am avoiding. I hope to lose sight of the wolf, but he advances with me with a threatening expression.

"For the gods' sake, leave me alone."

I catch a sharp branch of some tree, it is so dark that I don't see anything. I'm going to use it as a weapon in case he attacks me, I have no other options. It's about survival.

Little by little, I am distancing myself from the wolf, as he stops a couple of times to howl at the sky, and that is the moment I take advantage of to move my legs more, I am no longer looking at him. I just walk while my feet suffer, the fresh and extensive grass of this place caresses my feet and makes the path more enjoyable.

I push the curls of my hair aside, because they are stiff with dirt and it makes it impossible for me to see any trace of humanity. There has to be a house nearby, or several houses. Because a thick, white smoke comes out from between the tops of the tall pine trees and clouds the stars in the sky.