Wolf of the battle field

Chapter 2 Ripples on the lake

The men cheered at the idea. Grate! I think I would rather burn to death. One of the men grabbed my foot and started to drag me towards some bushes. I'd lost the will to fight anymore. The sights and sounds of my home burning to the ground while the people were slaughtered made me feel empty in a way I never had before.

I've been abandoned by my birth parents. They left me in the woods to die. Then I was taken in by others just to be handed back when they had children of their own. I've been unwanted by village and family alike... but I have never felt so empty as I do now. I thought, watching the trees and stars move above me as I was dragged to be used like a plaything and then killed. Maybe I can end my suffering before I can't anymore. I saw the sword on the man's waist. If I tried for that... would they kill me? Could I get it and...

A howl could be heard close by making the men stop and look at each other. "What was that?" One of them asked looking afraid.

"Sounded like a wolf. How much are wolf pelts these days?" The man holding my leg asked looking off in the distance.

"That was no wolf. That was a beast! No wolf howls alone unless it's a beast." The older man said drawing his sword.

A beast? Oh, my day is getting better and better. If these assholes don't soil me and burn me to death, I will be eaten by a beast. For some reason, the idea of death has never scared me. In fact, I welcomed the idea. If we were dead, I could stop bringing everyone bad luck, so why am I fighting against this?

The howl came again, and this time, it was closer. The man holding my leg looked behind him his hand tightening on my leg. "Where the hell is it coming from?" He shouted, drawing his sword and trying to look everywhere at once.

A low, ominous growl came from behind us, making all the men turn to it, weapons out. I stared at the deep shadows of the forest. I saw one of the shadows move slowly. The shadow formed into a large wolf the size of a person. Its teeth glinted in the pale moonlight as something dark dripped from the pointy tips. Is that blood? OK, I don't want to be eaten!

The wolf leapt at the man who had been holding my leg before I could move, tearing his throat out and spraying blood all over my already soiled clothing. I scampered away from the man choking on his blood as the wolf turned to the other men. I watched the man as he crumpled to his knees, his eyes bulging holding his blood-soaked throat to try to stem the flow of blood. It's standing between me and them! My mind screamed. It wants me all to itself. Maybe it could be happy eating these three and let me go. I thought as the man it had killed fell to the floor on his his face and finally accepted the death that had happened the moment the wolf had attacked.

One of the men slashed the wolf with his sword, but the wolf held its ground, just growling. The two men faced off against this unnaturally large wolf, their swords wavering with their fear. 

As the wolf took a step the second man turned tail and ran screaming into the night. The last one looked over his shoulder at the scream realizing he was alone. He looked back at the wolf and then ran shouting about a beast.

The wolf stopped its constant growl and looked over its shoulder at me. "Are you alright now miss?" The voice from the wolf was gruff and deep.

Grate it is a beast. "W...why are you talking to me?" I stammered.

"Why wouldn't I talk to you? I saved you from those bandits, you could at least say thank you." The big wolf turned around and sat in front of me as it spoke.

I stared at it feeling confused. "Thank you?"

"Do you have a name human?" The wolf asked, scratching its ear.