Heart of the Wild

Chapter 8

As the sun descended and disappeared from view, the red sky began turning dark blue. The large white moon's waning crescent was dimmed by the remainder of sunlight in the sky, and the small blue moon was nowhere in sight.

The wind flowed through the worgen's manes as the pack dashed between the trees.  Many of the younger ones gave short howls and yips as the pack traveled.

A raven's caw echoed in the branches of a tree, a female worgen with gray-brown fur slowed. Her muzzle pointed up to the sky and began to rise to two legs to sniff the air.

Another female with dark brown fur ran up behind and gave a friendly whimper. She flicked her ear toward the rest of the group leaving them behind.

The gray-brown female looked up at the treetops for a second before returning her gaze back to the dark brown female still on all fours. The worgen lowered and returned her forepaws to the dewy grass.

The dark brown female sprang into a run first with the gray-brown female on her heels. They snapped at each other playfully as they caught up to the group, their senses clouded.

SNAP!

The dark brown female howled in pain as a metal bear trap closed around her ankle.

The gray-brown female slowed then ran back toward the other female, and let the rest of the pack run off into the distance and disappeared into the trees.

"We got one!" A woman's voice called out in the distance, and dog barking gradually grew louder.

The dark brown worgen whimpered as the gray-brown female sought to release her.

The gray-brown female turned around as a low growl reached her. A graying mastiff stood over the kneeling worgen but didn't attack. The worgen got up slowly, towering over the dog, and backed away.

The dog still kept its eyes locked on her, but it's upper lip lowered and sniffed the air around the worgen. Its tail began to wag softly.

The worgen raised an eyebrow and cocked her head to one side. She bent down near the dog and sniffed in its direction. Calmly, the worgen reached her open palm toward the dog to let him stiff her hand, an instant that was more human than beast.

Bang!

A sharp pain grazed the gray-brown female's shoulder. She yelped and turned toward where the musket shot came from.

A woman pointed her weapon at her ready to shoot again. Her dark eyes stared into the worgen's.

The dog turned its head toward the woman and lowered its head, but its tail continued wagging.

The woman narrowed her eyes at the dog, then returned her gaze to the worgen. She tilted her head slightly and lowered her musket. "Skye?"

The worgen tilted her head to one side in both confusion and recognition. She rose to her full height, slowly, and stepped toward the other women. The dark brown worgen let out a weak whimper, the other worgen got back down on all fours, her focus went back to the other female.

"She'll be okay," the woman cooed, "We're here to help you, I'm here to help you-"

More yells echoed and neared the woman. The woman's eyes flicked from the worgen in the trap whimpering and growling, back to the gray-brown worgen.

The gray-brown female backed away as the yelling and barking until she came down to all-fours and ran in the opposite direction as fast as she could. The woman called out to her as she vanished into the brush.

The worgen ran, the world blurred around her and millions of senses filled her lungs and ears, but she kept moving. Avoiding the road like the plague, she attempted to follow the scent of the pack but was blinded.