Keeper's Oath

Prologue: The Shadowed Well

The night sky's stars were shining brightly around the aura of the moon. Few clouds covered the dark blue velvet. The stars were sprinkled onto it carefully as they dazzled brilliantly. The moon was full tonight, the orb showered the Earth below with a spotlight.

Within the forest below that was surrounded by mountains had a small clearing. Inside this clearing there was a round stone well. The wind swayed the evergreen trees as it danced around the forest. Snow dropped from its branches onto the pale ground.

A light brown werewolf stood a few feet away from the well. Her warm brown eyes stared up ahead into the dark forest. She breathed out, a cloud of frost came from her muzzle.

"This night is a cold one," she looked down on her clawed hands.Her delicate arms were covered with short fur, her tail was fluffy that nearly reached the lightly snow covered forest floor. She was pleased with her fur, it kept her warm from the bitter cold. It was one thing she didn't miss about her past life. The summers weren't as kind to her though.

The well was usually quiet. As its current keeper, the werewolf had to protect it. She had the proud duty of being its guardian, at least for now. Though, she thought to herself, it was just recently when Guardian changed her position suddenly.

She heard a thump, the werewolf quickly whirled to the direction where the sound came from. Her claws were extended and she was ready to pounce on whatever was near her.

She relaxed.

"Just falling snow..." She sighed, chuckling to herself. "Oh, silly Almond."

The light brown werewolf stretched her arms and gave a yawn looking around the clearing. She understood why the well had to be protected. Almond just wished that she could share the protection with someone. A warm feeling came to her heart, she smiled fondly thinking of her mate. Guardian had promised her that this wouldn't last too long until he'd find a more permanent guardian.

The wind changed the direction. Almond's ears pricked, she gazed around her surroundings carefully. Suddenly the whole aura of the forest had changed. It happened at a drop of a coin. This feeling clawed at her heart with such darkness that made Almond want to flee. Almond's body tensed up, her fur stood up against her skin.

No! She yelled at herself. Stay here, she prepared herself to greet the thing that stumbled from the forest any moment. A faint ash and burnt smell caught her attention. Was there fire? Humans usually didn't explore this far... What if the whole forest was in danger? For this, she didn't think she could handle it alone. Although, Almond was thankful for the snow and it being winter. Her mind shuddered thinking if it had been summer. There wouldn't be much she could do to take care of a fire then.

The burning smell came closer but Almond couldn't see the light of the fire anywhere. Confused, Almond stepped forward where the smell was coming the strongest. At that moment, the werewolf picked up the sounds of footsteps.They were steady but slow. It took her another moment until she was able to pinpoint the sounds completely.

"Hello?" She called out, wondering if it was a wolf that was wandering around. Though, that wouldn't explain the burning smell. The smell of ash... the smell of death.

The footsteps stopped. Almond didn't dare take a step into the dark forest, who knew what lurked there. She wasn't about to find out the hard way either. Even though it wasn't too close to her, she didn't want to risk it.

As if that had been the invitation for whatever was out there, the footsteps continued again. They grew louder and louder. Panic raced through Almond's mind. Her hands became fists and she worked up her claws ready to defend the well with her life. That was the duty of the guardian.