She-Wolf I

by Gaëlle Bonnassieux

  “Enough!” That was Danny, who’d said that coming forward, and who’d broken the circle that surrounded me. “Maddie didn’t do anything wrong! You’d find whichever excuse you can think of to enslave or get rid of her, all because she is smarter than every single one of you. It’s time you end this nonsense.”

  I loved that kid. But he was terribly dumb. If he should have kept his mouth shut once in his life, now would have been a great time to do that. Angrier than ever, William strode over towards his little brother. The pack kept quiet, like the good doggies they were. He grabbed Daniel by the collar, and it made my blood boil. The wolf growled. He could be as furious as he wanted, I would not let him lay a hand on a child, MY friend on top of that.

  “You take back what you just said, right now!” William railed against him. “I am your alpha, and you owe me respect, so you better apologize, and submit immediately.”

  Danny whined, and I thought that he was gonna give way under the weight of his brother’s words. He kowtowed for just a second, but he refused the order. When he screamed, his face was scarlet red. “NO!”

  One could see astonishment in William’s eyes. Silence brutally filled the room. No one would dare reject an order coming from a superior wolf, let alone an alpha’s.

  Ours’ eyes turned bronze. That was the end of the road. He uttered a violent grunt, and punched Danny in the face. I did not hesitate. He had only just hit Daniel when I jumped on him, he was going to be sorry for what he did. 150 pounds of muscle hit him head on. I pushed his brother right before landing on my beloved alpha.

  We rolled together on the ground in a concerto of growls, each of us trying to take over the other. He turned into a wolf, as black as his soul was, and bit me in the shoulder. A terribly loud crack echoed in my head, and I began to see dark spots which befuddled my vision: he had just broken my shoulder. I breathed deeply and transformed as well while squealing painfully – being a wolf didn’t mean being insensitive to pain. I was still furious and gave him a headbutt in the belly. He reeled and scratched my ribs.

  This was a mistake. I could feel I had at least as much strength as him, but he was a professional fighter. I hadn’t been in a fight in years, except with Bridget, but that was just for fun. I was going amok, my defense was weak, I couldn’t protect my stomach and my neck, I didn’t know where to hit. I wouldn’t win this fight. Unless I outsmarted him.

  A crazy thought entered my mind. I stepped away from him and bent over on the ground to show my submission. As I expected, William stood up straight in a swagger-y way and snarled but didn’t attack. At least he had enough goodness in him not to hit someone who submitted, a she-wolf for that matter. He proudly howled and turned away from me. That was my cue: I jumped on his back and bit him in the scruff. He let out a cry of pain, while my fangs and my claws went deeper into his flesh. He kept writhing to get me to let go, but it was pointless. The other wolves, seeing their leader in a difficult position shapeshifted and it ended up in a free-for-all.

  I caught sight of Clemencia escaping with her son right before receiving a searing punch in the stomach. Dizzy, I let go, and the wolves took advantage of this opportunity to rush at me. I had trouble pushing them back, I did my best, but it wasn’t enough: every time I ousted one of them, two others would come back. Bites kept coming, each deadlier than the other, it was absolute pain. I tried to stand my ground and stand back up after each punch or bite, but the truth was that I was no Wonder Woman. Lola and Danny were standing by my side, but these fragile little wolves could do nothing but jostle the others and bite here and there trying to protect me as much as they could with their own bodies. They would only make an enemy of the pack – but their help was welcome.

  I soon curled up on the ground, shuddering with exhaustion after today and its brawls. My body and my soul were broken. It was useless to fight some more, I was nearly alone against everybody else and I was ashamed of myself for remaining here in the fetal position like this wretched, powerless little creature. Everyone was right after all: I was weak, and pathetic.

  Finally, the punches stopped. I felt I was nothing more than a heap of flesh streaked with blood and undeserving of life. William showed up in front of me, his yellow eyes glimmering with anger and pride. Yes Billy, you are stronger, and I am a poor little woman. Congrats. He mightily towered over me, and my life was in his paws. I wished he would only take it away; it would solve all my problems. He snarled and he came closer to my defenseless throat. It was over at last, after all I’d been through…

  I closed my eyes, lacking the courage to look death in the eye and waiting for it to take me somewhere else. But it didn’t.

  When I opened my eyes, I discovered with awe a she-wolf who stood in between me and the alpha. Her grey fur was scattered with white, but she was breathtakingly elegant. It was my grandmother. She gave me an angry glance, as if she blamed me for giving up so easily. She was right, I had to pull myself together. I immediately did and leaped back up in spite of my wounds. We made eye contact and I finally understood. There was no turning back. After what had just happened, William would never let me stay, even if I pledged my “faithful and unconditional loyalty”: he’d kill me. I could either leave or die. Andrea was giving me the chance to go for the first option. I had to abandon those I loved, but they’d forgive me since my life was in danger.

  I whined. This was it. My heart shattered for it was an unbearable dilemma, but the only family member I had left had just chosen for me and I could not let her down. I tottered under the weight of this situation and looked all around me for Danny and Lola. My little sun rays were overwhelmed with fatigue against a wall. I ran for my life.

  I kept running, I was hunted by the holler of my fellow lycanthropes. My grandma had bought me a minute, two maybe. She had just put herself in danger to give me a chance to escape. I couldn’t let her down, so I had to leave this city, leave our territory.

  My legs were flickering, and I stumbled at every stride. I was terribly slow: if I didn’t give all I had left, they were going to catch up, and I wouldn’t get a second chance this time.

  I uttered a howl by mustering my remaining energy and sped up my running. Every time my shoulder touched the ground, a dazzling pain reverberated throughout my body. My sides were hot with blood. I wasn’t healing because I was out of energy. Those wounds would take a tremendous amount of time to close up – two days at least.

  I heard the other damn wolves coming closer. They were not going to give up: I had defied the alpha, it was punishable by death, and they would keep chasing me until I am dead, and suddenly, I realized how desperate a situation I was in. What were the odds for me to get out of it alive?

  I was hobbling along through the woods, trying to avoid obstacles as much as I could, especially those who could slow me down even more like branches, rocks or burrows. The fact that the soil was wet and slippery was not helping, and I’d end up with my face in the mud every ten paces. What the hell had gone wrong, for me to get into this situation? This morning, everything was fine – fine being a manner of speaking.

  Don’t give up, Maddie, keep running, I told myself in an attempt to gain courage.

  They were now right behind me, but my destination was close by, just a dozen more miles to run, and I’d be on vampire territory. A wolf came out of nowhere and I nearly died of a stroke, but I started to breathe again when I recognized Lola. Her fur was of a fiery color, and I thanked heavens that this color existed and was hers alone because I was in no condition to differentiate the brown or beige tones of all pack members.

  What was she doing here? Had she come to stop me? The thought of it broke my heart, but it made sense: even though she was quite young, she was the fastest and best tracker of the pack, after me. I was panic-stricken, but she came very close to me, so that thanks to the pressure of her flank and shoulder against mine, they were less painful, and I could run faster. I gave her a gentle muzzle bang as a thank you, and we started running side-by-side.
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  We continued this way for about twenty minutes. I could still hear the other wolves behind me, but thanks to Lola’s help, I could maintain my head start. And her being there gave me another reason to outdo myself. I did not want her to have done all of this in vain, and so we were both doing our best. I knew she had never run this fast and this long before, and she was giving all she had. She was panting and shaking with spasm, but she didn’t stop. She was a fiery slip of a girl, and with a bit of practice, she might just become the best sprinter in the whole country.

  A searing pain suddenly spread in one of my back legs. I whined some more, tripped, and fell down into the mud. Ryan’s maw was still clenched on my muscle and electric waves of suffering shook my body from end to end. That son of a gun knew where to hit. His nasty russet eyes gave it away. I had to get away from him, and fast, or I would have to escape them all very soon. I scratched his eyes with my free leg, and he snarled releasing his grip. I stood back up with a spinning head. How was I supposed to run with two useless legs? Ryan was working on attacking me, but Lola was using her body as a shield. What was she playing at? She was going to get herself killed!

  I was about to attack Ryan myself, but she grunted and indicated the outskirts of the woods with her head. The message was clear: she wanted me to clear off. I shook my head; it was absolutely out of the question. Ryan took advantage of this second to jump on me, and I pushed him back bracing myself, and Lola kicked him before we both collided: I landed twenty feet further. She bared her fangs and encouraged me once more to get the hell out of here and reported her attention onto Ryan who was giving her the run-around.

  I faced another dilemma. The pack was just a minute away from us, if I didn’t leave now, I’d die. But I couldn’t let this sixteen-year-old kid fight alone against someone like Ryan. I would not let anyone die for me. I retraced my steps to lend Lola a paw, but another wolf emerged from the trees in front of me, thus keeping me from advancing. It was Danny. He rubbed his head against mine and licked my cheek affectionately. He then pushed me towards the edge of the forest, and after a last glance, he hurried to help Lola push Ryan away.

  Dark days were coming ahead for the kids, since they’d dared help me, but William wouldn’t torture them, they were still children and he wouldn’t do that that to his brother anyway. I was a bit relieved and finally turned around and walked away.

  I drag myself limping outside of the forest, after which I still had half-a-mile to cross and I’d be out of the woods for good. Despite the wounds, the doubts and the fear, I ran for my life — I had no other choice.

  The dazzling light hurt my eyes, and on my leaving the forest, I was disoriented for half-a-second. Yet, I easily accustomed to the glimmering lights of the headlights or streetlights, and I felt more confident, because it was unlikely that the wolves would attack me in plain sight, in the city where just anyone could see us. I went along the main road, taking cover thanks to the bushes edging the roadway. The others were not letting it go so I kept running, and I wouldn’t stop until I was safe. I was still being hunted, and I wouldn’t stand it if my grandma and my friends had helped me for nothing.

  I draw on the last of my resources. You can do it Maddie. And then I did. I passed the remaining rich houses, and I finally saw the city limit indicating the next town. The wolf – as if she knew freedom was within easy reach – sped howling. I came closer to the sign, and then it disappeared: I didn’t look behind me even though I was positive the wolves had stopped, but I didn’t. Who knows what twisted ideas they might come across to get their hands on me!

  There was no need to linger in the whereabouts, especially since I was not feeling totally safe. The vampires had never caused me any trouble, and I got along with most of them because two years earlier, I had helped them find a runaway teenage girl in distress who had just been turned. That’s when our alliance had begun, so to speak, and when I’d met Bridget with whom I was looking for the girl. I had earned the respect of the vampires and had been helping them here and there ever since. Our relationships were set fair, but now I was a bleeding prey, and some of them bloodsuckers were not very pacifist. I wouldn’t run the risk of sticking around, and as this thought entered my mind, I saw shadows moving close by. They were here. Yet since they were not attacking, I concluded I was not in immediate danger, but I kept going forward.

  I lost track of time. I walked, and I did not stop, even though at this point I could barely stand on my feet. I only had one goal: put some distance between me and the wolves. I left the vampire city and crossed three more before I deemed it was enough. Thanks to my determination and in spite of my wounds, I had managed to put at least a good seven miles between us. I doubted they’d come looking for me: now that I was gone for good, they’d go on with their lives. If I were to meet one of them, they would not hesitate to kill me, but as long as I stayed away, I should be fine.

  Countless hours must have passed by before I decided to stop. I knew I could relax a bit, but the terrifying fear I had felt as I thought death was upon me, and the things my friends had done to make my escape easier had given me courage. I needed to find a spot in which I’d feel totally safe so I could finally break down without fearing reprisal. A whole day and a part of the following night went by before I found a somewhat friendly location to unload my fictional luggage.

  The city I was in did not seem to be ruled neither by vampires nor lycanthropes. It was the kind of town that might lure solitary supernatural creatures. I detected the scent of a witch and recognized the one of the lycanthrope that had ventured to our territory. Well, their territory, I should say, it was no longer mine.

  I was not walking anymore, merely crawling on the ground with exhaustion, looking for a spot to take shelter in. I went past a park, but it was rather small and too close to habitations – I did want not to be noticed. I ended up discovering an undergrowth. It had nothing to do with the gigantic forest that my former pack was hiding in, but that would do the trick.

  I dove into the trees, walked a little bit more and fell down. There was no way I could have walked a minute more. The sun was rising, and the sky was lighter by the minute. The rain had vanished for a while, and the cottony clouds were fading away, even though some of them were hanging around in the distance. A plane was flying, preceded by a flock of birds. There were thousands of dew droplets sliding on the tree leaves. A russet squirrel passed by me and climbed up a tree at full speed. One could have thought heaven had opened its gates for me to get in. Everything was quiet. I could hear no scream or insult piercing the air, and no one was here to hit me. I did feel safe, and for the first time in years.

  And so, I let myself go. After twenty-four hours of frantic running, I was no longer able to think properly. I turned back into my human form and huddled up crying. The fresh air of the dawn was biting my naked body and did not soothe the wounds. My shoulder was excruciatingly painful, and my calf that had been bitten was in shreds. I was shaking, but it didn’t matter: I was free.

  A tear of both relief and despair rolled down my cheek. I was given the chance to live the life I wanted, but at what cost? I was out of a pack; my friends and my grandmother were left behind, and I’ll never get to see them again or even hear from them. I was alone, cashless, and cut off from the rest of the world; I didn’t even have clothes to put on. My body was so bruised and covered in blood I looked like scavenger food. It was only now that I realized how desperate a situation I was in. They’d won, and I’d lost everything.

  I remained shivering on the uncomfortable ground for quite some time, while watching the sky brightening and the sun shining. I rarely had had the occasion to contemplate the sun rise because of that damn pack, and so I tried to make the best of this one in spite of the state I was in. I was surprised by my own incapacity to move: I had often been in bad shape because of William or Ryan, but it had never been that bad. The simple act of breathing was taking all the energy I had left. The only thing I kept dwelling on was trying to answer
this question: what on earth was I going to do next? I felt that I didn’t have any future, but it actually had just begun: I didn’t know what it held, but I knew I did have one.

  I was dozing – I couldn’t help it; I had never been this tired. A sudden worried jolt made me realize someone could definitely find me here, naked, in the woods. What would become of me then?

  Looking around, I discovered a bank and dragged my body towards it. I rolled all the way down and ended up in some kind of a ditch, shaking with pain. This was actually a good place to hide, because I could see the sky, and I was pretty sure no one could see my dirtied self. I curled up wailing and closed my eyes. It took me some thirty minutes to relax: the pain decided to give me a little break and assuaged a bit, and soon enough, I was dead to the world.

  In the end, I was right. Everything had changed.

  Chapter 4

  When I woke up, it was dark – the first thing I saw was the sun disappearing into the darkness. And the first thing that reached my nose was the powerful scent of the unknown wolf. I suddenly had the collywobbles, and my heart pounded a little bit faster: the whiff was still very noticeable, he had been there not long ago.

  I sat up and winced in pain because of some damn cramps. I realized there was something on my belly: it was a man’s T-Shirt, with long sleeves. It seemed to have been soaked into the wolf’s smell. I frowned, and decided I had to look at my body from every angle to check whether I had been raped, because let’s face it, he had definitely been here, and could have had this bright idea. But nothing seemed to have happened to me, besides the fact that my calf was still terribly painful. On the other hand, my sore shoulder was slowly healing, and most of my wounds had closed up. His smell was not on me, and there were no footsteps nearby. If I had to guess, I’d say he had tossed it from up the hillock. All of this was rather odd.