I surfaced slowly from my dreams of wolves turning into men. The first thing I became aware of was how stiff and achy my body felt. I let out a groan as I burrowed deeper into my blankets. The cold air was stinging my face and I didn't have the luxury to get sick--I needed to provide for my family. My mother wasn't at the door hollering for us to get ready, so I chased after the remnants of sleep, hoping to catch a little more time before I had to wake up. I shifted under my blankets, listening for the soft breathing and quiet snores of my siblings to lull me back to sleep. There was only silence and the faint chirping of crickets in the distance. I was struck with the feeling that something was wrong. With six people under one roof, the house was never truly quiet, even in the deepest parts of the night.
My home was always filled with the aroma of drying herbs, woodsmoke, and whatever meal my mother had last made. I inhaled deeply, and my nose was assaulted with the scents of wet dog, and damp earth. It was then that yesterday's events came hurtling back to the front of my consciousness. I had let the wolf that attacked me fuck me. I had passed out in his arms. My eyes popped open, and I tried to take in my surroundings, letting my vision adjust to the dim moonlight coming through the open gap in the wall. I looked for the looming shape of the wolf, and found nothing. I was looking at a cave, nothing more than a shallow dip in the hill face. The ground was scattered with mud and leaves, and I laid upon a pile of moss and pine boughs.
I sat up slowly, clutching the blanket I was wrapped in closer to my frame. I winced as the aches in my pussy and up my spine made themselves known. The cave was shallow, and the curved wall at my back was maybe eight feet from the entrance. I sat naked except for my cloak, which was wrapped around me. At the foot of my moss bed, in a small crumpled pile, were my clothes and my boots sitting next to them. My crossbow and my pack were nowhere to be seen. I began pulling my clothes on, securing them as best I could with the ruined laces. I used my vest to keep my ripped shirt together, and to cover me from the night chill.
"Damned wolf," I cursed under my breath. I had some twine in my pack that I could use as temporary laces, but the wolf had ripped it off in the first rush of the attack. I pulled my boots on, listening for any signs of the wolf coming back, but the forest around the cave was quiet save for the songs of the night bugs. I was going to have to hurry and get out of the area before the wolf came back.
I peered out from the mouth of the cave, trying to see or hear if the wolf was near. With the way clear, I began to make my way through the moonlit forest. My body protested the movement after all the abuse it took, but I pushed it to the back of my mind, moving as fast as I could while making the least amount of noise. Every so often, I paused to listen. I didn't worry too much about the direction I just needed to get away. Away from the cave, away from the wolf. With daybreak, I would gather my bearings and head home and out of these cursed woods.
The quiet of the woods was shattered with an ear-splitting howl. The wolf must have come back to find me gone from its den. My blood ran cold, and I forgot all about being quiet and ran. I crashed through the underbrush, dodging over roots and branches. Another howl, this time closer, from a different direction. There was another wolf in the woods. I became blind with fear, running, barely avoiding trees as they appeared before me. I missed a rock and went sprawling. A large wolfman crashed through the trees in front of me. It was different from the wolf from my prior encounter; while this one was roughly the same size, it was gray to the reddish brown of the wolf prior. I pushed myself up, eyes darting around, trying to find the best escape route, when from behind me, another wolf jumped and landed over the top of me. I yelped and cowered in on myself, hands covering my head in protection. The wolf crouched over me protectively, growling deeply.
"Back off Dakota. This one is mine," snarled the wolf above me. The wolf in front of me let out a grumbling laugh.
"She's not yours until she is brought into the pack officially. Until then, she is fair game for the taking." The wolf in front of me said, eyeing me like a morsel to eat. Dakota caught me watching him and snapped his teeth at me, laughing at my little squeak as I ducked down against the ground. The snarling deepened as the wolf above me stepped over me and stood at full height.
"I said she's mine!" The wolf roared.
Dakota took a step forward, matching the wolf before me. He attempted to circle the wolf in front of me. At first, the reddish wolf started to circle to match Dakota's strides, but when he realized that would put Dakota closer to me, he stopped, planting his feet and snapping his teeth. He held his claws away from his side, ready to strike.
"Come on Viktor, you know I am the better fighter. Let me have the little mouse, and you can slink away unharmed." Dakota stalked toward Viktor. Viktor lunged forward, and Dakota met him in a clash of claws and teeth. The growls and snarls were unlike anything that I had heard before. I crawled back, watching the fighting werewolves with incomprehension.
Realization dawned on me that this was my chance--my opportunity to run away. I backed up until I was out of direct eyesight before turning and running. I ran until the snarling and growls were distant noises. I braced myself against a tree to give my heaving, burning lungs a break. I tried to calm the breaths that sawed from my lungs to attempt to hear if I was being chased. The world around me was quiet. I began to move again in the same direction as before, trying to put more distance between me and the fighting wolves. After an undetermined length of time, my body began protesting. Pain began to radiate through my body. My spin stiffening, my muscles cramping. The aches that I could once ignore transforming to something that stole what little breath I had. I kept moving, but at a much slower pace. I came across a woody cluster of vines--the best hiding spot I'd come across so far. I climbed and scrambled through the vines, getting close to the tree's base. I was covered as best I could, and wrapped myself up in my cloak. I figured I was safe enough to wait for sunrise. I sat and watched the forest around me, my ears straining to hear any incoming danger.
I was fighting sleep, my body screaming to rest. My eyes were growing heavier by the minute. I rubbed my eyes, resting my head in my hands momentarily. A clawed hand wrapping around my ankle woke me up. A scream caught in my throat, as I was pulled from my hiding spot. Looming above me was a bloody and growling Viktor.
"How dare you run from me. You are mine!" He snapped at me, drool landing on my face.
I snarled back at him, "You don't own me!"
He gnashed his teeth in frustration. "You are mine by right! I found you, I knotted you, I have even now fought over you and won! You are mine!" He practically roared in my face.
"That means nothing!" I growled up at him. He laughed and pinned me down by my shoulders.
"It means everything. You are human, and you do not understand the laws of my people. Until you are mated to me in front of the pack, any eligible male can fight for the right to claim you. If I lost, Dakota could claim you as his."
