Hannah Pole - Silence of the Wolves

Allowing her eyes to follow her nose, she scanned the bottom of the hills in the direction the scent seemed to trail into, as her inner predator came roaring to the surface, heat soaring from her very core, warming her flesh from the inside out. It was almost as if there was a beast that lived deep inside her, a beast that was just begging to be let out. Because you’re more than human the voice inside her pointed out, the very thing she’d feared for years. She’d suspected that she was different all her life, but she’d never wanted to believe it. Why now? Why were her age-old fears coming to the forefront of her mind?

Because your senses are getting stronger, the other half of you is getting stronger. Just as she was telling her brain to get a grip, her eyes skimmed over something that made her heart skip a beat, the very tip of a black and grey tail disappearing into the wooded area that surrounded the base of one of the many hills.

How she had managed to spot that from this great distance, she had absolutely no idea, and honestly? She wasn’t sure she wanted to find out. Instead, Tam forced her feet forwards, breaking into a flat-out run towards the small woodland. She ran lightly across the lumpy grass, finding her footing easily, not tripping or wavering. She was built for woodland, for nature, for this. Her heart told her that this was home, this natural place of beauty. Not the urban environment she’d chosen to live in.

It took only seconds for her to reach the edge of the woods and, without thinking, she dove straight into the thick of it, launching herself into the surrounding trees, coming to an abrupt halt as she let her eyes adjust. She could barely hold in a gasp as she found herself staring straight into the grey eyes of the biggest, most beautiful wolf she’d ever set eyes upon.

He was hunched against a tree, a deep, rippling growl reverberating out of his chest, the defensive sound thrashing against her eardrums, causing fear to rise up her spine. Oddly though, she found the sound strangely comforting. She’d heard it before, but lord only knew where.

For a few seconds, the two of them just stood there, staring at each other, assessing the situation. With her heart in her throat, Tam drew in a shaky breath. What now? She’d chased this wolf into the woodland, not really knowing why or what she was going to do when she found him.

And now she was almost nose-to-nose with a goddamn wild animal, she had absolutely no idea how to react.

She was so stupid. The wolf was injured which, in theory, would give her an advantage if he tried to attack her, but you didn’t have to be an animal behaviour specialist to know that dangerous wild animals like this wolf were even more dangerous when they were injured and felt trapped or threatened.

She could almost see the headlines now: ‘Local woman mauled by wolf’; ‘Local reporter killed after chasing a wolf into the woods alone.’ What an idiot she was.

Out of options and ideas, Tam slowly held her hands out in front of her, doing her best to show the wolf that she meant him no harm.

He didn’t move, didn’t react, just kept his beautiful eyes locked onto hers.

‘Shh, good wolf…’ she whispered, not really knowing what else to do.

The wolf huffed, glancing at her before quickly spinning awkwardly on his back legs and hightailing it deeper into the woodland.

Tam launched herself forward after him. Trees sped past her as she struggled to keep up with him, damn he was fast, even with what she thought was a broken leg!

He twisted and turned, changing direction every now and again, creeping underneath bushes and going through streams. He was obviously trying to lose her, but she would be damned if she was going to let him get away from her! Breaking free of the trees, he climbed up the side of one of the hills; she followed him, gasping for breath as she hefted her way up the thing.

She stopped in her tracks as he paused at the top of the hill looking back down at her. For a moment, a fleeting feeling of recognition slipped through her, though lord only knew why; she’d never seen a wolf up close and personal before.

But he’s not just a wolf. Tam pushed her mind’s voice away. This was not the time for her ‘craziness’, as her school friends had put it, to be resurfacing. Her strange obsession with the supernatural had brought her nothing but grief in the past.

A heartbeat later, he was off again, bolting down the other side of the hill. Tam didn’t pause, just got her feet moving again, detouring around the edge of the hill rather than struggling up and over. As she reached the other side, she caught a glimpse of his beautiful tail disappearing into some bushes.

She didn’t hesitate, just dived in after him, catching her T-shirt on the branches and ripping the thin material. Her hands grazed against the rock and dirt beneath, and her kneecaps hit the ground with a thud, jarring her legs, but she didn’t stop. She crawled underneath the bush, bursting out on the other side just in time to see the wolf attempt to leap over a fallen tree.

He didn’t make it though. As he began to jump, his front paws left the ground but his back legs gave out on him, the wounded one collapsing under his weight and sending him awkwardly spiralling towards the floor.

Tam didn’t move, didn’t breathe. She couldn’t. She just watched as the wolf awkwardly righted himself, but stayed crouched on the ground, whimpering slightly as he tried to move his leg but couldn’t.

Slowly, carefully, Tam moved. Only an inch as she lowered herself to the ground and, in one painstaking movement, she knelt before the wolf.

Her knife was clipped to the side of her bra and her hands itched to reach for it, but she knew it was a bad idea. Currently the wolf was showing no signs of aggression and she didn’t want to spook him again.

As she looked into those beautiful grey eyes, she saw no anger, no malice. She saw fatigue, pain and confusion. She could read the emotions behind them like a book.

As she watched him, it seemed as though he was being as careful as she to move carefully. It was almost as if it were he who didn’t want to spook her rather than the other way around. He lowered his back end to the ground, shuffling a little awkwardly around his back leg. He then proceeded to lie down completely, resting his head on his paws, keeping his eyes still locked onto hers. It was as if he’d visibly given up.

Tam slowly edged forward. She must be absolutely crazy, knowing this was a vicious wild animal and that it could tear her apart easily. Yet her gut told her the wolf wasn’t going to hurt her.

She must be going mad. She was going to end up being that weird woman that was nearly killed by a wild wolf because she thought she could be friends with it.

And yet, this moment, this intense, terrifying, incredibly special moment, was one she would treasure for the rest of her life; one she would write about and talk of over and over again to friends, family and, maybe, one day her children.

The day mommy made friends with a wolf.

Holding her breath, her heart beating so rapidly she felt as though it was going to jump out of her chest, Tam slowly lifted her trembling hand, watching the wolf intently. If the wolf so much as flinched, she was going to hightail it out of there. Carefully, she extended her arm. The damn limb shook so much she was sure it was going to vibrate right out of its socket.

Reaching a little further, she gingerly let the very tips of her fingers brush the fur on his beautiful black and grey face.

And he was oh so beautiful. From the tips of his ears, down his spine and through to the tip of his tail was black fur which blended gracefully into the grey fur that ran down his sides and across his face, running into the white fur that covered his underside and jaw. He was absolutely huge.