Take Back My Mate

In the beginning.

The night air was still on the snowy mountains as a lone man trudged through the small hills that lay at their feet. His footprints scarred the undisturbed landscape that was otherwise untouched. Millions of stars blanketed the night sky, causing the snow-covered ground to appear to glow despite the darkness. There was no light pollution near this far corner of the continent and it was almost peaceful but an uneasy feeling seemed to hang in the air. This was partially due to humans claiming the land was haunted by evil spirits that would steal the soul of anyone who trespassed on their holy ground. Many believed this and cautioned against even going anywhere near this land. Most listened to these wise words of advice, but not ALL.

They are just crazy. The man thought to himself as he trudged through the frigid clearing. I will win this bet and show everyone that I am no coward. He cursed his friends under his breath as he pulled his coat tighter around his body.

A lonely howl sounded in the distance, almost like a warning. Just a wolf somewhere. He reminded himself, trying to calm his thumping heart down. His spine stiffened as a strange fear gripped him out of nowhere as another sounded off in response to the first. This one, though, it seemed like this animal was in the direction he was going. That one also sounded A LOT closer.

That was when a sensation seemed to crawl up his back, making his blood turn cold. Is there someone watching me? Slowly his eyes scanned the forest that seemed to surround him on all sides now. When did that happen? Another howl, this one behind him, followed by another response in front of him, again getting closer. Maybe this wasn’t the best idea. Slowly, more and more howls joined together. I should run. He turned to leave, but some movement caught his eye. The mountain that was to his left seemed to move and shift. Focusing on it, dozens of pairs of eyes locked onto him. Run! His brain screamed, but his legs seemed to lock in place.

It looked like an avalanche started rushing towards him, but the way it seemed to flow down the mountain was wrong. Avalanches don’t have eyes either. Mist started seeping out of the moving body, racing towards him at a speed he didn’t think possible. By the time he managed to move, he was already engulfed by it. Stumbling backwards, he pushed himself up and ran as fast as his body would allow him. He wasn’t aware of where he was going, or what direction he was running. I need to get out of here. It was the only thing that registered in his mind at the time. A cold shiver ran down his spine as he came to a sudden stop. A pressure seemed to push down on his body all of a sudden, causing him to fall to his knees.

A set of eyes appeared in the mist then, and slowly he noticed more pairs watching him carefully. The first set stepped forward, its silhouette getting more and more recognizable by the second. Before too long, a large majestic white wolf stood in front of him. Behind the animal, he saw the shapes of countless more. This must be the leader.

The large canine looked him up and down, as if evaluating him. The animal’s large eyes seemed to bore into his mind. As hard as he tried, he could not move as the large beast before him started to circle around him. It was as if this creature was trying to decide what exactly to do with him.

The pack leader stopped in front of him again, and its stunningly blue eyes began to glow. Slowly the fog began to thicken again, and got to the point where all he could see was white. This was the last thing he remembered before the white faded fast into black.