The Forbidden Game

A New Friend

Without thinking, Luna ran towards the forrest. She had heard screeches like that before when she found her Aristotle alone and afraid in the woods behind her home. She knew something was scared or hurt or possibly both. She could hear the group of men chasing after her and screaming her name for her to stop but she couldn't, not knowing that she could help. She was going insanely fast and as she got closer to the sounds of the yelps, she could hear men laughing.

This enraged her even more! She came to a clearing and saw two men with hunting rifles and camouflage clothing standing over a white wolf. It was beautiful and although it was down, it still bared it's teeth in warning. Looking closer, she noticed the the wolf had a deep wound around its chest, dark red staining the snow white fur.

She glared at the men as they raised their heads at her in confusion.

"Who the hell are you?" said one raising his hand towards his rifle thrown over his shoulder.

As if something had taken over her, she said in a calm but powerful voice, "I am the protector of these woods."

The two men looked at each other and burst into laughter. "Yeah, right toots, why don't you turn that cute little ass of yours around and go back to wherever you came from," said one.

"At least it would give us something to look at," laughed the other.

They had both bent down to antagonize the poor wolf and she could not control herself and yelled in a booming voice, "STOP!"

The woods went quiet, not even a cricket or a rustle of trees could be heard and the atmosphere turned dark and cold. The men looked at each other and noticed they could see their breathes when they couldn't before. They looked at Luna and began to feel all the hairs stand up on their bodies.

Her eyes had turned into their shimmering violet and her hands began to turn a deep blue. The trees surrounding them began to freeze over with ice and with each step she took towards them, the ground beneath her feet would freeze. She grabbed one of the men by his throat and lifted him high above her.

"I. Am. The. Protector. If I catch you or anyone else in my forrest, threatening my animals or even so much as pluck a leaf from my trees, I will freeze you to the brink of death and let my wolves finish you off, limb by limb. Do I make myself clear?" As she threatened them, frosty air came from her mouth and the man she was holding began to shiver in fear. He could feel the frostbite travelling from his neck where she had him to his face.

"Y-yes...w-we won't come back again! P-p-promise!" he stuttered out.

"Good," she dropped him with a thud, "Now run."

Both men scrambled before getting to their feet and running off as fast as they could away from her.

The boys had finally caught up to her and saw the display. They stayed quiet to see what she would do now.

She held her stance until she heard the hum of a boat motor. She turned towards the wolf and bent down to it's level. It snapped at her as she reached her hand towards it. "Shhhh...It's alright...let me see," she said in a calm voice.

The wolf looked at her with it's yellow eyes for a moment before letting her run her hands on either side of its face in a loving gesture. She let the wolf get used to her touch before she looked at the wound. The wolf yelped when she got too close and snapped its head at her.

"I'm sorry, I didnt mean too," she said petting its neck. The wolf laid its head down in the grass, as if it were too heavy to hold up anymore. The wound was deep and bleeding out fast. Based on where the bullet from their guns had hit, its lung was punctured and the poor thing wouldn't make it back to the house.

Tears stinging her eyes, she decided to make its last moments comfortable and placed its big head in her lap. She rubbed its face and head and sang.

"Let me sing a lullaby, as you close your eyes.

And as you're drifting off to sleep, how I hope that the dreams that you find are bright.

Love, can we meet again soon in the blueist of skies, where a tomorrow waits for you and I.

So hold me tight one more time but don't kiss me goodbye, cause I know that I'll see you on the other side.

I will think of our song when the nights are too long, I'll dream of you for that's where I belong.

Love, can we meet again soon in the blueist of skies? Only....in my dreams, do we meet again."

The forrest went silent as she sang, even the birds had gathered to hear her. As she finished her song, the wolf had closed its eyes and passed. Tears slid down her face as she continued to rub its face.

The boys had come out of hiding and looked at her sadly. Jin came to sit in front of her and as he reached his hand out to hold her cheek, they heard tiny yips from underneath the wolf. Shocked, Jin lifted the wolf gently and they saw six little wolf cubs underneath it. It was a mother wolf, protecting her tiny cubs from the hunters. They were so tiny, their eyes werent even open yet. Jin unzipped his black zip-up jacket to take it off and handed it to her. She gathered the tiny pups in it to keep them warm.

Just as they were about to get up to leave, a pack of wolves emerged from the woods. They surrounded them and she held the pups to her chest protectively. The biggest wolf, the alpha of the pack, stepped toward her and bowed its big head. He was beautiful, with grey and white fur, turning into black at his back and growing lighter as it went down towards his feet. He had big yellow eyes and as he looked at her, he almost begged her with his big head to come forward.

She hesitated but bent down to him and bowed her head back in respect. The wolf walked to her and placed his forehead to hers. A flash came between them and she jumped a little in surprise.

"I am Aranyak, alpha of the moonlit pack."

She blinked in surprise, "Did you just talk?"

Aranyak nodded, "I did."

She turned to the men behind her and looked at them questioning if they also heard it. They all looked at her like she was stupid for speaking out loud when no one said anything, "Ugh, men." She rolled her eyes and turned back towards the wolf.

"Because of what you have done, we are connected. I am using telepathy, it is what we wolves use to communicate with each other. Your bravery to save my cubs is more than enough to welcome you into our pack." He looked at the body of the white wolf on the ground. "I know you tried to save my mate as well," he hung his head low to the ground in sadness.

She reached her hand out and touched his face gently. "I am sorry, I was too late..." she said sadly, tears threatening to fall again.

"It is not your fault, you tried. It was the will of the ancestors, and her spirit will be with us always," he reared his head back and howled at the sky. The rest of the wolves joined him. They sang to their lost loved one and hoped she would find her way to paradise.

Luna laid the bundle of cubs down at the alphas feet. He yipped at the pack behind him and five female wolves came to grab one gently in their mouths. Confused, Luna pointed at the one left, a white one that looked like its mother, "What about this little one?"

The pack was turning to leave and go to their den when the alpha turned back towards her, "Keep him, not only as a gift for your courage and help, but because I can't bear to look at him...he looks too much like her."

Aranyak turned towards the forrest and barked, signaling the pack to return home. Luna picked the little cub up and wrapped him in Jin's jacket again. She held him tight as she began to walk home. The boys all followed behind her, concerned that she hadn't said a word to them.

She entered the house and instantly grabbed a bowl of milk to warm up for the little pup. She went into her bedroom to grab the softest blanket she could find to lay him in and after bundling him up, she hand fed him the milk as she laid in the living room floor with him. After the tiny thing filled its belly, it yawned a toothless yawn and fell asleep in her lap, snoring softly.

"Soooo...youre keeping it?" Collin said.

"Yes, I think so," she said with a smile as she looked at its tiny face.

"What will you name him?" asked Akira.

"I like...Kiba," she said after thinking for a moment.

Ryan had finally came back home and burst through the door, surprised to see everyone gathered in the living room, "Oh hey everybody, hows it- what the f**k is that thing?" he said glaring at the tiny cub in Luna's lap.

"He is Luna's new pet," Jin said with a grin.

"The hell he is! I am the only wolf in this house! I am territorial dammit" he yelled defensively.

Luna shushed him and he froze. "No, he isn't my new pet," she rubbed his little ears. "His mother died so I am his new mother, he is my little baby."

She smiled at the men. Ryan looked incredibly displeased, but she looked so happy, he couldn't say otherwise. "Oh, so he's like you when you were a ba-oof!" Ryan was struck in the face with a pillow thrown by Jin.

"Shut the f**k up, you just don't think before you say things," Jin teased as he rolled his eyes. He looked at Luna and smiled at how motherly she seemed with this wolf cub and could only imagine how she would be with her own baby. Maybe, it could even be his baby too. "Welcome to the family, little Kiba."