The Winter Stone

Chapter 2

2

The wolf was howling into the night and I could feel my own wolf stirring inside of me. It didn't matter if it was an animal or a wolf stuck inside a human, wolf was wolf and they were all my kin.

I ran into the dark night as I let my wolf guide me towards the cries of the wounded animal. She was like a compass that directed me straight towards his cries.

It was dark and the night was usually not my friend, but tonight it seemed like my wolf was helping me out and improving my eyesight.

I scanned the white landscape for any movement of the hurt wolf but also for any other predators that might roam this hillside. Pumas were very unlikely, but I didn't feel like running straight into the den of a black bear, even though they were supposed to be our allies. I was sure that would cost me greatly.

After running around in the winter night for almost half an hour, I finally saw a heap of fur lying next to a dead tree. I hastily ran towards it, my heart pounding from my chest as I prayed this was the wolf I was chasing.

It was.

He growled as I approached and it became clear he was distressed and in pain. I held up my hands as I slowed my breathing. I hoped if calmed myself, he would know I didn't form a threat.

His lips curled up in a snarl and he flattened his ears as I approached him.

"Calm, boy. I'm not here to hurt you," I whispered into the cold air, hoping that he would understand from my tone that I was trying to help him.

He bared his teeth at me once more but didn't seem to run away. I wondered why.

A glint caught my eye and I noticed the piece of metal clamped around his paw.

This time I was the one growling. Hunters. And not any kind of hunters, cowardly hunters.

"I'm not going to hurt you. Please stay still," I told the grey wolf, asking myself in how much trouble I could get. If he didn't understand I was trying to help, he would lunge at my neck and with his sharp teeth, rip out my throat. Instead of retrieving the Winter Stone, I would bleed out here, all alone in the middle of the Aladwin Forest, miles away from my hometown.

But if he did understand, I could help him out of the trap and maybe this would appeal to the Great Wolf so he'd guide me on my travels.

I threw another look at the grey wolf and the pearls of blood staining the white snow red and I knew that I needed to take this risk. This was one of my brothers and he was in pain.

"Please don't bite me. I'm here to help," I repeated again, slowly crouched down next to his hind legs. His ears had perked up, but his lips were still curled in a nasty snarl. He seemed ready to attack at any moment, but so far, he was keeping still.

I tugged on the metal clasp and as I felt the wolf stir, I quickly retracted my hand before his teeth found my wrist.

"Calm down!" I yelped as I felt my blood rush through my ears. "I know it hurts, I will be more careful. I'm sorry."

The wolf relaxed and his head fell down as he kept me under his watchful eye. I carefully extended my hand again and clicked the metal pin loose, contracting the beak and teeth of the metal contraption.

The grey wolf quickly pulled his leg out of the trap, a splatter of blood painting the white landscape. He howled in pain and tried to run away from me, but to no use. He jumped a couple of metres away from me, but as soon as he was out of my immediate range, he stopped to lick his wound.

I followed the beautiful beast, my hands out so I wouldn't spook him. "Steady, I'm not here to hurt you. Please let me help you. You're hurt."

The wolf jumped a couple of steps away from me, from the twitch in his right leg, I knew he wasn't going anywhere. I approached him and as he tried to run away, he sank through his legs and fell down on the cold snow. He was panting and his ears were flat on his head. He wasn't just in pain, he was scared. Scared of what I might do.

He must not realise I had a wolf inside of me, otherwise, he might realise I was an ally. If I could let him know I was one of his kind, he might be less reluctant to let me help him.

So I dug deep and channelled my wolf. She was already asleep, so I nudged her.

Yes? She answered and as she did, I could see the grey wolf tweak his ears. I didn't know if it was possible but he seemed to react to my wolf waking up.

I approached him again and this time, he didn't run away. Instead, he cautiously watched me from the corners of his eyes. He didn't snarl when I picked him up, so he must've understood something? He was quite heavy and pretty big, so most of his upper body was resting over my shoulder as I carried him to the camp.

Luckily, I could trace my footsteps back into the snow because I had blindly run into the forest without really paying attention to where I was going.

I felt the sweat pearl on my back as I heaved the wolf back to my camp. Once in a while, he yipped in pain, but most of the time, he seemed to be quite happy to be carried.

In my camp, I carefully placed him close to the fire so he could warm up and rummaged through my pack, wondering if I had some piece of cloth that I could miss. Most of the things I brought with me, I really needed, but I decided that the fabric holding my dried jerky together could probably be repurposed. I opened my water bottle, wetted the cloth and carefully tried to clean out the wolf's wounds. He whined in pain but didn't make any attempts to bite me, so I knew he had finally understood I was trying to help him.

He whimpered as I secured the cloth around his leg but after I was done bandaging him, he gratefully licked my arm and I patted him between the ears.

"See, that wasn't so bad, was it?" I grinned as I realised I'd never been this close to a wolf before. Which was ironic, since my whole tribe was centred around the wolf. Heck, we actually had wolves stuck inside our bodies!

"You're a nice little wolf," I smiled and laughed as the wolf growled at me.

"Okay, okay. I'll take the little back," I teased, surprised that he somehow understood me.

He softly growled, but it didn't sound threatening. It was more a happy sound, like the canine version of a purring cat. He gave a last lick at his wounded leg and then muzzled his head on my lap. His eyes slowly closed and I could tell that he was falling asleep. I grinned as this meant that he trusted me enough to let his guard down, so I wiggled my butt down more comfortably as I let myself relax as well.

The flames in the fire were happily dancing as I watched the sparks fly around in the cold air. The wolf cuddled up against me was providing me with an extra, unexpected heat source that I wasn't going to say no to.

I patted the beast against his ears as I studied him a bit further. It was obvious that he was male. I could tell from his flat snout, his broad legs and his wide stance. He had a dark patch of fur that ran down his back and one white paw, like he had fallen in a bucket of white paint.

I knew his eyes were amber coloured and deep and although I might've been kidding myself, it seemed like he understood human language to at least some degree. He stirred in my lap and let out a little whine. Probably a nightmare.

I should probably move myself and the wolf underneath my tent, but it seemed like a cold and wet spot, compared to the dried patch of ground I was sitting on right now.

I cursed at myself for not setting my tent closer to my fireplace. Why didn't I do that? What an i***t. I should probably stay close to the flames so I wouldn't freeze to death.

The furs I brought were lying further away in my little tent, so I laid flat on my back and stretched my arms as far as I could, hoping not to wake up my new companion. I grovelled a little bit on the cold ground and waved my hands in the air aimlessly, until finally, I reached the tip of one of my blankets. I pulled it towards me and nestled myself under it, hoping that my fire would stay lit and it wouldn't rain.

With my new wolf friend wrapped around me, I cuddled under my blankets. I knew I needed to take off at least some of my clothes, but I was just so nice and toasty. So without another thought, I found myself drifting off into dreamland.

The next morning I was awoken by what sounded like barking. I rubbed my fists in my eyes as I wondered who had brought a dog with him and why the hell he was trying to wake me up. I was about ready to throw a stick towards the loud animal as I felt a wet snout pressed against my cheek.

"Ieegh!" I pushed myself up from underneath the furs and immediately regretted not moving back to the tent. The fire from last night was reduced to a barely smouldering pile of ashes that couldn't grill a grasshopper. I should've gathered isolation for my bed instead of chasing wolves into the night.

Priorities, Akira! I told myself as I cracked my stiffened back. I was about to stretch my arms when I felt a rough tongue lick my hand.

"Blegh!" I yelled again as I finally remembered I wasn't alone anymore. One by one, I cracked my fingers as I looked at the dark wolf strutting through my camp. He had a slight limp, but he was definitely in much better shape than yesterday.

"Hello, boy. I see you’re already awake," I grumbled, annoyed that he didn't let me sleep in. But then again, I probably shouldn't be snoozing in the middle of the forest.

From the moment that I slightly moved my furs, the cold air crept underneath and I shivered as it grazed over my bare legs. I groaned as I stood back up and again, cursed at myself for not taking off my jacket. I had brought enough furs with me to keep me warm enough and sleeping in all my clothes was just a rookie mistake. Now instead of having my vest to put on, I'd have to warm myself up with jumping jacks or another kind of exercise.

A howl pulled me out of my concentration and I briefly watched the wolf dribble through my camp with his snout against the forest floor, like he was looking for something. His adventure seemed to stop at my backpack and with his head tilted and his dark amber eyes peering into mine, he gave me an intense look.

I chuckled and decided that I'd warm myself up by gathering more firewood. But first, breakfast!