The Wolf of the Woods

Chapter 6

Healer Dena sighed at the wounds that were inflicted upon this female. She would clean out and stitch a wound only to find another right next to it.

At this point the she-wolf was more sutures than skin, even her beautiful pelt was shaved away so Healer Dena could heal the wounds. The poor female was going to wake up afraid and in pain, missing her thick coat to boot.

Healer Dena could only imagine what the poor thing went through, covered in wounds, some days old, underweight and the look in her eyes when she saw her at the forest edge broke her heart. The poor thing didn't deserve such a fate.

The Alpha remained quiet as he watched the Healer work, she was meticulous in her method of wound care and he knew for a fact that this she-wolf would be just fine in Dena's hands.

He sent his Beta and a few warriors to try and find out what happened at the rouge camp, they only found signs of a struggle a few miles from the camp and the torn apart remains of a few wolves, the Beta even paled as he explained the scene to his Alpha. Whatever got those wolves wasn't showing any mercy. He thinks that the wolves died of blood loss, that meant that instead of a merciful death whatever attacked them dragged it out until the very last second.

The Alpha felt bad at their deaths, they may have been rouges but even they didn't deserve such a brutal attack, it wasn't even an attack, more like a pure m******e leaving no-one behind...well except for the she-wolf. When she wakes up he will have to find her original pack, grey isn't too common of a pelt color and all packs have records of each member with a photo of them and their wolf once they shift for the first time.

"I'm nearly done Alpha, then you can take her and put her in a room. She'll need a heavy blanket as I've had to shave most of her fur off." Healer Dena said as she tied the last of the sutures. "I will have some members prepare a room, will she shift back soon?" He asked standing.

"Probably no, she was abused from the looks of it and her instincts are probably forcing her to stay in the stronger form to better protect herself."

She mixed a salve together and smeared it generously over all the wounds to help with pain and infection. She then went through her cupboards looking for enough bandages to wrap the large wolf.

By the time she was finished the poor thing looked like a mummy, even her tail was bandaged. She smiled a little and nodded to her Alpha to carry her to a room until she woke up, with luck not until the morning.

Carefully the Lycan Alpha picked up the limp she-wolf in his arms, cradling her head to his chest and thanked the Healer for her help.

He made his way to the packhouse slowly, almost savoring the feeling of this little pup in his arms. She was very light, unhealthily so. Her silver coat was beautiful and he could only imagine what she would look like when it all grew back. He felt like she would love to lay in the sun and possibly watch pups as they played.

Already he was imagining what she would be like when she woke. Would she be a shy wolf? Or maybe a bold and daring wolf? Would she like the room he has made for her? What if she hated it? That thought alone made him wince. He wasn't even sure why but he needed this she-wolf to like him, to trust him.

Carefully he made his way up the stairs of the packhouse and walked into the room that was prepared for the she-wolf.

In the corner thick, heavy blankets were piled on top of each other to make a bed of sorts, then a soft blanket was laid on top and the Alpha guessed it was one an elder made.

Next to the bed was a large bowl of water and a plate piled with red meats, still fresh and bloody, probably just caught by one of the warriors.

He smiled at his packs consideration for the injured wolf, they went above what he asked of them and his made his chest swell with pride.

Slowly he kneeled down next to the bed for the she-wolf and laid her unconscious form down. He ran his fingers over her head and ghosted them over her bandaged body. With a reluctant sigh, he stood up and left the room, shutting and locking the door behind him.

                         ---------------

The she-wolf started coming into consciousness. The first thing she noticed was pain, not as bad as it was before but there nonetheless.

Breathing didn't hurt as much but it still pained her to the point she was taking shallow breaths.

She opened her eyes and whined, she was in a room. It was dark but she could make out some sights. A few feet from her was a large bay window,  it had two pillows propped up against each other and a soft grey curtain hanging down. She saw an open door leading to a closet and a closed one she assumed was the way out.

She was laying down on something soft, it was warm and cozy which felt nice on her sore body.

She was laying on her side and as she picked her head up she noticed she was covered in bandages, most seemed to cover her ribcage and neck. Her back right leg had two large metal rods running up the length of her leg on either side then wrapped with a bright green bandage.

She whined at the sight, she knew her leg was broken and she wouldn't be able to hunt and survive this winter.

Slowly she noticed the rich scent of deer filling her nose, the sweet smell of a fresh, young kill that made her mouth water. Her instincts that were once quiet quickly roared to life at the scent. She turned her head and saw a plate filled with the bloody venison.

Without even thinking she immediately started eating, face covered in blood as she ripped into the meat and swallowed it down as fast as she could, choking on some parts as she ate.

She even licked the plate and ground where the blood dripped clean, not wanting to waste even a little of the precious substance.

She was more awake now with a full belly. She yawned and pulled herself to a sitting position that had her head spinning. She waited a while to gain her bearings and attempted to get her back leg up to stand.

It took a few tries and her groaning in pain but she finally stood. Her back right leg dangled uselessly as she tried to take a step.

Her limbs were shaking and threatening to give out from under her as she stood there panting heavily. Her lungs burned with the exhaustion of just standing and her shaky limbs were no help.

She carefully took one step and yelped in pain, everything hurt and moving made it worse.

With a whine, she laid back down and stared at the white cream wall. She needed to rest awhile to be able to walk again. It was the same when she fought a bear the first winter.

She longed for the freedom of the woods again, she spent too much time chained up like a rabid mutt and now locked in a room and in pain. Her fellow werewolves always seemed to cause her pain. First, the three males who captured her then the rouge leader who set his wolves on her. Then she vaguely recalled the strange-smelling wolves.

They smelt like a werewolf but an underlying more...feral scent laid underneath it all. Like they were something more than the werewolves.

It made her uneasy to be in the unknown with these new creatures.

The soft sounds of footsteps made her pick her head and stare at the door alerted.

She tried smelling the air but only the scent of her own wounds and herbs filled her nose. Preparing herself she forced her body to stand and stood at the ready for whoever came through that door.

As the lock clicked and the doorknob moved she started growling lowly in warning. She may be injured but she still had fangs and claws.

The door slowly opened and a large male appeared in the doorway.

He was a tall man, deep brown hair that was to his shoulder. His eyes were a deep forest green that reminded the she-wolf of her home. He had sharp features and three scars that ran across the right side of his face to the bottom left of his jaw. All in all, he looked like an intimidating man and it made the she-wolf uneasy.

He stared at her with a mix of surprise and happiness. He let go of the door handle and approached the growling she-wolf.

As he stepped closer her growling turned to snarling and warning barks for him to keep back.

Instead, the man kept approaching, his face now portrayed concern.

She wouldn't trust this male, males have done nothing but hurt her at this point and if she had to she would kill again to be free.

The male finally stopped moving and just stared at the she-wolf, waiting for her to make the first move.

They were and a stalemate, neither one wanted to approach the other and the she-wolf's instincts were going haywire, she didn't know what to do one moment she wanted to lay down and rest the next she wanted to be sprinting to freedom.

The Lycan Alpha watched the she-wolf as she growled at him, never in his life had he ever tolerated an act of aggression towards him, yet this female was practically promising him with death if he stepped closer.

He studied her for a moment and saw that even with a broken limb and severe wounds she was going to make a break for it.

Fangs glistened in the light, sharp claws dug into the wood and deep growls ripped from her chest.

She glared at this male in front of her who was holding his hands in surrender but she would not be fooled, without hesitation, she lunged.

Instead of her fangs making contact with flesh he sidestepped and wrapped his arms around the she-wolf's neck and sides, restraining her from attacking him any further.

"Easy female, you are safe here." He said softly, his deep voice sending vibrations through her chest. She merely growled louder and struggled in his grip.

"Shh little one, we will not harm you here." He said soothingly as he held her tightly.

They stayed like that for almost two hours, her growling soon turned to soft whining and crying and she went lax in his hold, no longer having the energy to fight.

The she-wolf scrambled away from the large male as soon as he loosened his grip on her and practically dived into the blankets she woke on.

She didn't like how quickly this male could catch her, how he made her feel like a small pup picking a fight with a grown wolf.

"It's okay female, we mean you no harm in this pack. We only wish to help." He said slowly walking towards her cornered form. She flattened her ears and showed her teeth in a warning for him to stay back.

Thankfully the male understood not to push an injured wolf any further. He gave her a pitiful smile and sat I'm the opposite corner from her just watching her unmoving form.

"Healer Dena, the she-wolf has woken up. She is scared and rather aggressive. I am hoping you can help." The Alpha linked the healer briefly breaking the small staring contest with the she-wolf to do so.

He only hoped the poor wolf could be rehabilitated from her ordeal, some wolves didn't recover well from trauma and he was sure him barging in here as soon as she woke didn't help.

He couldn't help himself though, as soon as he heard her yelp in pain his instincts frantically pushed him to rush to her, ease her pain and comfort her.

Of course, that failed because only two seconds after opening the door she launched herself at him, he was oddly proud to admit that if she wasn't injured she could've done serious damage to his body, possibly even bested him.

He grinned to himself at the thought of her finally healed. She would be a formidable wolf in his pack of she stayed.

If she even wanted too. He frowned as he thought that. Would she even want to?

AN

Sorry for the late update, I recently started a job and it's been taking up a ton of my time plus my two dogs that need care.

Anyway lemme know what you think of this chapter in the comments and don't forget to vote!