MARKED BY THE HUNTER

18: MY WHITE WOLF

My eyes slowly fluttered open. Even though still blurred, I could see Bryle tending to the wounds on my arm and to my side. He carefully poured a strange silver liquid over them, just like before, mixing it with his own blood.

The faint glow of fire flickered nearby, and the trees surrounded us. We were in the forest.

I lay there, unable to speak, no strength left to form even a whisper. After wrapping my wounds with cloth as white as snow, Bryle finished and I drifted back into sleep.

I thought the torment from the monsters was finally over. But it seemed I had only fallen into a dream.

A soft light appeared before me, and from it emerged a white werewolf. It growled, but not in anger, nor with any intent to attack. Instead, it moved gracefully through the woods, calm and almost… gentle, as it approached me.

“A white wolf?” I murmured. “What do you want from me?”

It did not speak. It simply stared into my eyes. Its gaze was a vivid green. clear, soothing, almost comforting to look at. But suddenly, the wolf turned its head toward another direction.

Toward Bryle.

He was seated on a large rock in the distance, his eyes fixed far away, as if waiting for something… or someone.

Was this what the wolf was trying to tell me?

If so… then this white wolf... this being.. lived within me. Its strength, its power… they were mine to wield. We were not separate.

We were one.

A loud thud against the ground jolted me awake.

When I opened my eyes again, Bryle was there, turning something over the fire. Two fish were skewered and roasting, their scent rich and inviting.

“Are you hungry?” he asked when he noticed I was awake.

“Yes… that smell is making me starve,” I replied weakly.

“It’s almost done. Drink some warm water first,” he said, handing me a bamboo cup filled with water.

Only then did I realize I was lying atop the thick roots of a massive tree, my back resting against its sturdy trunk.

“This kind of tree… it’s always where I rest,” Bryle said.

“Why?” I asked, confused.

“Because someone protects it. Anyone who harms or disrespects it will suffer misfortune for as long as they live,” he explained.

“That’s the first time I’ve heard of that.”

“Well, now you know,” he answered simply, before handing me one of the roasted fish.

I didn’t hesitate. I devoured it without a word, hunger overpowering everything else. And because of that, I never got the chance to tell him about my dream.

The warmth of the fire wrapped around me as I finished the fish, each bite easing the emptiness in my stomach. For a moment, there was nothing but the crackling of flames and the quiet rustle of leaves swaying in the night air.

Bryle remained silent.

He stared into the distance, just like in my dream.

A strange unease crept into my heart.

“Bryle…” I finally spoke, my voice still weak but steady enough to break the silence. “How long was I asleep?”

“Eight hours, I think” he replied shortly, not even glancing at me.

That answer only deepened my curiosity. I tightened my grip on the bamboo cup, feeling the warmth of the water against my palms.

“There’s something I need to tell you,” I continued.

This time, he looked at me. His eyes were, too serious.

“I saw something… while I was asleep,” I said, swallowing the dryness in my throat.

“A white werewolf.”

The moment the words left my lips, the air around us seemed to shift.

Bryle’s expression darkened.

“What did it do?” he asked, his voice is lower now.

“It didn’t attack me,” I answered. “It just… looked at me. Then it looked at you. Like it was trying to show me something.”

He stood up.

The sudden movement startled me.

The firelight danced across his face, revealing a mix of tension and something else… something I couldn’t quite understand.

“Did it speak?” he asked.

I shook my head. “No. But I understood it somehow.”

Bryle ran a hand through his hair and turned away, pacing slowly near the fire.

“That’s not just a dream,” he muttered.

My heart skipped a beat.

“Then what is it?”

He stopped walking.

For a long moment, he said nothing. The forest seemed to hold its breath with me.

Finally, he faced me again. "That white werewolf… is your other half.”

My heart tightened at his words.

“I knew it,” I whispered. “It’s inside me, isn’t it?”

Bryle nodded.

“But it’s more than that,” he added. “It’s not just power. It’s a being. A spirit. And now… it’s starting to awaken.”

A cold shiver ran down my spine despite the warmth of the fire.

“Is that a bad thing?” I asked.

Bryle didn’t answer immediately.

Instead, he walked closer and crouched in front of me, his gaze piercing straight into mine.

“That depends,” he said quietly, “on whether you control it… or it controls you.”

Silence fell again.

The weight of his words pressed heavily on me.

Since I was 13, all I think is that I have a wolf who stayed in me, but I think of it as a curse. In the human world, they probably don't understand what it's like to have a half-wolf. Maybe to them, I'm a mad girl possessed by a demon. But in reality, even if my body gets killed, my wolf still survives and tries to keep me alive.

So while my body is out of consciousness, my white wolf reach for another help. And she found this man.. Bryle. who could help me..

My wolf knows Bryle as a healer not as a hunter?