Prologue
Lyka ran through the forest, her heart beating to the rhythm of fear as she ran for her life.
Above her, the forest canopy prevented what little moonlight there wasa from illuminating her path and with each step she took it became harder for her to move foward but the distant snap of twigs and clink of armor of her pursuers only meant that they were still on her tail.
Though pregnant and bleeding she kept on running as the overhead branches bit into her skin. Thorned branches drew crimson lines of blood across her skin but she didn't register the pain, she didn't have time to.
She was tired and wanted to rest, to have a moment to atleast catch her breath but then she heard a shout. A soldier's echoed behind her which only meant one thing, the soldiers had found her.
She spun as her foot snagged on an a exposed root and causing her to fall, the impact knocking the breath from her lungs.
Vines twined around her legs as if the forest itself was against her. She tried to break free, tried to free her snagged foot as she clawed at the vines and roots.
Then a torch light up.
It carved a path through the dark night blinding her. She could hear the boots of soldiers and their heavy armour crashing through the undergrowth as they rushed towards her.
As they approached her she heard a soldier's breath catch on a curse.
"There's the w***e" he sneered.
Lyka tried to rise up, gods she tried but couldn't break free, the roots and vines anchored her in place.
Her belly ached, probably from the fall.
She could feel the child stirring weakly inside her.
Rough hands pulled her up freeing her from her bonds and then a gauntleted fist cracked across her cheek as a boot slammed into her side.
"You thought you could run?" the soldier said spitting saliva all over her face.
Another blow landed, this time to her belly.
"Thought you could bring that bastard child into this world?" the soldier spat with hatred in his eyes but the words blurred around her.
She couldn't focus on ehat the soldiers were saying, all that she felt was pain. Pain and sorrow that she wouldn't be able to give her child life.
But just as Lyka lost hope a growl tore through the commotion, freezing the soldiers in place.
From the dark a glowing pair of eyes looked at them, followed by a dozen more.
The soldiers grew silent as the orbs emerged into the clearing revealing what creature they belonged to.
Wolves.
Massive and larger than dire wolves, even larger than any natural beast the soldiers had ever known. Their fur shimmered like smoke under the torchlight, their muscles shifted and rippled with power.
They did not bare their teeth, nor did they snarl, they just watched the scene before them.
The soldiers instinctively drew closer to each other forming a circle around the injured woman, already she was forgotten.
The largest of the wolves stepped ahead of the others.
She was immense, nearly the size of a horse, with her coat streaked with silver and eyes shone like mirrors reflecting the moonlight.
She padded to the edge of the torchlight stopped and scanned the scene before her.
She then looked at Lyka who lay there bloodied and bruised clutching her swollen belly. Then at the soldiers who had their blades drawn with their backs to her.
The she wolf sniffed the air followed by a shift in posture with ears tilted forward, her body tensed.
Her gaze turned to Lyka but something flared in that stare. Was it empathy, sorrow or probably understanding? She then took a step closer and let out a mournful howl.
The other wolves followed her lead and then one by one they began to circle the soldiers.
They soldier began to panick at the wolves actions.
"What's going on?" one of them muttered as his sword shaked in his hands "They seem to be planning something " he said as he backed into another soldier "They show intelligence in their eyes"
"Kill the woman" the captain growled, finally realizing the situation they were in. He was going to complete his mission.
One of the soldiers raised his sword to strike and Lyka tried to scream, tried to roll away but she couldn't.
The blade fell swiftly as it whistled through the air but before it struck her something collided with the soldier. Fangs now tore into his throat and blood sprayed across Lyka's face as the man collapsed beside her his body twitching.
But it was too late, the sword had managed to cut her side and a cry escaped her lips as she clutched her belly.
The rest of the wolves attacked, their bodies slamming into steel and claws shredding chainmail like paper. The soldiers screamed each time but went quiet not a moment later.
Only when the clearing was still and every soldier lay broken beneath the bloodied moonlight did the she wolf move to Lyka's side.
Lyka lay dazed from the blows to her head and delirious due to the gash in her side. She believed the wolves would devour her, now that they had taken out the soldiers who had posed no threat to them to begin with.
The she wolf pressed its muzzle against her face, then her stomach but then her ears dropped. She let out a soft whimper as if grieving her.
She then lifted her enormous head and hiwled at the moon.
Moments later moonlight shimmered across its body as the clouds parted to reveal the full moon.
Silver like light poured from her into Lyka, wrapping her in a cocoon.
Lyka's body arched but her scream never left her throat. Her entire body was now swallowed by the light that encased her.
Her broken bones began to heal and somehow her wounds were healing but she could tell it was more than just that.
She could see the wolf fade as the light poured from it into her and that's when she realized what was actually happening.
They were merging, two beings were becoming one and within her three heartbeats pulsed where once there had been only two.
