Sam caught her breath at the sight that stood before her. It was by far one of the most beautiful places she had visited. While it was a shame that the locals let their unrealistic fear keep them away perhaps it was for the best. Here, nature would be preserved and protected from the touch of man. She made a mental note to make sure that she left everything exactly the way it had been when she first arrived and prepared to crawl back into her sleeping bag.
Just then a sound came low on a passing breeze, raising the hair on the back of her neck. It was the same sound that had woken her and was easy to place. A howl. Looking around Sam felt her heart drop into her stomach while at the same time picking up it’s pace. High up on the hill, in the same place she had stood this afternoon was a man. Even from here with only the moon for light Sam recognized his height at being well over that of a normal man. He stood looking down at the lake; no, he was looking at her. His arms hung loose at his sides and his legs were braced shoulder width apart.
Closing her eyes, Sam told herself it was just her overactive imagination getting the best of her. Never mind that this had never happened before. She was a smart, intelligent woman and there was no man standing up on the ridge. Taking a deep breath she opened her eyes, relieved to see that the man had disappeared.
Her moment of relief was short lived for standing in his place was an impossibly large wolf. At that moment Sam would have sworn on her life that his stance was an exact imitation of the man’s that had been there just moments before. As she watched the wolf threw his head back and howled, the sound spreading out across the lake and raising the small hairs covering her body.
Sam took an involuntary step back as she heard answering calls coming from the forest surrounding the lake. She couldn’t make out how many there were more than she wanted to deal with.
The wolf up on the hill gave her one last look before starting down the mountain. Only one thought went through her mind, he’s coming for me. Sam turned and ran leaving everything she had back in her camp and took off into the forest. All reason had left her; they were in the forest but she was heading straight for them. It didn’t matter; her only thought was that she couldn’t let him catch her. It was obvious that he was their leader and somewhere in the back of her mind was the illogical thought that if she could just get away from him the rest of them would leave her alone.
Sam ran, her legs pumping hard to carry her as far away from this place as she could get. Fear pushed her further and faster than she had ever gone before. Years of hiking and camping helped her to move through the thick underbrush but still branches reached out to catch her, cutting her face and pulling at her clothes. It felt as if a thousand hands sought to prevent her escape, the forest having turned against her in favor of its own inhabitants.
She darted between trees, over fallen logs and under low hanging branches. The only sound was her heartbeat pounding in her ears. It wasn’t until she felt herself falling that she realized something had hit her from behind.
Roland spotted her as she darted through the trees, her long black hair flying out behind her. She was dressed in dark clothing, blending well with the night but his superior vision made it easy to spot her. Besides, he could have relied on either his sense of hearing or of smell both of which told him exactly where she was.
He was surprised to see that despite her human form she was able to move through the trees, almost instinctively knowing which way lay danger and avoiding it with ease. Darting around an ancient tree Roland was able to come up directly behind her. With a burst of speed and a powerful thrust of his hind legs he set himself sailing through the air.
His front paws caught her between the shoulder blades knocking her off balance. They went down together, a pile of arms, legs, and limbs tangled together. Letting the momentum propel him Roland did a somersault and landed on all fours, his front paws pinning her shoulders to the ground.
Sam held herself perfectly still, her only movement the rise and fall of her chest as her lungs labored after her run. She was flat on her back with a wolf that easily weighed two hundred pounds on her chest. She tried inching backwards only to stop short at the low, threatening growl that vibrated up from his chest. Sam knew a warning when she heard one.
Roland struggled to get himself under control. There was nothing as thrilling as the chase and having caught his prey he wanted nothing more than to sink his teeth into her throat and feel the heat of her blood as it pumped free from her veins. He gloried in the feel of the earth beneath his paws, the crisp mountain air forced in and out of his lungs and the smell of fear from his prey. He was one of the best hunters in his pack. They never went hungry and it was in part because of him that they were one of the strongest packs in the area. It was his superior hunting skills that helped elevate him to second-in-command.
The thoughts of his position within the pack and his duties were enough to bring the last of his desire under control. Stepping back and off her chest Roland slowly rose onto his back legs and up to his full height. “Commme with mmmee.”
Sam sat there and stared at the wolf now standing well over six feet tall. The words uttered with something between a growl and a hiss were definitely human; the unusual pronunciation having to do with the elongated shape of his face.
Roland got tired of waiting. Bending down he wrapped one arm around her waist and used his other hand to grab her wrist and pull her over his shoulder.
Hanging upside down like a sack of potatoes Sam finally found her voice. “Put me down this minute! I don’t care who or what you are you WILL put me down!”