The Hunter and the hunted

The Hunter and the hunted (closed for katalynn)

The ancient mountain forest was blanketed under a layer of snow, every man and beast had hunkered down for the night, except two.

Panting as he ran, his path chosen randomly as he barreled through the woods. The bare limbs scratched at his skin, every tree seemed to want to stop him. He would not allow that. He would run, and he would survive, he had too. Everyone's life required him to get back, to tell the about the danger. The snow slowed him but he had lived here his entire life, he had played in this very forest as a young one, hunted here with his father as he grew older. But now the forest had a ominous feel to it, the trees that once hid him and his friends during their games now hid potential threats, everyone of them would kill him if he stopped or slowed down. Whoosh!, SNAP! The branch above him shattered, the arrow sticking out of the trunk in front of him. Crap! he had caught up with him, had to move, had to run! Taking a right he headed for the river, if he could get across it, maybe his pursuer would give up.

Reaching the river, his heart sank, it was flooded! The waters tore down the banks at a speed that no one could cross, and not resign to a watery grave. A twig snapped behind him, damn! Taking off down the river bank, not caring how close the other was, just that he only had one chance to escape, he had to take it. Then the sound of a snare tightening around his leg and the wet sickening sound of his shoulder coming out of socket, his momentum propelled his body forward, then he was on the ground.

Whimpering, he laid there, searing pain coursing from his shoulder. He tried to stand, no luck, he couldn't put any weight on it. He finally allowed himself to cry, a long mournful, cry escaped him carrying into the night. A rock moved, the sound drew him to his adversaries approach. The man was tall, all muscle and wrath. He growled at him, his last act of defiance as the man lifted the crossbow and pointed it at him. The sound of the string launching the arrow at him was the last thing he heard before the world went dark.

"Dammit, the man cursed, this one was a pain to run down. Stupid wolves, they always run to the river."

"Well at least there is one less useless creature in the woods and I can get my pay."

The sound of the underbrush moving drew his eyes to the far bank of the river. A wisp of white moved from one bush to the next. Another wolf? He had never seen a all white wolf before, there were a few legends about them, but no hunter or trapper he had ever known had seen one before. Watching carefully, tuning out everything around him to watch the last bush the mystery creature had hid in. There! The wolf lopped out of the underbrush, making a dash for the safety of the trees. He couldn't get to it right away but he loaded the bolt into his crossbow, aiming at the creatures back, it was a long shot but his hatred for all wolves overpowered his reasoning.

Twang! The string popped and the bolt shot forward. Yes! I got it, he thought. But at the last second, the wolf changed direction, dodging the arrow and escaping him for the moment. But now the hunt was on, and the night had just begun.

Kynthia wasn't like the other wolves she ran with, they were just a pack that happened to take her in when she needed them most. Her kind however had all died out to her knowledge. The last thing she remembers were the slavers and hunters coming in and trapped her people. The only reason she escaped from them was the simple fact that she went out hunting that day, came back to find the raiders burning what was left of her home, caging what remained of her pack.

That was many, many years ago, perhaps even a century has gone by at this point in her life. Time had no meaning for her anymore and she ran deep into the mountains where the snow rarely melted to keep hidden. Her wolf form was like no ordinary wolf, she had four very long ears and much bigger than a typical wolf. Some might even say she was bigger than a bear, but no one has truly seen her for that kind of comparison. The fur is white as snow, though when she was younger they compared her to the moon which is where her name came from and it is the softest fur anyone would ever feel.

For the better part of her adult life she remained as a wolf, hunted and slept with the packs that took her in. In return she would protect them, in a sense becoming an Alpha to the packs. When breeding season came around however, she would vanish for a time, wanting nothing to do with mating or raising pups of her own. It was a lesson that she never forgotten..... Hunters. She didnt' want to have to fear for her kind again.

Today however that fear once more came to her as she heard the howling from across the river, Kynthia tried to get over there in time to save the three year old pup. Instead, she ended up watching the end of another wolf in the hands of that hunter she has grown to hate. Over the years she has been catching his scent, and at times, getting him back for killing her wolves. Every so often she is able to get to a wolf in time to free it before he got there, other times she would tear up his camp while he was out hunting. It was the little things that made her proud of herself. Though, he never left or gave up.

Today was different however, she was the one now being hunted instead of him. Making the mistake of getting to close and the arrow did hit. It hit right in flank as she turned to run away and the more she ran, the more she ripped open the wound causing it to bleed heavily. There is no way she was going to lead him back to her pack, instead she took off into the deepest, more thickest part of the woods. Sending him on a chase on her grounds not his. However, she wasn't paying attention to the blood trail she was leaving behind, she just kept running.

Victor cussed as the frigid water swelled around him. Normally he would have hiked the five miles or so down river to the only bridge on this part of the river. Jumping into a swollen, frigid river in the middle of winter wasn't his best idea ever but he was a driven man.

He had devoted years of his life in the woods, eliminating wolves and other creatures that plagued the country side. Destroying livestock, harassing villages, making it dangerous to work at the wee hours of the day. He had chosen this life because of his past. The memories ate at him, clawing at his sanity every day and dragging him screaming out his sleep. Every night the same dream, the flames around him, the screams of his village begging for help, the voice of his mother struggling to get to him, then the low growl of the beast that haunted him. He had watched as the black demon had stalked his mother, then taking her neck in his jaws it had broken her. With that victors life had changed, everything had changed. He no longer saw the woods as the playground of his youth, the small animals he used to watch so contently became nothing more than another reminder of his mother's death.

As he grew, he worked hard and trained. He could out shoot anyone in the surrounding country side by the age of eight, by ten he had bagged his first wolf. When he had turned sixteen he moved out of his village and began traveling. Only staying in one place long enough to earn enough money for his next journey and removing any trace of the wilds from the surrounding mountains. He had been in this area the longest amount of time yet, almost two years he had camped in the area. Still he hand't captured all of the wolves yet. He often spent the time he didn't spend hunting wondering exactly how these wolves had escaped him, escaped his traps, and why his camp always ended up trashed after he took one of them down.

Reaching the far shore, he began to search the stones and underbrush for signs of the wolf he had saw. He had thought he missed, the shot had been long and at the max range of his crossbow, but he was surprised to find the bolt lodged into a tree, with a small patch of white fur tipped in red blood. Smiling, he would have a trail, he would get two wolves today, it was a good day. Oddly though searching the ground he found no blood there or at the normal height of a wolf, but there was blood. Surely the wolf hadn't been this big. No wolf was this size, the blood trail was splattered almost four feet high. Confused, he followed the trail. It bobbed and weaved through the trees but it seemed that the beast was accomplishing nothing but tearing the wound more as it ran. Tracking it not into the mountains as could be expected but down into the winding valley bellow them, toward the old castle that used to house the royalty of this area.

He smiled, this was going to be a easy hunt, already the beast had lost a lot of blood, even if it was almost as large as a young bear. It would be weakening, when it couldn't run or fight that would be when he would strike. All he had to do was track and wait. Mocking the beast he howled, followed by a yell, YOU DIE TODAY DOG!

Kynthia couldn't really feel the pain as the adrenaline ran its course through her veins. Yet, the closer she got to the castle, the less she was capable of keeping her speed. The branches that overwhelmed the old trail had ripped into the wound, so not only was the motion of her running opened it more, the branches made sure to make it worse. At this point she no longer cared about where the hunter was, she honestly didn't think he would be stupid enough to cross the river. If he went to the bridge, it gave her more than enough time to hide.

In the end, there wasn't enough time to keep going. The dizziness had made itself known, vision growing hazy the harder she ran. Just as long as she lead him far away from the pack she would be satisfied, knowing more often than not she was capable of getting herself out trouble. Unlike the wild wolves, she had the thought process of a human, though at times the emotions of a human would be irritating. The most she could do now was hope to make it at least the castle, out of the elements and let her body heal as she sleeps.

She had just barely made it to the castles gate before darkness consumed her. The paw prints in the snow would indicate each faltering step the closer she got, the running had slowed down when the vision became too blurry. When and if he finds her, she will be curled up in the snow, trapped between shifting of her human form and the wolf. Subconsciously she was trying to keep the wolf form for protection and warmth. Physically though, she wasn't strong enough to keep the full form. It was enough for her to use her long, thick furred tail for warmth, one set of ears to listen with and enough fur along her back to keep the chill at bay.

Blood stained the beautiful white fur of her tail as it curled around her, hiding most of the human form as she slept.

The snow crunched under Victor's boots as he followed the trail of bloody paw prints. They had followed the valley down to the castle just like he suspected they would. He was surprised by how far the wolf had run, but the chase was taking its toll and the prints got more spastic and closer together, blood loss was winning over the fear of him. Stepping through the broken castle gate, the bars long rusted and fallen away, the trail took him to the right. Following the wall of the castle the wolf must have been looking for a small nook to crawl into. Still following the prints Victor watched as the pad of the foot stretched and the claws retracted and within a few strides there was a roughly human shape to the footprints. Perplexed by this, he drew his crossbow and loaded a bolt.

Clearing a collapsed wall, into what appeared to have once been a garden, he keyed into a soft moan. Listening carefully, the sound appeared to be coming from the withered old oak growing in the middle of the garden. Approaching cautiously, weapon raised prepared for an attack, he rounded the tree.

Shocked by what he saw, he actually fell over. Sitting on his rump, he stared in amazement at the beautiful young woman sleeping in the snow. At first glance it appeared she had curled up under a blanket, but looking closer he noticed that the "blanket" was actually a tail and it connected in the small dip above the girls curved bottom and the fur extended up the small of her back. Taken aback by her nudity and the stark beauty of her, Victor almost didn't notice the blood dripping from her shoulder and staining the snow around her and the pure white fur partially covering her.

This couldn't be the wolf I shot, could it?

She shivered again, this time teeth clattered with the force of it. He was stuck wondering about who and where she had come from, but leaving her here was not an option. Picking her up, cradling her against his chest both to protect her from the wind and to share his warmth, he started toward the door to the interior of the castle.

Kicking the door open. he walked to the corner of the room, some old linens had been discarded there. Laying the woman down, he covered her with some of the cloth and gathered some more to start a fire for warmth. Piling some wood scrapes and the cloth he struck his flint against his knife throwing sparks and igniting the pile. As he stroke the fire, flickering orange light cast from the flames illuminating the room. He watched as the woman's chest rose and fell. Wondering where she had come from, he decided not to take any risk. Cutting a length of rope, he bound her wrist and ankles. At least if she woke up before him, she couldn't run or attack him. His new companion secured, Victor stuffed his pack under his head and laid down next to the fire to catch a nap, keeping one eye on the beautiful creature near by.

Kynthia slept for nearly twenty-four hours while healing the wound and from so much blood loss. Slowly strange scents from the room caused her nose to twitch. Dust? Mold? And is that.... Fire? Fire triggered her senses the most, flooding her dreams with old, long forgotten nightmares and she whimpered while sleeping.

Finally her golden eyes snapped open to the scent of a human. Human and fire? Confusion forced panic to rush in and to make it worse, her hands and feet were bound.... Where am I? What happened? The last few hours she couldn't remember right away, the last thing she did remember was running just before the world went black.

All she knew now is she needed to get away from here. Just by watching her panic, one can tell that she is far more terrified of the fire versus the man. It took her a moment to fully realize it is just rope that bound her, extending very sharp claws she cut through the rope. It wasn't easy at first, taking a few moments to get the right angle on her wrists. All the while she watched the human, for now he appeared to be sleeping.

When he shifted, she would growl deeply as she worked on cutting through the rope on her ankles. That is the very point when his deep green eyes shot open, as if she made a sound that alerted him. Her golden eyes darted between him and fire as she proceeded to back herself up against the far wall. With a need to put as much distance between her and the fire as possible.

Sure, she could easily shift into wolf form and overpower him, perhaps even killing him. Yet, he is much bigger than most humans she has seen, he would put up a good fight. Worse yet, if he had knife that she couldn't see, it wouldn't take much to stab her in the gut or slice her throat. No, that isn't an option, she is too weak to fight and very hungry.

The thought of shifting and just simply bull rush pass him until she saw how close his cross bow is. Easy advantage for him to just snatch it up and shoot her again with another arrow. Everything from this point of view to her gave him all the advantage over her. Yet, the fire remained to be the biggest threat in her mind, it showed with how she kept glancing at it. That fear went beyond the typical animal instinct to fear such things. It went deeper than that, it brought out memories that she had long forgotten until now.

Her wolf ears went flat against her head and growled deeply at him. The scent of the dead wolf he killed earlier was strong and she started to recall his scent, fully realizing who he is now. Everything in her said to kill him, to revenge her pack and she wanted to, more than anything. However, now that she looks at him for the first time up close, she couldn't make the first move.

There were features that reminded her of an alpha that she was suppose to be mated with so very long ago. His eyes were different though, the alpha had crystal blue eyes, where as this human has emerald green. His hair was darker as well, apart from that, it was his size and built that resembled the alpha. Kynthia even sniffed the air to see if perhaps it was the alpha.... instead all she got is the stench of a human.

The fire cracked and threw a few sparks which in turn brought her attention back towards it, moving against the wall more. If she pushed against the wall more, it seemed like she could be come apart of that wall, or go through it just to get away from the fire. If only she wasn't still so weak and starving, she would easily run and risk getting another arrow. As of right now, there is no way for her body to handle another hit or risk losing more blood over rash options.

Victor was having a very nice dream about the bar maid in the last town he visited when the sound of rope tearing and the shuffling of a body snapped him awake. He glanced around the room until his eye fell on his new companion. Apparently this little woman had managed to get her bindings off. He smiled as she backed away from him. He had grown accustomed to this reaction. His large stature and his lack of town etiquette had gotten him into more than his fair share of fights and run ins with the town law men. That was part of the reason he preferred the woods and the solidarity. Watching her he noticed exactly how beautiful she was. Her frame was small but sweetly curved and his eyes wondered over her body. Even with the white fur of her tail curling around her hiding the soft flesh between her thighs and her hands clasped over her breast she seemed so fragile and terrified by the situation. He watched her golden eyes dart between him and his crossbow then to the fire slowly crackling beside him.

Sitting up, he leaned against his pack. Studying this creature from afar could only accomplish so much and he wanted to know what and who she was. Controlling his tone and level of his voice he spoke.

"Well, well looks like you finally woke up, I hope you don't mind the ropes to much. I wasn't about to take a chance of you attacking me, but it seems like my precaution went to waste. You know I have spend many years in the woods and I have never seen or heard of a creature like you. Your a beautiful woman but that tail, it is so wolflike....... What kinda of woodland creature are you? Your eyes scream of the wild freedom and your body, smiling as he spoke, your body is the wildest thing I have saw in a long time. "

When the word wolf passed his lips, staring at the white fur stained lightly with blood from her shoulder wound his mind clicked. His steps retraced themselves in his mind, the odd shape to the last few prints leading to her, the glimpses of the large wolf in the woods. She was the wolf he had hunted, her wound was from his crossbow. Now the mild curiosity he felt for this creature turned into the strong urge to capture this half human/wolf beast and learn about her so that he could put her and all her kind down along with the normal wolves of the land.

Thinking of his next move he studied the room, it was spacious but the only exit her could see was the door they had came in. The stairs leading up into the ruins had crumbled away and would be a hard obstacle to overcome. She was about five feed away but he was sure she could move faster than him, he could put her down with a bolt but then he couldn't pull any information from her. He contemplated his next words and chose to go with the ploy of kindness over the brute force.

"How did you get that wound love? Why don't you come over her by the fire and I can patch you up. I promise I don't bite, well unless you want me too. I have some food in my pack, fresh venison. I shot the deer yesterday, meat is some of the most tender I have eaten in years."

He opened his pack, pulling out the cloth wrapping containing the pieces of deer, then reaching in he pulled the metal shackles out, careful to not let them clink together he sat them beside him out of view of the creature next to the wall. Watching her out of the corner of his eye, she still hand't moved, but her body remained tensed and ready to bolt. Pulling out his pans and cooking gear he set to work. Slapping the fresh deer tenderloin on to the iron pan. Then pouring water out of his canteen into the small stock pot. The meat sizzling, he watched as the aroma hit her, her nose sniffing the air. Dropping two potatoes into the pot beside the meat he sat and waited. Maybe the food would be her downfall, once she came closer he would pounce and this time she wouldn't get out his bindings. Then with her recaptured he would investigate this beast a little closer. Who knows maybe the woman part of her could have uses that would rival the number of uses he knew for a wolf pelt. He smiled at her, and offered her a small plate with the deer and one of the potatoes.

None of this is right to her, a deep gruff voice emerged from this human and she is pretty certain that he was trying to speak to her. A language she hasn't spoken in... well... she couldn't remember that far back. Sure she has heard and listen to the human speak, though after a while, it all became gibberish to her. The nudity meant nothing to her, though the way he kept looking at her made it to where she wanted to hide. Then something about biting? She hoped humans didn't...............

Meat!! Fresh, raw.... wait.. what is he doing?.... what... wait... don't!!!

She watched with horror as he destroyed the beautiful chunk of meat and now it didn't smell right. Sniffing the air, her gut growled louder than she did when he offered the plate. He spoke again and slowly words were starting to come back to her, wound? What wound? It was then she felt the dull ache from a mostly healed wound on her arm, she tried to lick at it but couldn't quite reach it. Almost forgetting where she is until the fire crackled again, Then the situation came back to her......... shaking her head to snap herself back into reality.

fire..... human....trapped... no... not trapped....

Coming back to her senses, regaining the anger and fear as she kept looking at the fire. Her eyes changed first, going from their golden yellow to a bright white-blue. The growling grew deeper as she remembered he is the one that has been killing her pack all these year.

"Human....fire.... Kill.... Kynthia's pack.... "

She answered his question about the wound, however she growled out of an entirely different wound. The beautiful woman shifted right before his eyes and became the white dire wolf he had seen earlier and she bolted right past him. It has been a very long time since she has been here to the castle, so much of it has been destroyed with time. The stairs were nothing to her while leaping over them and onto the main floor.

I'm almost there... just a little.............."

The floor boards broke beneath her massive paws and sent her crashing into the bottom floor. One of the main beams hit her head and once more sent her into darkness before hitting the last floor. The mind and body kept her in between phases once more, uncertain of what it wanted to do. She has been a wolf for so long that her mind instinctively stayed wolf.

Victor almost fell into the fire as the girl shifted into the wolf, he thought she was the wolf but he did not expect a full grown dire wolf to charge past him. He watched as it bounded up the broken stairs to the floor above. He listened as its claws scrapped the wood then stared as the rotten beams gave out and collapsed in front of him. Again the wolf was more woman than beast but her tail still curled around her and the white fur ran up her back. He stared, and couldn't help but think how beautiful she looked curled up in front of him. but then he noticed the thin red trickle of liquid escaping the side of her head. Picking her up again, he laid her on the pile of rags and fastened the metal cuffs to her wrist behind her back, then using a length of rope tied her ankles again and then ran a length between the cuffs and the rope on her ankles. This caused her knees to bend putting her feet into the air. Stopping to admire her curves, he ran his hand along her soft fur on her back. Following it down her back and over her round ass and onto her tail.

Standing back up he moved to the fire, stoking it to keep it going he moved between her and it, keeping his back to it. He didn't really care if she was afraid of it or him, but the less she struggled the easier keeping her contained would be. He though back to what she had said.

"Human....fire.... Kill.... Kynthia's pack.... "

So Kynthia was her name, he smiled as the word rolled off his tongue. Pretty name, who knew beast could speak much less have names. But she must of recognized him, she seemed to know he had been hunting them, maybe she was to blame for releasing the wolves from his traps and destroying his camp every time he killed one. He thought the wolves were too smart, but having this creature, he had not expected that. In the morning he would start the trek back to the town below and find out more about her. Looking out the door he realized that he might have to change his plan. A storm had moved in while he was securing her and now the wind howled and snow flew, quickly drifting all around them. He couldn't set up any camp outside in this and they where to far away to make it to town. It looked like they would be stuck in the castle for a while. He sat the broken door against the opening and pushed a few stones against it to hold it. Returning to the fire he laid down on the linens beside Kynthia and propped his bag under his head. He watched the slow rise and fall of her chest as the fire light danced over the swell of her breast. Laying there he wondered, what he was going to do with her and if she was more human or more wolf. Would he put her down like any other animal or would the act of murdering another human even a half human be more than he was willing to do.

This time she didn't sleep nearly as long, perhaps an hour at most and when she did wake her limbs were numb with a pounding head. At first she couldn't understand what happened until she looked up at the ceiling seeing a big hole that wasn't there before. Just as before, her arms and legs couldn't move, back was arched slightly from the binds. Then there he was........ to close.... watching.....

A low deep growl emerged from her and ears laid flat while staring him down in return. Her gut growled a different tune, giving away her true needs. All the while her hands were struggling to feel what held her, if he was stupid enough to use rope again. To her amazement it felt different, something her claws couldn't cut through. Except the one rope, the one holding her legs up painfully at this point and this is the rope the extending claws began the struggle to cut through.

She didn't care if he was watching her do this or not, it was instinct now that drove her intentions. To get away and run..... To feed and to protect her pack from this human.... To feed. Damn she was so hungry that food and hunting was all she could think of right now, every time her gut growled that different tune, she would growl that much more. It appeared as if she was yelling at her gut to keep quiet versus warning him to stay back.

There were moments when she tried to squirm herself away from him with little luck, the position made moving away impossible...... at least until this damn rope was cut, then she could work on freeing herself again. Not once did her golden yellow eyes leave him, watching his every movement carefully with ears down. Not that she could do much in this moment to protect herself, which only angered and frightened her more, sending her quickly into defense mode.

He was almost asleep when her eyes opened. The hazy look of sleep clearing form the golden pools then the intensity of them burning into his eyes, the untamed fury staring at him. He could see the fear and the hatred in those eyes. He knew that feeling well he felt it every time he saw a wolf. He spoke slowly and softly to her.

"Hey there little one. Don't be afraid, I wont hurt you."

He noticed her claws cutting at the rope securing her ankle and wrist bindings. Putting his hands on hers, stopping her from cutting the rope.

"Now, now if you cut that robe I will just have to tie you to the wall. I'm sorry if you think I am cruel. Maybe I am, but I can't have you running off and I don't want a wolf stalking me in this snow storm."

"Your last little stunt ruined our meal though, luckily I have some more venison"

Reaching into his pack Victor pulled out the last of his venison, noticing her lean toward the meat.

"Well, do we like our steak a little raw?" Putting the raw meat on a plate he scooted it toward Kynthia.

"Well Kynthia, the way I see it, I have you fairly wells stuck. But the truth is you have me stuck here too. I can't leave while the storm has us stuck here, and I wont let you leave. But I won't starve you either. So I suggest you eat, besides you cant escape if you have a empty stomach.

Turning toward the fire, he filled his pan with his portion of meat, searing it to just past raw.

"By the way love, I can hear your claws on the rope, I wouldn't suggest pushing your luck right now."

At the touch of his hand on hers, Kynthia jerked to pull away and if it wasn't for the position, she would have snapped at him. More gibberish came from the human while watching him dig around for the meat. The sight of the fresh meat perked her ears up a little, it wasn't nearly enough to feed her, that is only a teasing taste. Then to see it on the plate in front of her, just out of her reach felt like he was teasing her. Even if she could reach it, her hands were useless and she wouldn't be able to tear it apart properly. Now in wolf form, she would scarf that meat down without a second thought..... Human form, eating raw was a bit more of a challenge.

All the focus was on the meat and she hadn't realize that he kept rambling on about something or another. The scent of the cooked meat teased her more, making the gut talk more than she could. Considering all options however, her claws stopped tearing at the rope and turned her head away from him and the meat he gave her. She didn't want to look like a fool as she tried to eat with her hands bound, instead, she chose the starving option. Or at least until he realized she needed her hands to eat.

The growling had stopped for now and by having her head turned away from him, thinking of eating him for dinner ceased. He kept talking and she didn't like the few words she managed to understand.

I wont hurt you..... can't leave... the storm.... starve.... you cant escape....

For the first time she noticed the storm outside, the winds had picked up and it did become colder around her. Already she missed the warmth of her pack, it was then she heard the faint mournful howls in the air. They were searching for her and the wolf he had killed earlier. Though, she knew the pack wouldn't stray too far from their cave, not in this storm anyway.

I wont hurt you.....

Repeated in her thoughts and that's when the first tear slipped unwillingly. Doesn't he know he has already hurt her? Hurting her now by keeping her here? It was his arrow that hurt her from before... His rope that is digging into her ankles now... His meat that is teasing her gut... Does he not see this?

".... Human hurt Kynthia..... Human wish to kill Kynthia.... Human hunt Kynthia..... Kynthia no hurt human....."

It wasn't easy for her to find the right words, she knew the words and some were on the tip of her tongue. Yet after not speaking as a human for so long, she was like a child learning how to speak for the first time.

"..... Human kill pack.... Human hurt Kynthia...."

The words were soft, not harsh and growling like before indicating something he said hit the wrong nerve. There was a hint of sadness in the tone as well just when her tail tucked between her legs. It was a struggle to roll over onto her other side, turning her back towards him while fighting against the binds to curl up a little more. Attempting to hide from him by burying her face within the fur of the tail. For now the fight within her had left, accepting for the first time that she has been defeated.

This is one situation she couldn't see getting out of right away, even if she did manage to tear the one rope, she still had to figure out how to free her hands. For now she didn't want to look at him, in reality she didn't even want to talk to him. There was no point in watching him, if he wanted to kill her he would have done it by now instead of saving her. If he still plans on killing her, there wasn't much she can do other than wait for it and watch it happen.

Victor was surprised when the woman spoke, her words where slow and soft. Her speech was broken and reminded him of the children of the village learning to speak.

".... Human hurt Kynthia..... Human wish to kill Kynthia.... Human hunt Kynthia..... Kynthia no hurt human....."

The words passed over him, she was playing the moral high ground card on him. Anger flared in his chest.

"To be fair she-wolf, I thought you were a wild beast and my arrow barley grazed you. If you had went to ground instead of leading me to this hateful place you wound would have closed quickly!"

"..... Human kill pack.... Human hurt Kynthia...."

"I have killed the wolves of these woods, but how many children and families have they killed? Every time a wolf takes a cow or sheep or chicken a family losses dinner or money and they get closer to starving. "

He was angry at her and her defense of the creatures that haunted him and plagued his fellow man. The thought, how could she think she was one of them? Surely the did not except her as one of their own. He knew she would be happier as a human, running wild as a wolf could not be enjoyable. Always hungry and in danger from hunters. He was shocked when he though of his own life and how similar it was to how he though of a wolf's life.

He watched her as they sat there, her eyes had lost their previous luster, they cooled as pain filled them.She turned her back to him, attempting to curl into a tight ball. Sighing he pulled the knife from his boot.

"You can't run in this storm, but I will not remove the cuffs from you wrist until we have more of a understanding." With that he cut the rope from her ankles and the rope tying her wrist to her ankles. Throwing the scraps onto the fire he sat back down staring at her. Reaching for the plate of meat, he held a piece in his hand.

"If you turn around here, I can feed you, you will need your energy. We will try to move after the storm dies down."

She flinched and her ears went flatter as his anger rose, she couldn't understand what he was saying since her pack didn't do those things. Only the rogue wolves did such things, even then not all of them maybe one every so often and they always got what they deserve. He made it sound like it was the goal of a wolf to hunt and kill the humans. Children? She's never heard of a wolf in these woods killing the little humans, everything he said confused her.

Her ear twitched at the sound of him moving, only to flinch again when the sharp blade cut the rope. The only thing that ran through her mind then was This is it... I've angered him and he's going to kill me.... Then nothing happened, no sharp pain, no ending, nothing.... now she was even more confused. The more he spoke, the easier it was becoming for her to remember their language and she smirked a little when he said she couldn't run in the storm. Little did he know, she's been through worse storms.

She curled up in a ball for a moment, hating the situation he kept her in, long white hair draped over her and on the floor as she laid there. Yes, she needed to eat and honestly didn't wish to be hand fed by a human.... a hunter of all things. It almost seemed like a disgrace to her and the chunk of wouldn't satisfy her, she can eat an whole elk on her own.

Eventually she rolled back over, looking at him with a mixture of emotions, sadness, hatred, confusion... it all rolled into one.

"Kynthia is wild beast.... Why keep Kynthia alive? Human hate wolf.... why keep Kynthia?"

Her curled up position remained, refusing to uncurl anytime soon while watching him wondering why he feels this way about wolves. The scent of the furs he wore told her it was all wolf pelts, sending her the message that he has killed many over the years. And not just her pack in these woods.

"Kynthia stay in woods. Kynthia wild.... not belong with humans.... ... Fear humans... Humans..."

She had a struggling look for a moment, trying to find the word she wanted and she figured it out she curled up into an even tighter ball. Burying her face again into her tail, refusing to look at him knowing he means to take her to the humans.

"Humans cage Kynthia..... No move.... Humans hate Kynthia... Hunter hates Kynthia."

More memories flooded back as she thought of being in the human town, even whimpered slightly at the thought. The fear ran deep in her tone and almost sounded like she was on the verge of crying when he mentioned moving. The thought of eating had left her completely as the fear of being in the human town consumed her.

"Kynthia stay in woods....."

"Kynthia is wild beast.... Why keep Kynthia alive? Human hate wolf.... why keep Kynthia?"

That was her only response to the offer of food and the nervous peace between them. Victor pondered this before carefully selecting his words.

"I do not believe you are a wild beast, I don't believe you are a wolf. Well not entirely. I am keeping you because I am curious. I am a hunter and you were my prey a short while ago. I caught you now I get to decide what to do with you.

"Kynthia stay in woods. Kynthia wild.... not belong with humans.... ... Fear humans... Humans..."
"Humans cage Kynthia..... No move.... Humans hate Kynthia... Hunter hates Kynthia."

She spoke as she curled into a tight ball, her tail covering her face. Victor reached for her, his hands slid through the soft fur on her back. He caressed her, if only to comfort her. Her words had set his memories on fire, the fire that night blazed brightly threatening every thing that he was again. Usually when this happen anger surged through him, but seeing Kynthia like this, something else came in its stead. Sorrow.

When Kynthia spoke about cages, her voice was barley a squeek. Deep inside of Victor seeing her so afraid made him angry, angry at the people who would do that to another human......but what if she had been a wolf then. He shook of the idea. He knew in that moment that something had changed. He didn't see the wild dog when he looked at her anymore. He saw the beautiful woman with the golden eyes.

"I dont speak for all humans, but I D O N O T H A T E you. He spoke those last three words slowly and deliberately so she would understand.

When she whimpered and her tears left wet stains on her cheeks he made his choice. He wanted to hunt the wolves and take revenge for his family and all those lost to the wild. But she was not a target, he would not hunt her. His kill yesterday would be his last here.

"Kynthia stay in woods....."

"Yes Kynthia will stay in the woods."

He spoke as he moved. Taking the key from his coat and grabbing her wrist. He unlatched the cuffs and they clattered to the floor. The sound seemed to overpower everything around them. For a moment their eyes met and he didn't hear anything but the blood rushing through his body and the sound of the cuffs settling on the ground between them. Forcing himself to move, he turned to the fire and laid down. He knew from watching wolves near their dens that they did similar things when they wished to not show a threatening posture. He put his hands behind his head and stretched his body out, crossing his legs he closed his eyes and waited and listened.

Either she would run or she would attack him. But part of him hoped for a third option, he hoped she would stay. He hoped she could watch him leave this part of the woods and know that he was not the monster she though he was and that he had started to think about if wolves were the monster he though they were.

The petting and his words caught her off guard, causing her to tense up a little towards the initial touch. After another moment or two she finally relaxed enough to enjoy some of the comfort he had offered. Although she didn't know why he was being so kind all of the sudden and she peeked out from her tail watching him.

Kynthia held her breath when he grabbed at her wrist, not knowing what he was up to. The sound of the cuffs clanking onto the floor and the sudden release of her hands was a real shock. That action wasn't something she expected from a hunter. What he did next shocked her even more, laying down and showing no threat, as if he was letting her go.

She couldn't say anything more, just watch and hesitated before taking the offered meat finally. The whole time she ate slowly, she couldn't help but wonder if this was a trap, if he was testing her. If she did run, will he hunt her down again? Will he track her down to her packs cave? Getting out of this run down castle wouldn't be a problem for her, the front door became useless but the underground tunnels had to of been useful still.

Then she looked at the door that he temporarily fixed with the rocks. Taking a glance at the wall where a window had crumbled out, leaving a gap that would be a tight fit for her. One last look towards him as she finished off the meat and sniffed the air for more meat, glancing at his pack. Of course she wasn't about to beg him for more and she was still hungry, even restless after being down for so long.

Kynthia slowly shifted back into wolf form, carefully stepping around him with caution and waiting for him to make a move. When he didn't, her massive paw tore down the door and she took off in a different direction. Every so often she would look behind her to see if he was chasing after her, realizing he wasn't she kept going.

The castles tunnel had a few cave ins and making it difficult to get through some areas. It was a tunnel used for escaping when raiders came, safe passage for the women and children that by passed much of the destruction up top. Of course the hunter wouldn't know about it, in fact he called this castle a "hateful place".

Once she was outside and free from the tunnel the storm hit her hard, stinging her eyes and nose for a split moment. Typically she hated to hunt in storms like this, not only did it make hunting nearly impossible, it also ruined the fun of a chase. The elk will be hunkered down for the storm instead of searching for food. Luckily she knew where one herd slept and she took off in that direction.

Kynthia was gone for at least two hours as she hunted a small weak elk for herself and eating her fill of one kill. She thought about the hunter and how he saved her, fed her with what seemed like the last of his meat. He set her free instead of killing or caging her, brought comfort to her fear of humans. Although she still didn't trust him, she knew this storm wasn't going anywhere anytime soon as it seemed to be getting worse and colder. Having seen many storms like this before it would last for days. Making the castle his only protection from such a storm. If it wasn't for him, she would have froze to death in the snow and for that she felt like she owed him.

Taking down another elk of the same size she just ate, not to big or too small that allowed her to carry it back. She honestly didn't know if he would still there or not and it took some time to get through the tunnel dragging the elk in her mouth. Eventually she emerged back in the room with the flickering fire, dropping the elk in the door way.

Once again she cautiously stepped around him and went to the far wall keeping her distance. Shifting back into a soaking wet, half human form while watching his reaction towards her return. Long white hair clung to her tall, lean form as she proceeded to lay back down on the floor.

"Hunter and Kynthia even...."

In reality she had no where else to go right now without leading him back to her pack. For now she would keep an eye on him and if he made a threat, she would take his life if needed. Until then it wasn't in her nature to leave someone who helped her without thanking them in some way.

Slowly all the excitement died down and with a full gut now, it didn't take much for sleep to take over. Fighting the storm actually took quite a bit of energy from her and the coldness from it showed in the way she shivered off and on. Her drenched tail curled up tighter in an attempt keep warmer. She would have stayed in wolf form but she didn't want to seem threatening right now. Not that it would have done any good considering the fur in that for was just a soaked from the snow.

Victor smiled as he watched Kynthia slowly eat her food. Watching her finish he tensed as her body began to shift. The transformation wasn't horrible looking, in fact it looked almost magical. The human form faded away and in its place a large white wolf stood there. Victor tensed at the sight of it, the creatures eyes moving around the room, then it/she moved knocking down a door to the lower levels of the castle and left him alone with only the sound of heavy paws on stone fading into the distance.

"Well damn, now I have no company and no food."

Walking to the damaged door he peeked out and sighed at the storm raging outside. Moving back to the door where Kynthia had disappeared into, he stared down the steps and into the darkness. Not wanting to risk venturing into the tunnels he turned back and scooted near the fire, pulled his coat around him.

Victor hated being alone in this castle, in fact he hated being anywhere near this place. He had been her a few times as a child, his village was just on the other side of the mountain pass that lead to this castle, and the lord that presided here was in charge of the surrounding area. When his family had came here, they were starving from the loss of livestock from the wolves in the area, and the lord had laughed at them. He had turned them away and told them to kill the wolves and eat them, then they would have full stomachs and no problems after that. When they returned home his father had organized a hunt, he never returned and that night, his life blew away with the ashes of the dead.

He had drifted asleep when the soft thunk of something hitting the floor startled him. Opening his eyes as Kynthia returned with the elk at her feet.

"Hunter and Kynthia even...."

He smiled and watched as the soaking wet girl walked to the far wall, her tail swishing back and forth as her hips moved. He stared at her, she was taller and leaner than he had first thought, she was even more beautiful than he first though. Even the white fur clinging to parts of her body only seemed to accentuate her form. He watched as she curled onto the floor and fell asleep, her breast raising and falling with each breath.

Speaking softly he spoke to her.

"Wolf girl, we might be even, but I think I might change my plan and stick around here for a little while. We are gonna get to know each other."

Taking his blanket draping it over her, he turned to the elk. Tying its legs with his rope he threw the other end over a rafter and hauled the bull into the air. Taking his knife he gutted and cleaned the meat, laying the pieces out on an area he cleaned with the snow from outside. Skinning the hide he threw it into the snow to let it freeze, once he could lay it out in the sun he could make leather out of it. Walking back in he separated the meat, half to sell in town for supplies and half to keep for himself. Cutting the tender meat from the back, he placed it onto Kynthia's plate. Washing his hands off int the snow outside, he sat back by the fire, smiling at the beautiful woman across from him.Her form beautiful under his heavy blanket he stretched and closed his eyes. His crossbow loaded a few inches away from his hand.

An ear twitched at the sound of his voice, catching a little of what he said before feeling the heavy blanket lay on her. At first she didn't appreciate the blanket as it smelled too much like him and the wolves he had killed. Their scent faded and long gone to most normal creatures, though for her, the scent was clear as if it was only yesterday he killed them. The scent of death never did settle with her, it is in her nature to kill and death is a part of her life no matter how it is looked at. It never means she had to like it, especially when it came to the death of wolves.

The scent of fresh blood and the sounds of him working on the elk woke her up a little, watching him from a behind her tail. The more she watched him, the more she grew curious about him and there were just too many things about him that reminded her of that long lost alpha. There was even something about his scent that managed to keep her calm, similar to how the Alpha's scent used to do. It was difficult to keep reminding herself that it wasn't him, this one is just a human..... a hunter.....

After a few moments of watching him work on the elk, Kyleen couldn't keep her eyes open any longer and slept without concern of threat. The blanket kept her warm and her ears would twitch at the howling wind outside, which managed to bring out the dreams of the past. Unlike the hunter, her memories of this castle were much more pleasant. In fact she remembers the people that built this place, it was meant to be a safe haven for her kind, a truce between her kind and the elves. The castle was remarkable in its day, full of peace and love that her pack and the elves put into it. It worked for a number of years until the humans came and took over the place like it was nothing to them.

The dreams started to grow more intense as the night went on, the scents that filled the room fed into those dreams, turning them into nightmares. The scent of human and wolves provided those painful memories of the raiders chasing the pack out of the castle, forcing them into underground caves. The smoke and crackling sounds from the fire brought in the time when the humans threw fire into those caves in attempts to smoke them out of hiding. This was the last time she shifted and remained as the wolf, to never return to the humans.

Without realizing it, the natural instinct to shift into the wolf took control. Within seconds of shifting, her paws were twitching like she was trying to run away from something, all four ears were flat and full of fear as she whimpered in her sleep. It has been so long since she's thought of those times, let alone have the nightmares to follow. They haven't been this intense for many, many years and she couldn't wake up from the nightmares.

Victor dreamed of a day long ago, he was young, his mother had taken him the fields outside of his village to visit his father. The sun was hot and they played and laughed. His father lifted him to the sun while his mother sat on the blanket nearby. Then the howl came, the sunny sky turned to dark storm clouds and the fields lit on fire. then the wolves ran out of the woods, attacking people, his mother fell to the black wolf then it turned and charged him. His father jumped to deflect the attack and fell bleeding from a bit on his throat on the ground. The young Victor backed away from the wolf, its orange eyes glowing at him with evil intent. Then Victor was on his feet, the storm still raging outside of the rapidly cooling room. Kynthia laid on the floor, she had shifted in her sleep and the fear of the nightmare attacking her was evident on her face. Her ears where pinned and her teeth were bared. She was thrashing around, and Victor worried she would roll into the fire.

Calling to her, he rose his voice to carry over the storm.

"Kynthia! WAKE UP!"

Kynthia either didn't seem to notice him or took his voice as a threat and growled from deep in her throat. He watched as she rose, teeth bared and hackles up, she blindly searched the room for the source of the threat. Moving slowly he reached for his pack, pulling a leather belt he held it in his hand, if she didn't wake up soon she could hurt him or herself. Worse if she ran out into the storm even her thick coat wouldn't help for long. He intended to restrain her from biting with a makeshift muzzle, but the plan was crazy. Carefully positioning himself near her shoulders, he jumped.

He collided with her with more force then he intended and they both went tumbling to the floor. She was more agile and flexible than him and she quickly recovered and lunged for him. The pain flared through his body, she had grabbed the meat of his arm, he had been bit before and worse than this but the pain still almost took him to his knees. Luckily she was asleep, a wolf her size could have easily broken his arm if she wanted too. She released his arm and back away, the blood dripped down his arm and puddled on the floor. Holding his arm he called to her, speaking softly to coax her out of the nightmare.

"Kynthia, wake up. You need to wake up, its not safe for you to be like this here."

The dreams only got worse as the raiders surrounded her and another younger one from her pack. This was the first attack of many to come, one that she can never forgive herself of. It was her responsibility to protect the young one and she failed as two raiders kept her distracted by shoving lit torches in her face, attempting to laso rope around her. Meanwhile one went behind her and made the attempt to snag the young pup, she heard it yelp loudly and in turn she bit the man on his arm forcing him to let the pup go. Sadly she was to late, he had shoved a knife into its throat.

The scent of blood was too real, the taste of it hot and fresh in her mouth as she backed up into a corner of the room. The raiders trapping her against a wall cliff.........

A voice broke through the nightmare, at first she feared it, growling at the unknown voice seeing it didn't come from the raiders. Blood, so real... Kyleen slowly snapped out of the dream, tasting the strength of human blood, shaking her head while looking around the room confused. For the time being she remained as a wolf in case it wasn't a dream.

Once the room came into focus more seeing the hunter and the fire, looking back at the blanket he let her use. At first she couldn't see the wound she caused and yet she tasted the blood, smelled it in the air. Once she found the source of the scent and saw him holding the wounded arm, Kyleen instantly felt bad. She backed up more into the corner in fear that he would kill her now. There wasn't much she could do about it if he did decide to kill her and she wasn't ready to shift in that moment. If she shifted she would have to tell him what that was all about and that was just something she wasn't ready to talk about yet.

A soft whimper managed to escape as a way of apologizing to him, lowing her head on her front paws after laying down in submission to prove that she meant no harm, no longer a threat.

Victor, stood there watching Kynthia for what seemed like a eternity. Finally the fog of sleep passed from her eyes and she seemed to be back with him. She searched the room with her eyes for the threat from her dream, realizing it was just a nightmare and not reality her eyes focused back on him. She shrank away from him and whimpered, hunkering down in the submissive posture he had seen other wolves do when confronted by a stronger wolf. Her eyes pleaded with him, darting between his arm and his face.

"It's ok, nightmares are something I understand well.It is only a shallow bite it will heal in a few days."

She was still in her wolf form and it seemed like she was waiting for a blow.

"I'm not mad, I won't hurt you. But in the future try not to bite me unless your gonna kiss me after." He smiled as he said that, trying to diffuse the situation and get her to shift back to her human form.

Sitting down next to his pack, he reach in and gathered the bandages and flushed his wound with water and proceeded to wrap it. The bite stung, but he held his expression. He didn't want her to feel any worse then she already did. It had been an accident and honestly jumping on a giant sleeping wolf hadn't been the brightest plan he had ever had.

He laughed at himself as he dressed his arm. Speaking without looking up he said.

"Why don't you come over here next to the fire, its almost out and I need to conserve the wood till the storm passes. Your fur will only keep you so warm."

It took Kyleen sometime just watching him and listening to what he had to say before carefully emerging from the corner. The language along with the slight accent he carried was becoming easier for her to understand, the way he used words were making more sense. She thought of the time where speaking was so easy for her and even learned the elven speech before it was all lost within time.

Slowly she very slowly crawled towards him keeping him inbetween the fire and her as she watched the flames closely. Even she can tell that the fire was contained and wasn't going to hurt her, however, it was the past experiences that kept the fear alive.

When she got close enough to lay next to him, she sniffed at the bandage as he finished wrapping it and gave a little lick on the back of his hand. She knew that wasn't the type of kiss he meant and it took a lot of strength just to give him that one little lick. There was no point in going back to sleep now, too afraid of hurting him again and thought of him killing her while defending himself stuck with her.

With how cold it had gotten it was safe to assume that it was well past midnight and early morning. The day would be waking up in another few hours. With a heavy sigh, Kyleen rested her head in his lap and stared at the fire as if she was waiting for it to snap at her. There wasn't any reason for her to truly stay as a wolf other than for heat, it would be easier to keep them both warm with her like this versus being a human. Not only that, she did feel safest as a wolf.... more ways than one.

Victor watched as Kynthia cautiously approached, eyeing the fire with suspicion. She most have had a bad experience with fire, he thought, many hunters used it as a tool to flush wolves and other animals out of dens and brush. He never liked attacking them while they slept, he had always refused to do that. It always struck him as cowardly, something to be ashamed of and not what a hunter should be. He would instead wait outside of their dens, and track them on hunts. He had grown to admire them as the great hunters they were. If only humans could work so efficiently but they were still wild beast and had caused a lot of harm to his fellow man. His own past had hardened him to the act of killing them. Every one he took down was another victory to the memory of his parents.

He was floored when she licked his hand, that was a great symbol to wolves. It was the least threatening thing they could do beside exposing there belly to another.

She still hadn't shifted back to the beautiful woman she was but she had her reasons and he would be have to wait to speak to her again. As she curled up next to him, he could feel her breathing beside of him. He moved his hand slowly, placing it behind her set of dual ears and slowly caressed the base of each ear. His arm rested around her shoulders like a embrace and he was careful to control his weight. Stretching his feet out he go comfortable as he spoke.

"This storm might be a long one, listening to it wail we might be here for a few days. I hope you don't mind the company girly."

Reaching into his pack he pulled out the rolled cloth containing the meat he dried earlier. Biting into a piece he offered a second to Kynthia.

“Gotta eat wolf girl, the cold will sap the heat and our strength. We will need to food to keep us going till the storm passes.”

He paused unsure if he should speak again, his next words held the fate of his life in their lines.
Chewing his food, he swallowed then sighed before speaking.

“I’m leaving this area after the storm passes. I don’t know where and I don’t know what I will be doing next. I can’t rightly continue hunting wolves since I don’t know which ones hide people behind their howls. So I think I will move back to the village I am from and take up farming.”

He paused and stared at the embers burning at his feet. He had made up his mind without much though but by saying those words he had felt a heavy weigh lift from his shoulders.

“I hope that deer and elk don’t have pretty girls in them also. A guy could get tired of carrots and potatoes if he couldn’t have some venison with it. “

She laid there listening to him carefully and actually enjoying the attention he gave her. It calmed her down with what he did with her ears and the motion of his fingers brought out sensations she hadn't felt in a very long time. Although, this was different from that time.... a different kind of sensation that she wasn't too sure of. Kynthia did her best to ignore it for now, wanting to feel the calming effect more than anything else. Accepting the meat he offered even if she was still full from the elk she ate earlier, he was right none the less.

He spoke of leaving these lands and stop the hunting of wolves because of her. Of course that made her happy to hear. That is until she thought of other hunters, if it isn't him there were always others. There seemed to be an endless supply of hunters these days and no matter what she did, they always came back. The rest of what he said however, hit a nerve deep within her, twisting her heart in ways that it hasn't been twisted since losing her pack.

She laid there wondering if it was wise to tell him she is the only one left of her kind, if that would change his mind to hunt again. Then the thought of him leaving for some reason stung in a way she didn't expect. In some ways she has grown attached to him, even with him killing the wolves, she liked playing her games with him.

Against her better judgment, she shifted into human form and curled up on her side so her head would remain in his lap. The tail wrapped around her once the coldness hit after losing the thick fur coat. It took everything she had to speak what she wanted, unable to stop what tears finally escaped as she thought about the words.

"Hunters...... captured and caged Kyn.... my pack... I watched from a distance.... Watched as they burned our home.... Watched hunters kill the alpha.... Kynthia has been alone for many winters. Humans made... me... the last one of the true pack like... Kynthia..."

She choked back the last few words, barely able to get the rest of what she wanted him to hear out. At the same time feeling that gut wrenching nerve that she would regret letting him know that no other wolves were like her.