My breath caught in my thought—but instinct overruled hesitation. I ran. My four legs churned the forest floor, leaves scattering like startled birds. I swerved, nearly colliding with a mossy trunk, and ducked behind a tree, my flank pressed to bark slick with dew. I dared not breathe.
Then I heard it.
THUMP-THUMP THUMMMMMMMMP THUMP-THUMP THUMMMMMMMMMMP
The sound was wrong. Too heavy. Too deliberate. Not paws. Not hooves. Something else. Something that knew I was there.
Silence.
My heart pounded so loudly I feared it would give me away. I peeked around the tree—and froze.
It was a wolf. But not just any wolf. This one was huge, its fur a patchwork of shadow and silver, its grin too wide, too knowing. Its eyes gleamed with something ancient. Something hungry.
I bolted.
The forest blurred. Branches clawed at me. The wolf gave chase, its thumping gait impossibly fast. I wasn’t heroic—I was terrified. My paws slipped on loose soil, and before I could correct, the ground vanished beneath me.
I fell.
The world flipped. Wind screamed past my ears. I tumbled through air, limbs flailing, thoughts scattering like dandelion fluff. Then—
WHUMP.
I landed in a bed of ferns and fog, bruised but breathing. The cliff had cradled me instead of claiming me. I lay there, stunned, staring up at the canopy where the wolf’s silhouette loomed, watching.
It didn’t jump.
It just… grinned
ns216.73.216.13da2
and then Add to home screen.