Silver Mane - A webseries Part 2

Read part one here.

     Ana woke, dawn well sense passed. She pulled herself up and looked around. She was on a pile of warm straw, with a massive pelt of thick fur slid down her body as she sat up. She didn’t recognize this place at all. The walls were of stone and there was only dim lighting from small bowls of fire that hung on the walls. She was the only one that was there. There was straw in her auburn hair and she picked it out while she focused. She tried to remember what had gotten her here.

     A soft noise echoed through the stone cavern. Something soft was falling on the stone floor. Her amber eyes fought to adjust to the dim lighting. Her eyes couldn’t seem to adjust in time as a massive shadow blocked the light from the wall lamp. Her breath left her body as Ana’s mind was flooded with the memories of the night before. Again she found herself wanting to run, but she was still planted on the warm straw.

     The massive wolf let itself fall onto all fours and sunk down to the ground. The large creature was laughable while it attempted to make itself seem smaller than it actually was. The creature crawled closer to the girl who was in shock. Its mouth moved, lips curling. “Are you well?” It was a growl of a voice and yet it had a light tone to it.

     Ana’s eyes widened at the words. She never thought that a monster like this could speak. Her body trembled but her mind was what centered her. If it had wanted her dead, she would have been dead by now. She took a deep breath while the beast waited for the answer. It’s eyes never leaving her. “I,” She stumbled over the words in her own head. “I, I believe that I am.” She paused while the canine sat up slightly, its ears swiveling at her words. “Who are you?”

     “Stela.” Its mouth moved again while it sat there. It was odd. The creature sat on its rear with its legs stretched out. Her spine hunched over. It looked like an odd mix of dog and human. “You are?” Her words were crude at best, but her tone stayed soft, considering all of her teeth made certain syllables harder.

     The odd idle conversation was enough to make Ana relax. The tension eased enough so that she felt like she could breath again. The air in the cave felt fresh, yet heavy. She took in a deep breath while she focused on the wolf before her. There was a softness about the animal. She wanted to trust her. “Ana.” She pulled her legs up against her chest.

     “Ana.” The wolf repeated. It continued to sit in the awkward position while its eyes never left the girl. “Why were those dogs chasing you?” She cocked her head to the side like an inquiring pet would at a new command.

     There was a pause and a stillness in the air. Ana’s smile quickly slipped away at the new topic. “Those were wolves.” She started to speak, but a garbled laugh stopped her words.

     “I am a wolf, they are just hounds with no real thought process.” Stela interrupted. She went silent again to let the woman finish her story.

     “Oh.” Her brain grasped the concept. This was her first meeting of a werewolf, so she decided not to correct the beast. “Anyway, I had escaped their master. He was keeping me as a potential bride but he was a cruel man. So I freed myself and ran.” She went quiet again and fell into a trail of thoughts. “Please don’t make me go back.” Her words came suddenly.

     The werewolf was taken aback by them. Her head cocked again. “Of course you will not be returning. You will be part of my pack from this day forth.” 

Part 3