Chapter 74
I couldn’t leave him alone.
I watched him take on three wolves all at once.
“I said RUN!” He warned me.
And then, at that moment, he lost guard and a wolf.
He jumped on his shoulder and bit him down.
I gasped. “Xaden!”
He used a blade to tear through the wolf, and then it whimpered.
He turned back to me. “I SAID RUN, AND THAT IS AN ORDER!”
I realized that I was, in fact, a distraction, and I had no choice but to run away.
I ran, and luckily, I did not put on the chains when leaving the lake, so I was able to run faster.
I gasped, taking different routes, and heard wolves howling in the distance. I made prayers for Xaden to be okay.
I heard a closer howl, and I turned around and saw a wolf running towards me.
I ran faster, trying my best to maneuver it.
But I knew that it would catch up to me.
As I hurried on, I hid through the bushes, and the wolf came to a halt, trying to find the way I went.
I looked left and right, then made a choice and ran the opposite way.
After a while, I slowly emerged from the bush and ran in the opposite direction.
Right in the middle of the field and under the moonlight was the elk.
It stood majestic as it grazed the fields and minded its business.
I gawked at its beauty. It was so massive.
Everything about him was white. He was probably around seven feet, five inches tall.
I didn’t want to disturb him, but then I heard that same howl, and I knew that the wolf had come back in this direction to find me.
I rushed to the elk.
“Please go.” I pleaded. “You need to go, Shoo. They will harm you if they find you.”
The elk did nothing and, instead of running off, sat on the grass.
“Shoooo. You need to go.” I said, waving my hands.
The howl seemed to be getting closer, and I stayed to worry.
It didn’t move an inch; it just remained still, watching me.
It even tilted its head as if asking me what I was doing.
“You need to leave right now.
Then I heard a growl.
I turned around and saw that the wolf had found both of us.
I went to stand right in front of the elk to protect it.
“Don’t come any more inches near us.” I said this even though my heart was racing.
But the wolf didn’t care, and why would he? After all, I was just a slave, and it was evident from my simple clothes.
I couldn’t even turn into a wolf.
I was unshifted and useless. What could I even do?
He kept on walking towards us; the elk didn’t move an inch away from me.
I saw a stick lying by my side, and I grabbed it and swung it at the wolf.
“Stay back! Stay back!” I warned.
The wolf wasn’t deterred from it, and then he jumped on me.
I struggled as he bit through my flesh.
I screamed in pain at how hurtful it was.
It growled, and I struggled to push it off of me.
I kicked it in the stomach, and it yelled.
I was already bleeding, but it wasn’t stopping.
It attacked me further and pushed me down on the floor.
I raised my hands over him to prevent his teeth from slashing through me.
He kept on growling and biting as saliva dripped down on my body.
Just when I thought I was going to die, there was a sudden silence.
Everywhere had gone still.
Even the wolf above me sensed something was wrong, and he stopped.
I looked up and saw the moon radiating from us.
The elk stood tall and domineering.
There was a figure beside him.
It was too bright; I could hardly even see whether it was a man or a woman.
The wolf growled.
“Silence.” Came from a feminine yet masculine voice.
The wolf instantly went limp.
I felt its body, and I saw that it was already dead.
I gasped, and terror ran through me.
“Do not fear.” I heard the voice again.
I gently got up and had to block my eyes from the bright effect of the light on me.
I still couldn’t see who it was.
Except I knew that it was a woman. Or a man. Maybe it was a man with a feminine voice.
But whatever and whoever it was, he’d appeared from nowhere and carried a sudden energy of luminescence.
“Who are you?” I asked. “Thank you. You saved me.”
“I didn’t save you.” The voice said, “You saved yourself. You gave up your life to save one of my children.”
His children?
I was lost for words.
“I should thank you, daughter of the blood moon.” He said.
Daughter of the Blood Moon?
I didn’t understand.
“I’m confused.” I said.
“You don’t know who you are. But I have watched you. I have known you right before you were born.” He said. “I’m your wolf guardian.”
Wolf guardian? All these things he was saying made no sense.
“What are you even talking about?” I asked for further help.
“I can’t tell you anything. You have to find out on your own. It’s the way it works.” He replied.
I still couldn’t see him.
I tried to look at him, but it was too bright.
I was forced to cover my eyes once again.
“Don’t try to look at me in my true form.” He said. “It will only blind your naked eyes.”
I looked down.
“The elk thanks you.” He said.
I turned and saw the elk go down on one hoof and his head lower to me.
He was bowing down to me.
No one.
No one had ever bowed down to me.
Talk less about this magnificent creature before me.