Page 15

Vuk

H ow dare this piece of filth human touch my female.

I bite down on the man’s arm until the bones snap easily between my jaws and his arm turns loose and unnatural in my mouth.

Being this close to him, his acrid scent floods my nose, and I want to shake it away.

He smells all wrong. Worse even, than the humans from my home plane.

It carries a foul magic I cannot place but burns the inside of my nose.

It’s unlike anything I’ve ever come across before.

The magic that’s surrounding him isn’t just dark but pitch black, oily and slick.

It fouls the air surrounding him. I’m not sure what he has done, but it's corrupted him to his very bones.

His screams echo through the quiet forest and for a moment I debate severing his arm altogether. Instead, I release him with a rough shake.

The human sinks to his knees, panting and sobbing as he curls his body around his mangled extremity.

Pathetic. Weak. Just as I thought.

Turning my attention from his crumpled form, I focus on where my Hana disappeared into the trees. Lifting my nose, I capture her scent easily. Sweet and light, with the slight bitter tang of her fear. My little female is fast, but I’m faster. It won’t take me long to catch up to her.

A glint of silver catches the corner of my eye.

With his injured arm cradled close to his body, the human gives a pained shout as he throws his body toward me.

His opposite arm pulls back and the metal blade he’s gripping comes at my neck.

His aim is clumsy, or my inattentiveness would have given him a chance to land his strike.

Luckily, I’m able to jump out of the way, but not before the blade grazes my uninjured shoulder.

My skin burns where the blade cuts, and I dance away with a whine.

Stunned momentarily at the searing burn it leaves behind.

“This blade is silver, motherfucker.” The hunter laughs as I lick at the wound, trying to calm the shallow graze that burns like fire.

Shaking off the unexpected pain, I drop my head to stare down the hunter. Peeling my lips back from sharp teeth, I let out a menacing growl as he lumbers to his feet. I was careless to dismiss this human so quickly.

With his injured arm hanging limply at his side, the man places the blade between his teeth and reaches into a pocket for the weapon he pointed at my female and used to shoot me.

“Stay back,” he grits around the blade. His eyes flick to the sky then back to me before a deranged grin pulls his lips up from around the blade. “It’s almost time.”

Dusk is coming fast. Most of the clouds have cleared away and the first stars are flickering to life. The fur along my back bristles.

Almost time, for what?

A sense of impending doom flares in the center of my chest. What does this human know that I do not? Whatever it is, the way he keeps looking up at the sky makes me suspect it’s going to happen soon .

Grinning manically around the blade still clenched between his teeth, his eyes shine oddly in the dimming light.

“I wanted a fair hunt between us.” He is holding his weapon oddly, shifting it as he looks down at his useless arm with disgust. “There is no honor in hunting with bullets, but since you took away my ability to pull back on my bow, you’ll die with dishonor,” he glances to the sky once more, “but not like this.”

I snort. He thinks I’ll give him a chance to kill me.

“I have too much on the line to fail. Did you know that one can bargain their soul to get what they desire?” He lets out a short chuff then steadies the weapon pointed at my head.

“That’s not all I’ve bargained. I’ve been planning this for a very, very long time.

I will win, and you will become my ultimate trophy.

A creature no one has ever hunted, stuffed and mounted in a place of honor. ”

He’s rambling gibberish. This strange male is clearly delusional if he thinks he has any chance of winning against me, especially injured as gravely as he is.

Still, I watch him closely as he slowly circles me.

The way he keeps his weapon trained awkwardly on me, I think I must have damaged his dominant arm. Another strike in my favor.

The hunter and I continue our stare down as the sun sinks below the horizon, dragging the last of the daylight with it. His eyes slowly lift to the sky behind me and a sinister smile pulls at his lips.

“It won’t be long now,” he says with a sneer.

I agree with him as I growl, deep and low. I’m growing tired of this game. My muscles bunch and coil as I prepare to end this.

I’m about to let loose the energy building when something hits me from behind. It’s a heavy, searing feeling that sends me sprawling from the force of it. A whimper squeezes past my throat as I crawl forward, trying to escape—whatever is happening.

The dim sound of the hunter chuckling drifts from far away as searing pain flays away my skin. I snap my jaws at him, but he’s backing away and slipping into the tree line. Coward!

Where is Hana? Where is my female? I want to yell at her to run! Hide! But only hoarse barks are squeezed from my throat as the pain licking across my back melts into my joints. My forelegs stretch out in front of me, and I crawl on my belly, trying to escape the agony that has its grip on me.

My joints are popping as they stretch and lengthen. The digits at the ends of my paws stretch and cramp. My head feels like it’s going to explode.

Falling to my side, I look up as a full, orange moon crests the tops of the trees. It drenches me in bright moonlight as waves of agony crash over me and my body breaks apart. Bone by bone. Muscle by muscle. I shatter like glass.

It’s the worst kind of torture, and it lasts for hours.

Days. Eternities. Breaking me apart and making me new again before finally leaving me limp and panting.

Coated in sweat and aching in a way I’ve never ached before.

When I’m able to pry my eyes open, I’m surprised to find the moon has only moved enough so it’s now fully visible above the trees. I blink, and my vision clears.

My nose twitches. The scent of soil and leaf rot sharpens.

Drawing in a deep breath, I hum at the appealing scent, Hana is nearby.

Her scent is more pronounced as well. I breathe deep, filling my nose with night-blooming flowers and fear.

A deep groan rolls across my tongue at the strange hold the human female has on me.

The way my body reacts to her as if she… as if she really is mine.

My hand drops to my cock, and I find it thick and straining against my palm?—

I freeze .

Slowly, I drag my eyes down to where my fingers are wrapped around my length.

My fingers... not paws.

The thick coat of fur is gone, replaced by the short dusting that is supposed to cover my skin. I drag my hand away from my cock and up over my tight stomach and chest before exploring my face. No muzzle. Then up into my hair… not fur.

I look down at my hands and flex my claw tipped digits into fists.

I’m back. No longer am I trapped in the body of a wolf. I’m me again.

I sway a bit when I leap to my feet. After spending days crawling around on four legs, it takes me a moment as I regain my equilibrium. My chest pumps as I draw in a deep breath. Then I tilt my head back and let out an earth-shaking howl.

Warning the hunter, my human, and this entire forest that I’m coming for them.