Chapter 2

Saved by a stranger

Charlotte surged deeper into the woods, she scanned the scenery around her  trying to find some help. She ran frantically, darting her eyes around in hopes of finding someone to help. Her vision was blurred by unshed tears, she ignored the pain she got from running too fast. She kept thinking about the heart wrecking state she left her Father.

 "I have to find some help, I need to help them. Someone,I just need someone to help, just someone." she said continuously as she wiped the tears off her face. 

 "Ahhhh" she cried out as she tripped over a stick and fell flat on her face. She tried getting up,but she felt a twinge of pain on her ankle, she sprained her ankle.

  "How useless can I be? I just had to fall and sprain my ankle at a time like this. All I had to do was look for some help, but I can't even do that." she chastised herself in anger and frustration. 

  "No Charlotte, you can do this, you can't give up, you have to help them! She exclaimed as she got up and brushed the dirt off her clothes.

 "No matter what I won't give up, I need to get some help."

  She heard the sound of a twig breaking and she immediately jerked her head to the side the sound came from. She squinted her eyes to try to look at what caused the sound, but she didn't find anything. She shrugged her shoulders as a sign she was imagining things. 

But suddenly,a wolf leapt right in front of her, she gasped out of shock and fear.

"This wolf , isn't this the same wolf? How did it get here? But, Mom and Dad… this could only mean… 

  No no no! It's not possible, they're probably fine, I'm just overthinking things.

 But this wolf looks so much like the wolf that attacked me earlier." 

She shuddered as the wolf growled at her, baring its  teeth at her. She could feel sweat trickle-down her face, as she crawled backwards in an attempt to escape, but it was futile. 

  She was paralyzed by fear, she sat, rooted to the floor. "Is this really happening? Is this really how I'm going to die? Will I never see my parents again"

She thought, as loads of questions ran through her mind, she felt her life flash before her eyes. She looked up to the sky as she closed her eyes and awaited her fate. She waited for a few seconds, but nothing happened. She opened her eyes to see what was happening. She widened her eyes in surprise, shocked by what she saw. She saw another wolf fighting  off the wolf that was about to kill her. She remained seated on the floor, watching the fight between the wolves. She suddenly regained her composure and ran behind a tree, to avoid getting affected or injured by the impact of their fight. She watched their fight from behind the tree. She looked in amazement as the new wolf effortlessly fought the wolf that attacked her. She marveled at how stronger, faster and bigger the wolf was than the beast that tried killing her. 

  "Wow! This wolf really is strong! There's no way it's a mere wolf. An ordinary wolf won't be this powerful. But, both these wolves have unnatural strength and power." She pondered in astonishment.

  "I should probably make a run for it now, for all I know, they could be fighting over who gets to feast on me." she thought as she tried running away. 

  But before she could escape, she was stopped by the voice of a man. 

  "Stop child". 

  She wondered who the voice came from.  She paused for a while,before slowly turning her face to look at who spoke.

  As she turned, she widened her eyes in surprise with what she saw. The wolves she saw fighting a few seconds ago were now replaced with two humans. One was naked on the floor, and by the looks of it, he was dead. While the other one was shirtless as he stood tall, staring at her. 

At this point, she finally acknowledged what she's been trying to ignore and deny. The existence of werewolves.  She was no fool not to know. She's read and watched a lot of novels and movies about werewolves, but she always thought they were fictional characters. But everything that happened that night proved her wrong.

 "So werewolves really do exist!" She muttered,in a defeated and dumbstruck tone. 

"So, he's probably the one that stopped me" She thought, as she hung her head down. She couldn't look him straight in the eye, as she was still frightened. After all, he's a stranger and werewolf, just like the beast that attacked her earlier. 

  The werewolf stared at her,as he noticed the fear and uneasiness she felt. She is a human being,who was clueless of the existence of wolves. So finding out now, will definitely mess with her mental health. 

  "She's shaking. At least, she's still standing, judging by how fast her heartbeat is. She's strong, that's for sure."  He thought,as he lifted the side  of his lip.

  "Look at me child, you have nothing to fear. I mean no harm!" He said, to assure her. 

  She gently raised her head,  unsure of his intentions. He was a stranger, she couldn't trust him easily. 

 He waited patiently for her to raise her head, the moment his eyes met hers, he widened his eyes in surprise.

  "What!!! She's not human!  But, she has a human's scent." He scrunched his eyebrows in confusion 

   "Those eyes! Those are not the eyes of a human. Only one species of shapeshifter has that color of eyes (orchid purple). Could this mean she's one of them? But it is believed they've all been extinct. If she really is one of them or not, I will find out. But I'm sure of one thing, she's not human." He thought as he stared intently at her.

  "What are you, child?" He suddenly asked her.

  "What do you mean?" She asked back, as she gave him a confused look.

   "Are you human?"

    She knotted her brows in puzzlement. "What sort of question is that? Does he think I'm a werewolf like he is?  I look as human as any other person" She thought.

  "Of course I'm human," She answered with certainty.

  He gazed intently at her for a few seconds, as he tried to study her expression.

  "Hmmm" he sighed.

   "So she believes she's human. Interesting!

    Well, should I reveal the truth to her?"  He pondered, as he stared at her.