➳ Pernwél
Pushing back the tears that tried to break free from my eyes, I got myself up from the ground and looked at the provisions that I had with me. Counting my weapons I had my sword, bow, two normal and one ignition arrow. In my belt were some knives and a dagger.
I pulled my hood over my head and pointy ears to cover myself. The fabric was mossy green so I could hide better in the woods. My long silver hair would reflect the sunlight and I would be easier to spot. I was in unknown land and I had no idea what or whom lived here.
Spotting some trees and rocks together I moved behind them to protect myself as I did some inventory on the rest of my belongings.
In my bag I had water, some crackers and dried fruit. Typical warrior package for scouting. More daggers, two of which I put between the straps of my boots, handy for throwing. An extra hood and some warmer clothes in case the weather changed. Firestones to create a fire and a compass.
The compass was useless at the moment, as I had no clue of my current position. Was I even still in the same realm? I knew portals could take you even between worlds.
There was no other way than to rely on my survival instincts and collect information about the forest I was in. Important right now was water, food and shelter.
Gathering my belongings and putting my sword in my belt I got up from behind the stone and started a recognition route.
After a while of walking through the woods I had collected some edible plants I recognized and some sweet chestnuts. There were trees and plants that were different from where I came from but I was relieved to encounter flora I knew.
I found only a few species of Fauna. I spotted rabbits, squirrels and the soft chirping of birds. It was even a different season from what I could see and sense. In Agmysther it was spring at the time and here it was closing in on autumn by the looks of the colors around me and the withering of the green leaves.
Finally, I heard the splashing sound of water.
I quickened my steps and found a breathtaking river. It had beautiful crystalline water and at some spots you could see the fish swim peacefully. I had a great connection with nature and I felt completely at ease letting the sounds and smells invade my senses.
My stomach growled, indicating I had to take a break to eat something. It had been a long day and until this moment I still had not eaten anything. The attack on my village and battle had occurred so fast and now I was here.
I took out the crackers and the herbs and sat down next to the river bed. The sound the water made and the rustling of the leaves in the wind was calming and my spirit snapped. I let the tears stream freely down my face.
I was alone.
My people were brutally slaughtered.
I wasn’t going to see my home anymore.
I was lost in my thoughts when I heard some noise behind me and a strange animal smell. I got up and took a defensive stance.
I found myself looking at four magnificent wolves. They were looking back at me very strangely. Nothing like what a wolf should do. At least not the wolves that I knew. They were also bigger in size and had different colored fur. How weird.
I tried to relax a bit. I’m an Elf, I should feel connected to these animals. But as I tried to move to them I heard one of them growl deeply.
Oh no. This was not good. I eyed my situation and calculated I had to move now. I jumped up and took with my hands the branch from the tree above me and pulled myself up in a quick motion.
I looked down at the wolves and they were looking at each other and at me with a questioning expression on their snouts. Like they were communicating silently between them.
I had to keep moving. I kept climbing the tree and looked how I could move further in the forest and run as fast as my feet would take me.
I could jump to the next one. Taking my daggers out of my boots I took the leap and climbed up the adjacent tree pushing myself up by sticking the daggers into the bark of the tree.
The wolves were following me, I was fast but they were hot on my trail. I kept moving through the trees as stealthy as I could. I was exhausted from the battle and everything that happened today and I didn’t know my surroundings. This forest was strange to me.
Such was my luck as I stepped on the next branch and it snapped, plummeting to the ground.
I fell hard against the earthy surface and the last I saw before losing consciousness were the wolves approaching and one started shifting into something?
And then the darkness took me.
I was regaining control as I noticed I was being carried on someone's back. This is not a wolf. It looked like a bigger Elf, much more muscular and with broader shoulders. Around me there were only three wolves. Where is the fourth one and who’s this?
The wolves followed us silently but kept looking around and sometimes at me. I still had my hood on, so they couldn’t see my face. I think they hadn’t noticed yet that I was awake.
They were taking me into a clearing. I started seeing pavemented roads and houses, nothing like the ones from my village. These ones were made from wood but had strange shapes and colors.
Someone approached us quickly, I heard footsteps against the road that weren’t from the one that had me over his shoulders.
“Beta Darren! What happened?” A voice asked. I understand the language. Could this mean that I was still in the same realm?
“I don’t know where this person came from.” The man that was carrying me answered. “She was on our territory. I’m taking her to the Alpha.”
They were still walking and then the strangest thing of all happened. I saw the paws of the wolves around us changing into feet. The wolves were shifting into more of these men, one was a woman. They took some clothes and covered their naked bodies. What?
He took me up to some stairs and into one of the buildings. This was all so different from my home. What a day I was having, losing everything and then being captured by some strange people.
“Beta Darren.” Another voice said.
“Alpha Jake.” The man holding me answered.
“Who is this?” the man spoke with authority. I suppose he was one of the leaders or something.
“We found this person near the river, she was on our territory.” He answered. “She smells different than a human and she put up an interesting fight.”
“She certainly is dressed strangely.” The leader, I think his name is Alpha Jake, stated. “And what is all of this?”
“She carried a lot of weapons.” Beta Darren answered. “Reminds me of Xena the Warrior princess.” He chuckled.
“Put her in the dungeon.” Alpha Jake replied. “I’ll go in a bit when she’s awake to question her.”
Beta Darren nodded and took me down some stairs, descending into the dungeons I thought. It was cold down here and no sun got through. He put on a light and opened a cage-like room.
I still played the unconscious part as he lowered me on some bed. Then he closed the cage and turned a lock and left me to myself.
When Beta Darren left to go upstairs I pulled myself up from the bed and searched my clothing if I still had anything on me or my weapons. I sighed deeply, noticing they took everything, even my bag with food and water. What a fantastic day!
Waking up, heading straight into battle, falling through a portal and being captured by wolves that turn into men. I was mentally and physically exhausted. I had no injury from the fall except for some scrapings on my back and arms caused by the rough earthy ground.
At least I was alive I thought, cringing at the irony.
🐾Alpha Jake My Beta Darren brought in a strange girl earlier. He claims that he found her in the woods on the daily patrol of our borders. Our pack is well hidden deep in the mountains so I don’t have a clue how she got here. We keep to ourselves because we train our warriors thouroughly and we don’t want anyone from the outside snooping around or finding out about our patrol schedule and training. There were a lot of neighboring packs that wanted to know more about Grey Moon, we had some of the best werewolf warriors in existence and we were self-sufficient and wealthy. We had alliances with other packs and we worked together in times of need or war but, being a big pack like ours leads to creating enemies based on border lines and jealousies, also resulting from time to time in a rogue attack. He said she was by herself and it didn’t look like she was planning anything against us. She was start
➳Pernwél The leader, Alpha Jake, had come to interrogate me. I get it. I’m on his land and he has to make sure I’m not a threat to his people. I’ve been a warrior my whole life knowing what to do in every situation because I was instructed to do so. This was a different situation. I’m alone, exhausted and definitely not in my village anymore. Even if I tried to make my escape I would be caught in a matter of minutes. I needn’t fight nor run at this point, so I answered his questions the best that I could and hoped that I would be spared. From his explanation of my whereabouts I found myself in a different world entirely. I never heard of shifters, less about werewolves. I saw before that it entailed to transform from wolf into man and vice versa. Just like normal wolves travel and hunt in packs, these people, werewolves, lived together in this little town. They call themselves the Grey Moo
🐾Alpha Jake After I left Pernwél in the kitchen with Myriam and Anna, I retreated into my study. I had to think over a lot of things. Wolves mate for life, and there is only one person in the whole of existence chosen for you by the Moon Goddess, or so it says in our folklore and legends. Sometimes it happens that one of them dies before meeting each other after turning of age, and in these cases, it could happen that you would find a second chance mate. It is very rare, but I’ve seen it once before. If you are a werewolf you can find your mate after your eighteenth birthday. The bond can be triggered by smell, touch, or like I just witnessed in the basement, by looking into your mate’s eyes. After looking into those beautiful green eyes I felt my wolf growl to life, expecting us to claim her right on the spot, but I had to approach this differently than a normal mate bond between two werewolves.
➳Pernwél Sunrays slightly dance around my fur, caressing it with its warmth. It softly plays with the colors of the leaves falling from the trees, welcoming autumn. Before my eyes, guided by the wind that streams through them, a dance of light and color takes place. A breathtaking view, to partake in the beauty of nature. The rustling of the falling leaves onto the mossy ground, littering a carpet made of the reddish and maroon tones of the withering of the summer season. Admiring the sounds of the forest with my enhanced hearing and being able to smell the earthy tones of the trees with hints of herbs and a few flowers that still bloomed, I revel in the connection my paws make onto the surface as I slowly pace through it, taking everything in. I don’t remember this particular forest, it’s not the one I’m used to running in. I sniffed around following the scent of wa
➳Pernwél Alpha Jake looked at me and pointed to the outlines of the field that were marked with a white line. “They are putting up the obstacle course,” he said faintly, almost whispering. “First we run a lap or two to warm up.” I was looking at all the werewolves working in perfect sync, but when they saw their leader, they bowed their head to the side slightly, revealing their necks while uttering “Good morning, Alpha.” in unison. “Good morning Grey Moon pack.” He bellowed, so everyone on the field would hear him. It was a powerful voice and he radiated that aura again. I presumed it was what made him the leader. “Pack, this is Pernwél.” He said gesturing to me. “She will join us today.” They looked at me with questions burning in their eyes, but they didn’t ask anything. I don’t think they were used to strangers walking in on their training sessions, but they didn’t dare question their
🐾Alpha Jake Like every morning, except on weekends, we had pack training. Every adult wolf came to the training fields at the crack of dawn to run across an obstacle course that changed patterns every day and spar. The werewolves of my pack were very well trained and pushed harder in every way to become stronger, doing justice to being one of the best packs to ever exist. I took pride in the resilience of my people. They knew that belonging to this pack also meant having to protect the elders, children and non-warriors amongst them and fight for it very often. That entailed also the importance of training and they took it very seriously. The obstacle course built stamina and speed, keeping them focused and giving options to analyze, strategize and provide a new challenge every day. It kept them on their toes anticipating every possible outcome. I was surprised this morning that Pernwél wa
➳ Pernwél What’s wrong with me? I never used to falter and I could stay stoic and in charge of my emotions. Like it should pertain to a warrior like me. This has all been so strange. It’s like something is messing with my hormones. Maybe these strange shifters are getting to me. Sighing, I closed the door behind me as I got to my room in the packhouse. No, I said to myself, that’s not it. I’ve been on a rollercoaster of sorts the last two days, the notion that my village is gone hasn’t really sunk in yet. I’ve been too busy adapting myself to this new Realm. I jumped at the opportunity to train because it’s where I am most in my element, I’m used to it. The physical exercise was so
➳ Pernwél Alpha Jake waited for me on the porch to accompany me to where the Elders resided. We were walking there and he was going to show me around the town. I was not a prisoner anymore and I was staying here for the time being. Where else was I supposed to run off to? I was somehow excited to find out more about what happened to me, but also dreading to find out the fate of my village. I witnessed a carnage, everyone I knew was slaughtered before my eyes. The memories of the beautiful place I grew up in were tainted with the deep red colour of blood and masacre. I would never run across my ancestors' land again. Smell the flowers, touch the textures of the plants and swim in the river that coursed with smaller streams across the heart of our