My eyes opened slowly to the soft whisper of leaves rustling above. For a second, I thought I was home, safe under the wool blanket in Grandma's small cottage—but the damp earth beneath me told a different truth.
The forest was silent. Too silent.
I sat up quickly, brushing dirt from my dress, my fingers stiff with cold. The fire I had built last night was long gone, only a few blackened stones remained. Then I heard it—an uneven, heavy breathing just a few feet away.
I turned slowly and i frozed.
There, half-curled under a thick bush, was the gray wolf—the same one from yesterday. It was bigger than I remembered. Blood matted its fur, soaking into the dirt beneath it. Its flank rose and fell in short, ragged movements.
It was hurt. And it was staring at me.
My heart leapt into my throat. My fingers hovered near the small blade at my side, but I didn't grab it. Not yet.
The wolf growled low in its throat, a sound more warning than threat. Its golden eyes burned into mine, but I saw it then—the pain. It wasn't trying to scare me. It was in agony.
Still, I didn't dare move too quickly.
"Easy… easy there…" I whispered.
Its ears twitched, but it didn't lunge. Didn't attack.
"Look, I'm not going to hurt you, okay?" I knelt a little, lowering my voice as if I were speaking to a frightened child. "You're bleeding. Badly. I—I'm an apothecary. I can help."
The wolf bared its teeth for a second, then turned its head away with a grunt, clearly exhausted. It didn't trust me. I didn't blame it. I wasn't even sure I trusted myself out here.
But still… I moved closer.
"Okay… I'm insane," I muttered, reaching for my satchel. "I'm about to patch up a wolf in a cursed forest. Definitely losing my mind."
I laid out the herbs and tinctures, crushing yarrow between my fingers and preparing a poultice. I poured a bit of moonroot tincture onto a cloth.
"This'll sting," I warned it, then laughed under my breath. "Right. Because you totally understood that."
The moment the cloth touched its wound, the wolf growled again—sharp and short—but didn't move. Its eyes squeezed shut, chest heaving.
"Shh… I know. I know it hurts. Just a little more," I murmured as I wrapped the cloth around its side. "You're lucky I've done this a thousand times on goats and sheep. You're just… bigger. And more terrifying."
I kept talking. Maybe to distract the wolf. Maybe to distract myself from the fear.
"My grandmother's the reason I know all this. She raised me after… after the wolves took my parents." My voice cracked. "And now she's sick. Dying, really. None of the herbs worked."
I hesitated, glancing at the wolf.
"She means everything to me. I had no choice. I had to come here. To find the Miracle Leaf. I know it sounds crazy. Maybe it is. Everyone says this forest is cursed. Monster-infested. A death sentence."
The wolf didn't flinch or look away. It listened—or maybe it was just stuck there.
"I'm only doing this because I believe she can be saved," I whispered. "She has to be."
I tied the final knot in the cloth and exhaled deeply.
"There. You'll live… hopefully."
I stood up, brushing my hands on my skirt, trying to look confident. "So, uh… now that I've fixed you up… maybe you could do me a favor in return?"
The wolf blinked.
I laughed nervously. "Yeah. I'm definitely crazy."
I ran a hand through my tangled hair and sighed. "Look, I know you're just… an animal. But if you're not—if there's even a shred of whatever in you that understands me… maybe protect me? From the other wolves?"
I looked at him one last time. "I'm not asking for much. Just… don't eat me. That'd be a great start."
I turned away, grabbed my pack, and started walking.
Then I stopped and looked back.
He was still watching me. Eyes glowing, still and quiet.
Like he understood.
And that terrified me more than anything else.