I didn't move for a long time.
The cold from the forest floor seeped through my clothes, but I couldn't feel it. My hands were numb. My mind—blank. All I could do was stare.
The wolf was lying just a few feet away, breathing heavy, blood soaking his side again, but his eyes… they were still on me.
Watching.
Not with hunger. Not with wild instinct.
Something else, Recognition.
He had followed me, He had saved me.
He was wounded, and yet he fought five of his own kind like they were nothing. That kind of strength wasn't normal. That kind of control… wasn't natural.
And that fight—Gods, it hadn't been an animal brawl.
It had been calculated, Intentional and Protective.
I slowly pushed myself off the ground, my knees wobbling like branches in the wind. The wolf didn't move. Just stayed where he was, his golden eyes following me with eerie calm.
"Why…?" I whispered, voice barely louder than a breath. "Why are you still here?"
No answer, of course. He was still a wolf. But I couldn't stop the thoughts racing through my mind.
Why would a wild animal risk its life to save mine? Why not just run away?
I stepped closer. My feet were so unsteady I nearly tripped over a root.
The wolf lifted his head weakly, as if sensing my approach. He didn't growl. Didn't bare his teeth.
"I'm supposed to be terrified of you," I murmured, dropping to my knees beside him. "I was terrified of you."
He let out a low, exhausted huff, and I swear it sounded like amusement.
"But now I think I'd be dead without you," I added.
My hands trembled as I reached toward him again. His bandage had come loose, soaked through and ripped open. I had no choice but to treat the wound again. He didn't resist as I pressed the cloth gently to his side.
"You saved me… and now I have to save you again. Fair trade, I guess?"
The silence in the clearing pressed heavy around us. I could still hear the distant growls in the back of my mind, still feel their snarling breath on my skin.
"I thought I was going to die." My voice cracked. "I was saying my last prayer, my last wish… and then you were just there. Like a ghost. Like vengeance sent from the gods."
He blinked slowly, his body relaxing slightly under my touch.
"You're not normal, are you?" I asked, brushing blood away from his fur. "You're not just a wolf."
A pause. I leaned closer.
"You understood me yesterday, didn't you?"
The wind moved through the trees as if holding its breath.
The wolf didn't confirm. But he didn't deny it either.
I sat back on my heels, feeling the weight of everything—fear, confusion, gratitude—press down on my chest like a boulder.
"Okay," I said softly. "I don't know who… or what… you really are. But I'm alive because of you. And I don't think you're just following me by accident."
My hand hovered just above his fur, unsure whether to rest it there.
"I think…" I whispered, "you've been watching me for longer than just yesterday."
He looked at me.
Not like a beast. Not like a pet.
Like a person.
And something in my soul shivered.
I lowered my hand to the grass and sighed.
"Whatever you are… please don't leave again."
The fog had begun to thicken again around the clearing, but this time, I didn't feel afraid.
Because the wolf curled closer to me, resting his head near my boot, and closed his eyes. He trusted me. Just as I had trusted him.
And for the first time since I entered this cursed forest…
I didn't feel so alone.