It all happened in a flash, one minute the big wolf was staring at her like it had something to tell her and the next minute it had sprung like a demon from hell tearing the heads of the men surrounding her. No one could escape, the horrifying sounds of their terror as their bodies were torn to pieces echoed through the forest and past the road. Serena could only awkwardly shuffle towards the forest, her legs were too weak to move and she could not make any sound from her mouth. Her eyes were kept in a perpetual state of shock and her complexion was pale. By the time the beast was done with every single man, its long snout stained with dripping blood, mouth opened wide in a snarl to reveal long sharp fangs that held the promise of snapping her body into pieces. The wolf or beast as she could think of it as because no normal wolf was the size of an average female, crept towards her slowly, its paws made no sound as it moved. Its black gaze was fixed insistently on her like a hungry beast staring at its prey, its long tongue hung outside its mouth flaying as it moved. With a whimper, she shuffled back not knowing that she had left the tarred road and was now on the sandy and stony ground that was now the territory of the forest. The trees seemed to enclose around her not letting the moonlight through but still allowing her to see the glimmer of the beast's eyes.
"Stay... away....good b...beast...wolf" she heaved and squeaked out as she discovered to her horror that she was now a few feet into the forest and her back was now hitting a huge tree blocking her retreat. The wolf snarled and lowered its huge head as it came closer. Her eyes watered with unshed tears at the realization that today might be her last day on earth. She still had to find her grandma, her parents had warned her about embarking on such a wild goose chase but she hadn't listened. Her choice to become a professional traveler had been inspired by her grandma who had enthralled her with tales of her adventures that she had undertaken when she was still young, they had been as tight as thieves, she had taken care of her when her parents had been too busy to attend to her. And then all of a sudden grandma had disappeared leaving only a secret letter for her that said, in quote, I will come back when you have found your destiny. But bullshit, what destiny, she had made it her destiny to find her grandma and now she was going to die. A low growl alerted her that the wolf was right in front of her, just inches away from her legs and it was positioning its body in a way that said it was ready to bounce on her. Something reared up in her, if she was going to die, at least she would die fighting. With a growl of her own, she sprang to her feet and darted into the forest, the wolf was at her heels with a feral glint in its eyes. She ran and ran until her legs were about to give out and her lungs burned until she could taste blood. Her lower back was itching and it was beginning to bother her, she couldn't scratch it while running. Normally, she shouldn't even notice it since she was running high on andrenaline but the itch was so bad and it was at a particular place. Suddenly, the wolf howled, its head raised to the sky, its howl long and mournful. She yelped as she felt an increased burning on her back and also because she happened to snag her leg in a root and tumbled downwards until she stopped just shy of hitting her head on a large tree. Her back stung from scratches she had gotten along the way because she had lost her jacket and was now only in her blue crop top that revealed her slim waist and flat stomach.
"Ouch!" She moaned as she cradled her head in her hands, she wiggled her toes inside her boots, her legs were working well thank goodness. Her head snapped up when she heard the crunching of twigs, her back itch temporarily forgotten. The wolf inched closer and closer, she watched with a resigned look on her face, the look of one that has accepted her fate. The wolf was now face to face with her, its long nose looking down at her as it sniffed her loudly, she made no sound nor movement as it circled her once then sat on its hundred and howled again. Suddenly, the burn at her back assaulted her again and she whimpered and crouched face down, her head touching the dirty ground and her bottom up in the air. She didn't notice when the wolf looked at where she was scratching and how it's eyes widened in shock like a human being. But what she did know was that the wolf had howled loud again and this time, it felt different, like it was celebrating something. She watched with a pained face as it took a few steps back and began to do something crazy. Her mouth fell open as she watched in horror as the worlf's fur melted away and golden skin began to come into view. The sound of bones cracking and reshaping made her want to vomit everything she had for dinner but she held on until the change was complete and a tall, handsome man covered in golden-tan skin stared down at her. And he was buck naked.
"This is crazy"
Were the last words she whispered before fainting. The wolf-turned man slowly walked up to her and gently scooped her in his arms in a bridal style as he made his way towards his right where a lone house peaked from among the trees.