There was a wolf outside his window.
It was bright silver, almost white, covered in a myriad of scars, and very large.
It was also injured, and had not moved from the place it had collapsed a few moments earlier.
Cadis Etrama di Raizel stared at it from his window.
It was not the first time he had seen a wounded animal during all his time gazing out the window. Animals were born, lived, and died. It was their natural life cycle. Raizel witnessed this every day, but it was not his place to interfere.
But he had never seen a wolf before. He was only able to deduce that it was one from the descriptions of the human world the Lord and some of the Clan Leaders, like Urokai, had given him over the course of their visits.
But he had never seen one personally because wolves were not native to Lukedonia.
Raizel continued to watch the wolf from the corner of his eye.
How had it gotten here?
And what had injured it so?
The largest land predators on the island were foxes, and they did not hunt animals that were larger than themselves. Neither did they hunt in packs. What could have given this large wolf such grievous wounds?
Raizel watched its chest heave up and down.
It was losing a lot of blood.
Raizel's eyes saddened as he stared at the blood soaking the dirt. This animal had come here to die. It must be far away from its pack, its home, and it was going to die alone.
He closed his eyes, and opened them just as slowly. Then he leapt lightly onto the windowsill, propelling himself out the window and onto the grounds. He moved slowly toward the wolf so as not to startle it should it still be awake, but there was no need. The wolf was unconscious.
He gently wrapped his power around the injured wolf and lifted it – him – into the air, bringing him into the room and placing him on one of the couches.
The wolf shifted then, paws twitching, and one of his eyes opened blearily. Immediately a low growl emanated from his chest when he noticed the strange man standing next to him, his lips peeling back to reveal large, sharp teeth.
Raizel reached out to the wolf with his mind, wanting to assure the animal that he would do him no harm and only wanted him to rest and recover. But there was nothing.
He frowned.
He could not connect with the wolf's mind.
He had never encountered an animal whose mind he could not connect with.
What had been done to this wolf?
The wolf's growls increased in volume and ferocity. It stood up unsteadily, both eyes locked on Raizel.
Moving would just open up the wolf's wounds further. Raizel had brought him here to prevent his death. He did not want him to die because he thought Raizel was a threat. He did not want this animal to die because of him like so many others.
"I am not going to harm you," he said slowly, looking the wolf in the eye. The wolf's growls tapered off somewhat, head tilted slightly as he stared at Raizel.
Raizel looked down sadly at the wolf's injuries. "You are injured. You should rest." The growls tapered off completely, and the wolf stood there for a few minutes. Then he slowly sank down back onto the couch, eyes still not leaving Raizel. Raizel nodded his approval, and walked back to his window.
This animal was different from all the other animals he had encountered, but it did not bother him. Raizel was no stranger to being different.
A/N: This is an AU where werewolves can turn into actual wolves. They can change whenever they want, but they sometimes change when they're very injured in order to prevent being killed by pretending to be an animal. Also, in this AU, Rai can't connect with werewolves's minds like he can with humans/Nobles. Mostly because if he could it would ruin the surprise/reveal :) I'll probably only do a few more chapters of this, but if it does happen to get really popular, or if I just want to, then I'll make it it's own story. Thanks for reading! :)
