Chapter 7
Bloody Paws
I dance around the fallen twigs with careful movements and silent breaths. The evening sun casts a warm glow on the glossy leaves and blades of grass. The bark of the tree scratches against my back. I'm still in human form which is definitely a first for me. I even refrained from calling for backup from the rest of the pack. Brendan said I should be peaceful with the people. If I have an entire pack of wolves to gain up on the wanderer I'm silently following, he would be terrified. I, personally, have no problem scaring people out of my forest, but Brendan does have his own morals to the matter.
The man frantically darts his eyes from corner to corner of the forest around him, but I can still stay well out of his line of sight. I weave my way over and under low branches, dodging anything that can make a noise. The man has a gray cloak wrapped around his shoulders. He has dark, brown hair and very nimble steps. He is clearly young, but weary. The bravery that comes with early youth has left him. Yet, he comes into my forest anyway.
The man stops in front of a bush that holds a few bushels of berries. I stop behind a tree and peer around the trunk to spy on him. I cringe as I hear the snap of him breaking branches off the bush to harvest the berries. He holds the branch decorated with deep, red, ripe berries as he reaches for more. I feel anger rise up in me. A scavenger! Taking from MY forest! Only one person is allowed to take the fruit of my forest with him! Yet, I recall him saying that they had food in Kells. Then, I remember. A few months ago, he told me that the food supply was getting scarce in Kells. Is that why the man was here? Nonetheless, he is not allowed to be in the forest, let alone take from it. My blood reaches to a fever pitch and I can feel my cheeks getting warm. Before the better part of me can stop myself, I drop to my hands, falling on all four limbs. I can feel my tail swish around and my long hair becomes fur. Without warning, I let out a loud bark at the man who whips around.
My teeth are barred and forming a growl as I advance on him. His eyes grow wide and he starts to back away from me, holding a bundle of branches in one hand, the round berries reflecting the light of the moon into my eyes. I bark again and the man searches his immediate surroundings, probably for an escape route. Yet, that's not it at all. His eyes land on a low branch of a perfectly healthy tree. His hands reach out and he grips the middle of the branch. I can feel the excruciating snapping sound crash through my body. It's not a short and quick snap of a dead branch. It's long and lasting. The branch clings onto the tree as the ends splinter, clear signs of a branch that was alive and growing. My head starts pounding in pain as the last splinter of the branch let's go of the tree, transferring its possession to the man. The anger that is ignited inside me cannot be contained. My hind legs scrunch up and I lash out at the man, aiming right for his heart.
Before I can attack, the splintered side of the branch makes contact with my ribs. I'm flown straight into a tree, crashing into the bark as it bites my back. Before I can force air back into my lungs, my limp body falls to the ground. My side screams in pain as well as my lungs and my back. I hack to be able to breathe again and I struggle to my feet. I look up and am able to react fast enough to get out of the way of the branch that is aimed at my head. I spring to all fours and prepare my feet for another blow. I should have brought the rest of the pack. Even if I call for them now, it will still be quite a while before they arrive. I'm stuck fighting man against wolf. The branch swings wildly and I dash out of it's path and out of immediate reach of the man. He is swinging the branch like a tornado. Anything that comes near him will get a bad welt. I have to get him to stop attacking. I search around for weak spots. The man relies on his limbs for combat, so if I can eliminate one, he can stop attacking long enough to turn the fight around.
I zone in on his legs, supporting the whole windmill machine of destruction. Now, to get close enough. With fast legs, I run in a huge swooping arc around him until I get behind his sight and behind the tornado. Before he can turn around to see where I am, I lunge for his ankle and sink my teeth into his skin. The man howls in pain, but I don't let go. I taste his blood in my mouth and I hold on for a second longer before letting go. The man is screaming and in too much pain to move his arms. Just as his guard is down, I snatch the branch out of his hand and toss it away into a patch of thick bushes. The man watches his only weapon fall into the thickets as he is bending down to hold his ankle in pain. Blood pours down his ankle in small, steady streams. Tears well up in his eyes. He must have never experienced this bad of pain before. I don't make a single move. I just watch as he removes his cloak and wraps it around his ankle. He cannot hurt me anymore, so there is no reason to be on guard. Slowly, I can feel my anger ebbing away, giving way to pity of the wails of pain the man releases.
I watch him a second longer before turning to leave. He will surely abandon his scavenging mission after this and go home right away, but that is not why I left. I could not stand the pain and agony before me. It felt like I was being hurt inside just as much as he was just by watching him. I did that. I hurt him. I bit into his ankle when he was trying to feed his family. Oh, what have I done?