Chapter 1

The smell of blood is so potent even I find myself cringing away from it in the darkness. The screams and cries of fear rise up around me and I twist in turn in an attempt to locate the source but am met with only darkness. I hear my name called out from the trees in the tongue of man the voice filled with terror. I run to the source but am met only by two bodies.

I am at first confused, these are no small breed wolves that lay before me, they are direwolf. I cock my head in confusion, I thought there were no other direwolves in these woods, but then the familiar scents reach my nose. The realization hits me hard; the bodies that lay before me are two of the siblings I left behind.

The female I remember as Lady, Arya always hated that name, she was the most behaved of the six always sitting polite and quiet by her own girl's side. Apart from the deep hole in her chest from the blade that pierced her heart nothing had changed about the she-wolf. She remained the same size as when she last remember her which leads her to think that she must have suffered from the dangerous thing which her girl had spoken of.

The male beside her on the other hand had changed quite a lot. His name, I recall vaguely, was Grey Wind. He was larger, perhaps even larger than her if he was alive and whole, and battle scarred. The most notable change however, was his head was no longer attached to his great body. Bile rises in my throat at the sight and a deep sorrow fills me for my fallen littermates.

Before I have time to mourn any longer a howl sounds from behind me, I turn to see a large white direwolf standing by the tree line. He turns and begins to run in the opposite direction. Surprised, I surge forward trying to catch him but his strides are longer than mine and I fall behind.

All the sudden the wolf vanishes and the trees around me melt away until all that surrounds me is darkness. I look around and walk forward looking for a sign of some trace of normality. As my trek goes on I figure formulates in front of me. A mixture of surprise and joy jolts through me as I recognize the shadow figure as Arya. I spring forward and run barking with glee. A smile forms across her face and she shouts my name. The happiness in her voice gives me new energy as I run faster than I even thought possible. As she reaches me her arms wrap around my neck and I whine in the sheer joy of her touch.

This moment, too good to be true, doesn't last too long. A scream burst through her lips so loud and so suddenly I flinch back in surprise. The pain in her voice makes my heart hurt so much its unbearable and I look around for the source of her sudden pain but find none. Blood runs down my poor girls face and arms and her cries grow louder, no longer cries of pain but of pure agony. I pace around her whining and yipping in distress unable to think of what to do. Then as sudden as they started the screams stop. My ears perk and I rush to face her but I let out a yip of alarm as I look into her eyes once again. Her grey eyes were no longer grey as she looked back at me, they were blood red and seemed to bleed.

She looks at me and opening her mouth she says in a pained scratchy voice, "Help me."

"I will, I will find you I promise," I bark back but I know its useless, my words will never reach her as hers do me.

"Help me!" she cries again her voice now a wail and with a jerk I wake up.

I look around to see that I am back where I was when I fell asleep earlier. The forest has grown dark and the moon hangs high in the sky as I look down on the clearing to see the small breeds sleeping below me. I turn away in disgust, even the thought that these lowly creatures kept me away from where I belong for so long has me overwhelmed with shame in myself.

My girl needs me, she has always needed me and I left her I will never do that again. I look up to the moon and with all my being I howl. In that howl holds a promise. I will find her and I will save her and no matter what happens after I will never leave her.

This dream was not just a dream, it was a sign. If I wait a moment longer my girl may no longer be here to find. So with this resolve I run into the forest.

I don't think of the small breeds I leave behind.

I don't think of leading or the thrill of the hunt.

I don't think of my hollow freedom.

I don't even think of my fallen littermates.

I only think of my girl and her cry for help.

Nothing else matters.

Arya.

My girl.

I'm coming.