THE HUNT II

~{INGRID'S POV}~

*

"Ahhhhhhhh!!!!"

I screamed just for my body to go back to normal and my lookalike not there anymore.

In fright, I looked around cautiously and tried to change into my wolf self but couldn't and it added to my unfortunate plight.

I should've listened to my brother. I nearly said that out loud but quickly stopped myself from doing so.

Without delaying in this cursed forest any longer, I began to run in any direction, hoping that I would stumble into another forest but I only went round in circles repeatedly until I grew weary and began to panic, fearing that I might encounter the creature again but I didn't.

"What a waste," I said and sat close to a tree while cautiously looking around.

The disadvantage of being a Theta wolf was that I couldn't communicate with other werewolves which were far from me through the mind. Only those directly in front of me.

If I could, I would've called on my step brother even though I didn't like him.

'INGRID!'

A breezy whisper brushed against my cheek and it quickly set me on edge, making me jump up and look around in alarm.

When I didn't see a thing, I decided to continue walking while hoping that I'd come across a path leading to another forest.

"This is it, the Cursed Forest." I heard someone say, making me quickly rush into hiding while looking to see who it was.

"It's just as the map described it," another one said.

When I looked at them, I realized they were another group of werewolves from a completely different pack. And the more I kept observing them, the more I realized they were Beta wolves.

And while observing them, something caught my attention on one of the trees and as I looked closely, I realized it was an aid bag with a paw stamp on it.

WHOA!

Did the leaders secretly plant aid bags around to assist us?

That's very thoughtful and at the same time very unfair. Not everyone would know about it and if I hadn't been mindful, I wouldn't have spotted it.

As discreet as a cat, I made my way to the very tree I saw the bag tied to at the very top.

Thankfully, I was a great climber.

When they began to move in another direction, I began to climb the tree even though it didn't have many branches.

"What's that?"

I heard someone ask and it made me freeze in place, thinking they must've spotted me.

But when nothing was said after that but growls and snares, I realized they must've come across a threat and as I looked to see what or who it was, I blinked in horror. It was the very black slimy being I had encountered. This time around, they were five in number.

"Shit!" I cursed and resumed climbing.

The growls increased and the next thing I felt due to the impact were movements and thuds but I refused to look. All my focus was directed to the white bag neatly tied at the highest branch of the tree.

Halfway to the top, I felt an impact and as I looked down, I found the black creature at the base of the tree snarling at me.

"Shit shit shit!" I cursed and added more pace.

Every move felt slow and whenever I looked at it I would go tense due to how fast it climbed.

"No, this can't be happening! No!" I looked up and kept going and thankfully, I caught the bag.

However, my happiness was short lived because the creature caught me by the ankle and pulled me with so much force I never knew it had and we both fell from the tree to the hard ground.

For a moment I remained still as the pain took a while to pass the information to my brain.

I couldn't move because I knew something got broken but I made sure to hold the bag tightly.

Suddenly I felt the creature grab me and turn me over, causing me to scream at the top of my voice due to the unbearable pain I felt.

It turned out I didn't just break a bone, but bones.

From screaming, I began to cry out and it took that opportunity to bite my arm. And just when I thought this was my end, the creature was suddenly pulled away from me but I couldn't look due to the pain I felt, it was overwhelming.

I heard screeching, pounding, screaming, howling and growling which further amplified the pain.

But after a while, everything went dangerously still and it finally made me relax a bit while staring up at the sky with blurry eyes due to how much I had cried.

And as I was still trying to figure what had happened or was happening, the bag was suddenly seized from my grip and it made me whimper when I tried to see who took it.

"Look what this little wolf found," I heard a male voice.

"Is that an aid bag?" A lady asked.

"Don't tell me they planted this here? How do they expect us to find it?" Another man asked.

"They expect us to find it just the way this theta wolf found it," another male said.

Please no, don't take my bag, I whispered internally as tears continued to run down my temples as I cried in silence.

"What's in it?"

"Raw meat and some herbs," the first male spoke and it made me shut my eyes closed in sadness.

"We should get going," a lady said and the others agreed.

"Shouldn't we at least help fix her broken bones?" Someone thoughtfully asked.

"It's a competition, remember? And she's not even from our pack," the first male spoke again and I could already tell he was their leader.

"Help," I whimpered but all I got was their retreating footsteps.

"Please," I sobbed but no one answered and their footsteps began to fade making me begin to feel all alone.

When I tried to move, I nearly screamed but quickly bit my lower lip and pushed harder. It was the most difficult experience and the more I tried to sit upright, the more I couldn't hold my cries any longer. I cried until I successfully sat upright and looked at the damage. My left leg was completely twisted and broken and so was one of my ribs and my right arm.

And in that moment, I heard a slight moment above me and slowly looked up just to find the black creature snarling down at me as it leeched itself onto the tree.