As Freya ran, her body moved agilely among the trees, but, in a moment of distraction, she tripped on a branch hidden on the ground, falling heavily. The impact was abrupt, and her breath became shaky as she tried to recover and get up.
The men approached, their menacing silhouettes standing out in the dim light of the forest, and one of them brandished a gleaming knife, the metal reflecting the moonlight.
"Please, don't do this!" Freya exclaimed, her voice filled with despair and fear. The plea echoed in the night, but it seemed to be in vain.
When one of the men prepared to hurt her, a deep, ferocious growl cut through the air. A huge black wolf, with dark fur and eyes blazing like embers, advanced on the man, throwing him away with a powerful blow. The aggressor's scream mingled with the sound of leaves and branches breaking under the wolf's weight.
The second man, terrified at witnessing the scene, turned and tried to flee. But the black wolf, agile and relentless, jumped on him, attacking him with a ferocity that seemed almost supernatural, tearing him apart as if he were paper.
After the brief but intense confrontation, the wolf turned to Freya, who was still lying on the ground, terrified and hurt. He looked deeply into her eyes, his keen senses catching her scent and hearing the accelerated beat of her heart. The connection between them was established in an instant, and, to Freya's surprise, she felt no fear — only a strange sense of security.
Soon after, Orion, the wolf who saved her, began to transform. The magic of the full moon illuminated his body as he returned to his human form, his muscular and imposing silhouette rising before her. Along with him, the pack also transformed, revealing their human limbs, but with eyes that still carried the ferocity of their lupine forms.
Orion held out his hand, offering to help Freya up. However, his expression was serious, and the intensity in his eyes left no room for doubt.
"Who are you?" he questioned, his voice deep and authoritative, as if facing a strange threat.
Freya felt a chill down her spine, not only because of his tone of voice, but also because of the ferocity that he and Lucky displayed. The two human men who had transformed into wolves were now standing, ready to interrogate and protect what was theirs.
"Why were you alone in the woods?" Lucky added, his penetrating gaze assessing the situation, as if each word was a piece of the puzzle they needed to solve.
Freya took a deep breath, trying to gather her courage in the face of the intensity of the situation. The words were on the tip of her tongue, but the vulnerability she felt made her hesitate. She knew she needed to explain, but she also understood that her answer could shape how those men, now in their human forms, saw her.
"I don't know, I just looked at the full moon and, when I realized it, I was already in the forest!" Freya exclaimed, her voice trembling with nervousness, her eyes shining with a mixture of fear and confusion.
Orion's question hung in the air like a shadow, laden with a gravity that made her feel even more vulnerable. He approached, his imposing presence making her heart race.
"Are you one of us?" Orion's deep voice echoed, firm and authoritative, like thunder on a stormy night.
Realizing that Orion's intensity was only amplifying the dread that already dominated Freya, Lucky decided to intervene. With a kind gesture, he called his nephew aside, moving a little away from the young woman.
"Orion, can we talk?" he suggested, his soft voice contrasting with the palpable tension in the air.
"She's scared and hurt. Let's give her a moment to breathe. Let me interrogate her, okay?" Lucky said, trying to defuse the situation like a father seeking to comfort a frightened child.
Orion hesitated, but finally nodded, reluctantly agreeing. Freya, still trembling, sat down on the leaf-covered ground, trying to control her breathing as she tried to calm the heart that was pounding uncontrollably inside her chest. The other members of the pack whispered among themselves, exchanging looks of curiosity and concern, as if the surrounding forest was absorbing the tension.
After a few minutes that seemed like an eternity, Lucky approached Freya, his presence now calmer, seeking to establish a genuine connection.
"What is your name?" he asked, his calmer, more encouraging voice helping to ease the pressure on her shoulders.
"My name is Freya," she replied, a slight sigh escaping her lips, as if she could finally exhale some of the anxiety that consumed her.
"Are you one of us too?" Lucky questioned, the curiosity evident in his eyes, as if he expected the answer to illuminate an unknown path.
"I don't know… I've never transformed," Freya said, an expression of disappointment spreading across her face, as if a shadow had crossed her soul.
"Are your parents like us?" he asked, trying to piece together the puzzle that was forming before them.
"Just my mom. She was like you," Freya replied, her voice wavering, laden with nostalgia and longing.
"Who was your mother?" Lucky insisted, the intention of finding out more about the young woman evident in his fixed gaze.
"Althea. Her name was Althea," Freya revealed, the memory of her mother bringing a mixture of pain and love to the surface.
Freya's words left Lucky in shock, a wave of conflicting emotions washing over him. The name "Althea" echoed in his mind, like a distant echo from a past he could never forget.
"Althea is your mother?" he repeated, almost in disbelief, incredulity coloring his voice.
"Yes, she was like you, but my father was just an ordinary man," Freya explained, sharing the story of her origin, each word laden with an emotional weight that seemed to echo in the darkness of the forest.
Freya told Lucky her story.
Sadness gripped the wolf as he heard about Althea's death, a deep, painful feeling that made him feel as if a part of his own story had been ripped away. He got up, seeking out Orion's presence, his heart clenching at the thought of the revelation.
"Why are you like this?" Orion asked, noticing the change in his uncle's countenance.
"She is Althea's daughter," Lucky revealed, the confession falling like a stone in a calm lake, creating ripples of surprise and concern.
"So why didn't she defend herself?" Orion inquired, his voice laced with suspicion as he looked at Freya from afar, who recoiled under his scrutiny.
"She is the daughter of the she-wolf with an ordinary man. She's never transformed," Lucky explained, the reality of the situation becoming clearer, like a day slowly revealing itself.
"So, she's human," Orion stated, the coldness of his words echoing in the darkness of the forest.
"Maybe, or maybe not!" Lucky retorted, the unease growing in his chest. He knew there was something more to Freya, something that deserved to be discovered.
"Let's let her go and return to the pack," Orion exclaimed with determination, his voice as firm as a command that brooked no argument.
"We can't leave her here!" Lucky insisted, the urgency in his voice increasing. "She could be one of us. We cannot ignore what she can become."
"She's weak, Lucky. She can't live with us," Orion replied, his gaze stern and unforgiving. Those words cut like a blade, and Lucky felt a wave of helplessness wash over him. He knew he had to obey his alpha, but the desire to protect Freya pulsed within him like a primitive instinct.
With a heavy sigh, the two turned away, leaving Freya alone in the dim light of the forest. Silence enveloped the place, and the young woman felt the weight of loneliness settle in her heart. A mixture of fear and sadness enveloped her, while the echoes of her own confusion resonated in her mind.
As Orion walked, the light of the full moon illuminated his path, but it also seemed to distort his perception. A soft, desperate voice began to echo in his mind, like a whisper that intertwined with the night wind.
"Don't leave me alone..." the voice murmured, a plea that seemed to come from a deep, unknown place, making his heart hesitate. The moon reflected his emotions, bringing to the surface an inner conflict that made him waver.
Suddenly, as if drawn by an invisible force, Orion turned abruptly and ran back to Freya. He found her there, vulnerable, small under the silver light of the moon, and something inside him broke.
Without hesitation, he took her in his arms, the strength of his body enveloping Freya in an unexpected shelter. She was surprised, her eyes widening in disbelief as he lifted her with ease, as if she were made of feathers.
"What are you doing?" she asked, her voice trembling between confusion and a hint of hope.
"We can't leave her here," he declared, renewed determination in his tone.
With Freya in his arms, Orion began to run towards the pack, his wolves following him in a frenzy, like arrows cutting through the air. The forest seemed to vibrate around them, the sounds of nature mingling with the pounding of his heart.
Freya felt the wind on her face and, for a moment, the feeling of freedom enveloped her. She didn't know what the future held, but there, in Orion's arms, there was a glimmer of hope.
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