*

Beneath the moon, her silver gleamed, A wounded queen from forest dreams. A wary gaze, a quiet plea, And trust was born by fire's decree.

*

The fire had burned low, its embers pulsing faintly like the dying heart of some ancient creature. A thin trail of smoke curled upward, swallowed by the dense canopy above. The forest around me was cloaked in a silence so complete it felt heavy, pressing against my ears like the weight of water. Even the occasional rustle of leaves had vanished, leaving me alone with my thoughts and the faint crackle of the fire’s remains.

I shifted in my makeshift shelter, the cold seeping through the gaps in the mud I had used to patch it together. The chill bit at my fingers and toes, turning them numb despite my efforts to huddle closer to the fading warmth. Hunger gnawed at my stomach, a dull, insistent ache that had become as familiar as my own heartbeat.

The quiet wasn’t comforting. It never was. It had a way of creeping into my mind, digging up old memories I didn’t want to face. I stared at the embers, their light flickering over my scarred hand, and tried to push the thoughts away. The forest was supposed to be my sanctuary, but tonight, it felt like a tomb.

Then came the sound.

It was faint at first a sharp crack somewhere in the distance. My head snapped up, my breath catching in my throat. I froze, straining to hear over the wild thud of my heartbeat. Seconds passed. The silence returned, but it wasn’t the same. It felt alive now, charged with tension.

Another noise followed, the unmistakable rustle of leaves underfoot. This time it was closer. Too close.

I gripped the stick I kept by the fire a pitiful weapon, but it was all I had. My body tensed, every muscle coiled tight as I squinted into the darkness. The firelight barely reached beyond a few feet, leaving the world beyond it a wall of shifting shadows. My breath clouded in the cold night air as I waited, unmoving.

And then it appeared.

The creature stepped into the faint glow of the embers, and my grip on the stick faltered. It wasn’t human. It wasn’t anything I’d ever seen before.

A wolf, massive and otherworldly, its fur shimmering like liquid silver in the dim light. It moved with a predator’s grace, its shoulders rolling with each step, the muscles beneath its coat rippling as if carved from stone. Its eyes caught the firelight, two blue orbs that glowed pale and sharp, holding me captive with their intensity.

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I couldn’t move. My breath hitched, my pulse hammering in my ears. This wasn’t just a wolf; it was something primal, something out of a legend. The sheer size of it... it stood taller than any wolf I’d ever imagined, its presence filling the clearing as if it had been born of the forest itself.

The wolf froze, its gaze locking onto mine. For a heartbeat, neither of us moved. My instincts screamed at me to run, but my body wouldn’t obey. There was something in the way it looked at me something intelligent, deliberate. Its eyes weren’t just wild; they were calculating.

And then, with no warning, it collapsed.

The sound of its fall was startling, a dull thud that reverberated through the ground and into my chest. I flinched, my grip tightening on the stick as the wolf crumpled onto its side. Its breathing was labored, each rise and fall of its massive chest shaky and uneven.

I hesitated, torn between fear and an inexplicable pull to move closer. The firelight revealed the source of its distress dark streaks of blood matted its silver coat, oozing from deep gashes along its flank. The wounds were savage, the edges jagged and raw, as though inflicted by something just as deadly as this wolf.

The wolf let out a low, guttural whine, a sound that twisted something inside me. It wasn’t a threat it was pain. A raw, vulnerable cry that made the predator seem almost… mortal.

I swallowed hard, my mouth dry. My legs felt rooted to the ground, but something deeper a whisper of compassion, or maybe recklessness pushed me forward.

The wolf’s ears flicked as I approached, its gaze narrowing. Its lips curled back, revealing sharp, gleaming teeth, and a growl rumbled from deep within its chest. I stopped, raising my hands slowly, the stick forgotten.

“I’m not here to hurt you,” I said, my voice barely more than a whisper. My throat was tight, the words trembling as they left my lips. “I… I just want to help.”

The growling subsided, though the wolf’s eyes remained fixed on me, unblinking and watchful. It didn’t trust me. I didn’t blame it. But it wasn’t attacking. That had to mean something.

I moved closer, each step agonizingly slow, until I was kneeling a few feet away. The smell of blood was sharp in the cold air, mingling with the earthy scent of the forest. My hands shook as I reached for the small tin of water I kept near the fire. I dipped a scrap of cloth from my bag into it, wringing it out before inching closer.

The wolf flinched as I touched its wound, a snarl ripping through the air, but it didn’t lash out. I whispered soft apologies, my voice shaky and uncertain, as I cleaned the blood away. The gashes were worse than I’d thought deep enough that I could see the torn muscle beneath. My stomach churned, but I forced myself to keep going.

The wolf’s breathing steadied, though it remained tense, its gaze never leaving me. The heat of its body radiated against my hands, a sharp contrast to the chill of the night.

By the time I finished binding the wounds with scraps of cloth, my arms ached, and my fingers were stiff with cold. I sat back, my legs trembling as I lowered myself onto the ground. The wolf’s eyes followed me, its pale gaze softer now, though still wary.

I stared at it in silence, the firelight casting flickering shadows over its battered form. Despite its injuries, it was breathtaking. Its silver coat glimmered in the light, streaked with blood but still impossibly beautiful.

“What happened to you?” I murmured, the words barely audible. The wolf didn’t answer, of course, but its eyes seemed to hold something, an understanding, maybe.

I shook my head. I didn’t know why I had done this. Why I had risked myself to help a creature that could easily kill me. The thought was too much to unravel tonight.

…

After awhile exhaustion hit me like a wave, pulling at my limbs and dragging my thoughts into a haze. I pulled my blanket tighter around me, casting one last glance at the wolf before lying down near the fire.

The night stretched on, the embers glowing faintly as the forest reclaimed its silence. And for the first time in years, I didn’t feel entirely alone.