The lone wolf of the shadows

Chapter 1 {The Lost Man}

The moon is bright, sending beaming rays of light across the down lands of North Wales and gently touching the tree tops of the dark forest. The people in the village that sat at the bottom of the down lands, would watch as the full moon rose, and listen carefully for the sound of howling wolves. For, for them, a full moon was a  sacred blessing from the gods. 

It was also a very dangerous meeting should they meet one of the animals, so they  would lock and bolt all their doors and windows on a full moon. Hanging wolfs-bane on sheep pens and nailing horse shoes to their front door. But still, the strange humans would stay awake on a full moon and listen in silence, waiting for the first howl to sound. They always made sure to leave an offering of some kind, usually a skinned rabbit or chicken, left for any hungry wolf who may pass that house on a full moon. And this was the small comfort the lost man revised when coming down one night from the down lands. 

Jamie, now turned lone wolf, found that their way of thinking was quite intriguing, one of the many interesting wonders of the world perhaps. The fact that he was a true werewolf was of course a secret to all humans, yet some of the older cultures knew stories of werewolves and believed in some of their own theory's on them. 

Jamie's mountain wolf fit in well with the wild wolf packs that inhabited this area, the wild wolves could smell he was no threat being a lone wolf.

 Lone wolves are wolves who don't stay in one place, they are peaceful travellers who can't find one place to settle down. They are how their name describes them, lonesome creatures. They prefer not to interact with other wolves too much and never get involved in pack business, they hold danger to packs and are given the freedom to roam wherever they please. This is a huge freedom for a wolf, given that if you're a pack wolf you'll be restricted to pack territory and have to worry about attacks and rogues all the time. 

Jamie decided to join the wild wolves on their full moon hunt. He found it interesting that the wild wolves would enjoy playing the humans theory, laughing at how their clever thinking earned them a free meal.

 Tonight however was different from the other hunts Jamie had experienced with the wild pack, the wild animals were the first to scent it and warn the others. A darkness was here, and this Jamie thought, was what he was actually here for. As the Night Crawlers creped around the edges of the village, the wild wolf pack snarled. They moved further back into the trees that outlined the deeper part of the forest, watching the scene play out with fear. 

But Jamie ignored the alpha's command to stay back, running headlong down the hill toward the approaching creatures with a battle cry sounding from his lips. 

Watching the half human-wolf charge at the danger as his pack cowered back, the alpha of the wild pack was left with a humiliating feeling. He was a leader, seeing a weak half wolf engaging with the Night Crawlers set a reckless part of him free as he ordered an attack. The Alpha and pack following Jamie's pursuit.

 The lone wolf tore and slashed, bit and scratched at the Night Crawlers, its moves fast like a bolt of lightning and its fur made the wolf look more like a shadow, how it came out of the dark and ambushed its victims. Soon the area was in an eerie silence.

 The village torn apart and human bodies lay in blooded carnage. A true bloodbath. The wild pack threw their heads back in howls of prayer for the deaths that came about that night, through all their disdain and disgust of humankind they also felt a kinship to the villagers. Jamie, who was making his way through the rubble, stopped for a moment to join in the prayer and wish well the dead souls. Moving further into the destroyed part part of the village and further from the pack, Jamie was the first to notice the human heartbeat. 

The wild pack may have heard nothing but a light flutter, but being werewolf meant Jamie had a stronger sense of hearing then ordinary wolves, it wasn't something he chose to brag about and would rather not have such a strong sense if he had any say.