Wilcze Panna

Prologue

Aubrey laid face towards the top of the cave. Wetness trickled down her back and arm, causing her to shudder. Dust choked her lungs as she attempted to pant through the pain. She had to get out of here. Although, she didn't even know where "here" was. Aubrey told her body to move, but it refused, so she turned slightly to face the huge gash in her left shoulder. She screamed out at the gore of it all but no real noise came out of her throat. Her shoulder was throbbing with such intensity that she leaned her head to the side and threw up all the contents of her stomach. The darkness of the cave seemed to engulf her, making it that much harder to breathe.

Starting to get her hearing back, she listened to the voices more closely. A whimper came from behind her and she turned as far as her shoulder would allow her to. Shay. Her heart skipped a beat. The only person who could scream and make her shudder like that. She had no idea what he was doing there or how he fit into the puzzle. He has always been such a mystery, but she has always wanted to know what went on behind those jade black eyes.

Opening her eyes again, ignoring the pain it sent through her body, she saw something that scared her more than she thought it would. Shay was on the ground screaming so loudly it made her ears ring, but that wasn't the scariest part. Behind Shay there was a massive battle going on. There were wolves everywhere. They tackled and bit at each other repeatedly until one of them fell. There seemed to be a mix of black and brown wolves. Aubrey felt her breathing increase evermore and attempted to move to get away from them. She could only think that they were going to come for her any second. She assumed that that must have been what happened to Shay.

"Aubrey, Aubrey! You're going to be alright, Aubrey!"

"Whose voice is that?" Aubrey thought and rolled her head over to look at the source only to find her little brother Copper there with tears streaking his face. He was only seventeen and he looked terrified with his copper hair plastered to his face. It was drenched with sweat and so dirty that it looked more black than copper. There were streaks down his cheeks where tears must have slid down. His shirt was covered in blood and had a huge hole in the front of it, but he didn't appear to be hurt himself.

"Copper you need to get out of here!" Aubrey tried to say, but it just came out as undeterminable noises. Aubrey mentally rolled her eyes as Copper looked at her surprised.

"Aubrey I'm not leaving without..."

Shay screamed again. He kept arching his back up off the ground and his black stringy hair was soaked in sweat under his cap. Shay's shirt was completely torn off his chest and was lying on the ground next to him and his black jeans were torn in multiple places. Copper looked around frightened again, but then continued his sentence.

"I'm not leaving without you, but I can't carry you. You have a massive gash in your left shoulder and I can't get it to stop bleeding! I'm so sorry, Aubrey." Copper shuttered and tears started to slide down his face once again. He noticed Aubrey's face as she stared at him with sheer confusion so he continued.

"You're never going to believe me but Shay is a wolf!" Copper exclaimed in a hushed tone like he was worried Shay was going to overhear him.

"Shay started out as a wolf then when he got attacked from behind a red wolf bit him right in the gut. He lashed out looking for something to sink his teeth into and you happened to be the closest. Now he keeps switching from a wolf to a human and whenever he is human he is screaming. But Aubrey, I don't think he wanted to bite you though because when you went down, he jumped back and seemed just as confused and scared as we were. He became conscious not too long ago and has been screaming bloody murder ever since." Copper explained in a hurried jumble and right when he was finished talking Shay let out another blood curdling scream. Copper stroked my hair lightly as he tried to calm himself down.

Everything flashed before her eyes and all the sudden Aubrey was walking through the forest with Copper just moments before. They could hear some loud noises in the distance so they stopped to listen. When they finally decided to check it out they saw about thirty wolves fighting to the death. Aubrey screamed at the sight, attracting the attention of most all the wolves, and Copper grabbed her hand. He ran into the cave that they came through the bushes next to. Aubrey was only fast enough to shove Copper out of the way of the black wolf but she couldn't save herself.

Aubrey was able to recall just bits and pieces of what she had seen but everything was so confusing. Her mind focused back to lying on the cold, damp floor. Copper was rambling about something, but she couldn't hear anything anymore.

She could feel the pain in her shoulder again and her eyes rolled back into her head as she bled all over Copper's jeans. She grabbed his hand and squeezed it so hard that he sucked in a sharp breath. Her mind was instantly filled with regret for planning the trip up the mountain today. It was her idea to go hiking. If she would have just stayed in and done her homework like a good student, none of this would have happened. Fear was filling her as she started to lose consciousness again. Copper was sitting, alone, in a cave surrounded by vicious wolves and there was no way for her to keep him safe. She promised her father that she would keep him safe.

Part of her was so sure that it had to be a dream. It all seemed too strange. Shay is not a wolf. Human wolf hybrids don't exist. Aubrey attempted to convince herself that she was actually just napping in her room but the immense pain and horrifying sounds surrounding her were beginning to convince her otherwise.

Aubrey caught one more glance of the scene before she passed out. The sun was setting peacefully behind the dense trees of the forest. The cave dripped water lightly down in front of her and the trees swayed in the wind. Shay met her gaze and Aubrey could see him let out a small breath. She tried to say something to him, but couldn't manage anything though her pain.

She slowly slipped back into the never ending darkness of pain and fear.