The Wolf and the Hunter

The Girl before the Wolf

Rewritten 12-18-2022

~10 years prior~

The dingy alleyway reeked of musk, filth, and recently, alcohol. It burned my nose and seemed to choke me, but it was safer out here, in the noisy world than inside my home. My father had been drinking again, which wasn't abnormal, he'd usually yell at me about my nature, tell me how I killed my mother, then usually beat me till he'd leave me crumpled and crying. This time, however, he was silent in his hatred towards me. Glaring daggers at me through his lidded eyes, muttering about the freak that sat in front of him and occasionally looking out the open front door. I sat in front of the burned out fire till I heard him talking about how it would probably be better if I was dead. To rid the world of this sinful thing in front of him. He was quiet after that, no more muttering, just sipping his drink glaring at me. I couldn't take the silence and tension he had created, so I stood and walked outside and closed the door to try and give my father time to sober a bit.

Sitting alone, listening to the bustling sounds of Boston would normally cause me headaches. Too much was going on at once for my ears to handle, but right now, the noise was more comforting than my father's unusual silence. So I sat on a broken piece of wood, humming quietly to myself as I kicked dirt around aimlessly. The sound of my homes door slamming opened made me jump as my father's loud footsteps thundered towards me. I tightly closed my eyes, wishing for him to storm past to find a tavern and leave me alone. Instead, his hand reached out and grabbed a fistful of my unruly auburn hair, dragging me off my little perch while hissing out, "Get in here."

"No papa, no!" I screamed out, helplessly clawing at his hand to release me. My cries of pain and pleading meant nothing to him as he roughly tossed me back into the house. I slammed onto the dirty floor, tears streaming down my face as I turned to look at the daunting figure, shaded by the light leaking through the door. My father looked down at me, a new hatred burning through his eyes i had never seen before. He quickly grabbed the musket that rested by the door. "Stay here, demon." With that, he slammed the door shut behind him with a click of the lock, leaving me alone in the darkness. I couldn't help the tears that soon began to quickly fall down as I slowly picked myself off the floor. Crawling towards the door, I rested my ear against the wooden surface. I tried to calm my sobs long enough to hear if my father was still outside, but instead, I heard multiple male voices. They started as a hush whisper before they seemed to grow in confidence.

"What should we do with that monster inside?" I heard one man ask.

"We should just shoot it, nothin' could survive a good ol' musket ball." a slurred voice answered back. A pit formed in my stomach as realization hit me. They were plotting to kill me.

"Are we sure we should kill it like that? If it is truly a demon, shouldn't we use more precautions?" a younger male voice asked.

"Na, it just a little eight year-ol' girl. She won't put up a fight." a ruff voice said, my father's voice. Clenching my jaw, my body started to shake as my bones slowly twisted and popped out of place. My shoulders rolled back, sticking up more, and pushed my ribcage down. My jaw lengthened as my nose poked out. Paw formed from my once skinny fingers as claws grew from my fingernails. My knees bent back, and white and rusty fur sprouted out from my body. My ears on the side of my head stretched and grew thin as they pointed. A tail started to form as my back hunched, a thick, warm white, brown, and red coat covered my now wolfish body. Sharp white fangs grew from my gums. Jumping to the other side of the door, I pinned my ears and laid flat on my belly, waiting for the door to open.

Laying in the shadows, I waited. I waited silently like a hunter, waiting for its prey. Suddenly, the door burst open, showing the tip of a musket. Before the man could step into the room, I leaped from my hiding stop, landing on the unaware man. Giving him a slight growl, I jumped off him running out of the alleyway we were in.