The Lone Wolf: A Chaelisa Wolf AU

Chapter One: Beautiful

I smiled contentedly as I took a deep breath in. Here was my sanctuary. Here was my space to be myself. I didn't have to worry about people's opinions of me. I wasn't picked on or taunted or teased. No one could talk down to me. No one could harm me. No one could force me to think or be a certain way.

The kids in my village called me odd. They called me strange. They called me a weirdo. All because I could do something that they all couldn't. All because I had a "gift" to many people, but a "curse" to some.

All because I could read.

I was one of the only women in my town who could read. Actually, I was one of the only people in my town in general who could read. The men were taught how to hunt deer and the women were taught how to mend clothes. Societal expectations dictated each gender's position here. If you went against it, you were ostracized for the rest of your life.

Mother was ahead of her time. After Father passed away, she was told to marry someone wealthy. But she didn't. She loved my father too much to marry someone else just for money. Instead, she opened a quaint boutique on the outskirts of town to support our family. She learned how to read with the help of an old bookseller and then passed it down to me, her only child.

Ever since then, my nose was always stuck in a book. I found that it was easier to be whisked away to a world of imagination than to suffer with the structure of reality. It was fun to pretend that I was a beautiful princess awaiting the return of my faithful knight for just a few shining moments. It made my heart feel such joy to be in a fantasy world.

Just as I was getting to the knight's triumphant battle, I heard a rustling in the bushes. How odd. No one ever comes up here to this lonesome hill because it's too close to the woods. But something told me that this wasn't a villager.

I set the book down and got up from under the tree. Carefully, I crept towards the sound, soon realizing how close I was to the woods. They say that no one ever comes out alive once they march in. But I knew better than that. It was just an old wives' tale made to make sure that children don't stray too far away from their parents.

As I neared it, I noticed something peculiar. Peeking out of the bushes was a pair of pointy, dark brown ears that seemed to be covered in fur. It was like those of a dog or a wolf. More like a wolf. And to match, I caught a glimpse of a long, fluffy tail sticking out of the bushes. It was far too early for the wolves to be out, so I figured it was just a lost puppy of someone's in the village.

"Puppy?" I asked. "You can come out, it's okay."

I tried to coax the puppy out from behind the bush, but it didn't seem to listen to me. The only way to get it to come was to go to it. I reached my hand out towards the dog's silhouette, only to touch something rather surprising. I didn't feel the body of a dog. I felt the body of a person, with just a bit of fur around it. I could feel them move away sharply as an animal-like whimper came out.

"Please come out," I begged.

Now I was just filled with curiosity. I'd heard of mythical beings being hidden in the woods, but could I have found one? I thought they were just in the story books that I read as a kid. Everyone in my village called me insane for having such a broad imagination at the possibility of magic, so I shoved it away. But now that hope I had as a child was resurfacing.

"You'll only run away," the voice behind the bush said.

It seemed to be a woman's voice. A young woman, at that. She couldn't have been much older than me. My mind pondered the possibilities. Could I have an encounter with a real werewolf? No, those only came out at night. There was no way I'd see one at noon. Was there?