Unraveling Secrets

「 Chapter 21 」

➳

The full moon gleamed brightly in the sky, despite the baleful clouds billowing the horizon. In the air wafted the fresh, earthy aroma of petrichor. A storm was brewing up, Matthew could smell it. He longed for the safety of his home, yet he could not go back.

There was a deep ache in his bones. Each step came with a blaze of pain as the ten-year-old boy hiked up the mountain. His head grew dizzier with each minute, but he did not stop.

If he wanted to live, he had to keep going.

Matthew scolded himself for leaving his house. "If you just stayed home, everything would've been fine." But it was too late now. They had smelled his scent. If he were to return home, he would only lead the direwolf hunters to his family. His only option was to hide and pray they would not find him.

A loud clap of thunder made the young boy jump, his foot slipping off the rock. "No!" He tried to grab onto an offshoot on a tree, but it was futile. Pain wracked him as he fell down the mountainside, hitting rocks and tree roots along the way.

Matthew landed in a soft puddle of mud, grunting at the throbbing ache in his head.

"Get up," He willed himself. His body refused to cooperate. "Get up, or they will kill you."

His ears twitched as they caught the vague snap of a twig. The blood in his veins ran cold; the hunters were nearby.

With great effort, he lifted his head to look up at the mountain. "It's no use. You will not reach the top and hide in time. You can't even stand up."

Laying on his back, the boy gazed at the moon. Despite his grim situation, the soft white-gold light of the graceful celestial body comforted him. He could smell the hunters getting closer, and the agony in his bones grew worse by the second. Black spots clouded his vision.

Was this the end?

"No. I won't let you die, kid."

Matthew's eyes widened at the intrusive voice in his head. "Who-"

"I'm your wolf, Maxim. You were not supposed to meet me this early, but you're going to have to shift if you want to make it out of here alive. Lay back, and let me take control of your body."

A series of cracks and pops filled his ears as the shifting began. He felt his limbs being elongated, his mouth stretching into a snout, and a tail sprouting out while he mutated into a wolf.

The pain was almost unbearable. Matthew rarely cried, but in that moment, he could not stop the tears from falling. He bit his tongue in an attempt to stifle any sound that he might make. Thankfully, the transformation did not take long. He weakly lifted his hands to look at them, seeing two black paws instead of his pale fingers.

"Here's the little direwolf! I was wondering when you'd get tired of running." A hunter emerged from the trees, his rifle pointed towards the black-furred creature.

"Do not worry, child. I'll take care of it."

His consciousness gradually faded as Maxim took over.

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Matthew blinked as the flashback of his first shift ended. Looking around, he tried to remind himself of his surroundings. He was standing in the forest, carrying a recently-transformed direwolf. His arms subconsciously gripped her body tighter, silently vowing to never let the hunters get anywhere near his mate.