CHAPTER 2: THE NIGHTMARE IN THE WOODS
Weeks passed.
Winter tightened its grip on the forest.
The wolves continued appearing every night.
The she-wolf's belly grew larger.
Sometimes Ethan caught her watching him from only a few yards away.
There was intelligence in her eyes.
A strange understanding.
Then the disappearances began.
Several hunters reported missing dogs.
Livestock vanished from nearby farms.
Panic spread through neighboring towns.
People blamed Ethan.
"The ranger is protecting them."
"He's feeding them."
"He brought the wolves closer to us."
Soon angry residents demanded that the wolves be killed.
Ethan refused.
Something deep inside told him the pack wasn't responsible.
But nobody listened.
One evening, a group of armed hunters entered the forest.
Their leader was a wealthy businessman named Carter Briggs.
A ruthless man known for trophy hunting.
He announced he would eliminate the entire pack himself.
Ethan tried to stop him.
He failed.
That night gunshots echoed through the trees.
Then silence.
The next morning Carter and his men were missing.
No vehicles.
No tracks.
Nothing.
The entire town erupted in fear.
Authorities launched a massive search.
Ethan joined them.
Three days later they found the hunters.
Alive.
Terrified.
Hiding inside an abandoned logging camp.
Their faces were pale.
Their eyes filled with horror.
What they described sounded impossible.
According to Carter, they had tracked the wolves deep into the mountains.
Then they discovered something horrifying.
A hidden poaching operation.
Dozens of illegal traps.
Animal carcasses.
Smugglers armed with rifles.
The wolves had not attacked the hunters.
Instead, they had driven them away from danger.
Every time Carter's group moved toward a deadly trap, the wolves appeared and redirected them.
At first they thought the animals were stalking them.
Only later did they realize the wolves were actually protecting them.
But the poachers weren't interested in protecting anyone.
When Carter and his men stumbled onto their operation, they became targets.
The smugglers hunted them for two days through the mountains.
And each time the hunters were cornered, wolves appeared from the darkness.
Distracting the criminals.
Buying precious time.
Saving their lives.
The authorities raided the poachers' camp.
Several dangerous criminals were arrested.
The town finally realized the truth.
The wolves had never been the threat.
The real monsters were human.
But Ethan's nightmare wasn't over.
Because the pregnant she-wolf disappeared.
And no one could find her.
Not even her own pack.
For two weeks, the forest felt empty.
Then one stormy night, Ethan heard scratching at his door.
When he opened it, his heart nearly stopped.
The she-wolf stood there.
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Covered in blood.
And behind her lay five tiny newborn pups.
