CHAPTER 2 — The Alpha Remembered a Debt No Human Knew
Victor forced a laugh.
"It's coincidence."
But nobody believed him anymore.
The wolves hadn't looked away.
Seven pairs of glowing eyes remained fixed on the platform hidden among the trees.
The Alpha let out a low growl—not loud enough to threaten, but deep enough to shake every hunter's confidence.
Samuel slowly opened his eyes.
The massive wolf was still standing beside him.
Not attacking.
Protecting.
A memory flooded back into his mind.
Fifteen winters earlier.
A brutal blizzard.
He had found a wounded wolf pup caught in a steel trap left behind by illegal poachers.
The tiny animal had been bleeding, starving, and barely breathing.
Everyone in town had begged Samuel to leave it.
"Wolves only repay kindness with death."
But Samuel couldn't walk away.
For weeks, he fed the injured pup by hand, cleaned its infected wounds, and slept beside the fireplace to keep it warm through the coldest nights of winter.
The morning the wolf recovered...
It disappeared into the forest without looking back.
Samuel had never seen it again.
Until tonight.
The Alpha moved closer.
On its front leg...
Just above the paw...
Was a faded white scar.
Exactly where the steel trap had crushed the bone years ago.
Samuel whispered with trembling lips.
"It... can't be..."
The Alpha gently rubbed its head against Samuel's shoulder.
Recognition.
Gratitude.
Loyalty.
The hunters watched in disbelief.
Victor suddenly shouted,
"Shoot it!"
But before anyone could pull the trigger, dozens of deafening howls erupted from every direction.
Not seven wolves.
Not ten.
An entire hidden pack burst from the forest, surrounding the hunters in seconds.
Panic exploded across the platform.
Rifles slipped from frozen hands.
Men stumbled over each other trying to escape.
Victor backed toward the edge of the wooden platform—
CRACK!
The old boards shattered beneath his feet.
His scream echoed through the valley as he disappeared into the darkness below.
The wolves didn't chase him.
They didn't need to.
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Because the forest had already chosen who the real prey was.
To Be Continued...
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