**‘It was an early evening, my birthday. I was just turning sixteen and felt the joys of being considered a woman officially in the town. My mother built a special cake for me, my favorite chocolate with chocolate fudge with whip creamy frosting. I sat at head of the table, which was usually my father’s place.

He hunted that evening for rabbit (my favorite.) after packing up most things in the house. It was the best rabbit I tasted. You see, we were packing because of moving into another human village which was safer. He was worried over hearing that werewolf invasion had become more frequent since the elk and deer population has declined so much. Other towns had been either raided or destroyed by these monstrous animals. So he decided after my birthday we would move into a safe town called Yogon, which had barb electric fences.

I felt a little relief hearing that, I already packed most of my things weeks ago.

My mother brought the cake out after dinner and as they all began to sing to me, we heard a howl in the distance. My little sister and brother stopped singing as my parents clamped their jaws shut. I felt fear unlike any other the first time that night when I looked at my father who had a grave face.

“It must be hundreds of miles away they have powerful voice boxes.” My father said reassuringly. So I ate my cake in peace…until we heard it again. For my birthday I received a book and was reading by the fire place. I was soaking in the romance story my mother personally picked out. I wanted to marry a prince charming one day, just like this girl. Although I knew I would never will which made it more fun to dream.

We heard the howl again as I read. I looked up at my parents who began quietly talking. We already heard our neighbors boarding up their homes and loading guns. My father that night ordered me to wake up my siblings and pack a light bag. I did as ordered going up the stairs.

After waking my grumpy siblings I quickly rushed to my room getting an emergency bag full of water, flash lights and batteries. I shoved my new book in there too, giving one last glance to my room before shutting the door one last time.

I ran down stairs seeing my mom packing salted meat and a few veggies and fruits. My father had his long rifle and hat over his face. “Are we leaving tonight?” I asked softly. “I thought we were leaving in a week.”

My mother frantically shook her head as my father responded for her. “It’s best if we go now, the howls are getting closer. We can make it to the town early morning if we go now.”

I heard a scream that made me look to the door. It was a loud call throughout the town. It was Mr. James on his horse. “WEREWOLVES GET YOUR GUNS MY MEN.”

He kept calling and calling this making my little sister cry in fear, tears streaming down her face. My mother picked her up still having the strength to pick up her little five year old. I remembered then what I was learning in school.

I barely paid attention in my magical creatures’ class until we were on the unit of werewolves. Explaining how they were brutes in packs. They had a long history of grudges on humans and the humans the same. The two would never get alike since they were like a ‘brother and sister’ race. Where there genes were so close where they were similar in bi-polar opposite ways.

“Shouldn’t we wait until there gone?” I asked as my father began to lead out the back down.

He shook his head softly. “They are out for meat and a hungry wolf children is not something you underestimate. They will knock this house down. It we leave now we may be able to pass them since their goal is the town and has more people.”

“What about the other creatures in the forest?” My brother asked.

My father sighed opening the door. “We must pray there are none my son. Most of the time they stray from our villages thinking we are greedy and a sign of bad luck. Are you all ready? I will protect you, be strong.”

We all nodded and we left our house. We ran to the forest. We had to make it, it was over a mile but the howling behind us became clearer they had entered the opposite direction we were heading.

I began to hear the screams of men fighting for their families. Something in our world Oryran faced every day. It made me push my legs trying to keep up with my father, reassuring us everything would be okay. I had a feeling it would not be okay and it wasn’t.’**

I stopped writing beginning to remember the memory how I felt. How troubled I was. I was so scared for the werewolves to get us that night. My father was wise to take us out of that village then because it is now a grave yard. No one survived, all houses were burn.

**’My family and I traveled into the forest, where there was a small dirtied path. Most merchants who came through warned my father it was a risk to get lost in the path and they were right. Thirty minutes in my father was scratching his head. My mother had to cover my little sister’s mouth to keep her fearful moans to a minimum.

“Cal.” She hissed. “What are we doing?”

My father in front of the path had his fingers locking into his curly strawberry blonde hair. “We are probably off the wrong path five minutes we can retract ourselves.”

We began to turn around when I heard a wolfish cry near us. My eyes widened and everything happened so fast before me I went into shock. I saw the eyes of a monster. He had big eyes that glowed yellow, they were glowing so hungrily and weren’t scared of my father’s gun.

My father put his gun eye level pushing us behind him. My eye contact did not break with those big eyes in the darkness. I began to see the moon in them and when I did the wolf turned away. ‘So strange’ I thought. ‘Weren’t they impulsive creatures out for blood?’

My father laughed quietly but it was a nervous laugh. “He must have had empathy. I have never seen that in my life time.”

My father’s words echoed in my ears, vibrating. I did not see the wolf but only his big eyes towering over us. I saw the eyes flash back again as my father pushed us to continue on the path we were already on, since it was safer. As those eyes returned to look at us I noticed they were looking directly at me before leaving.

I felt my skin crawling off wanting to hide. I had a sick feeling that it was going to come back. It did and it was half way through the night when it came back I almost forget our little incident of direct eye contact. My father said we were still going the same direction but may end up not at the main entrance but as long as we were there that was all that was important we were there.

We heard the stepping first coming all directions. It came in odd times with a few sounds of sniffing. My father motioned us up into a tree and held his gun as we were climbing up. Three wolves showed themselves in the path, all had grey coats with specks of black hairs in the mix. They were so big, bigger than my father or a bear. They looked like there was no human in them and they snapped their jaws. My mother was already on the branch high enough with my brother and sister. She was holding her own mouth closed shaking from tears.

My eyes widened seeing them lunch at father who yelled as he shot one’s eye. It was in the middle and the biggest. The wolf back away moaning, blood poured out of his eye as if he were crying. “FATHER UP IN THE TREE.” I screamed but my father was too afraid as the other wolves lunged at him.

He kept shooting at them but missing. The wolf shot in the eye stayed in the back howling. My father cursed as one wolf brought him to the ground. “He is calling the others!” He yelled at us. “You must go to tree to tree, find another one safe enough to cross, you have too!”

I saw my mother preparing to leave but I wasn’t going to leave my father there. I would never leave him to be eaten. I was scared but I loved my father too much. I would regret the rest of my life not helping him.

I leaped down on top of a wolf. Whose head writhed in confusion what was on his back. Like a wild horse he threw me making my back sorely slam to a tree. I shook myself off seeing my father holding the face of the wolf shakily as it was bending down to rip his face open. Before the two wolves could see I got up I rushed to my father’s gun. I lifted it to my face remembering how he showed me how to use it. I shot the eyes of the wolf, the wolf screamed falling. As it screamed I was able to shoot the roof of his mouth. He wiggled and squirmed on the ground in pain. His blood was getting everywhere even on my father who was getting up on a tree yelling at me to come on.

But I couldn’t, I stared in horror seeing I was killing a creature. The two other wolves rushed over yipping bending down smelling the blood….and bullets. The bigger one, with the eye shot slowly lifted its head and looked at me. “I love you.” I looked at my family tears in my eyes. I threw my gun to my father as my gaze shot to the wolves.

Maybe I could lead them away since their gaze was still locked on me. I saw their friend laid dead with his tongue hanging out, I felt the rush of pain and anger through their eyes. I didn’t feel guilty they were just trying to do that to my family. I glared at them hearing more thundering paws.

I ran. Not sure what direction I felt fearing instincts take over and I was running. I sprinted hearing two of the wolves already on my tale. One leapt on a bolder howling and he got a quick response nearby.

I was leading them away, they were after me for what I did. I ran faster pushing tree branches out of my way. I was slowly regretting my decision because each time I looked back one more wolf joined the pack gaining on me. There was at least fifteen there snapping their jaws, just barely at my ankles.

I prayed quietly as I tripped over logs and rocks, I was so clumsy I would never make it. As I pushed the last of my adrenaline for my life I looked back one last time and when I went to face forward I met with a bigger wolf. He was stronger and taller built than the ones behind me. He was so black with a sleek summer coat. Fall had just barely begun so it had not been thickened yet.

His mouth opened wide and I froze in my terror. Our eyes met and I realized those were the eyes I saw before the three wolves were after us. Those were this wolf’s eyes. He was the one who spared us-so I thought. His eyes were not hungry but full of rage and he lunged at me roaring. I found myself slammed to the ground, my back cracking. My head throbbed hitting the ground so hard. I struggled but he was too strong. I felt his claws digging into me. I screamed out in pain, his big mouth drooled on top of me, getting my face wet. His terrible mouth was opening again and it smelled awful. I didn’t care it smelled awful of course, I cared about his sharp teeth he was going to use on me, to tear me open alive.

I looked around my vision going blurry in pain. The other wolves looked satisfied and circled me hunching low wanting to see every angle how he would kill me, but it didn’t matter anymore. I already felt dead.