~Present Day~
"I know we can figure a way out of this without shifting," Nathan said, struggling to free himself from the hunters trap they'd found themselves in. "Maybe our claws or teeth can cut through it."
[Normally, I'd agree with you,] Axel snorted. [But it looks like this rope is reinforced with fairy magic. We couldn't bite through this no matter how hard we tried.]
Before Nathan could respond, a loud rustling in the nearby bushes caused him to freeze. Seconds later a large man with beautiful, emerald green eyes, and shoulder-length, golden-red hair stepped out into the open.
"What is a wolf doing in my trap?" The man's deep voice murmured. "I didn't think there were any wolves on this mountain."
**********
Griffin DeLuca wanted nothing more than to catch something so he could go home and get out of this rain. Sure, as a dragon he ran warm, but that didn't mean he didn't feel the cold. As he was stomping through the brush and grumbling to himself he heard the sound of one of his traps going off.
Finally.
Something had been caught.
As he walked to the sprung trap he tried to decide what he'd make for dinner. "If it's got enough meat, a stew would be nice. Especially in this weather."
Just as he had made his decision, he walked through the last bush that separated his view from his trap.
And in it was a small wolf.
It had a cream colored belly with a honey brown coat along the sides and legs, and darker grizzled black and brown markings along the spine, tail and face. It possessed the brightest blue eyes he had ever seen.
Clearly starving, he could see its ribcage and its hips were sticking out much more than they should have.
"What is a wolf doing in my trap?" Griffin wondered to himself. "I didn't think there were any wolves on this mountain."
As he thought about it, he couldn't recall anyone ever mentioning seeing wolves on Red Peak Mountain.
"Hey boy," he spoke calmly to the spooked animal. "I'm sorry about the trap. Just stay calm, I'm going to get you out of there in no time."
The wolf stared at Griffin, unblinking. Even though it wouldn't be able to hurt him, being stared at by a hungry wolf unnerved Griffin. Again, he spoke softly to the creature, "I don't want to hurt you, and I can guarantee that you don't want to try to hurt me."
Kael, Griffin's dragon half, shifted uneasily inside him. [There's something off about that wolf.]
"Really? Like what?"
[I don't know but it's not looking at us like it wants to eat us. It looks more like it's trying to figure out what we want.]
Griffin slowly started to undo the knot that held the trap up while he considered what Kael said. "Maybe it's just wary."
[Maybe. Just be prepared when it's free. It might try to attack us.]
"Worrywart."
As Griffin lowered the trapped wolf he watched how it shifted its weight so that it'd be on its feet when it touched the ground. Before he fully dropped it though, he stooped and picked up the rabbits he was using as bait and flung them a distance from himself, hoping the wolf would go for them and leave him alone.
As the wolf shook the net off of its body, it continued to stand there and stare at Griffin. "It's alright, boy, I'm not going to hurt you. You can have the rabbits. It looks like you could use the extra meat."
The wolf gazed towards the rabbits before facing Griffin again. Without turning its back it slowly started backing away towards the rabbits. Picking one up, it continued to back away until it was gone from view.
Griffin let out a relieved sigh.
[Well, that was interesting.]
"What was interesting?" Griffin asked aloud. He preferred talking to Kael out loud after spending so much time by himself.
[I think we'll be seeing more of that wolf, so you might want to prepare yourself.]
Griffin grunted, not wanting to answer him. "Let's just find something for ourselves to eat and get out of this rain."