The afternoon sun was already setting when the wolfgirl realized that she had spent the entire day lazily laying on the ground. She felt like laughing. Just a few days ago, she was a slave who was worked tirelessly and now…well, she was now under a tree enjoying the afternoon.

The alpha had long since left and the wolfgirl was now alone, thinking about what the alpha had said. She was to be The Speaker, the person who would speak to the Creator on behalf of the pack. It was a role of leadership, something she never had before. She was both scared and excited at the opportunity. She was wondering how to fulfil the role when she heard the howl.

It was a howl of danger.

The wolfgirl immediately got up and changed because her wolfman form was much faster than her human form. She ran, heading toward the source of the howl. The wolfgirl ran fearlessly at a quick pace, confident in her ability to handle any danger the forest of The Kar could throw at her. The source of the howl was one of the pack, a female, and she was in danger.

The wolfgirl ran and only slowed the moment she got the scent of the other wolfmen. The wolfgirl looked around but her fellow pack members were out of sight. The wolfgirl stepped lightly in the direction of the scent. She was not trained as a hunter, much less one of those hunters who had stealth, but the wolf within her knew what to do. The wolfgirl followed her instinct with very footstep she took, keeping her body low, her ears and tail lowered, sneaking towards the scent of her pack.

The scent got closer and closer and before long, the wolfgirl found them hiding in a thick bush that was shadowed by a huge tree. Surprisingly, all 5 of them were present. The female wolfman who made the howl was not in danger. The pack were all looking at something the wolfgirl couldn’t see from her position. The wolfgirl went up to them and saw what they were all looking at.

There was a small clearing and a camp of humans were staying there. A quick look told the wolfgirl the humans were hunters, probably trappers coming deep into The Kar hunting animals for fur pelts. There was a wagon with a horse tied to a tree nearby. Already several stacks of pelts tightly tied with thick ropes were on the wagon. These humans had been hunting for awhile now.

However the humans weren’t the reason for the howl; that reason was the unicorn currently fighting 3 humans at the far side of the camp. The 3 humans had lassoed the unicorn and while they were busy with the unicorn, the other hunters were looking at the creature in awe. With her enhanced hearing, the wolfgirl could hear the hunters just fine even from this distance. They were amazed by the unicorn and how wondering how much gold they would gained after selling the creature. The wolfgirl felt anger at that and she wasn’t the only one. The other wolfmen also raged against the idea of these humans selling one of the Creator’s creation like some common meat. If there was any doubt before, there wasn’t any now.

These humans will pay!

A small nod from the alpha signaled two of the females to move out. The two females crawl to the left of the pack, seeking to go round to the other side of the camp. The wolfgirl watched as the duo moved quietly but quickly; all the humans were fixated by the unicorn but they were not taking any chances. When the duo reached an area where there were no cover available, they shadowstepped into cover that was a short distance away. A small movement of the bushes was all the indications of what they did. After stopping for a short while to make sure the humans had not heard them, the duo moved again. The alpha wanted to attack from two directions and the wolfgirl understood the need to do so. Although they were more powerful, there were 15 humans in the camp and only 6 of them. The pack needed surprise and…

The sounds of neighing put paid to all the plans. The wolfgirl looked in the direction of the neigh. It was coming beyond the human camp and already 3 of the humans were going in that direction. Then the bushes exploded. The other 4 unicorns rushed out of the bushes charging into the human camp. 2 of the humans were trampled while the third was hit by one of the unicorn’s horn. Rather than being pierced, the third human was thrown back the moment the horn hit him, flying back right across the human camp.

The other humans reacted immediately. Arrows flew through the air and the humans spread out, trying to make themselves hard for the unicorns to attack. Unfortunately for them, this also caused them to be closer to the wolfmen. Then one of the arrows hit a unicorn and all the pent-up rage within the wolfmen was released.

As one, the wolfmen attacked. Running on all fours, the wolfgirl followed the alpha into the human camp. She could see the other 2 females doing the same on the other side of the camp and suddenly, the humans found that they were being attacked from 3 directions.

The wolfgirl leaped at a human, slashing with her claws as she does. The humans was already dead by the time she landed. Without stopping, the wolfgirl rushed to the next nearest human. His eyes were wide with fear and his body was shaking. He was young, no more than a boy really. As the wolfgirl rushed forward, she heard a word from the boy’s lips. “Monsters.” The boy was dead a moment later.

The wolfgirl ran on. The next human had his bow and arrow ready. He saw the wolfgirl and released the arrow. A moment later, the wolfgirl felt the arrow biting into her shoulder. The pain barely slowed her down. The human was trying to get another arrow ready when the wolfgirl made the leap. The distance was too far for a human, too far even for a wolf, but not for a wolfman. The human’s throat was tore apart by her claws.

The wolfgirl landed in pain but wanted to run on. There was no need. The humans were all dead. The wolfgirl stopped and breathed. Her adrenaline was draining away and she was that all the wolfmen and unicorn were alive. Some had injuries like she did but all were walking and they all looked to be well. As she saw one of the pack releasing the unicorn from the lassos, she remember the word the boy said before he died.

“Monsters.”

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