“So the Rumors Were True…”

My head hurt like hell.

Everything hurt...

I groaned and slowly opened my eyes, instantly regretting it. The cold hit me first. My back was soaked from the snow, and my clothes felt stiff and frozen. I tried moving my arm, but a sharp pain shot through my hand.

“Ah... fuck…” I hissed.

My hand was burning. I looked down and saw the bite mark. It was red and swollen, and it hurt way more than it should’ve.

I tried sitting up, my head spinning like crazy. Everything around me looked blurry at first. Trees. Snow. Darkness. I blinked a few times, trying to focus.

That’s when I saw it. A wolf.

Actually no.

A huge wolf. Ginormous even...

I froze.

It stood right in front of me, staring straight at me like I was nothing. It was taller than me even while standing on all fours. Its fur was thick and pale, almost blending in with the snow. Behind it were smaller shapes.
Cubs.

My heart dropped.

“Oh my God…” I whispered. “No… no, no, no…”

I scrambled backward, not even caring about the pain anymore.

“P-please don’t hurt me!” I cried. “I didn’t mean to do anything! I’ll leave, I swear! Please!”

The wolf didn’t move. It just stared.
I was shaking so bad I could barely breathe.

Then the wolf opened its mouth. “You are afraid.”

I screamed... I screamed so loud my throat burned.

“WHAT THE HELL?!” I yelled. “Nope! Nope! This is not happening! Wolves do NOT talk!”

I pressed myself against a tree, breathing hard.

“This isn’t real,” I muttered. “I hit my head or something. Yeah. That’s it. I hit my head and now I'm in some kind of silly dream, heh...”

The wolf lowered its head a little.

“You are awake,” it said calmly. "You aren't dreaming."

I shook my head fast.

“No. No, this is bullshit. This forest is cursed. I’m hallucinating.”

“You carry my child’s mark.”

I stopped moving.

“…your child?” I whispered.

One of the cubs stepped forward and I recognized it instantly.
It was the same wolf cub that I saved. The one that bit me.

My eyes dropped to my hand again. The bite hurt like hell, but there was something else too. It felt… weird. Like a buzzing feeling under my skin.

“You’re… the mother?” I asked quietly.

“I am,” the wolf replied.

My chest felt tight.

“She was stuck,” the wolf continued. “Bleeding. Afraid.”

“I was scared,” I said quickly. “I didn’t know what I was doing.”

“She bit you,” the wolf said. “Out of fear.”

“Yeah,” I snapped. “I noticed.”

The wolf didn’t react.

“She marked you,” she said.

“…marked me?” I repeated. "What... what do you mean exactly by 'marked me?'"

“She marked you with the Hearing Curse.” She said calmly, yet looking serious. "She bit you. And animals here in this forest aren't like any normal animals."

I frowned. "What...?"

"You heard me." She stepped closer, "If an animal from this forest bites you, it carries a mark. A curse."

"Curse... wait. No, no no... so this forest is actually cursed."

"Affirmative" 

The wolf stepped even closer, now standing right in front of me. She grabbed my hand.

"Hey, what are you—" I screamed.

She looked at my bite mark, and beside it was something that left me in shock.

A glowing mark.

"See this? This is a curse. Every time you get one, it'll glow another mark." She said firmly.

"I... what...?—"

"You can max bear 4 curses. They're permanent. If you bear over 4 you will, and I mean WILL DIE! So you better be careful."

"N-no. This has to be a joke right?"

The wolf shook her head.
Even the cubs in the distance shook their head confirming this was true. I was beginning to get absolutely scared.

Tears starting forming in my eyes. "I... I don't wanna die..."

"Don't worry—"

"Don't worry? DON'T WORRY? I'M STUCK IN A CURSED FOREST WHERE I CAN POTENTIALLY DIE, HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO NOT WORRY?!" I screamed at the wolf, tears streaming down my face.

I slid down on the snowy ground, covering my face with my hands and sobbing uncontrollably.

Meanwhile, one of the cubs stepped closer to me, but the mother stopped her.

"Don't... let me handle this alright my babies?"

The cubs nodded.

The wolf stepped closer to me and lay beside me.

"I'll protect you..." She said calmly.

I looked up at her, tears still streaming down but shock covering my face.
"W-What?"

"You heard me." She looked at me, determination filling her eyes. "You saved my little sweet cub. I'll help you escape this forest, protect you from any danger coming your way."

"B-but... I didn't mean to save your cub. I was about to escape at first before I changed my mind... I just—"

"It doesn't matter!" She stated, "You saved her, I owe you my protection."

"O-ok..."

"Good. Now get up, we have to go."

I got up, but as soon as I did, the cubs all slowly walked toward me as if examining me.

One of the cubs spoke up, and I believed it was the one who bit me.

"Sorry for biting you. I was just scared. Please forgive me."

I wiped the rest of my tears before smiling and speaking up. "It's ok. You are forgiven."

The mother in the distance yelled. "Come on, let’s go! What’s the holdup back there?"

"Coming mommy!" All cubs yelled.

I then slowly followed them all.
I stayed beside the cubs, behind the mother. I still couldn't believe how ginormous that mother wolf was.

And I couldn't even believe this... the rumors of this forest being cursed, was actually true...

[TO BE CONTINUED]