Chapter 3 My Savior

Alana POV

I didn't exchange any more words with him after he was so hard on me. This werewolf was an arrogant bastard who thought he owned everything, but if he thought I was going to stop fighting, he was very mistaken.

My kidnapper left his room in the afternoon; maybe he was going hunting or something, but it was the opening I needed. He had locked the door, and I managed to break it in using one of his kitchen utensils. I wasn't going to stand by and watch him do whatever he wanted with me. I was going to fight.

As soon as the door opened, I slipped out of that cave, taking care to check if he was nearby, but he wasn't, much to my pleasure.

My back still hurts from yesterday's blow when I jumped off the wolf's back, and my head still throbs from hitting a rock when I slipped while trying to escape. I was weak and in pain, but even so, I wasn't going to fail to survive. So I started running through the forest as my life depended on it.

But where was I running to? I was in the middle of nowhere, and I didn't know how to get out of that forest, but I needed to get back to my house and my aunt's safety. But at what cost? Suddenly I found myself thinking that gold-digging Aunt Mag was going to sell me to a rich old man in Fastfall, a place that had never been my home, and even if I managed to escape to Belmont, my hometown, who would take me in?

I, being a useless witch with no power, was not fit for any purpose, and no one would want to shelter me for fear of getting my curse and also losing their magic just as I had lost mine. The wizards and their laws were harsh and ruthless, without mercy towards others. I didn't have a place in Belmont, nor did I belong in Fastfall, where I would be forced to marry anyone I didn't want. So why was I running so hard?

My vision started to get blurry as I started to realize that there was no choice for me, I had nowhere to go, and it was very unlikely that Aunt Mag would come looking for me. Heavy tears were coming out of my eyes, but I was running anyway.

"Stop!" I heard the werewolf's voice making me stop, and when I looked, he was standing a few meters away from me, following me.

It was then that I realized that my mission was hopeless. I would never be able to leave this forest if this man didn't want me to.

"Leave me alone!" I screamed, wanting him to stay away.

"Just stop; trust me. Don't move another inch," he said in warning, as if he were aware of something. But I didn't believe him; I wasn't going to play his game. So I ran away again, but as soon as I left the place where I was standing, the ground at my feet gave way, and I screamed as I fell into the large crevasse below. But before I fatally hit the ground, I saw the big wolf jump into the hole and cover me with his body, and when we hit the ground, his body cushioned the fall in such a brutal way.

It was a hole about ten meters below the surface, and there were sharp stakes at the mouth of the hole pointing downwards, indicating that it was not natural, it was a trap, and we had fallen directly into it.

"Holy shit. I told you to stop, you petulant witch," the werewolf said now that he had returned to his human form. He had a grimace of pain on his face, indicating that he had suffered from the fall, after all, it was a damn ten meters, and if he hadn't cushioned the fall with his body, I would be dead and sprawled now.

I swallowed hard. Why had he helped me? Why had he saved my life? He had even thrown himself into the hole while he was out of danger up there. "Could you get off me now?" He asked sarcastically and I opened my eyes wide realizing that I was still on top of him, I jumped off his lap and recovered myself. He got up with difficulty and sat down. It's okay that he wasn't human and could withstand big falls like those, but he had still hurt himself badly.

"Some of your ribs must be broken; you need a healer," I said, and he smiled sarcastically.

"Now you're worried about me? Weren't you running away from me a few minutes ago, you running witch?" He said, being arrogant as always, even though he was in pain. I didn't answer him, let him die of pain!

I looked up to the mouth of the hole, the day was already coming to an end and everything was starting to drain. "How do we get out of here?" I asked in fear.

"This is an orc trap, no one escapes an orc trap unless they want to," he said, leaning his back against the wall of the hole. I looked up again in apprehension and then looked at him.

"Not even a wolf can't escape this trap?" I challenged him.

"Not even a wolf!" He replied, sharp. I lowered my eyes, ashamed of myself, he had sacrificed himself to save my life and now I was asking him to do the impossible. I sighed and sat down in the corner of the hole, completely hopeless now.

"Don't worry so much, we'll get out of here. Every morning the orcs come by to check their hunting traps to see if they've caught anything, so when they arrive, they'll take us out of here, we'll talk to them and then we'll leave," he said with his eyes closed, "I even wanted to prepare a nice dinner because I thought you were still weak, I went hunting a deer, but when I arrived at the cave I saw that you had escaped." He laughed but seemed humorless. "You're not good at following orders, are you?"

"You were keeping me trapped there, obviously I was going to try to escape!" I responded with my head held high.

"So now we're stuck here and without dinner on top of that, I hope you're happy with the choices you made, witch!" He was also relentless, calling me a witch as if it were a derogatory term. I didn't answer him; I should listen to him a few times. "Now we have no choice, try to get comfortable and sleep until the orcs show up."

"What about your injuries? Won't they get worse?" I asked. He grunted sarcastically but without much force.

"You forcing empathy is so touching."

"I'm not forcing empathy!"

"A witch concerned about the well-being of a wolf!? That's another story," he said, ridiculing me.

It was true that our species had never been friends, it was in our DNA to be enemies, but that didn't mean I wouldn't want to return the favor he did for me, I would be dead right now if he hadn't sacrificed his ribs for me to save.

"What can I do to at least lessen your pain?" I asked without giving up, he looked at me a little surprised, he could tell that I was really worried about him.

"Are you thinking of putting your magic on me to cure me? I'm not as stupid as you think. You won't be able to work your dark magic on me to kill me, witch girl!" He said.

"My name is Alana, call me that," I said to him my name even though I didn't know his name. He remained silent for a while, still suspicious, but pondering. And even if I wanted to use witch magic to harm him, he could rest assured that there wasn't even a shred of magic in me, I thought bitterly.

"I already told you not to worry so much about it, my metabolism regenerates itself, and in a few hours, I'll be as good as new. The only sensible thing we can do now, miss, is sleep," he said, closing his eyes again and leaning his head on the wall of the hole.

Still feeling heavy on my conscience, I tore a good part of the fabric from my long dress, gathered it together, and slowly approached him, who was sleeping. I took the rags from my dress and placed them under his head to give him a little comfort, so only then could I feel a little less guilty.