5 Part III: Sinking Treasure

A wolf sat on top of a hill in the dense woodlands, looking down at the neon-blue ribbon of river running through the centre of the meadow. Its sharp gaze shifted to the ship that was sailing by and it noted the activity that played on that ship. The wolf could see the humans aboard holding onto an unidentified object and with a couple of swings, they released their hands, and the object sank into the ocean. 

The strong metallic scent of the object sinking caught the wolf's attention, and it was ready to race for whatever was in there before any other wolf.

The wolf dashed noisily through the forest and the owls hoot as they ghost past moon-splashed trees and the frightened rodents ruffled the leaves. The animal couldn't wait to sink its teeth into what was heading for the bottom of the river and the mere thought of the taste of the sweet scenting blood was making it run faster.

It dived into the river, kicked its legs to navigate as it followed the direction of the blood trails. Soon it noticed the tied up human body that was sinking at fast rate. The dark indigo water swirled around what it identified as a female, keeping her from the oxygen she needed. 

The wolf thought it would be best to let it drown. It didn't mind eating a dead body, anyway. By the looks of it, the human was not likely to survive, so it was a perfect opportunity to see what would kill the human first. Blood loss or drowning.

The figure's hair floated like seaweed upwards and the moonlight that dimmed above was getting further away and so was the chance to breathe.

Veronica's entire body throbbed. Her lungs felt as if they've been set on fire. Slowly, black seeps in at the edge of her vision. She tried to open her mouth to breathe, but only cold salty water rushed in and gradually filled her lungs.

"So this is it, huh? I'm sorry mom. I'm so sorry" Everything faded away. Painfully, quietly. She didn't want to die like that, but it was too hard to try to fight, so she simply let the darkness take over her. 'I wish I got the chance to tell you I love you for the last time, mom."

When an unknown person clasped at her torn shirt, Veronica was unaware, but slowly she was towed upward to the surface.

The person's hair fell loose about his face as he trudged out of the water with his arms around the stranger. The coldness he had felt upon entering the sea was completely gone. A desperate hot wave had come over him, warming his toes. He plopped the body on the ground, then dropped on his knees as let out a loud cough.

The cool water lapped at the body on the ground, fizzing and bubbling like brine. Waves ahead roar and roll down, crashing onto the rocky bed with a soft hiss; peeling away at the deep bronze earth beneath the Veronica's body.

The person shook his body continuously to dry up a little before looking at Veronica, who went limp, almost as if dead.

"Why did I bother if you were going to die?" The person hissed as his blood bubbled, bones transformed and it crouched to the ground on all fours, making itself smaller to fit a normal wolf.

"Mom" Veronica suddenly opened her mouth, gasping for air just when the Wolf was about to eat her. The wolf placed its paws on her chest, then pushed hard until Veronica turned on her own, and coughed out water.

"A good meal might be wasted, but you're safe for the meantime" the wolf then inspected the body, and he noticed Veronica's bad condition.

Her wet brown hair was matted with a crimson liquid, her arms and legs were all bruised and her clothes looked like rags, dirty and tattered. 

"What to do with this human now?" The wolf's body slowly stretched, and it stood on its two human legs under the moonlight. He bent down to tend to the wounded body on the floor and noticed where the stab wound was. 

"Cinq Zen Mura Jeh" the man uttered, placing his hands over the wound and sped up the clotting process. He proceeded to cut the ropes she was tied with and began to dress her wound.

He lifted the young girl that was unconscious and drenched in water as he continued to ponder on a decision. He couldn't bring himself to eat her, but the smell of her blood still lingered and tempted him to do so. 

"I wonder what happened to you?" He asked, but she didn't respond. 

"You're going to die out here. Those that threw you out of the ship knew that. I have no reason to protect you. We see each other as enemies and we are at war. You're human. I am not."

Veronica slept comfortably in his arms as he walked down the mountain paths, in search of a hideout that a few humans occupied before his men tortured them to death.

It was in a concealed area, hidden so perfectly that even he had no idea that humans had occupied his territory.

The moment he found the old shack, he placed her on the thick cushion and blankets the previous inhabitants left behind.

The werewolf knew he had to ready his men for the enemy attack, but he wanted to remain by the girl's side. He thought of raising questions about the rebellion and their plans, so he'd decided to wait for her to wake up first. Moreover, defeating humans wasn't a hard task. Bring a hundred… Even five hundred men, and the king alone could defeat them all.