Chapter 1
THE NIGHT AIR was ominous and tense. A soft layer of fog rose up from the ground, as if made up of the ghosts of the slain ones. The branches were still. Nothing seemed to breathe, not even the wind. The only thing that signaled some signs of life were the Northern lights and the pulsating stars embedded deep within the sky.
Cait hid in the brush by a frozen lake. The bramble thicket concealed her tiny body perfectly. The prickly vines occasionally tangled in her fur, but it was a small price to pay to continue living.
Feeling that the danger had passed, Cait cautiously stepped out of the bramble thicket, deliberately placing her paws, one in front of the other in a tortoise-like fashion. Lifting her muzzle to the air, she drank in the scent; blood, but it was stale, and nothing else. Perhaps it really was all over, and everything could go back to the way it had been?
Suddenly, Cait heard a twig snap. Whipping her head around, she batted her ears and curled her lips, preparing herself for a fight. But she could not see through the thick, ghastly fog, and she was unable to pick up any new scents. Looking down, she noticed a small twig laying down in two pieces beneath her paw. Relieved, she straightened up and decided to make her way back home; that is, if her home still existed. But just as she was about to turn around, she found she was face to face with a large, dark wolf.
The wolf had a deep red scar running down its face and shiny amber eyes that reflected the moonlight. Its mouth was bared with rows of white teeth, acutely serrated and razor-sharp. A daunting growl omitted from its throat.
Cait was absolutely petrified. She could not move nor speak; she was paralyzed with fear. The only thing she could do was stare into those daunting amber eyes and plead inaudibly for her life. But she knew in her heart that the wolf had no desire to let her go.
After a few tense moments, the wolf let out an appalling snarl and snapped its jaws shut.
Cait could only see darkness.
