I quickly hiked my way up the incline, the venison being held around my shoulder and against my back.

I was meaning for my trip home to be a steady, and relaxing one, but apparently my legs had a completely different idea.

And I didn't even realize my quick pace until a moment ago.

I turned my head up, being able to see my destination from here.

My next breath came out trembling and my heart seemed to skip a beat before it picked up the pace.

I audibly groaned as I took my next steps.

This again? Already? I couldn't even see the wolf from here?!

Maybe I was just getting sick or something. That made more sense to me than anything else I could think of.

I could try to sleep for a bit after I get home. I'm sure my father can handle what he needs to on his own.

Or just hold off for a few hours.

I yawned at the very thought of it, the wind so graciously blowing a couple pieces of my stray hair into my mouth.

I slouched.

What a great day this had been.

"Lydia!"

My head picked up at the sound of my father, spotting him as he walked out from the small shack on the side of our house.

The shack that went down into the basement where the wolf was being held.

He walked towards me so that we met in the middle before we walked the rest of the way up with me.

"I take it you found some interesting stuff?"

He nodded eagerly.

"He's a historical discovery!" he began, lifting a sheet of paper from his pocket and unfolding it.

I looked over it as he tried to show it to me, but it was very difficult.

His handwriting became nearly illegible to anyone who wasn't him when he was passionate about something like this.

"Even by just assessing the physical side of him, is obvious from a long shot that he's one of the most powerful specimens I've ever seen. I'm almost confident enough to say he's the most powerful canine discovered to date."

"In the whole country?" I asked.

At this point, we had reached our yard and just stood.

"I'm willing to bet on it. In fact, I already sent a messenger pigeon to my partner in the West and told him to gather the rest of us up."

'The rest of us' meaning the others in a group that he became part of before I was born.

A group of ecologists all nearly as enthusiastic as him who gather together usually 2-3 times a year when one of them makes a discovery big enough to engage in before they research all that they can about it, then release the findings to the public.

The thing is, those trips took a number of weeks before he returned.

"I take it that means you're leaving soon?"

He paused for a moment before his expression slowly changed into something close to guilt.

He set his hand on my shoulder.

"Lydia, I'm sorry this is so sudden. I know we had big plans this spring but I-"

I waved it off.

"Go, dad. Don't worry about it. I haven't seen you this excited about something in a while, take this chance while you have it."

In all honesty, I was excited for him. He hasn't been the one to bring news to his little group since I was 10.

Back when he left me with Briar for the month and she scolded him about it for weeks.

But I didn't mind one bit. I knew his research was important to him and to many others.

Being alone for a couple weeks wasn't bad, I had my horse to work with and-

I inhaled sharply at the realization that souls have come to me a lot sooner.

The wolf I was also going to have to take care of that wolf while he's gone.

The wolf that makes me feel like I'm sick whenever I even dare think about it.

My father placed a kiss on my forehead, snapping me out of my daze, "You're the best sweetie. I'll try to make it quick. I cant imagine a beast like that one is going to be too happy about being cooped up."

"Is it awake?"

"Barely. I managed to get the samples that I needed before he started regaining his scenes."

"And you didn't happen to find... I don't know anything immediately strange about him?"

I figured I might as well ask now in a sort of last-ditch hope to see if what was happening was really just happening to me.

Deep down I was begging for him to have felt something too.

He cocked his head to the side, his brow raising at the hesitation in my sentence.

"Anything specific you mean by 'strange'?"

I guess that means no

"Oh, no not really. I was just wondering if there was anything right away that separated him from the rest of the canines you've come in contact with, besides the obvious difference in size."

"Besides the color of his eyes, everything else checked out pretty well. I haven't gotten a good look at my samples yet though, so there's probably a lot more to be discovered. But I'll tell you everything I find once I get back."

I just nodded.

"Okay, did he seem... agitated when he woke up?"

"Surprisingly no. If anything he seemed calm and just kind of silently stared at me through the cage as I did the rest of my things. He didn't really show any signs of fear, nor any signs of aggression towards me. It could just be the drugs wearing off though, so it's hard to say for the long run. I know you're always careful around the animals I keep, but be sure to keep a close eye on this one."

"I will. And I'll make sure nothing happens to him until you return."

His smile turned into that of a softer one, giving my shoulder a little squeeze before removing his hand.

"I know you will. I'll put a sack full of coins on the table before I head out. It should be enough to feed this beast his fair share of uhh..?" He glanced back at what I was carrying.

"Venison," I answered for him, "Hopefully he likes it."

"I don't think he'll mind since he doesn't have to go hunting for it."

"True," I blew out, looking past him just a bit to look at the shack, "Well, I can imagine you'll start packing soon. Do you want me to retrieve saddle up Agnes?"

His horse, which was my gelding's older sister. Both of which were currently grazing in the grasslands.

My father might have a specialty with most animals, but both he and I agree, that I do better with the horses.

Being the mare that she was, Agnes could be stubborn when it came to getting ready for a journey like this one.

He chuckled, seemingly reading my thoughts.

"Yes, I would appreciate that very much."

~~~

I sat at the kitchen table, staring at the wrapped hunk of dear that I had to go feed that beast.

My father left a while ago, telling me to give it to the wolf some time before the sunset.

The sun had set about an hour ago, but I couldn't bring myself to do it.

Every time I stood with the intention of doing it, that stupid feeling returned every time without fail.

It was like my body knew something and didn't want to share it with my brain.

My brain couldn't even fathom what the big deal was.

The basement where it was kept was a very well built structure, one of the things my father was most proud of.

It was a sturdy room with stone walls and a smooth dirt floor.

A very small area of the room was dedicated to the small tools needed for handling wild animals, as well as a simple table and chair for observational purposes.

The actual area in which we kept them was what he was most proud of.

He had built a wall just over four feet tall from one side of the room to the other, the rest of the space to the roof filled with metal bars around four inches from each other.

Besides the roughly 25 square feet dedicated to observation, the rest of the large room was built for the animal.

He wanted there to be enough room for the animal itself to explore, whatever animal it may be, and thus made it as spacious as he could without having the earth above it cave in.

That mainly being the reason it took him a little over two years to build.

Not to mention the time it took to clean that area after releasing an animal back into the woods.

It even had a little crawl space to separate the small area it could come in and be observed in from the rest of the space, giving it a bit of privacy.

My point being that there's a small chance that I wouldn't even have to see the wolf.

If it happened to be on the other side of the crawl space, which I was greatly hoping it was, I could just dump the meat through the small part of the bars I could open, and book it back up here.

The private area already had practically a tub of water in it, so I didn't have to worry about that.

Just the food. That was all I needed to accomplish until he returned.

Although what were the odds that I'd never see the damn dog until he came back.

Slim to none I'd assume.

Dad said he didn't show fear or aggression so the wolf would have no reason to hide.

Something just told me that it wasn't just the drugs wearing off that caused it to act like this.

Although if it was that same something that caused my body to freak out around that wolf, who knows if I should trust it.

My heart thumped harder at the very thought of it.

I let out a long exhale, slouching down in my chair a very unhealthy amount.

No, I just need to do this and get it over with.

If anything, I need to see if whatever happened happens again.

If it was real, or just a weird response.

If I was crazy or not.

I really just needed some sort of clarification after all of the strange shit that's happened today.

First, my dream was different, then my body decides to completely freak out over some dog.

I needed some kind of answer, whether it be good or bad I didn't really care.

I kicked myself back from the table, hearing the awful sound of the chair scraping against the wood floor.

I just have to get this over with.

As soon as I stood that pull in my chest returned immediately, the stupid tingling spreading from it.

In fact, the impact of it caused my balance to slip for a moment.

I steadied myself quickly, trying to swallow whatever I was feeling.

I didn't allow myself to think about it as I slung the wrapped meat over my shoulder, and stomped my way out the door and over to the shack.

The cool spring breeze blew harder than it did this morning, effectively adding to my weird burst of determination.

The determination that completely disappeared the second I walked into the shack and stared down at the stairs.

The soft flickering of lantern light already illuminated the stairway as well as the room at the end.

I was beginning to be able to feel my heartbeat in my throat as the feelings in my chest intensified regardless of my attempts to ignore it.

I just stayed up there for a minute, listening in to see if I could pinpoint if the wolf was moving around.

Nothing. I heard absolutely nothing.

Which got my hopes up in thinking that the wolf would be hiding in its privacy

Slowly I began taking the steps one at a time, trying my best to make as little noise as possible.

I didn't want to gain its attention more than I had to.

I kept that goal at the front of my mind as I crossed the last few steps, keeping my eyes towards the ground.

Still, I heard no sound as I reached the bottom, still keeping my eyes locked onto the floor.

Ever single odd sensation in my body continued to grow.

Part of me didn't want to look up and risk seeing it, but the pride I set for no one but myself was at stake here.

I gave myself a small countdown in my head before I forced myself to look.

Only to see the last possible thing I could have expected.

I barely processed my gasp or the sound of the venison hitting the ground behind me as I tried to make sense of what I was seeing.

There, standing within the cage, instead of a wolf,

Was a man.