Chapter Two

The creature screamed in agony thrashing about in the blindingly white snow covering everything in the deep red of its blood. She watched it briefly as it struggled to crawl away from her but it was too weak and slumped to the ground in a pool of blood. The She-Wolf walked forward and nudged the creature with her nose making it scream in fear and pain. Her stomach rumbled and she snarled this was no time for her to be playing with the food she had not eaten in weeks, leaning forward she caught the strange creature by its neck and brought her jaws together sending the head tumbling across the bloodied snow. She lapped at the warm blood enjoying its sweet coppery taste as it went down her throat, she tore off the dead animal fur it had covered itself with and bit into the soft pink flesh looking for the tasty organs beneath. When her stomach was full she carefully bit off the remaining limbs and buried them near a tree far away from where she had made her kill. They would freeze in the icy cold but she would be able to return and use them for future meals with a last look at the carcass, it was a shame she had to leave any of it but better to allow the scavengers something than let them find her hidden stash of food. Now with a full belly for the first time in so long she could not remember the last time she had felt so replete she trotted off to find her cave for some much-needed sleep to regain her strength and the energy she had lost stalking her food source.        When she woke up something called her back to the site of the kill, and she stood in the shelter of the trees looking at the remains and wondering what had brought her back.                                                       A low moan barely discernible in the freezing howling wind caught her attention, she pricked up her ears and turned her head searching for its source another moan had her pinpointing the exact location and she moved like a deadly shadow toward it. The young male Homo Erectus stood next to the remains of its father, it had no idea what to do, it was freezing and starving and now it was alone. It was ready to give up, berating its father for bringing them to this desolate land far away from the comfort of their own Pack. Looking around at the blood-stained snow he fell to his knees and whimpered, it had not been his father's fault. The great explosion all those months ago had destroyed their Packlands and left them with no choice but to move away from the only territory they had ever known. There had been nothing left for them there but certain death like the rest of their Pack if they had stayed, everywhere had been burnt, trees, grass, even the water had turned to steam. The young Homo-Erectus curled into the bloodied snow seeing no use even trying any more he might as well join his father there was nothing left for him in this cruel inhospitable place. The beautiful she-wolf watched the strange creature and sensed its despair and when it curled up in the snow she knew it would die if she did not act.

‘Why would she act to save this strange creature?’

She thought her amber eyes showing her confusion, something inside her compelled her to save this strange thing, some primal instinct that had been awakened inside her by the destruction of all she had known when the ball of fire destroyed their world. She crept forward slowly, keeping her body low to the floor all her instincts on full alert as she approached it but it did not move or even acknowledge her presence. Her ears pricked up as she noticed the strange creature was breathing but only just and knew she had to do something quickly or it would die. Standing over it she gripped the creature by its neck, holding it as she would a Pup with firm gentleness. She was a huge powerful Wolf and it was easy for her to lift the creature and carry it to her cave where she laid it tenderly on the ground and curled her body around it. Her thick white pelt had many layers to protect her from the Arctic cold and it soon warmed the Homo-Erectus enough for him to snuggle deeper into her fur.                                                                                   A few hours later when he woke he sat up in shock staring at the stunningly beautiful snow wolf keeping him warm, and she was keeping him warm, there was no doubt about that. Cautiously, acting purely on instinct, he reached out his hand to stroke her thick warm pelt and it was bliss silky soft and as white as the freshly falling snow. It touched something deep inside him and when she lifted her head their eyes locked and both of them felt the electric shock as a connection between them was made.                                    ‘He was not afraid of her.’

The thought drifted through his mind and it surprised him,

‘This beautiful She-Wolf had killed his father and he should hate her, even try to kill her but he knew she had not had a choice, in this bleak wilderness it was kill or be killed and he understood that at the most primitive level.

Her eyes were a brilliant blue as she surveyed the strange creature whose life she had saved, it was looking at her without fear and not many creatures would dare to do that. She was a huge wolf, much bigger than those that evolved later, and she was the apex predator, it was why she had survived when the rest of her Pack had fallen.

Stretching she stood in the entry of the cave and shook out her long thick fur when the strange creature moved to follow her she bared her teeth at him making him step back. After a few attempts it seemed to understand her message for it to stay put in her den, it was warmer and drier inside and she sensed this creature was not very strong and it needed her protection.