Free Wolf's Bane by D. H. Cameron

eyes wild and full of fear, finally broke into a flat out run.  I lowered my head and gained ground, my heart pumping hard, my hot breath turning to steam.  I was almost within reach and bared my gleaming teeth.  Saliva dripped from my fangs.  There was nothing but the hare and the grass and soft earth beneath my paws.  Then the hare gambled and lost.  It turned, dashing to the side but I was ready.  I snatched it out of midair and shook the poor rodent violently, its life draining away between my powerful jaws.
    I dropped the dead hare and tasted the intoxicating blood, scented the smell of death. I relished it for a moment before I placed a paw on its carcass, then tore a strip of fresh meat free and swallowed it.  I ate my fill of the hare and when I was finished, I trotted off tired and sleepy.  I stumbled upon a stand of trees, soft grass and pine needles that would make a perfect bed for a tired wolf.  I lay down, curled up and tucked my nose under my front leg.  Sleep overwhelmed me and I welcomed it.
    ~~O~~
    I woke to find black leather boots walking my way in the pale light of dawn.  My ears perked up and my body tensed but I was not afraid.  Violet stopped ten paces from me, set a pair of shoes on the ground and held out a long wool coat.  It was cold but I was warm and comfortable in wolf’s form.  Violet waited a moment but I did not move.  I was not afraid but I was wary.
    “Child, come with me.  I’ve things to show you,” she said.  I still didn’t move, simply watching the severe blonde woman.  The clarity I’d gained as I ran had showed me that Violet was a manipulative bitch but her intentions, at least as she’d expressed them to me, were noble.  She wanted to save our kind and she saw me as a means to that end.  In the cold, calculating way of a wolf, I saw the logic in that.  I sat up and then stood on all four paws before I shifted into my human form.
    I stood up straight and walked to Violet, unashamed of my nakedness, took the coat she offered, slipped it on and then donned the slip-on shoes she had brought.  “I don’t appreciate being manipulated, Violet.  It is unnecessary.  I’m a big girl.  Tell me what you want and we can talk,” I said plainly.  Violet nodded.
    “Very well, child,” she replied and I already knew she was still plotting and planning in her head but I hoped I might find some shred of insight into all of this.  Violet began walking and I followed her.  We walked for a while, climbing a low rise and then peering over.  There, below was a village of sorts hidden behind a small hill from the main house.  Smoke rose from the chimneys of the rustic cabins.
    “This is the heart of Wolfsbane.  This is where those that I find come to live.  Five hundred or so of our kind, their mates and children, some like you and I and some human, dwell there.  We are relegated to this place save for a few like you and Yeager.  We live, like you, in the shadows, hiding from humanity and hoping they do not discover what we are.  Make no mistake, Cassie.  If humans discovered us, that would be the end,” Violet said.
    “I don’t believe that, Violet,” I replied.  She was wrong about humans, about us.  Why did we have to be separate?  Why did she talk as if humans were the enemy?
    “Don’t you?  Well let me tell you about humans.  Humans don’t tolerate those that are different from themselves.  Even amongst their own kind, they seek to divide and cleanse.  I’ve seen the brutality of humans.  I’ve seen them kill our kind, men, women and children all.  I’ve seen them slaughter entire packs simply because they didn’t understand, out of nothing but fear of the unknown,” Violet asserted.  I didn’t question her as she continued.
    “Even you and Yeager choose to live apart, to hide in plain sight.  Why?  Because you know deep inside that revealing what you are to them would bring nothing but sorrow.