Note: This is just a strange story I'm working on. This is more of an outline of what I want to happen. I have no idea if I'll actually expand on it, but I liked the concept.

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The Girl and the Wolf

Summary: She had no fear when she approached him and it was because of that he fell in love with her.

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The first time the wolf laid eyes the girl he glimpsed her from a distance on a warm autumn afternoon. She was at the boundaries of the woods, looking in, watching for movement. Her face was an expressionless mask as she stood there in her fineries, gazing through the trees. She was something completely foreign to him, delicate and refined. She looked like a doll, pale faced and pink lipped.

She looked like prey in the light of day, but she was out of reach and had a protector at her side, perhaps her father, who stood tall and foreboding. The wolf thought she wasn’t worth his time and walked away without another glance.

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It came as a surprise to the wolf that he should see the same girl standing in the woods once winter set in and the ground froze over. The girl was still small of frame and weak in feature. She would not satisfy his hunger and yet he stood there in the snow, staring, a deep growl starting in the back of his throat.

He noticed her fineries were gone and she stood before him in a thin colorless gown, feet completely bare upon the snow. Her breath came in clouds of white as she breathed, slowly inching closer to where he stood. The girl extended her hand as she approached.

The wolf snarled, showing his teeth. He expected her to gasp in fright, to withdraw her hand, to turn around and run away. Instead, she stood her ground and smiled, tilting her head to look at him in a curious way.

“Hello, wolf,” she said, standing just inches from him, hand presented in an open gesture.

“Hello, child,” he answered, his voice a deep rumble.

“Not a child,” she protested.

“Girl,” he said, moving forward and allowing her hand to touch his forehead.

She moved her fingers over his fur, gentle and soothing. Her hand did not shake as she felt his soft fur, wandering the expanse of his features. No human had touched him before and the motion alone caused his chest to stir with a strange sensation.

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The girl kept appearing, always meeting him in the same place, bathed in moonlight. Every meeting he would examine her, wondering what it was that drove her into the woods, and she would keep her eyes on him, never intimidated or afraid.

“You’ll catch your death out here among the wild,” he said to her, hoping it would drive her away.

“I shall catch it whether here or with the civilized,” she replied, placing her hands upon his face, “All of us, we’re only animals in human clothing.”

The wolf, so filled with hunter’s instinct, knew that his first reaction should have been to snap his teeth at her when she leaned in close and placed a kiss on his forehead. Instead, he allowed her to do it, closing his eyes as he felt her warm lips against his fur.

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One night the girl appeared with a red mark marring her face. The wolf knew, the moment he saw her, the mark would become a large bruise on her cheek. It angered him to know she had been hurt.

“Who did that to you?” he asked, growling.

“It doesn’t matter,” she said, her voice soft as a whisper as she placed her hand on his head, gently scratching.

He made a noise if dissatisfaction at her answer, but pushed no further. The wolf watched her instead, noting the way her eyes gazed off into the woods. She looked down at him and gave a weak smile, pressing her forehead to his.

“Run with me,” she said, her breath warm against his face.

“Where will we run?” he inquired.

“Down to the frozen stream,” she answered as she rose and fixed her gaze upon the woods once more.

“I’ll out run you.”

“Then I shall run harder.”

With that the wolf took off, his powerful legs carrying him steadfast through the trees. Shapes and shadows blurred around him as he dashed through the terrain. He could hear his own paws hitting the snow, but could hardly hear the girl. He nearly stopped to take a moment to glance behind him, but found, to his surprise, the girl keeping stride. Her feet were swift and light upon the ground as she sprinted to keep pace.

When they reached the edge of the frozen stream, they kept on running, kicking up snow and dirt.

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Every night after, they ran, stopping only to catch their breath.

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The girl suddenly stopped appearing and the wolf waited, watching as the moon moved through the sky until eventually the sun began to rise.

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“You came,” the wolf said when the girl reappeared, her face stained with tears.

“You have to go,” she said, her hand heavy on his head, “You have to run and never come back.”

“No,” he snapped, bearing his teeth.

“He’s coming for you,” she whispered, pressing her face into his neck, her tears staining his fur, “Please go. He’ll kill you.”

“I refuse.”

“Please,” she begged, pulling away, allowing her eyes to meet his, “Please.”

“You cannot send me away,” the wolf said as he leaned in and licked her cheek, the closet he could come to the human action of a kiss.

And she cried, tears cutting their way down her delicate features as a noise in the distance began to grow louder and louder with each passing moment. It was the sound of horses, their hooves pounding the frost bitten ground.

The hunters were coming, the wolf knew, but he could not will himself to move. He stood by the girl, even as he saw the men closing in, their rifles drawn. He did nothing to provoke them, staring at them as the girl clung to his fur, trying to pull him away from the open.

“Please,” the girl pleaded, “I love you. You can’t simply stand here and accept your demise!”

The wolf stood firm, her words affirming his actions, “If you love me, then I will not leave. If you love me, then come rain, snow, hail or hellfire, I’ll be here to run with you.”

She sobbed, burying her face in his fur, “Then run with me. If you will not run alone, then run with me.”

The girl pushed away from the wolf, giving him a determined look before running full sprint toward the woods. Unable to not follow, he ran after her, even as he heard the sound of gunfire behind him. The searing heat of a single bullet grazed his hind leg. He stumbled, yet kept running, trying to keep up with the girl’s fast strides.

The wolf knew, beyond a doubt, that it was a race they could not win on foot, but he kept on pushing himself.

More gunfire greeted his ears and pain exploded through his body as the ground came up to meet him. He heard the girl cry out before he heard the telltale sign of her falling into the snow, gasping for air.

The wolf whined, eyes searching for the girl, but she was nowhere to be found. He only saw the tall, foreboding form of the hunter standing over him, the barrel of the man’s long gun pressed against his head.

“Filthy animal,” the hunter spat.

The wolf closed his eyes.