"Ah...a..." I struggled to make a sound, a reply, anything. But my voice was gone in the eyes of these beasts. They snarled menacingly. A man wearing armor with a dagger strapped to his side came running up.

"What's going on h-- You...!" The man began in shock. He whipped out his dagger and pointed it at my throat. "Speak up, human! How did you find this place?" He bared his teeth like an animal; his teeth seemed unnaturally sharp... 

"I..." I began. My heart was pounding in my head as I struggled to find my voice. "The dog it...m-my apples, it..." The man's eyes widened in understanding and cursed under his breath.

"What should we do?" The green-eyed wolf asked the man. "They're celebrating in there, we can't just break the news! The general has been waiting for this for so long..."

"I know, I know!" The man snarled back, not at all intimidated by a beast that could probably swallow him whole. He took a few seconds to think then suddenly grabbed my hands, pulling them behind my back with expert ease. "Now stay quiet and we won't kill you. Hurry!" He quickly pulled me through the gates, sticking close to the shadows, the wolves doing their best to block us from the view of the crowd.

"Captain, her scent..." One of the wolves whined quietly.

"Just shut up and keep moving!" The man growled back, leading me around the darkness. He painfully held my arms tightly behind my back, but I was too terrified to fight back. Small homes made of rocks and wood were placed side by side and we stuck close to them, hidden in the shadows. In no time at all, we were on the other side of the village, entering a stone building. The inside was pitch black but my eyes were doing their best to adjust. They led me into a basement and down a flight of stairs we went, torches on the walls lit the way. Down and down, deeper into the earth we went, the musty smell of dirt his my nose. We soon came to a room lined with prison cells.

"Open one." The man ordered. One of the wolves pushed open a cell and I was roughly thrown in, the bar door closed shut behind me the second I went in. My knees scratched the cold stone floor, I was sure they were bleeding.

"Keep watch." The man commanded then immediately fled the basement. I sat up in the cell, utterly terrified and confused.

"Are there more of you coming?" The green-eyed wolf growled on the other side of the bars. I shook my head. "You better not be lying, human. I know your kind. Dirty liars the lot of you. You're lucky today was the ceremony. You're even luckier the captain isn't as hard on you mortals. If I had my way..."

"I--" I began cautiously. The wolf snarled so menacingly I immediately shut my mouth and fled as far away from the metal bars as I could. As I waited in that cold, damp cell, all hopes that this was just a nightmare ebbed away. How did I end up in a mess like this?

After what felt like an eternity of waiting, I heard the patter of footsteps descending into the basement. The wolves perked their ears at the noise, probably just as anxious to see what would happen next as I was. Alongside the man that had taken me here was another man who I immediately recognized from the ceremony; the one who was standing beside the king.

Now that he was away from the bonfire, I realized those red eyes of his were not in fact due to the glare of the flames. In the darkness of this cell room, his eyes even seemed to be glowing faintly. He briskly made his way towards my cell, eyes narrowed. As he came closer, the scars covering his bare arms became apparent. By the number of them, I knew there were more hidden under his clothing.

"What the hell are you doing here, human?" He spat, utterly disgusted by the word. "How did you find this place? Well? Speak up!" I was getting tired of being asked this question.

"There was a dog," I began calmly, somehow unable to keep eye contact with this man. Those piercing eyes were so hard to hold a steady gaze with. "I-I own an apple orchard, you see! A-and there was a dog that stole some of my apples! So I followed it here..." My voice trailed off. The man cursed loudly, banging a fist against the bars of the cell causing me to jump.

"What are we going to do with her, General?" The captain inquired.

"Kill her, what else?" The red-eyed man replied easily. Surely he was joking! But from the hungry look in the eyes of the two wolves, I realized he was utterly serious. I racked my brain for anything that might get me out of this situation. A light suddenly went on, my heart beating like mad.

"Wait!" I exclaimed, almost a bit too loudly. Everyone turned towards me. "Y-you don't want to do that--"

"Why not?" The general snarled, cutting me off. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't rip your disgusting human bones apart right now."

"Because." I said, trying to keep my voice even and sure. "If you kill me, my neighbors will notice that I've gone missing. They'll send out a search team and people will be looking up and down this mountain for weeks. Maybe months. Maybe even years. Eventually your little village WILL be discovered and it'll be all because you made such a rash decision." Though this was a rather unrealistic proclamation, a little bluffing was necessary. It seemed to be convincing though, because the two men looked at each other uncertainly. They huddled and began whispering to each other. Minutes passed, my heart feeling like it was about to jump out of my chest in anticipation.

"Fine." The general finally agreed. Everyone turned to me and I held my breath. "You'll live, girl--"

"What?!" One of the wolves exclaimed. It hadn't said anything this whole time and I was once again startled by the sight of a talking wolf. It's fur bristled in fury and I realized it was covered completely in scars. Some sort of black smoke suddenly began to appear and in my astonishment (could things get any more strange?!) the wolf turned into....a girl?! She wore the same strange clothing as the other villagers, pink scars on every part of her body that showed.

"W-werewolf?!" I exclaimed, falling backwards as my legs gave way. The girl gripped the bars tightly, glaring threateningly

"How dare you reduce me to something so lowly!" She howled in fury. "I'm an inugami you brat!" She turned to the general angrily. "With all due respect, sir, you're making a mistake! She's just bluffing! Look at those clothes! It's obvious she's a farmer, no one of great importance! No one will notice her gone!" Before the general could reply, she flung the cell door open and lunged at me.

"I'll take care of this!" She screamed, reaching for my throat. "You disgusting humans thinking you can come here so freely!" I scrambled away, but she grabbed me by the hair, pulling me backwards and to the ground. She raised a hand to strike me.

The general suddenly struck her painfully on the shoulder and she yelped out, falling to the floor. I quickly got back on my feet and moved away from the girl, who was gripping her shoulder in agony. I realized he'd done more than strike her when I saw the blood beginning to pool on the ground. The general suddenly grabbed me by the collar, pulling me up till I was looking him straight in those terrifying eyes.

"We're far more powerful than werewolves, girl." He growled in a voice so quiet and powerful my blood turned cold. "And you'll live...for now. But rest assured, we aren't done with you." He dropped me, his eyes cold and thoughtful.

"Pick her up." He said to the green-eyed wolf as he exited the cell. Without looking back, he made his way up the stairs and out of the basement, the wolf trailing behind with the girl leaning on it. She looked back at me, eyes narrowed like a cat. The captain closed the cell door then looked at me curiously for a moment. He hesitated, glancing behind at the staircase then gestured for me to come over seeing everyone had left. As I made my way over, he cupped his hands leaning into the bars.

"You...came here on accident, yes?" He pressed so quietly I hardly heard. I nodded my head and he looked deep into my eyes, searching for something. His eyes were a deep shade of maroon with flecks of different colors. "...I believe you, girl. My name is Wim. We inugami aren't so fond of your kind, but I think you're innocent... If you do what I say, I'll try to keep you alive."

Before I could say anything, he fled the basement.

---

:D