Bab 3: Chapter 3：Forest Disasters: Seraphina between Fire and Wolf

The fire spread as quickly as a mudslide. When Seraphina crawled out of the tree hole, the towering flames were already closing in on her. She turned around and ran frantically, with several startled small animals running past her from time to time.

In the wild, once a forest fire breaks out in an unmanaged forest, the burned area is measured in hectares. Piles of trees are charred and toppled, and it's not just the vegetation that gets damaged.

Several sheep-like animals quickly darted past her and disappeared in an instant. Seraphina could already smell the thick smoke, but her strength was constantly draining away. Her body, which had been without water for a day, was like a deflated balloon. She wanted to fly but just couldn't get high enough.

The tongues of fire greedily devoured the branches and leaves. And with the thick layer of autumn leaves serving as fuel, the fire spread forward at an astonishing speed. The trees around Seraphina were already on fire. She tried her best to run in the direction where the fire couldn't reach, but it was catching up with her little by little, and she was about to be surrounded.

"Ah!" Suddenly, she stepped into empty air and fell down the hillside. With the last bit of her strength, she hugged her head. Her back hit the grass on the hillside and then she rolled a few times before crashing into a tree trunk and coming to a stop.

Loose fallen leaves covered her body. Seraphina felt as if she had been brutally beaten all over. Her elbows and palms were burning, and her limbs seemed to no longer belong to her.

She smelled the burnt leaves at the tip of her nose. She struggled to get up. Run, run...

Suddenly, there was a rumble of thunder overhead.

'Crack!' A bolt of lightning struck, and instantly, strong winds blew over with dark clouds. Seraphina felt cold raindrops hitting her face and making a sizzling sound as they fell into the burning flames.

The thunderstorm had arrived, and the big fire was saved.

However, at the bottom of the hillside was a pile of rocks, and there was no way to go. She could only struggle to climb up the hillside.

Her fingers were cut by sharp stones, and there were several small cuts on her face.

The once neatly dressed woman now looked like a hideous devil crawling out of the mud, covered in dirty grass leaves. But Seraphina didn't care.

At this moment, there was only one word in her head: Survive!

The rain was getting heavier. Cold raindrops trickled down her neck. She tried to pick a few larger leaves to wrap around her head, but found that it didn't improve anything. Her camel-colored coat was already wet, and the sweater inside was getting wet from the collar.

She was losing body heat.

The forest fire had been put out. Seraphina walked unsteadily on the ground covered with dead leaves. She gradually saw double images in front of her eyes. One tree became two, and one stone became two.

"You have to hold on..." She leaned on a tree trunk to catch her breath and wiped the water droplets off her face with her hand. Suddenly, she noticed several large indentations on a patch of mud not far away. They might have been made just a short while ago, as the marks were still clear.

They were hoof prints in the shape of plum blossoms, as big as Seraphina's two feet put together.

She just walked over to take a look and immediately turned around and ran in the opposite direction. She didn't dare to make too much noise because she knew what kind of animal it was.

They were wolf prints.

The biggest difference between wolves and dogs is that wolf tracks are larger than those of dogs. And not only are there plum-blossom-shaped paw prints, but also long, slender claw marks are left.

Moreover, this wolf that appeared in the forest was unbelievably huge just by looking at its tracks.

Seraphina didn't want to become food for the wolf. She thought she could escape, but it turned out she was wrong.

Suddenly, a huge creature sprang out in front of her. It looked like a canid, but she couldn't convince herself that it was a wolf because its size was as big as that of a bear. No wolf in the world could reach such a size. It was a monster.

She slowly backed away, observing the movements of the giant wolf across from her without blinking. It tilted its head to look at her. It didn't seem hungry. Its gray-green eyes suddenly reminded her of the wolf king in her dream.

Equally fierce and aggressive.

Seraphina took out her cell phone. She knew that when a person encounters a lone wolf, there might be a glimmer of hope. Because they are cautious animals and won't attack easily. Running away usually leads to death. If they can be scared off, one can get out of danger.

However, things often go against one's wishes. Whether she turned on the strong flashlight or shouted loudly, the giant wolf just stood there looking at her motionlessly.

As it walked closer step by step, Seraphina felt as if her feet were rooted to the ground and her body couldn't move. She could already feel the fishy breath of the giant wolf, but her vision seemed to go blind and was all blurry.

Suddenly, there was a crisp snapping sound from the branches above her head. She looked up reflexively. A piece of burnt branch fell down. She only had time to raise her hand to block it. In the next instant, something hit her lower back, and then everything spun around her.

The broken branches fell to the ground with a clatter. Seraphina was stunned. She, she was actually bitten by this wolf!

"Ah!" She couldn't help screaming. The sharp fangs of the wolf were exactly clamped around her waist. No matter how much she struggled, she couldn't move, just like an ant trying to shake a big tree. The disparity in strength was completely disproportionate.

The giant wolf bit Seraphina and ran like the wind. She grabbed onto its exposed teeth with both hands and kicked weakly with her feet. She felt like she was going to die.

Perhaps tomorrow, there would be a mangled and hideous corpse left by a wild beast in the forest.

She was hanging upside down, watching the rapidly changing scenery in front of her. Before losing consciousness, she suddenly realized that this wolf had actually been following her all along. The directions it had run were all the paths she had once taken.

Thinking about it this way, once she was targeted by a wolf, there had been no chance of her escaping from the beginning.

In a damp and cold cave, there was the dripping sound of water after the heavy rain hitting the stones.

When in a critical situation, humans will self-hypnotize and block out everything they feel is harmful. And Seraphina wished so much that all of this was an illusion. When she woke up, she would still be lying on the comfortable small bed in the staff dormitory, with her favorite coffee on the table beside her.

But the smell of the wild beast at the tip of her nose told her that she was still in this cold forest.

When Seraphina woke up, she didn't dare to move a muscle because a huge wild beast was lying beside her.

She quietly observed it. The giant wolf was lying there with its eyes closed, resting. Its huge head was resting on its front limbs, and its furry tail was flicking back and forth on its side, indicating that it wasn't asleep.

Its fur was thick. The back and head were a slightly darker gray, the fur on its neck and abdomen was light gray, and only the fluff in its ears was snow-white. The long and thick fur hung down like a blanket, making it look a size bigger than it actually was.

Seraphina lay stiffly beside it, feeling the continuous heat and pressure from the giant wolf. She tried to move her waist and found that it wasn't broken in two. She wasn't injured.

She felt the dry thatch beneath her hands. Above her head was a dark cave. This should be the den of this wolf.

So, why did a wolf carry a human to its den?

Seraphina stared at the wolf fur hanging in front of her. The feeling of it pricking her body was that of very stiff hair, completely different from the golden retriever she used to have.

Maybe it thought she was fun or regarded her as a rare animal?

Seraphina was worried when suddenly she met a pair of green, glinting eyes. She was startled. The giant wolf had opened its eyes at some point and was looking at her motionlessly. Different from in the woods, its eyes now looked emerald green.

She quickly scrambled to her feet and backed away on all fours.

The giant wolf gracefully stood up, shook its long fur, and then walked slowly towards her.

Seraphina's back was already pressed against the cold stone wall. She blocked her face with her arm. It was impossible to escape now.

Then, for some reason, she lost her head and took out the Swiss Army knife from her bag and pointed it at it.

"Don't come over." She gritted her teeth and said.

However, instead of the expected fangs, a hot, wet tongue licked her hand. Seraphina was stunned. The knife was quickly snatched away and then dropped to the ground with a click.

The giant wolf in front of her lowered its head to lick the scrape on her hand. There were barbs on its tongue, which scratched her a bit, but she was even more shocked in her heart. This guy, couldn't it have regarded her as a pet?

The giant wolf was very patient. It licked Seraphina's hands clean with its hot tongue, and even opened its mouth wide and took her whole arm in, which once made her heart stop.

However, it turned out that it was just playing.

When all the exposed skin on her had been "baptized" by its saliva, the giant wolf stopped licking. It seemed curious about the clothes on Seraphina and kept scratching her coat with its claws.

Seraphina quickly stopped it. There were already several scratches. If she wasn't mistaken, this might be the only piece of human clothing she could have in the future.

'Hu hu' It seemed not to understand this and kept trying to get Seraphina to take off this "pile of skin". But later it seemed to notice her resistance and then stopped.

Seraphina wrapped her coat tightly around herself. She watched the giant wolf stand up and walk towards the outside. When it reached the entrance of the cave, it looked back at her and then disappeared from sight with a few leaps.

She calmed down. Maybe, just as she had imagined, this wolf had a special closeness to her. She was saved.

Seraphina looked up and surveyed the surroundings. She hadn't looked carefully before. She was now in a wide cave. There were some piles of dry thatch randomly piled up inside. It didn't look like they grew there on their own but more like they had been deliberately moved into the cave.

This was strange. Wolves are definitely not animals that would move things on their own.

Outside the cave was a corner of the forest. There were some climbing plants growing beside it. It seemed to be on a hillside. Not far away, there were still smoking woods, which should be not far from the place where the original fire broke out.

Seraphina walked around the cave and found a pile of leftover animal bones in a corner. Some blood-sucking bugs were clinging to them. Besides these, there was nothing else in this cave.

If, she meant if: this wolf didn't let her leave, she could make a home here.

There was the smell of the wolf in the cave. Ordinary wild animals should not come near. And the terrain was relatively high, which could prevent floods, and it was good for sheltering from the wind and rain and not easy to catch fire. Compared with the low tree hole, it was a better choice.

Seraphina was even scared by her own thoughts. Just as she was hesitating, it came back.

The giant wolf nimbly climbed up to the cave. Its green wolf eyes glanced at Seraphina, as if making sure she wouldn't leave.

Its fur was smeared with some black ash, probably from being touched by burnt branches. It had a deer with a broken neck in its mouth.

'Hu hu' It calmly threw the prey in front of her. When she didn't move, it even nudged her with its mouth, as if asking her to eat.

Seraphina quickly waved her hand and subconsciously moved away from it. The giant wolf tilted its head at her movement and then left her alone and started tearing at the prey.

Blood and pieces of meat splattered everywhere. Seraphina numbly watched the huge gray wolf eat half of the prey in a few bites and then looked at her, with its green, glinting eyes, not knowing what it was thinking.

It had eaten its fill and wouldn't do anything to her, she thought.

However, before she could comfort herself any further, the wolf walked towards her again.

"Ah!"