Louisa’s POV
"Are you hurt?" I approached the black wolf and asked in a low voice.
There was still the bear’s blood dripping from his mouth.
His eyes were burning.
I didn’t dare to walk closer.
He looked at me and gulped. Then, he shook his head.
I looked at the massive carcass of the giant bear.
The black wolf turned away.
He walked to the river and started to wash off the blood on his snout.
I stood behind him and watch the blood diffusing in the water and disappeared.
The black wolf looked back and he must have seen the concern on his face.
He shook his head, so the water came off his fur.
The water splashed on me.
I stepped back in a panic, tripped over a stone and fell to the ground.
He looked at me and snorted.
Then, he walked to me and licked the water on my face.
His breath was still of the bitterness of blood.
"I’m afraid of you." I lowered my head and said, "Are you going to hurt me?"
He stopped licking me.
When I looked up at him, I saw a flash of vulnerability sweep across his eyes.
He put his head on my lap and used his forehead to poke my hands.
I knew he wanted me to hug him.
I wrapped my hands around his neck.
He buried his nose in my hair and sniffed, whining and grunting.
I could sense his anxiety.
He didn’t want to scare me.
I stroked my hands on his neck and kissed him.
He was soothed a bit.
"My stepbrother used to beat me all the time." I said, "He was the greatest warrior in our pack. He was very powerful, but he was always angry. I’m weak, but somehow I understand his anger. For a strong and powerful man, it must be very hard to have so much anger burning inside you. You have to let it out from time to time, or else it will consume you."
He wagged his tail while licking me again.
I looked away. The snow-topped mountain, utterly transformed, draped in a tent of sappy aureate gold, basked faintly, gleaming in the rays of the evening sun.
"The White Walkers might be looking for us. We need to find a place for the night." I said.
He stood up and lowered his head.
I knew he wanted me to get on his back.
I climbed up to him and asked, "Where are you going to take me?"
He turned back his head and touched my hands with his nose.
I knew he wanted me to grab his mane.
I pressed my body against his and grabbed his mane.
He dashed and jumped in the water and swam to the other side of the creek.
Half of his body was submerged in the water. I sat on his back like sitting in a floating boat.
"Please don’t drop me, because I don’t know how to swim." I whispered next to his ear and squeezed my legs.
The mountain water was freezing cold.
His fluffy ears flickered.
I kissed his ear.
He snorted.
A big salmon jumped out from the surface of the river.
Then, another.
They swam all the way from the estuary to reproduce in the fresh mountain water.
After getting on the bank, he rolled me to the ground.
As I was squeezing the water out of my gown, I saw him going back to the river.
"Where are you going?" I asked.
He stood at the shallow river bank as if he was waiting for something.
Then, a fat salmon leaped out of the river.
At the same time, the black wolf opened his giant mouth and caught it.
The salmon was slapping its tail in his mouth, trying to get away, but the wolf didn’t let go.
He threw the salmon on the river bank, right next to my feet, and then went back to the river.
I then realized that he was fishing for tonight’s dinner for us.
I looked around and saw some reeds on the side, so I pulled them out and wove them into a basket.
More fish were thrown on the bank and I picked them up one after another and throw them into the basket.
When the basket was full, I looked at the black wolf.
He jumped out of the river, shaking off the water from his fur.
I was trying to put the basket on my back but it was taken away by him.
"I can carry it. It’s not that heavy." I frowned.
He grunted, held the basket in his mouth and walked into the forest.
I quickly followed him up.
"I want to gather some fruit and vegetables, so I can cook some soup for you." I picked up some blueberries and mushrooms on the way.
I pulled down giant plantain leaves, wrapped them up carefully and threw them into the basket with the fish.
"If we’re lucky, we’ll find some quail eggs, so I can make some dipping sauce." I looked around and saw a quail nest hidden inside a bush.
I pushed the brush aside and saw a few quail eggs inside the nest.
Just when I was about to catch it, a giant red cobra slithered out of the bush.
I was shocked and stepped backwards.
The red cobra seemed to get riled up by my reaction.
He hissed while raising up its neck.
Just when it was about to spit, the black wolf jumped in front of me and stepped on the cobra’s neck.
The snake was desperate, opened its mouth and sprayed venom out of its fangs at the black wolf’s eyes.
"No!" I screamed and threw myself at the snake.
The mid-spray of venom got in my eyes before the snake’s fangs were embedded in my chest.
I felt the excruciating pain coming from my chest.
My eyes were burning and I just couldn’t open them at all.
Then, all of my limbs started to get numb.
Then, my whole body was paralyzed.
I fell to the floor heavily.
Everything went blank.