walked about two steps behind him, both of our steps being slow and steady as we treaded through the grassland that separated my village from the actual forest.

The goal was to be as soundless as possible, which was why we decided to trek on foot instead of takingour horses.

Either way despite our best efforts, I was almost certain that no matter what, if we got close enough to this wolf, that it would be able to hear us effortlessly.

Plus the fact that the breeze was blowing at our backs, so if it didn't hear it first, it might catch our scents

I kept my eyes ahead, focusing on the bag my father carried as well as his pistol that he altered into a tranquilizer that sat strapped around his back.

I too carried a small backpack filled with a small number of supplies.

"I think we're close," He whispered to me as we made our way up a small hill.

How he knew that was beyond me, but he's never given me a reason not to believe in him one hundred percent.

In fact, his knowledge of things like this was almost scary accurate.

I began to figure that with all his studying, it just became an almost second language.

He stopped for a moment in front of me, fingers grazing a small patch of wild wheat before he inspected it closer.

"Oh yeah, we're close," He concluded.

"How do you know?"

I really just wanted to know how he's figured all of this out with seemingly no evidence.

He did this all the time and I figured that I would just figure it out myself.

At this point, I was willing to admit that I needed an explanation.

I stepped closer as he motioned for me too, looking over the wheat.

"You see that," He asked, his finger running over one particular strand, "the base of this isn't formed as it should be, and one of the grains is laying flat which either means that the field mice got to it early, or something heavy came by and disturbed it."

I looked over at what he was trying to say, picking up just enough for it to make some sort of sense.

I guess I saw the grains that was laying flat, but that could have been caused by anything.

Although, the heavier wildlife usually stuck to the protection of the trees and rarely came out to the grasslands.

I nodded, making a mental note to look out for more things like that.

"But it's weird," He began again," He doesn't seem to be on any set path. It's almost like he's just searching around here."

I glanced back to where he said he spotted it earlier.

Judging by the path it's followed so far, it definitely looked like it was just wandering aimlessly.

I was about to speak my thought, but a sharp inhale from my father followed by a hand on my shoulder cut me off.

He had pushed me down into a kneeling stance, his eyes pointed off to our right.

I followed his gaze, my gasping quietly myself at what I saw.

Almost exactly as he explained it, the wolf casually walked out from the dense forest about 150 feet from us.

Usually, things like that wouldn't be so easy to spot, but its stark white fur stood out quite a lot from the rest of the scenery.

Both of us kept our eyes trained on it, watching as it kept a steady pace directly parallel to us, occasionally sniffing at the ground before sniffing at the air.

I swallowed hard at the strange mix of excitement and nervousness building inside me as it walked closer to where we were hidden, still completely oblivious to us being there at all.

Still, as it got closer, I could manage to make out some smaller details.

Like the black on its ears, the tip of its snout, the back and tip of its tail, and some other small markings along its body.

Dad certainly wasn't kidding when he said that this beast was huge.

From here I could only speculate that it stood somewhere between 4 to 5 feet.

Personally I've never seen a wolf in person until this moment, but I definitely imagined them a lot smaller than this.

It was almost scary.

The wolf kept his pace, still walking about thirty feet parallel from where he had hidden in the grass until it reached the end of the small hill it was walking upon.

It just stood there for a moment, looking out into the distance with the breeze blowing lightly at its fur.

I could just barely see its nose and ears twitch, head lowering ever so slightly as if it caught onto something.

It nearly looked like it was going to take another step and head down the hill before its paw landed exactly where it had just lifted, and its ears stood straight up.

Then almost like it didn't have to try to spot me, its head turned and it looked directly at me through the grass I hid behind.

Every inch of my body froze the second we locked eyes, a strange tingly sensation rising from my chest as my heart suddenly decided to race.

What the hell?

I tried to look towards my father, but it seemed like the wolf's golden gaze was trapping me.

I'd almost say that it was looking at me wide-eyed, the gaze itself sending a pull to my chest.

As if all of this wasn't weird enough, its tail swung side to side before it took a single step towards me.

The loud bang from the gun beside me what the only thing that snapped me out of whatever just happened.

My breath came back to me in an instant and I found myself trying to catch it as my heart still pounded wildly.

Frantically even, like it was pumping for a reason I'd never experienced before.

That weird tingling sensation disappeared, but I found the tips of my fingers trembling instead.

What the hell just happened?

I'd say it was just nerves, but I've never felt anything close to that before.

"Got'em," My father's proud voice whispered from beside me.

I quickly turned my head up, seeing the wolf laying flat on the ground with a small capsule hanging from his shoulder.

He was out cold.

"Well," He stood up, "That went a lot better than I could have hoped- Woah are you okay?"

I turned up to face him once he asked that question.

It actually took me a while to find my voice.

"Yeah, sorry about that," I took his hand as he offered it to me, "Just nerves I guess. I wasn't expecting to get this close,"

I'd tell him about whatever really just happened if I even knew where to begin.

If I even knew what it was at all.

He helped me up to my feet before we both looked over at the canine.

"Me neither. Good thing we got him down fast, he looked like he was close to findin' us," Dad said before he began carefully making his way over to it

"Yeah no kidding," I mumbled mostly to myself before I followed behind him.

He kneeled down beside it as soon as he reached it, gently running his hand over its fur.

"Magnificent," he spoke under his breath, his smile nearly as wide as it possibly could be.

I hesitantly kneeled beside him closer to the wolf's giant head.

Slowly, I reached out to touch it as well, barely being able to feel the soft texture before what felt like a bolt of electricity shot through my hand.

The wild thumping of my heart started all over again, as well as my complete confusion.

Almost being frustrated at this point, I touched it again, yielding the exact same results.

Except this time the spark seemed to travel through my arm and up my spine, causing me to involuntarily gasp and shiver.

Luckily my father was too engrossed in the dog itself to notice whatever I was experiencing while I tried to make sense of this.

Whatever was happening seemed to only be happening to me.

Was it possible to be allergic to just wolves? Even if that was the case, what kind of person gets an allergic reaction from making eye contact with one?

I get out a silent groan, figuring that I could figure this out later.

For now, we had to get this wolf to our basement before it woke up.

I slid one of my bag straps from my arm and grabbed the leather gloves I kept in there before slipping them on.

Then, I placed my whole gloved hand down on its fur and waited.

Nothing.

Thank God.

"What color are its eyes?"

I had to bite back the answer that got so close to exiting my mouth.

Gold. I saw gold, but I also started feeling super weird so who knows if anything I saw was actually valid.

Was gold even a natural eye color for animals?

Cats maybe but dogs?

I've seen bronze and even yellow, but never the burnished gold like this one.

Wanting to see for myself again I carefully placed my thumb on its eyelid and opened it.

My lips parted ever so slightly at what I saw.

The same gold I saw earlier was definitely there, but at closer inspection, I could almost see tiny flecks of sky blue floating through its iris like leaves on water.

"Gold," I allowed myself to say, now knowing that I was right.

"Really? That's new. Maybe this is a species I've never seen before."

"Have you ever seen them this big?" I asked.

He shook his head.

"No, but I feel like this one specifically is powerfully built," He ran his hands over the wolves shoulder and down its back, "He's not built like a lone wolf. He looks completely and holds himself with confidence. Lone wolves usually get attacked by the others and carry themselves with submission."

I thought for a moment, looking down at the calm rise and fall on its chest.

"Then what is he doing wandering out here alone?"

He just shrugged.

"It's hard to say, looking for food or land maybe?"

I let my own hand run over its fur.

Strange.

"Alright step aside, Lyd," He instructed, "Better hoist this thing up and get it back as soon as possible."

I did as I was told, eyes widening as I realized what he was going to do.

"You're gonna carry that thing yourself? Its gotta weigh at least 300 pounds, let me help."

He just looked back at me and grinned, bending his arms and flexing.

"No need sweetie, this is gonna be no match for these bad boys," He said confidently,

I nearly rolled my eyes but let him continue.

We both knew that if he needed my help that he wouldn't hesitate to ask.

I was strong for my age and gender from working beside him most of my life, so I knew he wasn't doubting my capabilities.

Sometimes, he just needed a confidence booster.

And I had learned by now that it was just better to let him have it until he regrets it later.

Taking another step back, I watched as he strategically hoisted the dog up and over his shoulders, causing him to hunch over a bit as to not let it fall to the ground again.

I rose a brow as he struggled for a moment to get it in the right position until he eventually got it.

"Well, whatcha looking at me for? Lead the way, darlin'."

I gave him 5 minutes before he needed my help.

I just hoped he was fine with me holding it so that it never came in contact with my skin.