“Can I ask what you might be doing underneath a tree?” The voice sounded curious and held no malevolence.

Lola was confused for a moment. Was this some sort of trick? Was her attacker trying to lure her out of hiding instead of coming in for her? The werewolves hunting her didn’t seem like the subtle type. Also, this new voice sounded nothing like the harsh, almost growling tones of the filthy man from before.

“I think I have begun to understand,” the man said.

Definitely a man, she reasoned. His voice was deep but also alluring. She heard him move closer toward her.

“You are being hunted, yes?” he asked. Then she heard him sniffing the air like a…

Werewolf, her mind screamed. He’s a werewolf too!

That made her heart start rampaging in her chest again and she completely freaked out. She tried to roll away from him but in her panic, she didn’t realize how close she was to the trunk of the fallen tree. She bashed her head into it so hard, she felt the impact travel all the way through her body.

“Easy,” the new werewolf said but this time his voice was quiet. It held none of the slight humor from just seconds before when he thought all he had come across was a peculiar girl in a remote part of an equally remote forest. “I am going to give you instructions and it is imperative that you follow them without question.”

She groaned, her head still hurting, but this command of his struck her as offensive. As if she’d blindly trust a werewolf.

“Why would I do that?” she hissed, still trying to edge herself away from him, albeit much stealthier this time.

“Because if you don’t, Drake and his band of mongrel dogs will rip you limb from limb,” he explained, his voice still quiet. “I am assuming they are the ones hunting you?”

“Who are you?” she asked.

“I can tell you that at a later time, assuming you aren’t killed in the next few minutes,” the man responded. “Now I am going to cause a distraction and you are going to find a better place to hide. The trick with the mud was impressive but it’s fallen mostly off your body now. Your scent is coming through. You will need to think of another clever move like that if you want to get safely away from him.”

“Why are you helping me?” she asked.

“The simple answer?” he replied and although she couldn't clearly see his face, she imagined him with a sly, devilish smile. “Because I hate him and his entire kingdom. They’re nothing but unhinged, psychotic maniacs. No better than feral animals. He wants you dead and I want to not let him get what he wants.”

“Fair enough,” Lola told him. “And by helping me, you don’t mean to get rid of him and then murder me for yourself?”

“I think I'm more than capable of murdering you right here and now if it suited me,” he answered. She imagined him with that devilish grin again. “For someone getting rescued you certainly ask a lot of questions and are quite distrustful.”

“I suppose so,” she told him. “But then again, a pack of werewolves just raided my village, burned it to the ground, and slaughtered everyone in it including my parents. I guess that had a lasting effect on my mental state.”

“Ah,” the man responded thoughtfully. “Fair enough.”

A hand suddenly appeared through the fallen tree’s branches and after a minor second or two of hesitation, Lola gripped it. She felt the strength in her rescuer immediately as he pulled her out with ridiculous ease.