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The Beast is always watching. Walk through the forests that cover the small pass between the mountains. A strip between the imposing mountains called The Wolf's Maw. The only area through which it is possible to cross these mountains.
On the other side of the impressive mountain range. There is the nation of the Wolves. For centuries there was a truce between humans and werewolf. Each race would remain in its territory, without communication, without any kind of exchange or contact. Each would face the bad times or the good times on their own.
This was the case for centuries, until two hundred years ago, when humans were affected by several years of bad weather and worse harvests.
Incited by those who called themselves "hunters", many people were convinced that the misfortunes that overwhelmed them were the fault of those supernatural beings and their magic. That these beings were trying to enslave them or kill them or dominate them, no one could clarify that, and that, if something was not done soon, the kingdom of Beacon would perish.
Of the more than three hundred men who departed, only a handful of 27 returned, including the instigators of the attack.
Shortly afterwards the Rocks appeared, huge granite monoliths, marked with runes and symbols, delimiting the border between the two territories, next to where a small valley ended and the passage between the mountains began.
The impenetrability of the border was not clear to the inhabitants of Beacon until, a couple of moons after the appearance of the rocks, a group of young men went hunting. Distracted by the pursuit of a dam, a 16-year-old boy advanced beyond the marked limit.
That same night, a huge anthropomorphic wolf of more than two meters and bright red eyes, burst into the town, destroying carts, doors and more, reached the house of the unfortunate young man and seized him. The inhabitants of the town, alarmed, gathered and tried to rescue the young man. A crowd armed with what they could, went to the rocks and when they got there, they saw the huge beast standing, on the other side of the border, with the unconscious young man in their arms and next to it a hooded figure.
-Give us back the boy-
-Monsters-
-Beasts-
Shouts and insults were uttered by the crowd.
Suddenly a powerful howl came from the werewolf and everyone fell silent.
"Three moons ago, your people came to our land and killed our people," said the hooded figure. "As a result, the invaders faced our justice, with claws and jaws and paid with their blood.
"The majority of the people are innocent in that matter and certainly that young man is not guilty of anything," shouted one of the men at the front of the crowd.
"That's right, but he's guilty of crossing the border we've marked," said the hooded man. "From now on you must understand this... Anyone who crosses back into our land will have to pay the price. We will not allow strangers on our soil.
"We will not allow them to take our children," someone in the crowd shouted and everyone began to advance threatening violence.
Suddenly from the shadows of the trees, many werewolves appeared, growling and with shining eyes. The crowd stopped in the presence of the werewolves and the threat of a massacre, because despite being many, the villagers were not mostly warriors, only peasants and farmers.
"This is the rule from now on, whoever crosses our border, is responsible for it," said the hooded figure.
Suddenly from among the trees a layer of mist spread and covered all the werewolves, stopping their advance right where the border had been marked, as if it were contained by an invisible wall.
As quickly as it appeared. The fog receded, and along with it the wolves had disappeared.
In the silence of the night, it was clear how things would be from now on. The only sound present was the sobs of the parents of the young man who recklessly, did not respect the limits.
The Beast traveled the entire length of the border, as he did every night. The huge creature was over two meters tall, with broad shoulders and back, a stocky torso and large, muscular arms and legs, which had the same anatomy as the hind legs of a wolf, articulated backwards, so that it could move faster than a galloping horse, when placed on all fours.
Every night he traveled the same distance, from dusk to sunset. A primitive and strongly rooted instinct, both in the wolf part and in the human part, prevented him from abandoning this task, inside he felt the need and the duty, to keep his land, his people, safe.
When the sky began to clear with the first light of dawn, the beast knew it was time to return to its lair, and he looked across the expanse in front of him, and fixed his eyes on the distant lights of the city. The smells that were beginning to be generated with the first activities of the population reached his nostrils, especially the lighting of bonfires in the houses and a muffled roar arose from his chest, more like a reverberation than a howl. An open sign of the contempt he felt for those who lived beyond the border. They are responsible for many of the misfortunes and losses of their people, but also the origin of the most precious thing they had.
With the first rays of the sun touching the mountain tops, The Beast rose up in full stature, threw his head back and released a powerful and long howl, as a warning to the humans, letting them know that he would always be watching, then he placed himself on his four limbs and ran into the forest, that it was his responsibility to watch and also where his home was.
An inevitable fact is that life never stays the same, things change, even when everything is at peace.
Many moons had passed since something had altered the state of affairs between wolves and men.
Like the first time, it was the carelessness of youth.
Like the first time, it was a boy in search of prey, who crossed the border, this time out of necessity. Scarcity hit Beacon again and during a terrible winter, a peasant's son ventured into the woods in search of food.
Spring arrived and that deer earned his family weeks of food and a chance to survive.
With spring also came the howl, people wondered who it had been, in the end the young man confessed and went to the forest to face his destiny.
This time there was no angry werewolf, only the hooded figure, who asked the reason for the intrusion.
The truth came out of the young man's lips without problems. A sick mother, a father lost many years ago. Three hungry young children, and the hope that, in the spring, the young man as the sole breadwinner of the family would be able to sow the land and feed his family.
The price he had to pay was the equivalent of his weight and the harvest deer that the young man obtained and his oath never to cross the border again.
Months later, the boy placed six sacks of ripe apples right on the edge of the border.
Thus began a kind of "trade" between the two parties. Whoever needed meat offered at the border what their lands or their hands produced.
Sacks of vegetables, fruits, grains, jars of milk, honey, butter or butter, in exchange for meat, skins, minerals and healing herbs, just in times of need or illness.
The Beast advanced quickly through the forest, his limbs moving automatically, because he knew every inch of it.
After several minutes of running, I reach a densely populated hill with trees at the base of one of the sides of the mountain.
He skillfully moved through the trees, until he came near a small waterfall that descended the steep side of the hill. He headed east, where, in the living stone, there would be a series of caverns and caves. I move forward slowly, concentrating on the sounds and smells around you. Each time he returned, he made several turns and detours, in case something or someone wanted to follow him, he would not guide him to his burrow.
Once he was sure that no one was following him, he went to the side of the hill, where a large area was covered with climbing plants, clinging to the smooth granite walls of the mountain.
He passed through the branches, behind which was the entrance of a cave, naturally hidden by vegetation.
Using his powerful arms, he silently pushed a huge boulder that almost completely blocked the entrance.
Although he did not remove the rock from the whole, he moved it enough to be able to enter. Once inside, the smells and aromas of the cave invaded his nostrils and he inhaled deeply, calming him down after being constantly alert all night.
With his eyes he could catch everything inside the cave, even though it was in darkness. I advance through the different chambers and bends of the formation, until I reach the bottom of it.
It was a circular camera, as if someone had pulled half a sphere out of the very heart of the mountain, high enough that the werewolf didn't have to crouch down.
To the bottom, there was a niche carved into the rock, the wolf approached silently, until he stood on one side of what could only be described as a huge bed, made of straw, moss, and piles of furs.
The wolf extended his arm and with his claws began to slide the skins, soft and warm, his eyes began to glow with a faint crimson whole, while his nostrils opened, catching an intoxicating aroma.
By completely removing the blankets made of fur, beaver, rabbit, mink, even bear, I expose what they were covering, or rather who they were covering.
On the great bed slept a young man, with skin as white as milk, moles from his left cheek dotting the pale skin. Brown hair, an upturned nose, and full lips in the shape of a cupid's bow completed the picture.
The wolf, with all his height and musculature, climbed onto the bed, his huge clawed hands slid down the sides of the sleeping young man, descending until he reached his belly, warm and bulging, where with surprising delicacy and tenderness he caressed the protruding belly. In the heat of the touch, the creature that grew inside moved, as if feeling that it was his father who caressed him.
The huge wolf approached the sleeping boy, next his torso with his back and wrapped his huge arms around him, almost covering him with his body, in an instinctive protective action towards his partner and the puppy they had fathered. He buried his nose in his partner's hair and inhaled deeply, the smell of both of them mixed in a perfect amalgam, making the beast relax, little by little, the tiredness came and he fell asleep, while the young man moved looking for more contact with the body behind him, the heat and the comfortable position of both plunged them into a deep sleep, while outside the cave, the world woke up with the new day.