A MAZE OF GREED

Ruth saw Edwin staring back at her with those same fearful eyes. He also lifted his hand to meet hers. But when she was only a few feet away from his hand, a shadow jumped on him taking him away from her sight with it.

A loud scream echoed around when she turned to see what that shadow was. A greyish wolf had Edwin pinned under its paws. Ruth staggered back, covering her mouth with her hands.

She had never seen a wolf so large as that. She had no idea that the place had the presence of wolves, or she would not have been so happy to come there at night.

She could not see the face of the wolf, but she caught Edwin glaring at that wolf. He was not moving, nor did his face has a trace of fear.

Instead, he glared at that wolf as if he was glaring at one of his servants for a grave mistake.

Was that man out of his mind?

Ruth tried calling his name, but the fear did not let her vocal cords function effectively. Pulling herself together, she began searching for a stone or anything, that she could throw at that wolf.

She heard Edwin's horse neighing from where he was tied. Before Ruth found a weapon, she heard loud growls from behind. The moment she turned back, another shadow ran past her.

Her blood ran cold at the sight in front of her. She froze at her spot, her heart stopped beating for some moments as she stared back at the giant black wolf.

If she was flabbergasted at the size of the other wolf then her brain had already been paralysed by the enormous size of this black wolf.

She saw the greyish wolf on the ground and then she realised that the shadow that ran past her was nothing but another wolf.

The black wolf glared at the two others. If Ruth was scared before, then she was terrified now.

The black wolf was about eight feet tall and so gigantic that she blinked a few times to make sure, she was not having another dream.

His black hair glistened under the moonlight like waves of water sparkled in the light. His head was so large that it beat the largest pumpkin she had ever seen in her life.

His hairy tail was moving as per his body movements yet was alert. His large paws could easily make a person shiver at the thought of laying under them.

His claws were so sharp that she wondered if they could cut through the surrounding trees. And then her eyes moved to his face.

Ruth was scared at the dream of fangs she had seen before, but now that she looked at the black wolf's long canines and sharp, pointed teeth, a chill ran down her spine.

They seemed like they could cut through a human without any force.

Ruth's eyes moved upwards, and she stopped breathing too. Obsidian eyes with electric blue streaks stared right back at her. The intensity in their stare was so overpowering that Ruth felt like crashing on the ground under their effect.

Before she could observe him more, the two wolves surrounded him and attacked from two sides.

Ruth was broken from the trance, finally realising the need for air in her chest. She gasped loudly for air. Her eyes were watery, her whole body was shaking like a leaf as she watched the three wolves trying to establish their supremacy.

And then it hit her like a bucket of ice water thrown at her face.

Edwin!

Where was he?

With a fastly beating heart, her eyes began searching for him, but he was nowhere to be found. Her eyes watered even more, but she paused when she noticed something not far from where the three wolves were fighting.

Edwin's clothes.

They were torn into pieces as she stared at them.

The black wolf howled loudly, shaking the ground. And then it struck Ruth as a bolt of lightning fell on her.

That black wolf was no one but Edwin- the man she loved!

Ruth's mouth was open agape as she stared at the three wolves in sheer shock.

She could tell by the size and the form that the black wolf was giving the two a hard time. The greyish wolf jumped on the black wolf with a cry of war. But the black wolf swiftly dodged it before kicking it.

Her face contorted in disgust when the black wolf used his claws to peel off the grey wolf's skin, pulling out its internal flesh along.

The other wolf attempted to take advantage of the situation and jumped on the black wolf from behind. Ruth gasped loudly when the black wolf pushed it away with his giant head.

Both the wolves lay on the ground whining. But the angry dark beast was not done yet. He was angry, frustrated and the fear in his mate's eyes had made him lose all the hope and all the control.

The amount of energy he exuded created a strange weight on Ruth's heart. She struggled to breathe through her nose, so she used her mouth as well. The dangerous aura the wolf had was similar to Edwin's. However, it was multiplied by thousand times.

The anger, the brutality and the cruelty he was displaying churned her insides. She did not know what to believe and what to understand anymore. It felt like another nightmare... a nightmare that she had never imagined or wanted in her life.

Her head snapped up skywards when she heard the sky shivering in the fright of that dark beast. Thunders exploded in the dark sky, and once clearly seen, the full moon hid behind the blanket of dark clouds.

The first drop of rain fell on her face, and the next moment the clouds burst into tears of fear as the black wolf growled dangerously again.

The heavy showers and the drumming of the thunders added that extra dramatic effect to the whole situation.

Ruth wanted to run... run away from not only those two wolves and that black wolf but also from the man she thought she knew too well.

She saw Edwin's horse still trying to break free after seeing his master in trouble. The black wolf was still fighting the brutally injured two wolves. She wondered how they even survived until now.

But she did not care about them. Her natural instinct of survival pushed her towards that horse. Ruth's foot slipped on the now wet soil, and she fell.

The black wolf caught her falling, and he growled again, his chest vibrating with the sound waves.

Ruth pushed herself up and on her feet as she resumed limping her way to the horse, although she had no idea of how to ride it. But her survival instincts were strong.

When the black wolf made another thundering noise, she looked behind to see fear in his obsidian eyes. She had never imagined that those animalistic eyes were capable of portraying such intense emotions.

But then why was he scared when he was almost winning over the other two wolves?

She abruptly halted when she sensed something peculiar. She slowly faced ahead, her heart still beating fast in the chest and froze when she saw another wolf barring his teeth at her.

Her tears mixed with the rain as she tried to pull herself out of the shock. The wolf with red eyes looked more disgusting than the black wolf, and so did the other two.

He lifted his right front leg, and instinctively Ruth lifted her left leg. He stepped forward, and she stepped backwards.

Her heart was thudding so loudly that she could hear it in her ears. She was too afraid to look away from his red beasty eyes. She thought he would attack her and shed her into pieces if she dared so.

Her mind began chanting the prayers as she wished for a miracle. She did not want to die! Not yet!

She saw the saliva dripping from the wolf's grungy mouth. Although he was no match to the black wolf, she was still sure he would not hesitate to feast on her tonight.

Her soul almost left her body when the wolf launched at her. She did not get enough time to react, so she only watched the animal in midair with fear-stricken eyes.

But before that wolf could hurt a single strand of her hair, the black wolf jumped on it. They both fell to the ground to her right.

She could feel the anger of that black wolf coursing through her veins. She did not understand why and how that was happening.

The giant wolf was so angry that he did not hesitate before latching his sharp teeth in that wolf's skin. He yanked away from a large chunk of flesh from its neck that made bile rose in Ruth's throat.

She covered her mouth as its acidic taste felt weird to her tastebuds. But the black wolf did not stop. It was uncontrollable and feral.

He kept biting and cutting the wolf's flesh until only shreds of muscles and a pool of blood remained behind.

Ruth looked behind to see the other two wolves, laying on the ground, not moving and drenched in their own blood.

The rain hit her face falling more heavily than before.

Ruth's lips quivered as she saw the black wolf stalking her way. His perilous eyes were set on her and only her. His steps were firm and warning of the danger. And his mouth smeared with the blood of not only one but three animals.

Ruth lost her balance while staggering back and fell on the ground again. And as she looked up at the animal, she realised where she had seen him before.

That painting in Rees's family home.

It was him! It was Edwin! The eyes in that painting called her inner core just like they did in reality now.

And before she saw the man she fell in love with, the darkness consumed her.