How long had she been wandering? Days, Weeks?......Vashti didn’t know anymore. 

  Walking through the almost silent world of winter her brown and golden fur stood on end to protect her against the cold. Moisture clung to her less protected areas where her fur was not as thick.  
  
    Limping along the wolf trudged through the snow at a painfully slow pace. There was no destination and no path…..just the world ahead, and the hope that she would find something or someone to request sanctuary. 

  Stopping a moment to gather the surroundings Vashti lifted her head with tired brown eyes. They drifted over the bleak forest surrounding her, and returned to the ground when she saw nothing but shadows in the fading light of evening. A sigh escaped her amidst heavy steam. 

  It hadn’t been much time since she had fled from her home pack, and she had come so far; yet found nothing. She was cold, exhausted, and in a great deal of pain. 

  Shifting her weight over her front legs she held her left hind leg suspended in the air to avoid the ache of walking. After traveling for so long the weak tendons had seized up and refused to take the pressure; wounds from a recent battle still proving problematic. 

  Shaking the beadlets of snow from her body Vashti moved into a walk once again. The snow crunching softly under the pads of her paws as she continued on. 

  Suddenly, dark eyes going wide she raised her head and froze. Her muzzle quivered and her ears flicked back and forth for a moment, before lowering against the back of her skull. A gentle growl emanated from her chest as a scent reached her senses. 

  Wolves……but not the regular kind. 

Curiosity spiking Vashti limped foreword over what she could see was a small hill in the distance. Although the light was fading and night threatened to fall, her wolf eyesight gifted her easy vision. 

   A gentle wind brushed overhead as she topped the bank. Immediately she spotted a large dark object in the distance; across a small expanse of trees and resting at the base of a small ridge. It was a large house; built to easily hide in the rough terrain of the mountain. The home of werewolves. 

  Vashti listened intently, then snorted and moved to walk down the slope.  She wanted to get a closer look and see just how many resided here. Some might have called her crazy. 

   Vashti sometimes agreed.