Lena's POV
I woke up to a low, soft Whimper from wolf.My eyes opened slowly, and for a moment, everything felt unfamiliar.
My brain was slow in trying to catch up with the reality around me. Then I saw him—the dog. He was still laying down quietly on the blanket spread for him last night.
He opened his amber eyes and they immediately got locked onto mine,making me freeze for a second.
There was something in that look —something that felt like wolf was trying to say more than just a simple hello.
"Morning," I murmured, my voice still rough from sleep as I got up. Stretching, I flinched at the stiffness in my back.
I looked over at him, and he let out a low, sound that almost seemed like he was responding to me. I blinked, not really sure if it was my imagination.
But I shook my head to push aside the feeling as I pushed myself up from the couch. I could feel the cool air clinging to my skin as I moved towards the kitchen.
The smell of coffee immediately filled my nostrils and I found myself moving like a robot that was being controlled.
The dog…Wolf watched me from his spot on the floor, his head resting on his paws. And his eyes never leave my movements.
"You're quite the charmer, huh?" I said, smiling at him as I set a bowl of water down in front of him and grabbed some leftover chicken from the fridge.
"Don't get used to it, This is just temporary." I said to him, But he did not seem to care about my words. Instead, he devoured the food in a way that made my heart feel for him.
He ate with such hunger, like he had not eaten for days. The ribs under his fur were clearly visible. The cut he had on his side had started to heal a little, a pure reminder of everything he had been through before I saved him..
I sipped my coffee, my eyes still looking back to him. He was still watching me. There was something intense about the way he looked at me, the way it followed my every move, that made me feel like he understood me more than I could ever know.
"What should I call you?" I asked, setting my coffee mug down on the table and leaning forward towards him.
I was only half-joking. He deserved a name. "Dog" was too common, and "Buddy" did not just feel right with me either.
He moved his head, making his ears perk up, and I could have sworn I saw a hint of realization in his eyes.
"Alright, no need to get all dramatic," I said with a laugh, raising my hands to rub the back of his neck. "You're not getting off the hook that easily. I'll figure something out."
Different names ran through my mind….Max, Charlie, Rex. But none of them felt perfect for him.I needed something strong. Something that made sense, something that suited him.
Then, it hit me. And I immediately remembered that there was a name from a book I had read years ago—a warrior's name, one that always got stuck in my head.
"Asher," I said loudly, testing the name on my tongue.
The dog raised his head, his ears perking up at the sound. He stared at me, his eyes like little drops of amber, deep and consistent.
I smiled back at him. "Asher," speaking to him. "What do you think?"
To my surprise, he let out a soft bark that sounded as if he was responding to what I had asked him. I couldn't stop myself from laughing.
"Asher it is, then," I said, feeling a strange sense of relief as the name resonated with the perfect one I wanted,
From that moment on,Wolf was named Asher. And something in me—something I couldn't quite place right or figure out, felt very fine with that name.
The rest of the day passed in a hurry.Asher stayed by my side like a shadow, never moving away from me.
Whether I was folding laundry, trying to put together a report, or just sipping my cup of coffee, he was there, watching me with those beautiful,amber eyes.
At some point I felt as if he was more than just a dog, wondering if he could understand me, if he was somehow reading me like a book.
But no. He was just a dog. A very smart one at that, but still just a dog. I had decided to take him for a walk outside.
I grabbed an old scarf from the closet, tying it around his neck in the form of a leash. He didn't protest, just looked at me with those eyes as I carried him to the backyard.
He sniffed the grass, his nose trying to make sense of every new scent. He circled a tree, then paused to look at a bunch of flowers that were growing in the corner of the yard.
For a second, he seemed almost normal—just a simple dog enjoying a simple moment of freedom."This is your chance to stretch your legs", I whispered to him.
"But no digging up my flowerbeds, got it?"He barked once, as if he agreed to the instructions I had given him.
Ohhh…. How extremely funny it felt,I could not just stop myself from laughing. It felt good to have someone here with me even if it was just a dog.
But then, as I watched him explore, an uneasy thought kept on creeping at the back of my mind. Where did it come from? Was he owned by someone? Was that person looking for him?
But I immediately pushed the thought away. He has just been with me for a day, and I already could not stand the idea of him going back out there.
The thought of losing him ... .of him running away and leaving me made my chest feel as if it was being squeezed,almost like a weight making it uncomfortable.
I turned my back for just a moment to look at the sky, but when I looked over my shoulder, Asher was no longer where I had left him.
Panic quickly rose in my chest, but then I saw him again. He was standing still, his head low, eyes fixed on something that was over the fence.
I slowly walked towards him, careful not to make any sudden movements. My breath caught in my throat as I followed his eye movements.
There, in the distance, just beyond the tree line, I saw a shadow moving. It wasn't a person. It was not an animal either. It was something else—something bigger, something that gave me goosebumps.
I called out to Asher, but he did not respond. His attention was fixed on the shadow, and for the first time, I saw a hint of something in his eyes…..something more than fear.
The whole area around me seemed to grow colder. It felt like a chill crawling down my spine, I just stood there. frozen, looking at the shadow that was slowly moving closer, closer.
Suddenly, I felt it. Like a change in the air around me, like something was there that I couldn't see or understand. It was a strange feeling that made me afraid.
Asher immediately growled. It was very low, Deep. A sound I had never heard from him before.
The shadow paused for a moment. Then, it turned.
For a brief moment, I could swear that I saw two pairs of eyes looking back at me from the trees. Two sets of amber eyes just like Asher's.
I stepped back, my heart racing like it wanted to jump out of my chest. I could sense it—something was out there, something more than just a shadow looking at me in the dark.
And Asher—Asher wasn't an ordinary dog.
"Who are you?" I whispered to him, my voice shaking.
Asher's growl became intense. And at that Moment, it dawned on me that our encounter with each other was not just ordinary. Something bigger and dangerous was coming.
I did not know what I had just gotten myself into.