A girl chased a wounded wolf cub."Ouch!" Luz cried out as she fell face-first into a pool of foul-smelling mud. She tried to get up but slipped and fell back into the mud. "I can't be this unlucky!" she whimpered, looking at the cub in front of her."Wait! You're hurt. Let me help you," she shouted.The wolf cub stopped for a few seconds, tilting its head almost mockingly, then resumed its frantic run."Wait!" she said to the animal, as if it could understand her. She tried to get up again, but before she could, a huge branch fell on the back of her neck. That was it. Darkness... unconsciousness.Luz remained unconscious for about two hours. When she finally woke up, she opened her eyes only to find darkness. She felt tremendous pain in the back of her neck. She didn't know if the substance she felt with her hand was blood or just mud on the large bump on her neck. She was lying on the cold, damp floor of what appeared to be a dungeon. It had large bars and a tiny skylight that only allowed dim light to enter. The small cell had no bathroom, and Luz felt like she needed to urinate.She immediately thought that she had been kidnapped. She was terrified. She gathered her courage to speak to whoever was there."Hello! Please help! Where are you keeping me?" Her voice broke with anguish as she tried to attract attention.From the dim light, she could make out the silhouette of a tall, burly man shouting, "What do you want, witch?"Startled, Luz jumped back, closed her eyes, and told him that she wanted to go to the bathroom. The man laughed maliciously, making her whole body shiver. Clearly, he wasn't going to help her.In the distance, she heard heavy footsteps approaching the dark cell. As with the first man, she could only make out his silhouette. He was huge and very tall."Open the cell, Bruno," the Alpha ordered.The man bowed his head in respect and opened the cell.The Alpha ordered.The man bowed his head in respect and quickly opened it.Luz struggled to see his face, but it was impossible in the dim light. She could only make out his silhouette and estimate his height. He must have been at least forty centimeters taller than her. She was 5 feet 9 inches tall, and her best friend was 6 feet 2 inches, so this man was truly gigantic.Like all werewolves and shapeshifters, the Alpha had excellent eyesight. He could see the mass of foul-smelling mud in front of him, from which two huge emerald green eyes protruded.The man's eyebrows rose, and he made an astonished face, imperceptible in the darkness. It quickly changed to a frown, and his dark eyes screamed danger."Who's there?" Luz asked, her voice filled with fear. She was shivering, and she couldn't see in the darkness, which terrified the girl even more."Why did you attack her? Speak, witch! Now!" came the domineering, rage-filled voice.Luz opened her eyes in amazement, not understanding the accusation."I haven't attacked anyone. I haven't attacked anyone," she repeated, crying."Liar! You're a spy for the witches," the Alpha snapped with even more anger."Spy?" Luz didn't understand. Before she could process the information, she felt a hard kick to her abdomen. She flew through the air and slammed against the wall. The pain made her gasp for breath. She screamed, hugging her stomach and curling up into a ball."Please don't hurt me. I don't have any money. I don't know what I can give you in exchange for my freedom. Please don't hurt me," Luz said between gasps of pain."Get up!" the Alpha snapped indignantly.When the woman didn't get up, he grabbed her by the neck and lifted her off the floor. Luz grabbed the large hand strangling her throat with both hands. She looked ahead but couldn't see who her attacker was. She couldn't breathe and tears ran down her cheeks as she struggled to break free from his grip."Don't look at me!" The Alpha stood in front of those big green eyes, releasing her from his grip and throwing her violently against one of the cell walls.
Luz felt her ribs crack and break. She struggled to breathe, gasping and clutching her throat in front of her torturer."Stand up, witch!" the Alpha ordered, but she was so badly injured that she was unable to obey.The furious Alpha approached her and grabbed her elbow. He squeezed with superhuman strength, digging his long claws into the girl's tender flesh.Luz let out a loud, heart-wrenching scream that echoed throughout the pack. Those closest to her felt a thunderous pain in their eardrums, as if they were about to explode."Shut up!" the Alpha ordered, squeezing even harder.Luz screamed even louder in pain, causing everyone inside the mansion to cover their ears to protect themselves. The Alpha was not spared this suffering. As the woman did not stop screaming, he threw a strong punch directly at her right cheek, knocking her unconscious again.The Alpha dropped Luz's body to the floor, surprised by her scream.To understand this whole mess a little better, let's go back three hours.
Luz was walking back to her house, which was located on a plot of land outside the city. Today was shopping day, and her graduation party was coming up soon. The walk back was long, but she decided to walk anyway.
As she walked, she could see roads flanked by large, densely vegetated hills and tall trees. Lost in her thoughts, Luz walked, carrying two large bags in each hand and already regretting not taking public transport. Her arms hurt. 'I don't know what I was thinking when I decided to walk,' the young woman lamented aloud, pouting. As she did so, she felt something strange. She heard what sounded like the whimpering of a small animal — a puppy, perhaps.
The whimpers were tragic, and it was clear that the creature was in pain. Luz couldn't ignore the pitiful cries. She stepped off the path and focused all her attention on the sound. She listened carefully, but was unable to pinpoint where the sound was coming from. It sounded distant, but she decided to investigate anyway. On the edge of the path were lots of thorny bushes laden with blackberries. Dropping her bags, she carefully pushed aside the thorny branches and made her way through them, getting large bruises on her exposed hands and neck and leaving long red lines where her skin had rubbed against the thorns.
Luz usually wore baggy, long-sleeved sweatshirts and loose trousers because she was ashamed of her body. It was only because of this that she did not end up with more injuries; her clothing protected her. When she managed to free herself, she saw the tall pine trees in front of her. Hearing the small animal let out its pitiful howl again made her nervous, but she ignored her own injuries and followed the sound carefully. She ventured deeper into the forest and noticed that the pine trees planted by forestry companies were being replaced by native species such as araucarias and alerces. The scent of nature filled her nose and soul with a pleasant sensation.
Searching for the source of the sound, she wondered what had happened to the puppy.
'Did it fall off a cliff, or was it attacked by a wild animal — a puma, perhaps?' This worried her, but she convinced herself it was impossible as pumas lived much further inland, and a small puppy would not be able to escape their attack. Convinced of this, she gathered her courage and continued, as her desire to help the animal was greater than her fear.
She followed the sound, walking in its direction, but it still seemed far away. The trees were getting bigger and taller the deeper she went into the forest, with enormous trunks that would take two or three people with their arms outstretched to embrace their circumference. She also noticed dense foliage blocking the sunlight every few steps. Lost in thought, she followed the animal's howl. It seemed to be getting closer, but she still couldn't find it.
"Don't worry, I'm on my way to help you," she said aloud, hoping to comfort the puppy she still couldn't find.
As she spoke, she felt the puppy stop crying. Without the sound of its whimpering, it would be even harder to find.
She stopped for a few minutes to listen out for any sound, however slight, such as footsteps on dry leaves. When she heard something, she continued in that direction. After walking about fifty metres, she spotted a puppy that looked like a small dog, perhaps a young one, which meant that it was already showing signs of what it would look like as an adult, despite being just a puppy. With its hind leg caught in a bear trap, she exclaimed, 'They don't use those traps in Chile! There are no bears in this country and it is absolutely forbidden to use them for hunting pumas or any other species!"
As she got closer, she could see the beautiful animal more clearly. It resembled a puppy of the Siberian breed, but the distribution of its white and grey fur made it impossible to identify as such. In fact, it looked more like a small wolf, due to the shape of its paws and snout. It was almost black, but had white tufts on its head. It had a beautiful pair of two-coloured eyes, one blue and one brown, staring at her.
'It can't be a wolf; they don't exist in our country!' She had only ever seen them in zoos.
As she got closer, the puppy looked at her with surprise and curiosity, staring directly into her green eyes. Suddenly, it adopted a defensive position and began to growl.
"Calm down," Luz repeated. "Calm down. I won't hurt you. I just want to help you." She moved her hands very slowly to calm the animal.
She often spoke aloud to herself, which had earned her nicknames such as 'crazy', 'chatterbox' and 'weirdo' at school. She didn't care, though, and just laughed when she realised it, remembering fondly that her mother did the same.
Luz repeated, "Poor little animal. You must be in so much pain." Who would set traps in the forest? Calm down, calm down. I'll free you and take you to the vet to get your wounds treated."
As she spoke, the puppy stopped growling. He tilted his head and raised one ear as if to say, 'What is she saying?' Then he lowered his head and tucked his tail between his hind legs.
Luz moved closer until she reached him, saying, "Please don't bite me; I just want to help you."
She placed her hand on the animal's back and stroked it tenderly, which seemed to calm him down. She looked at his wounded leg, then noticed his rear end and exclaimed, "Well, well, you're a girl!" She frowned when she saw the bloody leg caught in the trap's blades. 'I hope it's just soft tissue damage and you haven't broken any bones. I don't want them to have to amputate your leg."
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'The name Luz comes from the Spanish language and means "light". In Spanish, the name Luz symbolises clarity and spirituality, representing positive energy and inspiration."