Estel couldn't shake off his annoyance as he lit his pipe and settled back in his seat.

He had moved on from the village he had been in and had gone to a smaller relatively unknown one a few days east of the last one.

The fact that he had been rescued by the elf Gandalf had asked him to find and had then lost him was completely frustrating.

Not to mention he hadn't been able to find Gandalf and inform him of this news and had made enemies with a band of slave traders who were searching for the same elf he was.

How can my luck get any better?

The men sitting at a table nearby were having a heated debate that went unheeded by Estel until his ears picked up something interesting.

"It took three of my horses!"
One of the men, a tall bedraggled farmer, seemed as if he was trying to convince the other men around him that he wasn't crazy. "It dragged them off like they were sheep and there was nothing I could do but watch."

"Are you sure that you weren't drinking last night Thomas?"
One of the men laughed.
"There's no such thing as a wolf that can carry off full grown horses, let alone three, all on its own without attracting
attention."

"I wasn't drinking Hal!"
Thomas snapped.
"I know what it was I saw and what I saw was a giant, black wolf carry off three of my best horses!"

"He's not lying Hal."
Another man said joining in on the conversation.
"There was plenty of talk going on up north about a large black wolf dragging off all kinds of cattle. Some men even went out and tracked the beast, only one of them came back alive."

"So you're saying that this beast exists and people are hunting it?"
Hal asked in disbelief.
"Aye. And I happen to know for a fact that this creature is attracting all kinds of hunters who want to kill it. There was one man in particular who I found especially strange."

Estel turned his full attention on the men, who were unaware of their quiet listener.

"He was dressed in dark clothes, had weapons all about him as far as I could tell. The only part of his face that you could see were his eyes, he never took off his hood and I think he was wearing a cloth of some kind to hide his face, but he had the most unnatural eyes I've ever seen. Bright blue and I could have sworn that he could see right into my head when I looked at him."

"That's very interesting Burt."
Hal rolled his eyes.
"But what does this stranger have to do with a giant wolf?"

"It was strange, he came into the inn where I was staying and sat himself down in one of the corner tables. He didn't drink or eat anything, just watched us. Talk of the wolf came up and he seemed to be interested in that because he came over and asked us where it had last been seen. So we told him it had taken some cattle from a farm south of the village and he left! Vanished right out the door and was never seen again."

"Probably got eaten just like the others who went out to find the beast."
Thomas took a drink of his ale while Hal scoffed.
"I still don't believe that there is a beast, probably just some lone ordinary wolf who's getting desperate during the winter."

"I told you, Hal, I saw it!"
Thomas shot up out of his seat and slammed his fist on the table, spilling his drink while doing so.

Hal shook his head while Thomas looked forlornly at his spilled drink.

But Estel could care less about Thomas' loss, he was already out of the inn and searching for the man's farm.

»»»»

Finding the farm was easy, it was the only one with a completely destroyed fence that was supposed to keep the animals in and predators out.

Of course, it wasn't able to keep whatever took Thomas' horses out.

As Estel inspected the damage he wondered how the other man, Hal, could be in so much denial about a giant wolf when the evidence was right there.

Although a destroyed fence does not mean that a giant wolf is what broke it. It's old and three horses could have broken free easily.

But as Estel continued his investigation he found that the fence hadn't been trampled by horses' hooves, but had been torn apart by fairly large claws.

So perhaps there is a giant wolf. And this elf I am searching for may be hunting for it.

Estel knew that he was assuming too much. How did he know that his rescuer that night had been the elf? Or the figure that Burt had seen in the other village?

Then again, why would someone go to so much trouble to conceal their identity? Unless they themselves were being hunted.

The slave traders had been searching for an elf, after all, perhaps the strange figure Burt had seen was the elf.

In that case, I need to find him.

Estel looked at the damaged fence and smiled grimly.

Which means that I'll have to hunt what he is hunting.

»»»»

It was awhile before Estel found sure proof that the creature he was hunting was, in fact, a wolf.

A very large wolf.

For all I know it's not a wolf but a warg, that would explain its size, but can wargs grow this big?

Estel crouched down next to the large paw print and placed his hand in the center of it.

Whatever creature had made this could easily drag off three grown horses.

Estel stood up and brushed the snow off his hands. Thankfully it hadn't snowed in the last four days, any signs that the creature had left behind would have been lost had it snowed.

Estel continued following the tracks as they led him into a dense forest.

He used caution as he walked, something told him that he was getting closer to what he hunted.

Estel suddenly crouched down behind a tree as a low growl filled his ears.

In front of him was something bigger than any wolf or warg that wandered the earth.

It had the appearance of a wolf, it had jet black fur and was covered in various wounds and scratched. Patches of fur were missing on some parts of its body, and to Estel's surprise, several arrows were sticking out of it.

Yet the animal didn't seem to mind the arrows at all, although to Estel it seemed angry, very angry.

The animal stopped walking and lifted its nose in the air, Estel held his breath as the creature's beady, auburn eyes nearly landed on him.

The wolf growled and turned away from Estel's hiding place, the Ranger watched as the creature disappeared into the trees.

He breathed a sigh of relief as he stood up from behind the tree and gazed in the direction where the wolf had vanished.

Something screamed at the back of Estel's mind, warning him of approaching danger.

Estel rolled onto the snow covered ground, barely avoiding the snapping jaws of the wolf as it crashed out of the trees.

The Ranger jumped to his feet and drew his sword from his sheath, the wolf didn't hesitate for a moment as it leapt at him.

Estel managed to dodge the wolf's jaws as they nearly took off his left arm. He slashed his sword across the wolf's side, which only caused the beast to become even more enraged.

Estel figured that trying to kill the wolf would be futile and that his best option would be to run.

Estel quickly turned his back on the wolf and ran, sending snow flying up behind him.

The wolf was immediately after him, growing and snapping its jaws in fury.

Estel could feel its hot breath on his back, it was only a matter of time before it caught him.

A startled and enraged yelp came out of the wolf, Estel turned around saw an arrow sticking out of the beast's right eye.

A figure clad in dark brown leapt out of the trees and onto the wolf's back, stabbing an arrow between the creature's shoulders just before he jumped off.

The wolf roared, furious as the hooded figure drew a throwing knife and sent it flying towards the animal's heart.

The wolf managed to keep the knife from hitting its target, but not its leg.

Estel gripped his own sword and ran to join the fight, the other figure took no notice of his presence as he drew another knife and waited for a clear shot.

Estel decided to give him one. He ran straight for the wolf and stabbed it in one of its paws.

The wolf snarled and tried to swipe its other paw at Estel but the man was too quick.

He rolled out of the way just in time to avoid the paw, but not the jaws of the wolf as the sank into his back.

Estel screamed in agony as the wolf lifted him into the air and flung him onto the ground a few feet away.

Estel's mind screamed for his body to move but it wouldn't listen. He knew that he was losing a lot of blood and that the wolf would finish him off at any moment as it stalked closer.

Just before the creature could end his life the hooded figure got between Estel and the wolf and thrust a dagger deep into the wolf's throat.

There was a horrible gurgling noise from the wolf as it stumbled backwards, the dagger was still stuck in its throat.

Estel watched as the creature fell over, dead.

The hooded figure watched it for a moment before turning his attention towards Estel.

The Ranger didn't know what to say, should he thank him for saving his life? Ask him who he was? Or if he had any experience in healing?

That was when Estel noticed something very peculiar about the man, something that he couldn't believe he had missed before.

The man was standing on the snow, not sinking into it like Estel did. Which meant that he wasn't a man, but an elf.

And without a doubt the very elf he was looking for.
But Estel never got a chance to say anything, because before he could even acknowledge the elf he struck him on the head.

Sending Estel into darkness.

»»»»

A/N

Sorry about the short chapter. It was going to be longer but I could NOT I repeat NOT find out how to word it right. So this is what I was able to come up with and I hope you guys like it!

Also be on the lookout for a sneak peak of a new series that I plan on starting once this one is over.

Just so you know it's going to be LOTR!

Anywho, that's all I have to say.

Monstercupcake out.