Hellbound Heart

This bonus chapter is dedicated to @Sacogun! Thank you so very much for the supergift!!! <3

____

She quickly turned around to look behind her, but there was no one there. Tilting her head sideways, she wondered what was that sound.r

Then, all of a sudden, there a big dog so white its fur was as white as snow. r

Elle was unable to react for a moment. She kept herself still as the dog also stilled. Was that a wolf perhaps? There were wolves here?! How had she not heard about it before? She had not seen one the past few days she had been hiking in the morning, except for some other smaller and furry animals. Could it be because she had come out a little earlier today as she had skipped her usual light breakfast?r

She was about to turn to Sebastian to tell him they should leave now, when she saw something red on the white wolf's back. That patch of red was so vivid especially with its snow-white fur as contrast. The wolf was really beautiful. r

"I think it's hurt." She uttered after realizing what that red patch was. r

When the wolf took a couple of steps forward with much struggle, Elle slowly turned to look at Sebastian. r

"You see what I mean?" he said, slightly raising a brow at her. r

Elle pressed her lips tightly together, knowing that he was trying to prove his point. But she knew that if she just leaves like this and act as though she had not seen anything, she would definitely be thinking of the animal for many sleepless nights. She had experienced this before when she was younger. There was once a kitty that had been drenched in the rain by their palace. She saw the small animal when she was on her way back home. She had wanted so badly to stop the car to help the kitten, but her fear of her father stopped her. Her father did not like pets, and he did not want her to touch one too. So, Elle was forced to ignore it. r

But that night, she was unable to get the wet little kitty out of her mind. So, the next morning, she woke up early and rushed to the gate. She had regretted it instantly, because she had then found that the poor little kitty was already dead. It had died due to drowning. The experience was so awful that she even ended up having a nightmare for several nights. If only she had just stopped and maybe left her umbrella to at least shelter it instead of acting like she had seen nothing. r

So since then, if she ever sees something like that again, she would always try her best to do something. More often than not, she would just ask her guards to pick the animal up and they would drop it an animal clinic and then have someone to bring them to the shelter. r

She could not even hide her expression from him at the moment. She needed to do something even if it was just a little thing or else, she might be dreaming of this animal tonight staring at her with its pitiful eyes. And it was such a beautiful dog too…r

"Is there… any way to help it? It's injured." She asked hesitantly. r

Sebastian sighed. "This was what I had been talking about. If I was not here, you would have gone ahead to do something to help the wolf aren't you? Even if it was by yourself… Even if you know it might be dangerous." He then shook his head as he looked at her with a reproachful gaze.r

Elle looked away a little guiltily and stared back at the wolf again. It did not seem to be going away. It had even seemed to move a little closer to them as it kept glancing behind. Was the hunter still after it? The more Elle looked at the white wolf, the more her heart ached for the poor animal.r

"The hunter seemed to still after it." She said seemingly to herself, but it was obvious she wanted him to hear it too. She could not help but worry. She did not want to watch the dog get killed before her very eyes. r

Before she knew it, she was already squatting down facing the wolf and called out to it, "Come." She knew she should be scared because that was still a wild animal even though it was injured. But somehow, maybe because Sebastian was also there with her, and the animal seemed already badly injured, that she was not the least bit afraid. She even wanted it come a little bit closer to them so that the hunter would not aim for it anymore if he sees them with it. r

But then, she suddenly thought of another more dangerous situation. What if the hunter accidentally lets out a shot and it hits either her or Sebastian? Wait… something's off here. How could they let hunters hunt anywhere, even up to the vicinity of the castle? Were they not worried of people getting accidentally shot? Something did not seem right with this situation.r

The snow-white wolf struggled to move itself closer to them and Elle could not help but feel her heart ache at how it seemed to be in so much pain. Every step it took, it would limp and looked as though it wanted to curl into itself. r

But a thought came to her and suddenly, she grabbed onto Sebastian's hand without warning and pulled him to hide behind a large tree trunk. The trunk was so wide and large that even with the both of them hidden behind it, there was still space to spare on either side.r

Sebastian looked surprised at her sudden action. His gaze then fell to her tight grip that she had on his hand as she hid him behind her, protectively. r

"Please stay back." She was stretching her free hand behind her to block him from stepping out. "The hunter must still be aiming for the… dog. I can't risk you getting accidentally shot!" she exclaimed as she peeked out from the side of the tree trunk, completely oblivious at Sebastian's expression at that moment as he looked at her. r