The moon shone, dropping petals of soft rays with its light. Laika lay on the dirt; tired, hurt, and with an insatiable appetite.

Her eyes were closed but she felt a presence around her, hovering, daring her to open her eyes, but she shut them tighter.

Damning it all to hell, Laika opened her eyes, and the sight before her drove fear into her unlike any other.

She blinked more times than she normally would. But even with the multiple twinkles in her eyes, the sight before her remained unchanged.

Laika was in a cave decorated with huge claw marks. A shiver crawled to her skin and she put her hands on her body for warmth, only for her to touch her skin and not her clothes. Confusion slammed her and she stood up, tripping on the first attempt but gaining stamina with the second try.

Laika was naked as the day she was brought to earth. She ran through her memory which was a bit hazy, but after a moment or two, she saw flashes of herself and her friends celebrating her twentieth birthday. They were at a club and her boyfriend, Louis had his arms around the easily removable black dress, which she had paired with red heels.

None of that was with her, her dress, red heels, friends, or even her boyfriend.

She was alone and naked in a cave that made an eerie fear cement itself on her skin.

Laika ran her hand through her hair and tried hard to remember how her birthday had made her end up naked in a creepy cave, but her memory came up empty.

She concluded that she couldn't stay in the cave all night and decided to leave.

The cave was circular with an opening at the top letting the moon in with all its glory.

Laika tried to walk but her feet felt wobbly, so she held onto the wall for support.

Leaning on the wall, she slowly trudged her way out of the cave. She came in contact with the huge claw marks and fear hugged her and refused to let go.

Laika feared that whatever had caused the marks would come back for her. And she was in no shape to fend for herself. Even if she wasn't naked, there was no way she could fight against whatever had caused such deep dents. She had seen her fair share of animals on the National Geographic channel, but there was no way a bear or a lion could cause such marks.

With shaky legs, Laika slowly but carefully felt her way out of the cave, through an entrance that also served as an exit.

She came to the end of the cave and was met with a deep, black forest, which would have been completely dark if not for the light from the moon.

Laika's feet buckled and tears flowed freely from her eyes. Stories of people being mutilated by animals, murderers in the forest, and rapists who had their ways with lone women came at her with such a force that she braced herself, wrapping her arms around her knees.

Cold, tired and scared seemed to be the way that Laika left her teenage years and started adulthood. And if that wasn't a bad omen, she didn't know what was.

Laika had never been a religious person, but under a cloud of fear, her lips uttered prayers to anyone who would listen.

A few minutes after mumbling to a god she didn't believe in, she heard a rustling sound, followed by heavy footsteps. She then realized that the owner of the footstep would either save her or quench any fire of hope she had. Laika braced herself for whatever or whoever would appear.

Coming into view was a man who stood so high that she thought he could touch the sky without effort. But she couldn't see his face, he was wearing a hoodie.

Laika jumped to her feet, but as remembered that she was without clothes, she bent awkwardly to cover her body.

"Don't come any closer," she choked out, trying to sound intimidating.

"What are you doing out here?" the man asked calmly, a little too calmly; like he was in the business of finding make girls outside of caves in the middle of nowhere.

"And what are you doing here?" Laika tried to sound brave but failed miserably. She was in the middle of nowhere outside of a cave with claw marks that would put mountain lions to shame, and now a lone stranger was with her. To top it all, she was naked.

He took a step close and she shouted,

"Don't come any closer, I have a weapon."

"Yes, I'm sure with the way your teeth are chattering It will be pointy." He spoke without care, without fear, like he owned the sky and the earth beneath it; and that terrified Laika.

"Please, please don't hurt me. Please." All her bravado died. Laika had seen too many movies to know that this was when the girl dies, but she still couldn't help but beg for mercy.

Ignoring her pleas, the stranger walked until Laika was before her.

She felt warmth touch her shoulder and realized she was being covered with a coat huge enough to dwarf her. The stranger placed the coat on her and she held tightly onto it. She felt covered, not just on the outside but also inside. He gave off a protective energy and her fears were being laid to rest and quoted.

"Can you walk?" He asked.

Laika was too stunned to speak, so she shook her head to affirm his question. She tried to gaze at his face, but the hoodie prevented her from seeing him.

She took a step forward only for her knees to tremble which led to her falling to the floor. Before everything went black, she felt herself being carried into the arms of the stranger and thought she heard, 'welcome to the pack my luna.'