Pant, Pant. The sound of heavy breathing was all Joseph could hear as hot air, brushed his face. With his hands, he could feel the snow around him.

‘Am I still alive? I must be.’

After building up courage he opened his eyes. He was laying on his back and the only thing in his view was the sky.

Pant, Pant.

He looked in the direction of the heavy breathing. Looking up he saw a once solid white, now blood red wolf curled around his head.

“Wolf? Where is the other?” trying to shoot up in a sitting position to get a better view a sharp pain stabbed him in the chest.

“AHHHa!”

Looking down he was reminded of the wound the black wolf had given him. This only stoked his need to find the black wolf. Rolling to his side he now had a better view of his surroundings. He saw a blood trail starting from the wolf at his head so he followed it with his eyes to his feet. Moving them out of the way he now sees clumps of black fur scattered in the snow.

Making his way up to his feet he can now get a better view. Surrounded by the clumps of fur was the corpse of a wolf which stood out because of the red snow outlining it.

“How did this…”

Getting closer to it Joseph realized that the wolf’s head had been torn from its body and both hind legs had been broken. Looking back at the blood-soaked white wolf Joseph was in shock. How had the wolf cub he had fought not too long ago done this? Put another way, how was Joseph alive having fought a creature who was capable of doing this.

Crunch, crunch. Crunch, crunch.

A rhythm of four paws crushing snow came up next to him. The once white wolf was now standing next to him and staring up into his eyes.

“What? What do you want?” Joseph spoke timidly.

The wolf looked at him and then nudged its snout towards the carcass. Joseph stays still out of fear. He knew if he made a wrong move it would be deadly. The wolf snorted and shook its head. Then without warning lunged forward snarling. Joseph barely saw its teeth before they sunk into the carcass. Whipping its head back towards Joseph blood spewed onto him from the leg the wolf had ripped off and was now presenting to him. It once again nudged its snout at him. Joseph slowly reached out grabbing the leg from the wolf. The white wolf then began eating the black.

Realizing he wasn’t in any danger Joseph's adrenaline left his veins. It was the only thing keeping him up and as a result, he collapsed once again passing out.

A full day passed before joseph woke up. Waking up Joseph felt weak. Not surprising after what he had been through but the problem was…

“I’m hot!”

Joseph didn’t have the strength to sit up but the shock of his realization showed in his voice. He had noticed that laying in the snow of a freezing night, he felt warmth. To some, this would be a godsend but Joseph knew better. He had seen people lose their lives to the deadly warmth of the cold.

Despite his fear, he was unable to keep his eyes open and he once again drifted off.

Joseph continued the cycle of waking up only to lose consciousness, every time wondering if it would be his last. Sometimes he would wake up with the white wolf standing over him with its head to Joseph's chest. When he did he would wonder if it was finally eating him.

Finally, Joseph woke up with the strength to move and he felt the cold once again. He laughed and buried his face into the snow to feel the sensation.

“Who would have thought something I’ve never liked could comfort me so much.”

He then heard a bark to his right. Looking up Joseph felt a very rough and wet sensation. The white wolf was licking the snow off his face. Joseph quickly pulled away.

“Ow, if you keep doing that you’ll make me bleed!” Joseph barked back at the wolf.

After wiping his face he felt a deep hunger. ‘How long have I been sleeping?’ Though he wasn’t sure how long he had been out he could tell it had been some time. Not just because of the hunger but the great desire for water he also felt. That was when he noticed the stream behind him.

“When did we?” Joseph asked confused and looked at the wolf. “Did you bring me here?”

Joseph then began scanning his surroundings. Not too far from him was the corpse of the black wolf. Well, what was left of it. Half of it had been eaten. Due to the extreme cold, the meat was probably still good despite the time that had passed.

Joseph ran to the stream and began drinking the water. It threatened to freeze him from the inside out but he didn’t care, he was far too thirsty to. After drinking his fill he went to eat the wolf.

“No, I can’t eat this raw. I need….. Sticks?”

Joseph then notices a pile of sticks similar to the ones he would make before creating a fire. Despite his curiosity about how they got there, he wasted no time getting a fire started. It took him longer than usual due to his current weak state but eventually, he got it started.

“The wood is even dry!” astonished, Joseph couldn’t help but say it out loud. Looking over his shoulder he saw the wolf who had been sitting behind him at every step. Almost as if patiently waiting for the fire.

The white wolf then walked over to the carcass and dragged it to the fire. Once again it ripped off a leg and gave it to Joseph.

“What are you?” though he asked, he of course got no answer. They both sat there and proceeded to cook and eat what was left of the once fearsome, black wolf. After stuffing themselves Joseph rubbed his now full stomach and took a deep breath.

“That feels better! I owe you my life I guess.” Cautiously Joseph reached over to the wolf pup if you could call it that, next to him. His hand got close to the wolf and it showed its teeth ever so slightly causing Joseph to quickly pull his hand away. After he did the wolf stared at him before leaning his head towards Joseph’s chest. He closed his eyes and looked away.

He felt a familiar rough and wet sensation on his chest. This sent a shock through his system. Not because of pain but the lack thereof.

“My chest! My injury doesn’t hurt.” Looking down he saw what was clearly a bad injury, but to his shock, it had already healed. He now just had a fresh scar where it should be.