Levi

He had lived alone in the forest for as long as he could remember—just the trees, the wind, and the quiet rhythm of the wild. Humans were the only thing that disturbed it. Loud, careless, cruel. He hated them, and anyone who stepped too far into his territory usually learned that very quickly.So when he caught the scent of one deep in the woods, his first instinct was anger.But when he found them, everything stopped.The human lying in the leaves wasn’t a hunter or a logger. They were young—about sixteen, just like him. Blood stained their clothes, their breathing shallow, their body trembling with cold. They looked so small against the endless forest.He should have left them there. Humans had never shown the forest mercy. Why should he show them any?Yet something in his chest twisted when he turned to walk away. The sound of their weak breathing followed him through the trees. If he left them… they would die. Alone.With a quiet growl of frustration, he went back.He lifted them carefully, far more gently than anyone would expect from someone so territorial and wild, carrying them deeper into the forest where no human ever dared to go. To his shelter. His territory.He told himself it was only temporary.Just until they stopped bleeding. Just until they could walk.After that… they would leave.