Cry Wolf: the puny prologue

--Ah, hello

first off, this started as an assignment for class in which we had to portray the typical antagonist from a sympathetic point of view. This was my first idea and it needs as much help as I can get, though I haven't written much yet...I don't want to get too ahead of myself Dx

I hope you enjoy it for the most part, but here goes...Who's afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?

The moon’s crescent face peeked from behind the silver clouds, its beams asphyxiated by the English fog. Twilight frost coated the fleeces of the sleeping flock and muffled the padded stride of a creature lurking from the brush. The predator crept from the thicket, edging closer to an elderly ewe lying on the outskirts of the company. Athena’s nostrils flared and her heart throbbed like the beat of a hummingbird’s wings as her bloodthirsty instincts overwhelmed her. Gathering pace as she drew towards her prey, she could practically taste the kill from twenty, then fifteen…ten feet away. A lamb stirred, and uttered a cry as he squinted into the darkness to see the beast lunge at her victim. Turmoil ensued as the rest of the flock awoke in panic, while Athena proceeded to maul her game. A porch light flickered on from the farmhouse, and a stocky, bearded man hunching over a cane hobbled out from behind a creaking screen door wielding a rifle in one of his weathered hands. Athena stalled and considered taking flight, but decided against it and began dragging her prey into the shadows of the forest. A gunshot rang, as a bullet split through the night like a stone hurled into the darkest water; though she dodged the narrow shot, Athena felt its ripples of impact when a tuft of grass exploded behind her. With a final backward glance, she was satisfied with the sight of the bloody trail following her through the grass, confirming that her victim was dead, but her stomach churned as her eyes met those of the terrified lambs. Her bitter-sweet triumph soured on her tongue.

A wet nose nuzzled into Athena’s velvet fur as a pup shielded his face from the wind that stripped golden leaves from their withering canopy. Empty branches became a skeleton- the bare bones of the forest, and the marble sky weighed heavily on Athena’s shoulders. She lifted her eyelids from a reminiscent dream and gazed up at her alpha, with his dark coat and eyes of steel that were locked on the horizon. The symptoms of sleep dissolving, reality was enforced by the aching in her empty stomach. It had been two days since she’d hunted, and her pack was growing restless with her lack of responsibility to provide for them. This winter would be a harsh one, if they survived through the fall. Already, game was scarce…enough that Athena was forced to resort to killing livestock, which was an abomination in itself. Any act that meddled with the humans was likely to doom a wolf’s existence, and if her alpha found out that she’d been seen, he would likely banish Athena from the pack.

The thought of this secret unnerved her, and so close to him, she almost felt as if he could hear it from the depths of her mind. And if he was to glance at her, surely she would break with the stab of his metallic eyes. It was a risk she wasn’t willing to take. Instead, Athena rose despite the whining of the warm pup, and trotted away, through the white-washed world.