Under Her Moon

Chapter 1- Blood is Not Thicker Than Water

Every inch of my body is drenched with sweat. My muscles ache, begging me to stop. I have been running for hours and yet have not been able to create enough distance between myself and the beasts pursuing me. Huge pine tree branches whoosh past me as I run, dirt kicking off my feet. Vicious growls erupt from behind me, a reminder to keep running. 

The light of the almost full moon illuminated my path through the dark forest. The forest is dense and thick, making it almost impossible to navigate through it. I am not sure how much longer I can run. The sea of trees ahead of me seems to have no end. 

I muster the strength to turn hard left with as much speed as possible. I need to create distance, even if it's seconds apart. I feel as if I am in a fever dream. I am still in disbelief at the circumstances that have brought me here. If it were not for the pain, I would not believe it.  

The trees begin to thin out, meaning I am reaching the end of the tree line. Up ahead, I catch a glimpse of a large clearing. I have never been out this far out before. This must be where my father's territory line ends. Anxiety begins to creep on me with the unfamiliar land ahead. My feet have never touched this ground. I am lost, but I have no choice but to keep moving forward. I begin to feel my body slow down with every passing moment. There is nowhere to hide, and I can no longer outrun them. Exhaustion overtakes my body, the grass feeling like needles under my feet. Halfway through the clearing, I take a glance to see what direction to move in next. 

Before I can take another step, a razor-tooth mouth clamps onto my right ankle. A loud cry leaves my mouth before I turn to face my attacker. Glowing yellow eyes stare back at me, sharp teeth decorating my ankle. I kick my foot forward into its face, freeing my leg. A wolf the size of a bear growls back at me, flashing every fang in its mouth. Behind him, two more follow, showcasing their own set of teeth. I force myself quickly onto my feet and bolt into the woods again.

 A howl that seems to come in every direction pierces through the wind. The chasing ensues again, the wolves now closer behind me. I dodge through the trees and keep running until I am brought to a sharp halt. 

I stand at the edge of a cliff, a bed of dense pine trees below me. My legs shake with the realization of the heightened earth I stand on. A sense of dread forms in the pit of my stomach, yet the floor below me seems more inviting than what awaits behind me. I turn around quickly and try to run into the woods again.  

Before I can escape, the wolf jumps out of the darkness and stops me in my tracks. 

"There is nowhere left to run." A dark laugh says. "You sure are fast though" He begins to circle with the two others now surrounding every other direction, circling me like prey. 

"Why are you doing this?!" I cry. "Please, let me go." 

"I am tired of a stupid girl standing in my way. " He spits as he paces back and forth, cold smoke huffing out of his nose. "I will no longer be your shadow." 

"Please, cousin. " I beg. "We are blood." 

"I am sorry, cousin. Others might agree a girl has no place leading the pack. " He chuckles. 

The wolves around me sneered,  agreeing with his remark. They inched closer, forcing me to take a step back. The growls grew louder with every step back. 

"I never asked for this. " I plead. 

"Your daddy should've thought of that before he named you Alpha!" He growls. "That title is mine!"

As fast as he spoke the words, he lunged at me. My body instantly folds against his weight, and the air is sucked right out of me. I cross my arms over my face, and he chews at my arm, trying to get to my throat. I can feel the warmth of his breath and the heat of my blood dripping on my face. With his face close to mine, I reach for his ear with my teeth. I take the biggest bite that my mouth will allow. He yelps and pulls back, but now without his right ear. 

Quick to stand on my feet, I spit the bleeding piece of flesh onto the ground, blood oozing down my chin. The taste of copper coats my mouth. I look back at my cousin. Before he can make another move,  my legs are pulled underneath me. I begin to kick at the face of another beast as he drags me back, every bite hurting more than the last. 

Suddenly, I am pulled back oppositely by my shoulder. I scream in pain and kick the wolf off my leg. I begin to wrestle with my cousin again, trying to pry his mouth off my shoulder. He begins to thrash my body side to side, his strength is overwhelming, and I am nowhere near his size. I begin to cry with the realization that I might die. 

Unable to fight back, he drags my body closer to the cliff's edge. I begin to cling to him, digging my feet into the ground. The other wolves try to get a hold of me, but my cousin keeps them at bay like a dog guarding a bone.  He wants the kill for himself. Horror strikes me by the callousness of my cousin, my own family, and my blood. 

He lets go of me and looms over me, my blood spilling from his mouth. His glowing eyes burn into mine as we stand still for a moment. He is going to kill me, and my life flashes before my eyes for a moment. Memories of my childhood, my father and my family. The memories of my cousin and I playing as children in the woods. I had often failed to see his envy and his need to be superior. 

I force the memories out of my mind. I refuse to die like this, especially not at the hands of a traitor. I am not a coward. I reach for a stone at arms-length, and with all my,  I swing into the side of his face and kick his chest. I slide out beneath him and begin to run on the edge. 

Suddenly, the ground beneath me begins to crumble. I fall to the ground, and I scramble to get a hold of the ground. My legs dangle off the cliff as I try to pull myself up onto the cliff. I look below me to see the tips of the pine trees waiting below me. I hear the steps of the wolves rushing in my direction. Either way, up or down, my fate is the same. My arms begin to sting, and the wolves above try to reach at me with their jaws, but it is already too late. The last of my fingers slip as I descend onto the ground below.