The Abused Luna

Escaping

Morana POV*

At an early age I learned that our lives could be completely flipped over in a matter of seconds. All it took was one word, one breath, or one action to completely destroy the life you once knew.

Everything happened so fast. At first I couldn't understand if what was happening to me was a nightmare or reality. I remember fighting and walking away from my mother. I was walking towards the beautiful luscious green forest she had warned me about time and time again. I was to never go into the forest alone, under any circumstance. But, a familiar voice was calling my name. A voice that I didn't know, but did. I didn't know who they were or why they wanted me, but I wanted to seem. I wanted to know why.

Their voice was like a dream and it led me to take step after step, "Morana." It urged pulling me closer, "Morana, Morana, Mornaa." I wasn't allowed in the forest since the pack trained further away from the house. But, if they wanted me then they would watch me. With that thought in mind I pushed the green leaves away and walked into the forest. The voice went silent as I stepped away from the plants to see a large black wolf standing in the middle of the forest. Their eyes were a blazing blue, and slowly the wolf lowered his head, his snout touching the ground. Other wolves slowly moved closer, their golden eyes watching as I froze by a plant.

Never have I seen a black wolf before. Mother told me a bedtime story about the lone werewolf who wanted to be stronger. So he made a deal with a devil, a bad man who gave his wolf the coat of the night and the power of a god. Seeing one now frightened me. But the black wolf slowly nodded his head as his large paw took a step closer to me.

His eyes stared at me. Usually when a wolf would attack they would crouch and their ears would be back. But, this wolf was welcoming me. He wanted me to get closer. I took a step closer to the wolf, my hand out to touch his black fur. But before my hand could touch his sniffing snout and arm wrapped around my torso. For a second I was in the forest, and the next I was being thrown out of it. I landed feet away from the forest.

My body rolled onto my stomach as I heard the growls. For a moment my mother's hazel eyes looked back at me and then she shifted into her wolf. Her body shifted into a large gray wolf that let out a loud and long growl. A growl that scared me to the point of wetting myself. It was a warning. Her wolf's hair on her back was standing up and her body crouched for attack. Only then did I realize that the wolves in the forest were not friends. They were bad guys Mother tried to warn me about. The wolves pushed forward until mother was at the edge of the forest.

The black wolf didn't look fazed or frightened. Instead, he looked sad as his blue eyes looked at me and then looked back at her. His wolf let out a sigh as he then turned his back to my mother. And with his back turned from her, all the other wolves that were once watching me were now attacking my mother. Her wolf had stopped growling and let out screeching yelps. And as quickly as it started, it was over. The yelps, the cries, everything went silent as the wolves ran away before the warriors could arrive to assist her.

And on the ground at the edge of the forest, was gray fur covered in blood. Gray fur was everywhere in the forest. It was everywhere. Red blood covered the plants I had touched, I was closer to her missing body as the warriors arrived. And as I reached to touch a strip of wet fur I let out a wail.

My body painfully jerked awake as my eyes opened up. Placing a hand over my heart I tried to calm my breathing. It's a nightmare. It's only a nightmare. I tried to tell my rushing heart. But it was more than a nightmare, it was a memory. Slowly my sweaty palm closed into a fist as I squeezed my eyes shut. I wanted to forget that memory, I wanted to forget about the image of my dead mother's torn flesh. I wanted to forget my Uncle's glaring eyes as he looked down at me that day. I wanted to forget his voice when he accused me of her death in front of the pack that only knew me as a bad omen.