A Luna's Flame

Chapter Two

"Your pack protects rogue's lands?" Nox asked as he slowly circled the man.

"Get ready," I told Enyo as she bristled her fur, and I carefully removed my cloak.

"Rogues own nothing," the man declared as he lunged towards Nox, transforming into a golden wolf.

Nox quickly met him head-on with his chocolate brown wolf. Canines and claws were only glimpses as the wolves collided and viciously attacked each other. The wolves would break up only for seconds before attacking once more. Nox had the upper hand. Another wolf's close-by howl distracted Nox for a split second, giving the pack wolf an opening. The golden wolf clamped onto his shoulder with aggression. Nox began to fight him off, tearing into his belly. As the golden wolf dislodged itself from Nox, a red wolf darted out of the bushes aiming for Nox. I sprang into action, instantly transforming into my jet-black wolf. Enyo charged at the red wolf with lightning speed, hitting the wolf's side. The red wolf rolled off to the side but quickly got to its paws. Enyo let out a murderous growl as she guarded Nox's back, displaying her sharp canines. The red wolf showed fear for a split second before stalking toward us. Both wolves instantly launched into coordinated attacks, attempting to split us up. However, they were unprepared for us, only anticipating fighting against crazed rogues. We countered every strike and covered when one was in a compromising position. We fought like well-oiled, vicious machines.

Enyo pinned down the red wolf with its neck in her mouth. The red wolf whimpered as Enyo waited to give the final blow, watching its counterpart for an answer on its faith. Nox circled the golden wolf as it finally heard the red's whimper. Enyo motioned for Nox to retreat to the forest as she watched the golden wolf mind link the red. Nox slowly backed up to the tree line, continuing to watch in case we needed help. The golden wolf locked eyes with Enyo as he watched her slowly lower the red wolf's neck, lowly growling. Enyo quickly dropped her and raced into the thickness of the trees, looking over her shoulder to ensure we weren't followed. The golden wolf was preoccupied with licking the red wolf's wounds to pay much attention. Enyo snatched my cloak in her mouth as she passed by, heading towards the cave. Nox followed closely to her right.

"Will you be alright?" I mind-linked Nox.

"Yes, we cannot stop now. Their pack will be there soon. I heard them in the distance," he answered.

We didn't change back into human forms once we reached the cave. There was no time. Instead, we hastily picked up our things in our mouths and launched back into danger. We headed south and raced as fast as we could to escape the Night Fang territory. Every rogue has heard the stories of the most dangerous pack south of the mountains, known for torturing even other packs' members who wander onto their territory. After thirty minutes, the deafening sound of numerous paws hitting the forest ground began to fill Enyo's ears.

"They will reach us soon," I mind-linked Nox.

"We will show no more mercy," he answered.

Enyo nodded, and we pushed our legs even harder. Soon, the first pack wolf reached us and launched its first attack, but my wolf successfully dodged it.

"Wolf or human?" I asked as we weaved through the trees.

"Wolf. I won't heal as fast if I shift. That bastard took a big chunk out of my shoulder," he explained.

Enyo looked around us, noticing the multiple wolves beginning to surround us.

"Showtime," I mind linked with eagerness.

Nox's wolf, Aias, nodded before dropping his bag, Enyo following suit. We both stopped running and covered each other's backs. Numerous pack warriors surrounded us, snapping their jaws to taunt us. Agitated by the situation, Enyo let out a savage roar, shaking the ground beneath us. Some pack warriors backed up while others braced themselves.

"Showoff," I told her while I rolled my eyes.

The first brave wolf challenged Aias, and that encouraged others to follow suit. We mercilessly decimated each wolf that attacked us, and blood coated the earth as if the grass was always red. A thunderous roar echoed in the distance as more wolves charged toward us. We were sustaining bites and scratches everywhere, but that never stopped our bloodbath. Suddenly, all the remaining pack wolves backed away and circled us. Enyo and Aias huddled closer together, ready for the next attack. The wolves parted in front of us, and an enormous, muscular, ink-black wolf walked forward, watching us with its demon-red eyes. We heard of the red-eyed demon Alpha, said to be blessed by Hades himself. He killed with no remorse and never lost a battle. I was excited about the challenge. His aura began to fill the small area, causing the lesser pack wolves to concede almost immediately. My wolf yawned. He growled at her rudeness, sounding like a true beast. She growled back and planted her paws, showing she had no intentions of backing down. Just as she was about to pounce, a slight smell crossed her nose but was quickly muted by the overwhelming smell of fresh blood. She shook her head and refocused. The Alpha inspected us as if we were a puzzle to solve. The nearby trees began to rustle, but I was in no position to look away. Enyo's fur bristled as we heard a wolf growl at Aias, which he returned with a murderous affliction. Suddenly, something as light as a feather pinched our neck twice. Enyo looked around and found no one close. Within a second, my veins began to burn like acid was poured directly into them. A haunting memory began to dance at the edge of my mind, familiar with the pain.

"Silver," I whimpered to Enyo.

We quickly looked over to Aias, who was struggling to stand on his feet as two small darts stuck out of his fur. We turned towards the Alpha and let out a roar full of promises as we snapped at him. Just as we were about to charge, we heard Nox forcibly shift back. We slowly stepped back until we were standing directly above him, shielding his trembling body decorated with four darts in total. We felt a few more pinches, and Enyo's vision began to double. She still stood tall and guarded Nox, snapping at anyone who moved close. A few more pinches and her legs began to tremble.

"Calista, I'm sorry," she apologized as we shifted back forcibly.

I laid across Nox's legs, with my back to the sky. My eyes felt like bricks as I fought to stay conscious. I could barely make out the Alpha wolf turning around to leave.

"Such a bitch," I managed out before I lost consciousness.