Shredded Moonlight

Chapter 22

            Deccan was clearly getting frustrated when his claws were not meeting any flesh. He was snarling now, attacking more ferociously and forcing Nox to move quicker. My eyes were riveted on the fight before me and as I watched, Nox stumbled over a rock that had somehow fallen into the fray. It was the chance Deccan was looking for and he struck without mercy.

            Bringing up a closed fist he punched with all his strength into Nox's stomach. I could hear all the air rush out of his lungs and unconsciously lunged forward but Ivy and Chase restrained me immediately. Nox bent forward slightly, wheezing, but he managed to dodge a second hit, rolling out of the way and falling into a crouch. His eyes gleamed angrily and he growled, launching himself with renewed vigor back into the fight.

            This time Nox was on the offense, clearly angered by the one hit Deccan had managed to land. Deccan was obviously much slower than Nox had been but where Nox had merely dodged, he blocked.  This took less effort unfortunately and while Nox put his strength into his blows, Deccan was obviously holding back. After a while it looked, to my enraged eyes, like Deccan was starting to win. As Nox was beginning to wear down, Deccan began attacking with his claws, but the movements were becoming so fast they were hard to  keep track of. Scratches began appearing all over his arms as they continued and growls of anxiety wormed their way of out of my throat. Nox landed a few blows and though they were deeper than those inflicted on him, Deccan's were far more numerous and they began bleed more and more the longer the fight continued.

            “Hey, Noxy.” Deccan panted as he dodged Nox's attacks. “I can't wait to show you my kits when this is over. They'll have her blonde hair and her nice lean body-” He blocked a particularly powerful blow from Nox, who was snarling loudly. I could feel the feral rage pouring out of him and fought the urge to go to him. “Oh? Did I say something wrong?” With no warning the fight slowed and I watched as Deccan backhanded Nox across the face, throwing him off balance. Before he could recover he kicked Nox in the side with what seemed to be all of his strength. Nox nearly toppled, but when he didn't, another forceful kick was aimed at his stomach, sending him skidding to the ground. He landed a few feet in front of me, coughing, his claws digging into the ground from pain.

            I let out a yowl when Deccan kicked him in the side, Nox wheezed in response. “Enough, Deccan.” Aysun's voice rang out in anger. “Give him the chance to rise or surrender.”

            The clearing hushed as they all focused on what Nox would do next. I ignored them all. My heart was pounding too loudly to hear anything else and I fought against Ivy and Chase, struggling against their hold. “You can't touch him, Shadow.” Chase muttered as he tightened his hold.

            “Let me go to him, please,” I whimpered.

            “I can't,”

            Desperately, I collapsed into a heap on the ground, fighting to find Nox's eyes. They were closed, but as if he could sense me staring, he opened them into tiny slits. They were full of agony and sorrow. “Nox, listen to me. You have to get up, okay?” His face twisted in pain briefly. “Nox, baby, look at me.” He attempted to refocus his gaze on my face; even that broke my heart again and again. I lowered my voice so only he could hear. “I love you. You need to get up. We have to go away, remember? Remember what Taven said? We have to start a family. You want that right?” Something glinted in his tired eyes and his ears swiveled fully in my direction. “Yes, of course you do. Come on, Nox. I'm yours. Not his. He's trying to take me from you, Nox.” A weak growl began in his throat and his head lifted an inch. I continued, my voice rising slightly from the urgency in it. “He's going to touch me Nox, he's going to force me to do things I don't want to. Don't let him take me, Nox.” His eyes snapped open fully and his growl was louder, he started to push himself to his feet.