A Full Moon Rising

Chapter Five

She was running. Her bare feet were bloody from the sharp rocks and her arms and legs were coated in dirt. Again, she was running past trees, jumping over roots that have rose above the ground. The night air had a slight chill, making her ears hurt from the cold. There was something chasing her again. Something big and something dark. She could hear it's pounding gait behind her, catching up to her with every stride.

The further she ran, the deeper she got into the woods. The trees were getting thicker and she was definitely off of the trail. She ran behind a thick tree, hoping that whatever was behind her would run past. It didn't. It slowed its pace and trotted by and she was able to see what it was.

A black wolf.

It was in front of her, sniffing the air with it's back towards her. She tried to move so she was behind the tree but the moment she moved her foot, a twig under her foot snapped. The wolf's head shot towards her and she could see the green glowing eyes that she has seen before.

"Lauren?" She whispered out.

A howl was heard in the distance and Lauren's ears pricked forward in the direction the howl was heard. Moments later, there was another howl, a lot closer this time.

Lauren started growling and barred her teeth, looking past her and into the darkness. She looked towards the trees and found the red beady eyes she saw only once before. The wolf walked forward and the moonlight shined on the wolf's white face, illuminating the scars that went across its muzzle.

It was Luke. Lauren scratched his face really bad during their little brawl and it showed. The scratches were a few inches long and ran from the bottom of his left eye and across his muzzle.

Luke prowled forward, bearing his teeth at Lauren who was doing the same to him. This feeling felt familiar. There she was about to witness Lauren and Luke fight again.

This time, Luke launched forward but Lauren dodged his attack. His claws were out and shown in the darkness. This time, Luke's attitude was different. He was back with a vengeance and determination showed clearly on his face.

Luke was really forward with his attacks, trying to dig his claws into Lauren again. She was doing a good job and dodging them but she couldn't do that forever. Fatigue started to show and she was slowing down.

Luke was able to claw down her front, tearing skin and ripping fur while doing so. Lauren howled in pain and tried to bite him but he dodged it fast. He stepped back and Lauren started limping, the deep red color of her blood dripping down onto the ground.

"Lauren," she whispered out. Lauren turned her head towards her and she could see the amount of pain in her green eyes. She could hear her whimper and she looked down at Lauren's front. The blood was pooling down between her front paws, the moonlight reflecting off of it.

Luke growled again, trying to get Lauren's attention. She huffed and looked back at him, growling underneath her breath. Luke wasn't holding back. He leaped forward and grabbed onto Lauren, knocking her over. He lifted his paw and scratched the left side of her face.

Lauren let out another wail of pain.

"Lauren!"

The black wolf dropped to the ground, to weak to carry on.

"Lauren, get up!" She yelled but no matter how loud she yelled, the wolf wouldn't get up.

"Lauren!"