ASHES ~ BURNING MOON Series - Prequel

2

My body feels like it's on fire. Staring up at the full moon, I instinctively know that there's something significant about it, but the reason escapes me.

I recognize the woods that skirt the eastern border of our territory. The air is cool, but I don't mind the temperature.

I'm confused. Why am I here?

The question is quickly forgotten when a distinct scent catches my attention. Suddenly, I'm running for the trees. I don't slow or stop as I enter the thick tangle of foliage, careless of the branches that snag my skin and tear at my flesh.

Nothing matters but finding my prey. I'm fleetingly aware of my speed, faster than I've ever been able to run. The feeling is exhilarating and terrifying at the same time. It's as if there were two of me. One, free from fear and thrilled by the hunt—the other, fearful of the need that's begun to consume me.

With every step, the old me is disappearing, like a disguise I've worn for too long. I run and run. Time is lost to the new me. The smells of the forest are so much more complex than I'd ever realized. But one scent floating on the air and growing ever stronger, is the only one that matters. I'm so close to what I seek.

And then I see it.

A bonfire in the clearing lights up a small field and casts elongated shadows of the humans standing around the flames.

Humans?

My desire to kill is instinctual. As I clear the forest and enter the field, a pain rips through my body like none I've ever felt before. There is a moment when I believe the pain will rip me in half. Still, I don't break my speed. I push through it, toward it.

One of the humans turns, noticing my approach. He growls, alerting the others, but I'm only concerned with the one, the alpha. When he looks in my direction, I recognize the leader from another dream—another life. His expression isn't as confident this time. There's a challenge in his glowing amber eyes, but also a hint of fear.

That's what I feed off when I launch myself into the night. When I land, I'm closer to the ground and running the last few yards on four legs instead of two. The pain that gripped me a moment ago is no more.

So much freedom.

Leaping one last time, I land on the leader, hitting him in the chest with my full weight, knocking him off balance and driving him to the ground. My jaws are powerful when I bite into the arm he holds up to defend himself. The others step back but don't interfere. I have no fear of them. They won't do anything unless I lose this battle.

A faint voice in the darkest corners of my mind wonder how I know these things. But that voice grows more silent with every heartbeat. When I finally taste blood in my mouth, the feeling is close to euphoria. It's as though I was given a dose of adrenaline. My teeth rip and tear at the arm until I sense a change in my enemy.

His arm in my mouth seems to soften and shift. I'm startled momentarily, and my enemy takes advantage by kicking me off with powerful legs. I roll several times, trying to right myself. By the time I'm standing again, a great black wolf stands where my enemy was.

But, he is my enemy.

We circle each other, growling, teeth gnashing, jaws snapping in warning. The others circle us but I only focus on him. He has threatened my family, my pack. There are no morals, no choices, no sense of conscience. If he lives, we die.

Without warning my enemy lunges at me. I don't cower or shy away. Instead, I meet him in the air. When we collide, with a stroke of luck, I manage to lock down hard on his throat with my jaws. I don't dare let go. He thrashes and flails.