The Moon’s Shadow

In the world of wolves, brutality reined supreme. A hierarchy of violence and blood to determine who’s on top. Despite the violent nature of my world, I carved out a slice of peace for those under my command. With it meant secrets and seclusion. But from time to time, there are those who would intrude upon our peace. That is how the beginning of the end began. It was a day like any other in our hidden valley of security. The chilled mountain breeze swept the tall grass against my face. The cool air signaled fall’s approach and a prime time to find food in the quiet valley. Prepared for the hunt and searching for prey, I crouched low and out of sight. I camouflage myself in the tall brush, searching and waiting. Unable to see any prey, I shut my eyes to listen my surroundings. The soft swaying blades of grass were deafening, blocking out the world’s sound. I couldn’t hear much, but by pressing my hands onto the earth I could feel the vibrations of feet approaching and they were getting close. The lone predator’s soft breaths cause a chill to run down my spine. They are close, too close. Warnings flared in my head setting me on edge, as well as the beast who lurked beneath. Sensing the approaching danger, a warning growl echoes in my mind and I release my claws. Damn it. Where did everyone go? I have gone from hunter to hunted. It’s quickly become a do or die scenario and I have way too much to do before I go. I am not going to wait for them to attack first, I’m going to strike. I pivot my foot and angle my body. I coiled as tight as a spring, ready to launch. They are a mere few inches from my hiding spot. Taking a deep breath in and out, I launch myself at my prey. I barreled forward, knocking the my foe over. Just as I thrust my razor sharp claws toward my attacker’s throat, I hear chuckling replace the growls in my head. Always look before you leap, silly girl. Shadow , my wolf, retracts my claws immediately, saving my intended attacker’s head from being severed. Adrenaline leaves me shaking from head to toe. I turn to see who my wolf would have protected, only to shake my head. My body jolts making my head shake more aggressively but not from confusion but fear at what I just about did. Panic thrums in my chest. His face makes my chest tighten and ache. I can feel all the color draining from my face. My startled attacker rolled amongst the dewy grass, startled but cackling at his petty stunt. His laughter screeches in my ears and my anger flares. I’m ready to rip his head off for real. “ You little s**t. Michael that’s not funny. I almost killed you.” “Ahh key word, almost. It’s still funny Amber and you know it.” My brother adamantly stated. After all, he was the victor. Struggling to get his giant stature back up after rolling around on the ground laughing at me, I angrily shoved him back over. I hope he rolls in dog s**t. Timber! “ Aww don’t be a sore loser Amber.” Michael jibbed, finally managing to stand up and brush himself off. Grass stains grace him all over his khaki pants and navy shirt. “ You are lucky I love you, jerk. Seriously, if shadow hadn’t recognized you and retracted my claws, you would be dead. Is that what you want?” I demanded harshly. “You are all I have Michael. You can’t do that to me. I ought to kick your ass.” I yell, poking him hard in the chest. Fury laces my every word and action. With a huff I turn away to try and calm my aching chest. I need to calm down. I took deep full breaths in through my nostrils and slowly release out of my mouth. I felt the panic easing slowly and the tremors ceased. After several deep breaths I turn to face my brother, reaching on my tippy toes to remove the blades of grass and stray hairs from his face. My eyes sting and my emotions betray me, releasing a few stray tears. Michael towers over me at 6 ft 4 with shoulder length, light brown hair and soft green eyes looking down upon me with something akin to guilt painting his features. Im sure the same probably reflected in my own chocolate brown eyes that he had to bend down to see, seeing as I’m only 5 ft 3. He softly brushes my tangled long dark brown tresses back into place and wipes my traitorous tears from my face “I’m sorry Amber. You too shadow. I wasn’t trying to upset you or have a death wish. I just hate seeing you this serious all the time. You hardly smile and you work too damn much. I just want you to have a little fun.” Michael apologizes. He hangs his head quickly adverting my gaze and refused to meet my eyes. He only looked down to fiddle with the thick gold band on his long fingers. Shadow whines, seeing him hurt. Seeing him with that pouty face, I know I can’t stay mad at him forever. Releasing a big sigh, I slowly wrapped Michael in a tight squeeze. He is the only person I have in this world. We may not be related by blood, but he is still every bit my big brother. “Love you, dummy. It’s all good, okay? I promise I’ll make more of an effort. I know I’ve been really stressed lately and I need to do better. We both have and we could use some fun. Just no more sneak attacks. We aren’t ninjas.” I smile d with a soft chuckle. Shadow, my werewolf, only huffed in amusement. She is entertained by Michael’s jokes far more than I am. We are so much cooler than ninjas. Michael released the breath he’d been holding. His frame relaxed seeing mine had as well.“ But we could be…” Michael whispered under his breath. I just shook my head and smiled. It didn’t last though. As if being hit by a truck, I stopped dead in my tracks. The lightbulb in my mind had clicked and it dawned on me what we were supposed to be doing. “ Where are the trainees? s**t!” I panicked. “Relax, geez! They are with that stupid mutt, gamma Jacob, in the meadow.” Michael reassured me. He placed his arm around my shoulders, putting me back at ease. Releasing a sigh of relief, I couldn’t help but chuckle. Michael had a grudge with Jacob for ages. “ Gahh! You know you need to let it go. It was not his fault his son found your fancy shoes and chewed them up. You left them by the pack door. That’s just asking for trouble.” I sternly reminded Michael in Jacob’s defense. “ Well I can’t very well blame junior for his parents not teaching him better, now can I? But I had to save two months salary to buy those shoes! They were one of a kind. I wouldn’t expect your bumpkin ass to understand.” Michael quipped . “ Bumpkin ass? Well that’s a new one.” I managed to say with a straight face. It took everything I had to hold onto the laughter bubbling up my throat. One glance at Michael’s barely contained laughter and I’m was done for. We were both laughing so hard we were bent over, wheezing for air and wiping tears from our eyes. “ There she is.” Michael beamed, patting me on the back. “ I’ve missed this girl.” Michael wrapped me in his strong arms for a bear hug and placed a soft kiss on my forehead before setting me down. “ Love you sissy. Keep that smile on your face. You deserve it.” Michael said softly before releasing me from his embrace. “We should probably check on that mutt and make sure our trainees aren’t learning his bad habits.” Rolling my eyes I motioned for Michael to follow.“ Come on! He’s not that bad.” “ Intuders on the forest boarder! Amber, they are asking for you.” Gamma Jacob mind linked us both in a panic. Michael and I shared a worried glance before we took off running..