Under The Alpha's Claws

Chapter 1

The wolf stands at the edge of the forest. Blood drips from its jaws. Its piercing golden eyes stare at me from the darkness.

My heart leaps into my throat. I know immediately it's him. He's found me.

After a brief moment of hesitation, I manage to break my body out of the shock filled paralysis, and I turn and run.

I hear the sound of the earth being ripped up by his razor sharp claws as he bounds across the field towards me.

He's always been faster than me, even while he's human. Now, in his wolf form, I know he'll have no trouble catching me. I only have one chance of escape.

I close the distance between me and my small house fast but I wonder if I'll be fast enough.

His vicious snarls and growls grow louder, almost drowning out my pounding heartbeat.

The house looms up in front of me. I have to get around it to the other side.

The snap of his jaw sends waves of icy chills up my spine. I can imagine his teeth revealed in a snarl, his needle-like fangs cracking down over his bottom jaw. 

I have my eye on the corner of the house as I run up the side.

Almost there. Three more seconds.

I feel his hot breath on the back of my bare legs.

Two.

His saliva flies forward to hit and drip down my bare calves.

One

As he grabs a hold and tugs on the back of my shirt—his teeth grinding through the thin material to rub against my skin—I make a sharp turn at the corner, almost skidding on the soft earth.

The bottom half of my shirt rips as he slips off his feet while trying to follow my sudden movement.

He slides across the ground, but I hear him clamber back up to continue his chase.

Knowing his stumble has given me a couple more seconds, I run as fast as I can towards the ladder leaning up against the side of the house. I hope those extra seconds are enough.

Placing my hand on one rung, I thank myself for leaving it here this afternoon instead of putting it away like I was supposed to.

I climb as fast as I can. Halfway up, my foot slips and I have to hold on tight so I don't tumble down to the ground.

He bounds over to the bottom of the ladder and I'm unable to pull my foot back up quick enough. His teeth sink into my ankle. I scream.

The sharp pain shoots up my entire leg. If I were standing, I'm sure my knees would buckle, but instead it stiffens as if I'll never bend it again.

Holding on with my hands, I use my free foot to kick at him. The third kick does the trick. With a powerful jab to his snout, he releases me and falls backwards.

He's quick to jump again and snap at me, but this time, I'm faster. I feel his hot breath and the power of his bite against my bare foot, letting me know how close he had been to getting me. I climb the rest of the way up before he has a chance to knock the ladder down.   

On the roof, I take one last look down at him. He glares up at me, growling and baring his teeth.

I crawl up to the top of the roof and kneel down on my hands and knees. A deep breath in. My body tenses and squirms. I feel my bones shifting and repositioning. My muscles stretching, growing, moving. My skin pulling tight against the growth of my second body.

Pain radiates through me. Every nerve buzzes with a tender ache, spreading it from my head to the end of my fingers, and down to my toes.

A scream erupts from my mouth without my permission.

Through the cracking and popping of my shifting body, I hear his claws tearing at the side of the house, and at some point the ladder crashes to the ground.

I suffer for what feels like forever. The many other times I've shifted never makes it go by any faster. I always thought the more times I dealt with it, the easier it would get. I was wrong. It never gets better.

I can still hear him and it sounds as though he's running around the house. Although, I can't tell if he moving or if I'm the one turning while I try to stay on the roof.

My bones and muscles snap into place. All my fingers and toes change into razor sharp claws. Knife-like teeth push out from my gums and take the place of my blunt human teeth that vanish into my jaw. Brittle hairs spring out from my skin all over my body and my clothing rips off.

With the final alterations made to my body, the pain subsides. I stand up.

Hearing his harsh breaths on the other side of the house, waiting for me to jump down, I move as quick as I can, bounding back towards the ladder.

The moment I move, so does he. I hear his gruff pants and growls, and his claws ripping up dirt, all clearer than before. He rushes around the house to get to me, but he has more ground to cover. So, by the time I reach the edge of the roof, he's still running up the side.

I leap from the edge and soar through the air before hitting the ground. My attempt to stay on my feet only works for a second, then I stumble and roll. I'm not used to my wolf form. I haven't shifted since that night, four months ago.

I get back on my feet at the same time he rounds the corner. We make eye contact, and I turn and run.

The wind blowing against my face and over my body brings me a brief moment of peace. I've missed this feeling. The illusive feeling of freedom. Of control. Of being safe. Things I've never truly felt.

I'm pulled from my tranquil moment when I hear the snap at my tail.

I should have stayed on the roof. He couldn't get me while was up there up there unless he shifted back to climb the ladder, and then I could have made a run for it and gotten away. Instead, I allowed him to catch me. He's always faster no matter what; he will always catch me.

His teeth nip at my rump, and I let out a short whimper. The pounding of his feet stop and a moment later his claws dig into my back. An agonising howl erupts from me as his teeth sink into my flesh. The pain seizes up my back legs. I roll forward, face planting the ground, with him still attached to me.

We roll several more times before we come to a stop. He pins me down, his claws in my shoulder, pushing my other shoulder against a rock, growling and bearing all his teeth.