A Darker Moon

[1]Liberosis

Liberosis

n. the desire to care less about things—to loosen your grip on your life, to stop glancing behind you every few steps

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I've never run after a rabbit so fast in my entire life, but that's because none have truly felt as if they'd be the opportunity of my last meal. My stomach had been grumbling and aching at the pain of starvation for a good few days now, my futile attempts to catch my prey only got worse as I got hungrier. My paws thumped against the snow-covered floor, leaving small prints as I ran along.

I hadn't realised how far I'd run after the thing, I was never one to lose track of my surroundings but obviously, a more primal part of me had awakened in the dire need for food, my survival, I kept the scent in the front of my mind, maybe it will run home and I could treat myself in its selfish desire to feel safe.

I watched the small white snow hare leap into a bush as I slowed to a pace. I could feel it in my stomach the nearing of a pack's border and the closer I stalked the worse the feeling got, especially for a long time rogue as myself. It's like the rabbit knew itself that I wasn't allowed to cross and only proceeded to taunt me further by slowly stepping away from the bush as if to make a run.

I stood at the imaginary line only a wolf could feel and eyed the bush, it was only a few feet into the territory, but this rabbit could mean my life, as could crossing a pack border. In which I was in no rush to find out whos it belonged to. 

I'm sure the Alpha of this pack could feel me, mentally, so close to the border as I felt a surge of authority hit me in hopes to warn me to back off. I continued to stare down this rabbit, it had already been hard to find due to its snow coloured fur but rabbits in these parts of the woods shed fur into new colour based on the seasons, a rather clever but infuriating step in the evolution against predator kind.

I inched closer to this stupid border, my paws just scraping the edge, this rabbit really would mean my survival and there was no way I could just chat my way out of starvation but an alpha, it was risky, but still more of a conversation than death himself. I'm sure 3 feet into his woods would be no means a threat, I'd simply leave and go and if they caught up to me Id merely explains myself, in total hopes of them not caring and dragging me back to their silver cells. 

The rabbit got cocky and let down its defences, its fur no longer stood upon its back. It turned its own back to me and started fumbling at the grass, digging away and looking for its own food. I guess you think I'm not stupid enough to cross this border huh? I shrugged and turned my back to it as if to walk off, my tail swishing behind me as I took small and agonising steps away.

I was never one to move on such an instinctual pulse, I was always calculated and witty, fast-moving to my opponent's attacks, but I was starting to feel it slip as I lunged back towards the now defenceless and well-sized hare, that was on the other side of this border, I guess the need to live is stronger than a wolf's instincts... As I crossed it I felt almost struck with power, that did not phase the human part of me but rather the inner part of me, my wolf. I was rarely transformed to human as it deemed not fit for such arduous tasks in the raw and unforgiving environments and situations mother nature threw at me. 

I had been given a warning and boy was I starting to feel like I should have just found another hare or taken a sleep-induced death. I nabbed the rabbit, my jaws snapping down on its back and legged it in the direction I had come, in hopes that they understand I truly meant no trouble. I kept my pace fast, maybe even faster than when I had tried to catch this rabbit, yet the lack of nutrition and energy started to consume me, it felt like my stomach had started to try and eat itself in an attempt to sate something. 

I continued for a few miles out, I hadn't heard anything, nor smelt, but I could only assume in worst-case scenario this Alpha had sent out his best-trained warriors, human or wolf I wouldn't be able to predict, and they wouldn't be as understanding as I'd risked my life on.  The best-case scenario was they'd understand, not follow me and I'd continue to live another day.

I slowed down once again, feeling a lot less on edge than earlier and sunk down into the crook of some large tree roots. The rabbit had died in my mouth as I had felt it twitching in my attempts to escape and then fall limp. I gnawed down on its back, savagely eating anything edible, if I had eaten anything I wasn't meant to, my teeth would grind it down or I'd be most likely to throw it up later, which was common for dogs and cats. 

The meal of the rabbit was good and sated my hunger for the meantime, I wasn't content or full, meaning I still needed to conserve some energy for another hunt to keep myself content.

I nuzzled the eaten corpse and tried to lick what I could off its bone as I pondered how I'd even managed to survive this long for 11 years, let alone on my own. Each winter only felt as it got harder and I had never managed to struggle this much, maybe it's just this section of the woods? I tended to hang around the 'no mans lands' of wolf territories, and maybe they had hunted all the prey from their own borders. I'd have to head back to the deeper sections of the woods in the morning, I sighed contently.  

I deliberated on moving further away from the pack's border but a good few miles away should do, especially if I was to go on the assumption that they hadn't followed me, what a nice fella, I thought to myself, he didn't chase me, he let me take what I hunted and left, and they say chivalry is dead. I tested my luck, to my unbeknownst too far by just even catching that rabbit, and shut my eyes for a light snooze until dusk broke out. 

~

A couple of light footsteps broke me away from my light slumber. I stood on alert on all fours, immediately my fur standing on my back to increase my size. I growled as loud as I could, it was a little hoarse as I hadn't used my voice in a while. 

As I bared my teeth a large paw come out from the shadows in front of me, a larger creamy brown wolf, and a couple of others behind him, all growling and most certainly double my size. I guess chivalry is dead...

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My first ever werewolf book ! Tbh I've been really into it lately so you cant blame me :P I hope you're all looking forward to the future of the book <3 !