Shadow of the Day (Wolf Moon Sequel)

Chapter 65: Threat

Lila POV

Matt was making it surprisingly easy to find him, he was not being careful whatsoever when it came to escaping or hiding his trail. Remembering how frantic and confused I'd been when I had first Changed, I wasn't surprised, even if it terrified me. I had been lucky enough to have only hurt Wyatt and Caleb, but if Matt made it to the road or found someone out here there was no way he was going to be able to control himself enough to keep from killing them or getting killed himself.

I'd lost some time having to stop and Change myself to keep up, but I had a rational brain to think with and experience with hunting, so it was easy to make up the distance even with his head start.  I had the advantage of experience and a clear head, being able to pick a clearer easier path to take, as opposed to him crashing his way through all sorts of bushes and debris.

I had to take him down as quickly as I could without hurting him and somehow get him to Change back without either of us getting severely injured and I felt wholly unprepared for all it all but there really wasn't any time to brush up on Wyatt's books or come up with a game plan, not when I could smell cars and humans nearby. Every second lost was another second closer to both of us being in danger.

I swerved through the brush and put on a burst of speed, coming up on his left side to herd him back into the deeper parts of the trees. With the trees thinning, I could make him out and felt a pang of dread at the sight. He was definitely bigger than me, just like when we were human, so he was going to have the advantage of size and strength over me, as well as rage and instinct. Hopefully, all this time practicing with Wyatt would even the playing field.

I dug deep, clearing as much space I could to get ahead of him before I swerved right into his path, tackling him into the ground. The speed and force of my attack had us rolling across the dirt and snow, a flurry of fur and claws and growls, but at least we were headed away from humanity and back into the safety the cover of trees offered.

We tumbled into the dirt, separated and jumping up to regain balance, the upper hand, and Matt recovered first. Adrenaline was pumping through him, making him stronger and faster, survival instincts kicking in to ward off any and all perceived threats.

Which unfortunately meant me.

I'd just gotten back on my feet when he lunged for me, but I managed to leap out of his way and he got nothing more than a mouthful of tail fur.

I needed to seriously regroup and tire him out if I was going to have a chance and we were still too close to the road for comfort. He wanted to get me? Fine. He was going to have to work for it.

I took off into the trees and he wasted no time barreling after me.

I didn't know this forest as well, but unlike Matt I wasn't just aimlessly running or chasing after the first living thing that crossed in front of my nose and blind to everything else around me. And being smaller than him meant I could fit places he couldn't and, as I learned when I made a sharp turn that had him skidding off in the wrong direction before following again further behind than before, I could outmaneuver him.

Zigzagging my way through the trees, I led him back to where it was crowded with trees and we had utmost privacy, and all my efforts paid off when he started to lag behind. Hopefully, he hadn't figured out how to use his nose and was solely tracking me based off sight and sound, but just in case I ran a loop. When I crossed my original trail, him still crashing in the woods far behind me, I slowed my pace, quieted my steps, and found some thick brush to hide behind and wait.

It took longer than expected for Matt to catch up, and his breathing was labored with exhaustion and frustration. He hadn't just slowed down from all the turns, his adrenaline spike was finally coming down and chasing me had killed some of the energy boost that Changing for the first time had given him.