Fur and Fang [BXB]

One

Fenn's heart pounded in his chest with the same ferocity that his feet hit the earth. Icy tendrils of pain clawed down his throat with every frantic inhale, a sharp contrast to the fire in his legs. He clutched a knife in his fist, but it felt like it was housed under his ribs. Every fiber of his being begged him to stop running, but he could not. To stop would mean death, and he wasn't ready to die.

He was badly emaciated, a fact that his captors were relying on to keep him close. That's why he had to keep going. He had to make it farther than they expected so he'd be out of range of the search party when they came.

He was out of energy, but adrenaline and instinct kept him going. When a river materialized in his path, he did not hesitate to jump in it. His instincts had been screaming at him about masking his scent trail, so it was a natural solution. However, the water that engulfed him was glacial runoff, so it felt like frosted needles were piercing his skin. 

Fenn thought briefly about letting the slow current carry him, but instead chose to fight the river and head upstream. His captors would expect him to go with the flow due to his weakened state, and with the river carrying his scent downstream anyway, it would ultimately buy him more time while they searched the wrong area.

While using his hands to pull himself forward, Fenn caught sight of the foul red liquid that coated his arms. The circumstances of his escape had not been pleasant and he imagined it would not be long before he was discovered missing. He had to be gone by then. Unreachable.

He couldn't feel his limbs anymore and black dots were starting to speckle his vision. He had made it past several bends of the river, which he figured was good enough to warrant his exit. 

It took more time than he'd have liked to crawl up the opposite river bank. He ended up sinking his knife into the earth to provide leverage to hoist his thin frame out of the water. The water made him so much heavier, and the air that now lashed at his body somehow felt even colder. 

"Come on," he growled at himself, unable to rise to his feet. His mind urged him onward, but his body was no longer listening. He was able to drag himself into the tree line, but that was about it. Any attempt to stand only ended up with him falling back to his knees.

Maybe I should rest, Fenn thought, for just a few minutes. Shivering, he peeled the soaked rags from his body and rung them out. After draping them on a nearby branch to hopefully dry a bit, he curled up at the base of a tree, using it to block the harsh wind. Desperate for some sort of reprieve, Fenn pulled heaps of the forest floor closer to him, covering his body with dead leaves and dried foliage. The only true reprieve, his wolf form, was wholly unresponsive at the moment. In fact, he hadn't felt his wolf in quite some time.

It worried him, but for now, there was nothing he could do about it. He could only try to stay alive.

Without meaning to, Fenn fell asleep.

^°^°^°^

The next time Fenn opened his eyes, the world was getting darker. The sun was disappearing behind the mountains. He cursed to himself, scrambling to his feet and pulling on his still-damp clothes. He needed to make use of the remaining daylight. His eyes were practically human at the moment, so once night fell he'd be shit out of luck. 

Fenn's muscles screamed as he pressed on, not ready for the resumed torture. He wanted to get higher up the mountain so that he might have a vantage point to figure out where to go next.

He had no clue where he was. He'd been passed through so many hands and so many places that he couldn't even confidently guess the country. 

Although, it was somewhat similar to his original home. He had no mountains but the forest here was filled with familiar plants and animals.

After another hour of hiking, Fenn came across a little stream. He was about to step over it and continue on his way when a particular plant caught his eye. It was a large grass-like plant, but early memories with his father told him it might be something much better. 

Getting a firm hold on the base of the plant, Fenn wrenched it from the soil. He was delighted to find a small white bulb on the newly freed end and even more delighted when he pressed the bulb to his nose and it gave off a familiar odor. 

Wild onion. 

Fenn quickly harvested what he could carry and rinsed the dirt off in the stream. Then he carried on, eating as much as he could stomach as he walked. It certainly wasn't his favorite flavor, but it was something. 

After another hour, the sun had truly disappeared and Fenn was forced to stop. He could barely see anything and he was afraid that if he didn't hunker down, he'd be ambushed by creatures that could see better in the dark.

So, using a similar method as he had earlier, Fenn curled up and took advantage of the moment of rest.

^°^°^°^

Fenn was woken by a noise. He wasn't sure what noise, as he hadn't fully processed it, so he sat and listened for a while. It was still super dark out, so his eyes strained to make out the shapes and shadows that surrounded him. He had almost convinced himself that the sound was nothing, but when he heard it a second time, his hair stood on end.

A howl.

It was very faint. He probably wouldn't have even heard it had the wind been flowing in a different direction. 

But it still meant they had caught a scent. And if he could hear them, they were already too close.

With great effort, Fenn hoisted himself again to a standing position. He needed to go. He needed to keep going no matter how much his body begged for rest.

He stumbled forward, calling out to his wolf for help but receiving only silence in return. He wanted to cry, but his fear was too high to do anything but run. He scraped against trees, the sliver of moonlight in the sky just barely enough to keep him from running face first into a tree. 

Help. He needed help. He called out to the moon goddess, pleading with her to open her eye wider and flood the path before him in her divine glow.

See me! He begged in his mind. See me and have mercy!

Perhaps it was his imagination, but for a brief moment, he thought maybe the sky had become a little lighter.

But then he realized why as he came into a clearing. Fenn couldn't help but slow down, his face turning up to the dazzling night sky in desperation. 

"What do I do?" Fenn whispered to the moon. "Where do I go?"

There was no answer, but in some poetic plea, Fenn decided to alter his trajectory slightly to follow the moon. Perhaps the moon goddess would show him the way to safety, even if by chance.

Fenn ran again. He ran until he collapsed from pure exhaustion. Black dots filled his vision and grew until he knew nothing but darkness.

^°^°^°^

A/N

Sometimes the only thing that can get you out of a writing rut is a trashy gay werewolf romance! They're my guilty pleasure.

What genre is your Wattpad guilty pleasure?

I hope you enjoy this little treat for pride month!

See you next Wednesday!
-Mora Montgomery