Made in Moonlight

Twenty-Four

The wolf beside me pounces first.

I stumble sideways, trying to dodge them, but another wolf attacks from behind me and I've got nowhere to go.

"Clover, watch out!" Thomas shouts, his voice ripping through my mind, but he's too late.

I manage to miss the first wolf by a hair's width, but the second wolf barrels into my back. I scream in the sound of a yelp, feeling my feet leave the ground. I tumble across the grass clearing, searching desperately for my footing.

When I finally stand, I'm surrounded again—this time by three wolves.

I glance at Thomas and Leyla. Thomas urgently tries to keep himself upright, but he can barely stand, and Leyla is struggling to keep the remaining wolves off.

My heart sinks.

There's no way we can fight off this many wolves—not with me being a newbie wolf and Thomas' injury.

Panting, I step back. The wolves move closer.

"Blake," I say through my mind link. "This is looking bad."

"I know," he replies. "I'm coming, just hold on."

"I don't know how much longer I can."

"Trust your instincts," he tells me. "I'm nearly there."

"I just don't understand—I thought you caught the guy that's been attacking us?"

"That's what I thought too," he says.

Before I can think about it for too long, one of the wolves leaps forward, teeth gnashing. I yelp, jumping back, but another wolf is behind me, and I collide hard.

I try to do what Blake told me, I try to trust my instincts, but my instincts aren't helpful here. All I want to do is run, but three wolves surround me. One jumps onto me, and I feel blind.

We're a tangle of legs and fur and sharp, pointed teeth. Something rips into my shoulder, and I scream, thrashing against the wolf.

I bite back, clawing at the nearest body. I hit flesh and blood pours onto the grass. The wolf whimpers and staggers off me, only to be replaced by another.

I spin, trying to get away, but my shoulder throbs and I can barely put weight on my front paw.

The wolf pins me to the grass, paws clawing into my skin. I snap my teeth, trying to catch onto something, but I'm not fast enough.

The wolf's teeth dig into my shoulder again, ripping into the already bleeding wound.

I howl, pain shooting through my body. My shoulder bleeds freely now, matting my fur and pooling on the ground. I try to move my arm, but it's too painful.

The wolf pulls back, meeting my eyes. I think he even smiles, my blood staining his teeth.

And then—another howl.

Blake's howl.

The silver rope shimmers to life and the wolf pinning me down is suddenly tackled across the clearing.

"Is that Blake?" Leyla says.

I don't have to reply. By his shining white fur and the way he easily tackles two wolves, it's obvious that it's him.

I pull myself to my feet. My shoulder stings, the open wound too fresh to put any weight on it, so I limp.

I hobble towards Blake. He's taken out the two wolves he'd tackled. I'm too scared to approach. They're not moving and there's a lot of blood around them.