The second the initial shock faded in the least bit, I found myself sprinting out the back exit of the barn. There was a trail through the pasture, which bordered a large field. Beyond the field the forest rustled distantly in the wind. By the time I saw it I was halfway across the field- a tiny speck of white moved in the forest, giving me a huge burst of adrenaline. I jumped the fence without stopping and my heart pounded in my ears as I raced across the field, tall grass whispering against my legs. The wind was so loud as it pounded against my face that I couldn't hear anything other than the thumping of my heart over it. The forest towered closer and I saw some of the bushes trampled on the rising slope. I immediately clambered through the branches and leaves, nearly slipping in the dead foliage on the ground in my rush to find Moonlight. She couldn't have gone far- could she? She had her mother. A far-away whinny captured my attention and my yearning grew stronger. I raced through the trees, seeing glimpses of white here and there up the sloping mountain-like hills that were covered in forest. I was tempted to shout to her, but I could barely breathe from my exhausting run, that I was still continuing. However, my run didn't continue much longer; an oak root that expanded across the trail I was following met my foot with sturdiness, causing me to fall to the ground. As I tumbled down, the side of my skull crashed into another root and my vision blurred for a moment. It cleared again as pain pulsed through my head. A large gaping hole in triangular form gave me an entrance into the wide, half-hollowed oak tree, which I crawled to immediately. My first instinct was to get shelter- I knew I would black out any second now, and I needed to get to shelter. Once I was inside, the musty smell of leaves and sap around me, I curled up in the fetus position against the wall of the tree, the soil beneath me dotted with small bugs and animal droppings. I didn't care right now...
My eyes fluttered open in the near-darkness of a moonlit night. I was still in the tree trunk, but something was outside of it. I could hear it sniffing. "Moonlight?" I called out hopefully. The answer drained me of all hope. A deep growl sounded in reply and I backed up against the bark, though upon feeling something large with lots of legs crawl onto my neck I knew I had to get out. I smacked whatever it was off of my neck and cautiously crawled out. Hot breath washed against my neck and I froze, my eyes widening and my lungs freezing. Slowly, oh so slowly, I turned my head to the left and locked eyes with a large gray wolf. His amber eyes met mine and suddenly my fear vanished. I carefully pulled myself into a kneeling position, facing the beast in front of me. He had his lips drawn back into a snarl, revealing huge pointed fangs, and I was still cautious as I lifted my hand to him. Jerking his nose forward, the wolf sniffed my hand and looked up at my face, taking a step forward. My eyes flashed down to his paw while he moved; it was massive.
Four more wolves walked out from the trees behind him- a dark chestnut wolf I was sure was Alpha's mate, a pale silver young male, an almost-white one cub, and a little brown cub. The cubs bounced forward cheerfully, their identical green eyes gleaming in the moonlight. The gray wolf in front of me turned around and snapped at them, a growl ripping from his throat. They stopped immediately and backed up to their mother. So gray wolf IS Alpha. Got it.
The dark chestnut wolf slowly padded forward, leaving the cubs with the pale silver male, and pressed her forehead to Alpha's shoulder for a moment. He buried his nose in the fur on her neck and then leaned away from her. They locked eyes for a moment, amber looking into deep green, and the female stepped toward me carefully. I offered my hand to her as well, but she ignored it, nudging it away with her snout. She instead moved forward and looked into my eyes. I stared back into hers pleadingly as hope fluttered in my heart. She looked back at Alpha and nodded. He stepped forward, jerking his head up. I took the gesture for all I could think of it to mean and stood. He bowed his head at me for a second and turned around, padding back to the rest. He sat back on his haunches and a howl escaped his chest, deep and strong, a sound so beautiful it took my breath away. I stood mesmerized as the others began to join in and decided- what harm could it do? I came back down to the ground in a kneeling position and howled alongside them. My howl wasn't quite the same, a little more human and a little less deep, but it added to the chorus of musical howling that filled the night all the same.
YOU ARE READING
Caught in the Moonlight
Fiksi Remaja*REWRITE AVAILABLE ON MY PROFILE* From the time Ronnie found the horse to the night it was finally back with her, her life is a constant whirlwind. Between the boys who come in and out of her life and the constant injuries and the vibrant cast of...
