Imperial Moon [Complete]

Chapter One - Chase

The gnarled, arthritic hands of the old oak tree curled into the ink black sky as an ear-splitting scream pierced the silence.

She ran like the wind, her feet barely touching the ground, her silver hair flying out behind her as the animal closed in.

"Damn it!" Katja cursed herself, feeling stupid for letting her guard down, even for a second.

She picked up the pace, now speeding impossibly fast through the forest. She wished she'd prepared for this, she wished she had a spare dress with her.

A huge shadow emerged in front of her. There were two now, maybe more.

Katja veered off to her left, attempting to shake the beasts off. Instead, she fell, cracking her forehead on the base of a tree as everything went black.

She wasn't dead, her senses told her that. She could feel the damp earth pressed against her cheek, hear the rustling leaves on the surrounding trees. A mixture of mud and blood swirled in her mouth, offending her taste-buds. Most importantly, she could smell. 

She could smell the animals as they approached, she could smell their anger as their paws battered the earth. She could smell the murder in their hearts as their snouts moved closer.

They'd go for her throat, she knew. They wouldn't wonder who she was or where she had come from.

They'd kill her the moment they could. She was on their land, they had that right.

But she wasn't a quitter, Goddess knows that. In an instant, her mind was made up. Mourning her ruined dress, she shifted.

Females had always been able to shift faster than males, and for Katja it was quicker than most.

Her pursuers had no chance to react as Katja's bones cracked and reformed. Fur sprouted from her skin, canines extending with a growl that ripped from her throat.

Now, she stood tall. She knew that she was impressive, far bigger than normal she-wolves and larger than most males. She towered over one of her assailants, coming nose-to-nose with the other.

She bared her teeth. She would run no longer. And if they wanted to take her on, they were idiots.

She hadn't decided yet if they were idiots.

She took in their wolf forms. The bigger one was a lush chocolate-brown, with eyes as black as the night - she smelled his anger, underneath his surprise. The smaller wolf was sandy blonde with pure white socks, muddied from the chase.

A low growl rumbled in the smaller wolf's chest, but it was silenced with a look from the other. Katja snickered.

Was this the Alpha? She looked again at the brown wolf, sensing his power. It filled her nostrils, but it was not consuming, not like she knew an Alpha's power to be.

She pushed the painful memory out of her head. It would not help her to think of him now.

The brown wolf sized her up and then shifted into his human form.

He was beautiful. Long, brown hair fell in curls around his shoulders. His jaw looked cut from stone, cheekbones chiselled into his face. Katja studied him as he gulped his fury away. His eyes were still black, she noted. She refused to let her gaze wander, his tanned skin was pulled taut over his lean muscle. She looked him in the eye to stop herself staring at his impressive torso.

He stared directly back into her eyes. He was impressed, but he wouldn't admit that. He considered taking her back to the pack. She was a rogue, an unknown entity. But she interested him, and he thought of another that might be interested by her, too.