Page 20 of The Wolf Moon

“She’ll start on the opposite side of the match. When the first howl is made, you’ll have to find each other. The winner is determined by whoever submits or falls unconscious first. Death blows are not allowed and is considered a crime among our pack. No one but the fighters are allowed in the match. Good luck to you, Tala.”

“It’s Mila,” I tried to correct him as he and the others began to recede beyond the trees. Their words echoed his: Good luck, Tala. For some reason, I suspected they knew my name wasn’t Tala. It probably meant something else entirely. I would have to ask later.

I stood alone, the line of blue painted trees behind me and fading into the distance on either side of me. My only option would be to go forward or follow the perimeter of the match and chance being knocked out of the match. Knowing that Cate would be on the opposite side of the arena, I hooked the bow over my shoulder and looked around, plotting on what it was to do in this fight against her if I wanted to win.

I obviously would have to use my connection to the wildlife. I felt a sense of excitement just thinking of it. So often I had avoided that connection, considering it cheating when hunting and not wanting others to find out about it. Now, it didn’t matter. It was vital.

I inhaled sharply at the sound of a long, high howl in the air. I knew it wasn’t Cate. No doubt it was one of the many bystanders waiting to see the outcome of the match. With the howl having announced the beginning of the match, I began to jog carefully through the trees, delving more into the arena cautiously.

When I was satisfied with my distance, I stopped and raised a hand above me, reaching for the ceiling of the trees. I whistled, high and purposely until a flutter of wings appeared on low branches around me. I turned to look at the gathering of several birds who had answered my call. Then I lifted my finger to my lips.

“Shhh,” I said to them before pointing towards the middle of the match area, “I’m hunting the wolf.” For a regular person, I would have to be more specific, but for animals it was different. It was as though my actual words didn’t matter; the power was more mind over volume. At my words, the birds took flight and disappeared into the trees. And just as quickly as they were gone, so was all noise within the forest.

I stood unmoving, listening to the sudden silence of nature. No bird chirped. No feet scurried across the floor. It would have been completely eerie if I hadn’t intended it to be this way. I only remained frozen until I heard it: quiet chirping in the far distance, short and melodic.

I immediately began to run, twisting through trees silently. I had yet to obtain new shoes since the ones I lost from the hunt, but my feet were used to the forest. Still, the shoestrings would have been useful for setting traps. Instead, I used the occasional chirping of a single bird to determine which direction Cate was going. I would anticipate her path and strike her down as soon as I saw her.

When the chirping was approaching nearer to my distance, I halted and looked at the trees carefully. I picked an easy climb with the best coverage and planted my hands along the bark, lifting my body and grasping for branches. I crawled my way up the tree with practice until I was among the thicker top branches. The leaves had fallen with winter, but I could still remain hidden with care.

I removed my bow from my back, equipping it with an arrow and facing the direction of the lone chirping. She was closer now. I held my bow to my hip, not drawing the string as of yet as I waited patiently. My heart was pulsing loudly in my chest with excitement. Adrenaline was threading throughout me and that wild power within me stretched under my skin dangerously. I felt quite at home.

The melodic chirping increased in volume exponentially, indicating that Cate was going to appear any moment. I lifted my bow, drawing the string and aiming purposely at the floor of the forest where her path would lead. Just as she stepped into sight, the bird silenced itself suddenly, making her pause mid-step.

I aimed for her shoulder and released my arrow, equipping another just as quickly. It was as if everything exploded around us; the wildlife singing and moving at once in excitement. In the second it took to shoot at her, she pulled her lance from her side swiftly and sliced it through the air, snapping the arrow in half. I released another and she brought back her weapon, deflecting it just before it would have pierced her. And then she began to ran towards my location.

I began to rapidly target her, releasing arrow after arrow expertly and watching as she sliced through them. One deflected only just in time and only enough that it still grazed her arm. She growled at the cut and burst forward, roaring as she swung her lance powerfully at the base of the tree I was hiding in.

I yelped as her blade tore entirely through the wood, feeling my world fall around me as the tree tilted forward towards the ground slowly and powerfully. I both kept my eye on Cate and panicked, tucking into myself so as to not break my weapon as I leapt from the falling tree in attempt to gain control of the situation.

I rolled as I hit the ground, dodging the branches of the tree and ending up on my back. I immediately pushed myself to my feet, crouching and equipping my bow. I began to shoot at Cate once more. She sliced the arrow dangerously, panting against her own exertions. Then she lunged towards me. With her so close, I equipped three arrows, turning my bow horizontally before releasing them at once.

She swung, hitting one… two… the third struck her hand in mid-swing, causing her to all but launch her lance across the distance into the woods. She groaned in pain, but didn’t stop her attack. Instead, she ripped the arrow from her hand and grabbed her blade at her waist, releasing it with a loud, sharp sound echoing in the air around us.

I dropped the bow and tore my own blade from its sheath, pushing myself into standing before lifting it above my head just as she brought hers in a down swing. Our blades struck one another’s with a loud crash, causing me to take a step back but nothing more. I could feel that wild power brushing against me under my skin, pulsing with strength under my attack.

I twisted out from under her, sliding to the ground quickly and slicing the blade against her lower leg. She danced out of the way just barely too slow so that the knife only slightly cut into her flesh and then tried to stomp on me altogether. I dodged quickly and then cried out, lunging towards her and tackling into her body as forcefully as I could.

If I could get her on the ground with me, I might stand a chance.

We collided and she just as quickly used her amazing speed to jump over me, turning my own attack on me until I was the one on the ground with her on top of me. She swung her blade down, suddenly appearing quite intent on a killing blow in my opinion. I gritted my teeth together and placed my blade over the palm of my free hand, lifting it forcefully until it met hers painfully.

She cried out simultaneously with me, my blade digging into both of our hands though more so into hers. It was enough to halt her blade from being buried into my chest. I held this pose, growling completely unlike myself as blood seeped over our hands and over my arms thickly. I reached out with my power, calling blindly for anything surrounding us.

Suddenly, a large roaring form tore its way through the trees and into a surprised Cate, knocking both of our weapons from our hands. I rolled under Cate as she was ripped from me, gasping as I turned to see an extremely furious bear biting into her viciously.

I cursed loudly with astonishment.

Cate roared angrily, her bones snapping as she began to shift into her own angry beast. Her form grew under the wild beast, midnight fur sprouting over her claws and fangs. I panicked, both not wanting the wildlife around me to suffer from my fight and knowing she would be attacking me in this form next.

The bear swiped a heavy paw at her fully formed wolf muzzle, knocking her to the ground viciously. I scrambled to my feet, spotting Cate’s lance in the near distance flat on the forest floor. I ran for it, turning my head towards the battling beasts.

“Run!” I demanded of the bear powerfully, making it stumble away from Cate with confusion before turning away to make its escape. Cate stood bleeding and panting, growling continuously under her breath but not otherwise continuing her fight with the wild creature. Instead, she turned those diamond blue eyes on me dangerously.

In a breath of a second, she came for me. I dove forward, landing on top of the length of the lance roughly and gripping it tightly. Cate leapt into the air, intending to collide into me with all of her power. I twisted from my stomach, lifting the lance with me until the tip targeted the center of Cate’s form.

In a half second, I could see the surprise in her eyes as she saw the certain death blow coming. In that same second, I felt a wave of triumph knowing she couldn’t avoid it. I just as quickly dropped the lance, falling on my back flatly as she landed on top of me, her paws planted firmly on either side of my head and a roar erupting from that fang filled mouth into my face.

I laughed with delight, reaching out to place my hand on her nose abruptly.

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