Page 11 of Marked By Moonlight
Sweating and panting, my lungs and thighs are burning from how quickly I run. If I stop, I’ll never escape again. I have to keep running.
But I don’t know how much longer I can go on like this. I need to find a place to hide and catch my breath.
Even though he’ll be able to sniff me out if he turns, hiding in the darkness is my best chance. My eyesight is far better than his, at least at the moment.
I need a dark spot to hide.
The lingering sunlight is almost gone. It’s still not dark enough for me to have the advantage.
A howl streaks through the air from behind me.
I stumble at the sound, almost losing my footing, but somehow manage to stay on my feet.
Did Kael turn?
I can’t help myself. I glance back.
It costs me.
My legs stop moving, and I gasp.
Brown fur and bright silver eyes stare back at me. A large brown wolf is running toward me, his fur shaggy, just like his human hair. He doesn’t seem to hesitate in his body. He runs like he’s shifted into a wolf hundreds of times already.
It’s beautiful watching him run so elegantly. He’s majestic and too fucking close.
How did he shift so quickly?
He growls, baring his sharp canines at me—as if he’s trying to tell me to run. Maybe he still has some control of his thoughts but hasn’t figured out how to control his wolf instincts yet.
Gods,I turn and take off again. I run faster than I’ve ever run before.
My heart sings for Kael, and I can’t help the grin that spreads wide on my face.He did it! He finally shifted!
My heart shutters faster—his shifting might kill me.
It might be a better fate than living with the fact that he can shift and I can’t. He’s finally grown into who he’s always been, while I might as well be a normal human.
I’m so in my head while I run that I don’t see the dip in the forest floor. My feet give out from underneath me, and I slide onto my ass.
Suddenly, a hot breath flames my neck. He’s right here.
This is it—the end.
A ball of fur lands on top of me as I squeeze my eyes shut, preparing for the end. But I don’t feel the claws, the teeth, the sharpness of my flesh tearing. All I feel is his heavy weight on top of me.
I peek open one eye, hoping that Kael has figured out how to control his primal urges. The sun has completely set now. Darkness covers the forest like a thick blanket, but I can see as clearly as ever.
The fur on top of me is not the same muddy brown color I saw before. This shade is midnight black. When the wolf’s head turns to me, its eyes are bright red.
I gasp.
The wolf gives me a harsh look devoid of any softness, and even though I can’t hear what he’s saying, I know the meaning deep in my bones.
Stay here and hide.
And then the weight of him is gone, and I hear a deep howl that trembles through me. The howl is much louder than Kael’s earlier. It’s a howl that can be heard for miles and miles, meant as a command to be followed.
I shudder.
