The Shadow Moon Pack

Aiden’s POV

The sun was high in the sky as I patrolled the pack’s territory. My dark grey fur stood out among the calming waters of Moon River. My nose was pressed to the ground, searching for any foreign scents, trespassers. Something moved in the bushes further in the forest, I lifted my head to look in that direction.

I was about to dismiss it as a squirrel, when an arrow flew through the leaves. I moved my head instinctively, having the arrow just skim my right cheek. I growled before letting my instincts guide me once more, and leapt over the river. My hind paws landed in the water on the other side, but that didn’t stop me from racing into the forest.

Bushes and trees rushed by me in a blur, the sounds changing as I ran. I headed toward Snake Ridge, hoping to lose the hunter before I made it to my destination. I could see the pile of rocks through the trees, it was just up ahead. I smelt an odd scent, but I thought nothing of it. Only a few more paces and I would be safe…maybe.

I leapt over a bush, noticing a second too late that there was another wolf in the clearing ahead. I was headed straight for it, and I couldn’t stop myself. I placed my paws in front of me, just as I barreled into the other wolf. We rolled a few times before landing on the ground next to each other in a daze.

I groaned as I lifted my head, hearing an answering groan beside me. Looking at the wolf, I noticed two things. One, the wolf was a female, and two, she had beautiful dark brown fur.

I felt a mind connect with my own before hearing a musical voice. The wolf was a fellow half-blood.

“What on earth was that for?”

“Uh…sorry, I didn’t know you were there,” I replied telepathically.

“Yeah, well I- Wait, are you bleeding?” her eyes zoned in on the wound on my cheek.

“A hunter shot at me, the arrow just missed. I’m Aiden by the way,” I dipped my head slightly in greeting, keeping my eyes on her the whole time.

“Aiden’s a human name, so you’re a half-blood too? Hmm, interesting. I’m Acacia,” she smiled wolfishly and repeated the gesture as if she were my mirrored image.

I was about to tell her that she was trespassing, when I heard a twig crack in the distance.

“Hide!” she whispered before I could speak, nudging me into the cave that was Snake Ridge. Her take-charge attitude told me that she was an alpha as well, how…interesting. The only female alpha I’ve ever met was my mother and the Scar Forest pack’s alpha.

Inside the cave, I noticed two small bundles of fur wriggling in the corner. She has pups! My golden eyes widened in surprise, she didn’t strike me as the motherly type.

“They aren’t mine, I’m watching them until a friend returns,” she noticed me looking at them, “I almost wish they were mine, though.”

I nodded in reply and crouched down near the entrance, watching for the hunter. He stepped out of the bushes, bow at the ready, and stalked toward the cave.

“Wait here,” Acacia said from beside me.

She began shaking as her fur dissolved into her pale skin, and her bones rearranged themselves to make up her human form. Her tail disappeared and her ears sunk down to their original positions. Eventually, she was crouched down in her human form, her clothes in tatters. Brown hair spilled down her back, and her green eyes shined at me as she nodded before leaving.

She emerged from the cave and stood straight, jumping in surprise when she came face to face with the hunter. She was acting the part in order to seem like a normal human living off the land, pretending to be unaware that he was there.

“H-hey!” she stuttered in mock nervousness.

The man didn’t say a word, he just drew back on the string and let his arrow fly. Acacia dodged to the left quickly, but not quick enough. The arrow embedded itself in her right arm. She yelled out as she fell to her knees, griping her bleeding arm. She tried not to scream any more in pain, but I could imagine how much it must have hurt her.

I growled from inside the cave, launching myself at the hunter as he went to nock another arrow. My claws made contact with his skin and his bow fell to the floor. Four jagged claw marks marred the man’s upper left arm, he turned and fled through the trees. I chased him for a few minutes, until I was sure he wouldn’t come back, before going back to check on Acacia.

When I returned, she was leaning against the rocks with a piece of torn shirt clenched in her teeth and her hand on the arrow’s shaft. I was surprised that she had the guts to yank the arrow out of her arm, but I’d watched her do it. She stifled a groan before dropping the bloody arrow onto the grassy floor.

Wanting to be of some help, I transformed into my human form and ripped some cloth from my shirt. I gently lifted her arm a bit and tied the strip of cloth around it in a temporary bandage. She hissed out a breath when I tightened it, but it needed to be done to lessen the blood flow.

“Thanks,” she said after spitting out the cloth that was in her mouth.

“No problem,” I said.

She looked up at me and her eyes widened. I don’t know what she saw that appalled her. My straight black hair was probably messy, and my hazel eyes were nothing special, yet she seemed transfixed. I noticed that she lifted her right arm slightly, as if to reach up and touch my face, but she pulled it back to her side hastily in pain. That seemed to snap her out of her daze and she looked away.

“I’m the alpha of the Shadow Moon pack by the way, you’re kind of trespassing on our territory,” I deemed now a good time to tell her this.

“I wasn’t aware, sorry. The pups and I will leave, I’m sure Lillian will be waiting for us back home anyway,” she avoided looking at my face, something that probably took a lot of willpower to do, her being an alpha and all.

“Lillian? As in the Scar Forest alpha?” I was interested now. I knew she hadn’t been at the restaurant in town for a while, but I never expected Lillian to be hanging out with another wolf, another alpha no less.

“I don’t know, she said that she left her pack because her mate killed her female pup last time she gave birth. I offered to help her, but she never told me what pack she was from,” she winced unexpectedly, holding her probably aching arm.

“C’mon, I’ll take you to Shadow Moon camp, I can stitch up your wound there,” I offered.

“Thank you.”

She went to get the pups, but I stopped her by touching her uninjured arm. I then entered the cave and made my way to the little wolves. I let them take in my scent before picking them up and taking them to Acacia.

“They can walk,” she spoke softly, holding her hand out toward me. I set the pups on the ground and felt Acacia lean on me for support. I wrapped my right arm around her waist as we began walking southwest toward the camp.

“Sky, Eve, let’s go,” she whistled to the pups. They padded softly behind us, fully trusting their adopted mother.