The Queen's Luna

Chapter 6

It doesn’t take me long to gather the amount of Frost Berries that Rana needs. After, they are the size of green apples. They taste like a sweet fruit and a sour apple combined. They are absolutely amazing in a cobbler or pie... Well, whatever she’s going to cook them in, i'm sure they’ll be fine. For a seventy year old, blind woman, Rana’s cooking never disappoints.

I pack fifteen of them in with the four dead quail that I have stored under my dress and boots. I tuck the Briar-Root into the pocket of my dress in order to keep it nice and dry for the trek back up to the cottage.

“Right, Sage. I think we are all set. Letting me drive?”

She seems to nod, "You have a grand old time. I’m not gonna stop you,” She practically yawns.

I smile and roll my eyes as I shift and pick up the basket in my jaws again. That’s when I feel it. An uneasy feeling. Like, something is coming. Then, that’s when I hear it. Twigs on the ground being snapped, men yelling at their horses to speed up, and something else.

I place my basket back into the underbrush and crouch behind the bushes as I listen... Twelve horse hearts... Twelve hearts of man... And...

My breath catches in my throat and I listen closer... It can’t be... The final heartbeat sounds like mine, although much faster. Like whoever it is is running for their lives... Given what I can hear, that does not seem like an unlikely scenario. But, another wolf? In my territory? That’s not possible. And they’re running from the west; from where the humans have populated.

I scent the wolf in the air. Definitely female and definitely a shifter like me. And definitely in some amount of trouble. It sounds like she has a decent amount of lead on them, but they are gaining. I prepare myself to leap out from my position and grab her as she runs.

I leap out with so much force that when I grab the pepper colored wolf by the scruff of her neck the force carries into the underbrush on the opposite side of the pathway. She’s much smaller than I am, so I shield her with my body as the thundering hooves or horses and irritating hooping and hollering of men pass us by.

When I am sure that the coast is clear and the she-wolf starts to wiggle and growl from beneath me, I stand and step back, giving her some space. She springsd up and raises her hackles at me as she growls. It’s almost amusing. She doesn’t know that I could kill her with just a single swipe of my paw. She would never know the difference and wouldn’t see her demise coming.

As I look over the she-wolf who is scared and defenseless, I realize that she’s not peppered, but covered in grime and soot. She’s more of a grey and reddish color. More grey, but with red ears and paws.

She snarls at me with her tail still between her legs, but I raise my upper lip and flash my teeth at her. I can tell that she is terrified, but I will not have her snapping and snarling at me like that.

 I raise my upper lip at her and flash my teeth as spittle drips from my lips and incisors, “Don’t you snarl at me pup. Tell me who you are and what they want you for.”

Her honey, brown eyes get wide, “You’re like me?! Wait... We can talk? How are we talking right now? We’re not in a pack.”

I soften my glare, but keep my eyes trained on her nonetheless, “What is your name, pup?”

She looks down at the ground, “I’m not sure... None of the names I’ve been called are very nice...” She glances up at me, “What’s your name?”

I blink at her as I contemplate what to answer her with. This is all new to me. Other than Rana and from when I was six years and under, I have never met another wolf. I take a breath, “I am Sienna and my wolf is Sage. Am I speaking with the wolf or the girl?”

“Both,” They answer, “We recently figured out how to merge and be one. It makes us stronger... Somewhat,” They look away.

That’s when I spy it, a chain -link and leather collar embedded into her neck. I growl and snarl at the same time. Rage and fury engulf me as I now realize what she was used for and why the humans were hunting her, “Who did this to you? They had you as a pet? A slave?”

I growl and bristle at the thought.

She whimpers and I realize that I am scaring her even further.

She bows her head to me in submission and whimpers, “For as long as I can remember, Alpha. I think I was born there. Please, don’t hurt me.”

I get ready to nuzzle her ear and tell her to stand, but three gunshots ring out in the distance and birds take from trees is mass exodus. Those shots came in the direction of the cabin! Pain ripples through me and my heart seems to seize in pain.

 “No!”

I howl and look at the small wolf, “Keep up with me! If you lose my scent, I smell like honey and Briar-Roses.”

Snatch up my basket and bound off; avoiding the main pathway, darling through trees, over, and under forest greenery. To my surprise, the pup isn’t actually too far behind me.

“Rana...” Sage breaths. She merges with me and we speed up. Sage glances back at the pup who is panting hard and losing ground, “Nearly there!”

The pup pushes harder, but I can tell she is waning, “Sage, we can’t stay here anymore.”

“We will get everything and leave. Rana is going to be fine. We will be fine,” I can hear the worry in her voice as we press on harder. 

We are still about ten mile out, but now I can tell what direction and where the hunting men went. The lot of them split evenly and have the clearing around the house and barn surrounded. They are hiding in the tree lines, thinking they have the element of surprise. 

I swear to the Goddess that I will rip each and everyone of their throats out if Rana is not okay. They will all die for this.

We get within three miles and that’s when I can smell Rana’s blood coming from the cottage. My heart clenches again and I let out a soft whimper before I burst through the open part of the clearing between the barn and the house, darting inside the doorway that is now half off its hinges.

I shift mid jump, landing on my knees next to Rana as she lies in a pool of her own blood, nearly lifeless.