The Moon Goddess’ Slave Daughter

CAMBRI I woke up on the edge of a winding river to the smell of pine needles and freshwater encroaching my nose. As I wait for my eyes to adjust to the morning light dancing through the trees, I inhale another deep breath of air and listen to my surroundings. The leaves start rustling as the wind picks up, and the brisk air begins to nip at my skin. I hear the water rushing from the river a few feet away and the sound of the last birds chirping before migration takes them away for the winter. The morning dew is starting to fall around me, and I start shivering as it steals my body's last bit of warmth. I blink a few times, then open my eyes to see the beautiful orange, red, and yellow leaves coating the forest floor. After a few minutes, I sit up and wipe the grime off my face and regain my bearings. I spot a few deer playing in the distance and scoot into the tall dead grass and watch them while I look around to figure out where I am. After a few moments, they look in my direction and then take off, running as fast as they can. The forest becomes eerily quiet.I hear a branch break. What was that? I feel panic and fear wash over me. I feel like something is watching me too. "Who is there?" I yell out with no response. I scan the area a few times with no luck. Then I hear, "Run!" My senses heighten drastically, and I can hear and see everything more clearly. What are we running from? I asked the almost female animalistic sounding voice in my head? "To your right dumb human! Look!" Dumb... human? The voice is crying out so loud my head starts pounding so hard I can't think clearly. Who are you to call me a dumb? Actually, how did I get here? Who are you? Am I going crazy? Everything in my mind is fuzzy, and I can't remember anything before waking up today. Then I see him, and my heart stops. He steps from behind the tree into the shaded area in the withering grass. A large older man is all I can make out before he jumps and shifts into a wolf in midair. My heart starts beating out of my chest, and my eyes grow more prominent with fear, and a massive brown wolf appears in front of me where the man once stood. My mind is racing with everything I just witnessed. No! No! No! This can't be happening. It's a dream, right? I can see his lips drawing up, as he licks his lips and a low deep growl escapes his throat as he stalks closer. My heart thumps faster and faster as each branch crunches and he gets a few feet closer .His black eyes are looking into my soul, and I feel a deadly aura emitting from him. I gulp down my fearfulness and try pushing myself back with my feet in a half crawl backward to look for my best escape route. I spotted a small opening in the rocks on the bluff above me. "Bingo," I yelled internally. I scramble to my feet, but they aren't cooperating. I feel the sharp thorns and pebbles biting into my skin as I will my shaky legs to carry me forward. Before I can even take two wobbly steps, I feel his claws sink into my arm and yank me around. Ahhh! I yell as the searing pain floods my body, and the blood starts trickling down my arm. "Who the f**k are you, and what do you think you're doing", I scream. Before I can utter another word, he shifts back. "The alpha will love a mousey little thing like you." were the last words I hear and everything goes dark.