The Bond Between Us

Brooklyn Ruby red blood splattered across the snowy ground as my moon sword plunged into the chest of one of the opposing pack members. He growled while blood poured out of his half turned mouth seeping out of his wolf's teeth. I turned the blade before quickly pulling it out as he fell to my feet. I don't know what happened, for even though I was the eldest child of our alpha I was never allowed to know what went on in pack affairs. My father claimed it wasn't my place as a child, even though earlier this winter I had hit my Eighteenth birthday and underwent the change. The moon mark on my forehead represented my age, as my wolf stepped forward and made her presence known to the world. It was common in my pack for this to happen to alpha bloodlines. It shows how strong our inner wolf is, and how the Moon Goddess has blessed us. These wolves had attacked us in the dead of night, killing and burning down our many sanctuaries and village homes. Killing women and children in the process. Most of us were not able to put up a fight, except for the few like myself who were trained in the art of battle. Each of us was gifted a moon sword for our excellence, and we used them with pride. More wolves made there way towards me and I quickly cut them down with my blade. My wolf powers were channeling through my veins, making my reflexes faster, and my swings stronger. "Brooklyn!" I heard the scream and looked over at my mother running towards me. She gripped my little brother, Blake, in her arms as she dodged oncoming wolf attacks. He was clinging to her tightly, fear prominent on his face. As she ran she was grabbed from behind, before she was completely taken in there grasp she tossed Blake towards me and I lunged towards him. I caught him in mid air and pulled him close to me, holding him on my left side, my sword gripped in my right hand. A dark haired man was gripping her and sniffing her neck as she fought to get away from his hold. He smiled wickedly at me and I growled at him. bearing my blood stained teeth. I could smell his rank, his dominace rolling off of him in sickening waves. "What a beautiful sight to see! A desperate Luna and her children fleeing." I growled louder as I stepped closer to him. He chuckled and pulled up a silver blade to my mothers neck, tears were streaming down her cheeks as she looked at us horrified. "We love you!" she yelled and I watched horrified as he sliced her delicate throat. She desperately gripped at the torn flesh, trying to stop the blood as it seeped between her fingers, down her arms, and puddled underneath her knees. It stained her platinum blonde hair that was scattered across her face, falling loose from the tight braid flowing down her back. I watched as her life faded from her Ice blue eyes and they dulled to a dark blueish grey. she slumped over, falling to the ground like a broken rag doll. My brother, whose face I had shielded in the crook of my shoulder, was whimpering quietly in my arms. I made sure he had not seen the death of our mother, but we both could feel the bond break as she entered the next plain of existence. He gasped in my ear and his whimpers turned into crying as his small body shook hard in my arms. Fear took over me, and in that moment I did the worst possible thing that any future Luna could've done. I turned and I ran. "Dont let them get away!" Someone yelled as I sheathed my sword onto my hip. Gripping Blake in my arms I fled to the treeline. He was audibly crying now, rubbing his back to try and calm him as my feet pounded against the snowy forest floor. The ice was breaking underneath my feet with every step. I stumbled and struggled to keep my balance, almost falling in the process. Falling was not a option, it would most certainly mean death for me and my brother. I had to protect him at all costs. He was destined to be the next alpha in line, but he was far from it at the age of five. The images of my mother, of our life together played in my minds eye. The way she would smile when we would cook dinner together. The love in her eyes as she would kiss us goodnight, every night. The admiration she had for the moon goddess after our evening prayers, and the strength that it provided us. The way she would gracefully dance under the moon as she practiced her rituals for the packs protection. It didn't work this time mama, I thought as I hugged Blake harder Wiping the treacherous tears from my eyes before they could fall down my cheeks. As I reached the shadows of the treeline I felt the bond with our father break. It was only a matter of time, Mated wolves when there partner died they died with them, and battle always left many orphaned pups. My legs weakened and I grabbed at my chest, the pain was so excruciating painful that I thought I was going to topple over. Blake screamed from the bond breaking and I tried to shush him through my own suffering, shoving his face into my neck to muffle his screams. I heard distant running and I quickly looked for somewhere to hide. A good fifty feet away was a large tree with a small hollow that had formed from the unusual growth of its roots. I remember when I used to play hide and seek with Papa in these very same woods, and he could never find me here. I smiled gratefully up to the moon as I ran to the hollow and fell to my knees pushing Blake inside and pulling myself in behind him. Blake sat down criss cross onto the soft snow and buried his face into his hands. I turned and pulled snow to cover the entrance and quickly turned back to my little brother. "shh, Blake, Shh. we have to stay quiet." I desperately whispered. He quieted down his cries to whimpers by covering his mouth but the tears continued to pour down his face. I brushed his beautiful blonde hair off of his cheeks and kissed his forehead. He looked at me, his ice blue eyes filled with more pain then any five year old should ever endure, and I felt my own dam break. He looked so much like our mother, he could've been her twin. Looking into his eyes it was hard not to see hers looking back. we sat like that for a moment or two, gripping onto each other as the pain of our familia bond with our parents ached in our chests. They were dead, and we were all that was left of our family name. "Blake, we have to survive, for our parents sake. For our family name" I said through gritted teeth as I choked back a sob. He nodded as he sucked in a long shallow breath. "You see this mark?" I said as I touched my forehead and he nodded wiping more tears away. "It's the symbol of our bloodline. The goddess won't let us die tonight if we keep faith in her." I reached into one of the pockets of my white fur body suit and pulled out a small dagger. I Quickly cut a small cut in my hand and gripped my fingers into a tight fist. I whispered the enchantment of Invisibility under my breath. The warm blood on my hands started to glow and I quickly applied it onto Blake's forehead then onto mine, making a small circle before it was absorbed into the skin. "This should hide our scent for now, but we can't stay here. We have to keep going." he hiccups and rubs his eyes. "But where will we go Brooke?" he whispered. I rubbed his arms to continue to comfort him. An idea appeared in my head, something forbidden for our people, but I had such a pulling to it that I knew it was a message. "South, I think the moon goddess wants us to go south." he shook his head and looked back up at me. "We can't, it's forbidden for us to leave our land. Its too dangerous." I looked towards the south and felt my own feelings of uncertainty and a warm feeling of assurance flowed over my body and I was certain now.. I pushed his shoulder length blonde hair behind his ears. I squared my shoulders as courage filled my veins. "Keep Faith Blake." I simply said and put my hand over his heart. I felt my wolf come out and comfort him and I could see his shoulders relax. I wonder if the goddess was relaxing his own feelings of anxieties. "I'm going to go out there and shift into my wolf. I want you to climb on my back and we'll run until we are safe." he looked at me with wide eyes and nodded slowly. I kissed his forehead one last time before I pulled myself out of the hollow. Careful to not make too much of a sound, I looked and smelled all around for any nearby unknown wolves. satisfied that they were far enough away, I shifted into my marvelous wolf. She had snow white fur and ice blue eyes much like my own, a common trait of our family of artic wolves. Blake crawled out and I knelt so he could climb on my back. He nestled into the spot behind my shoulder blades and gripped the fur on the back of my neck tightly. I huffed at him and started to walk, making sure he had a good grip. He layed down pushing his chest closer to my wolf's shoulders and I took off running. South was where my heart told me to go. I couldn't help but wonder what did the moon goddess have in store for us.