Unclaimed Luna

Chapter 4:

The stars shine extra bright tonight in the pitch-black sky. It’s a beautiful summer night, and the only ones to break the silence are the crickets. Suddenly, the melody of the crickets stopped and was replaced by footstep. Barely loud enough to hear, but the faint cracking of twigs is heard in a distance. Adrienne eyes shot open, and she made herself small in the hollow of the tree. Someone or something is moving closer with every breath she takes. Her eyes struggle to see any further than the immediate area surrounding the tree. Her breathing is slow and shallow. Suddenly, in the darkness, she sees a glowing ball of orange light, it moved slowly and with ease. Then another joined the first one and another. They all grouped together, and it became clear what these strange lights are. It’s torches and torches are carried by people.

The group of intruders came closer, and Adrienne’s heart started beating more rapidly. “Any luck, fellas?” one of the men asked the others. They were now all standing underneath her hiding spot. The burning light cast shadows on their faces, making it difficult to see. Then one of them spoke, and the voice sounded very familiar, “I need you to find her… I don’t know how long it's going to take. She is dangerous and out of control. Just like her mother…” my father said in a biting tone. “Alpha, I think we should camp here for the remaining hours of the night. You know what they say about this forest at night.” One of the guards said quavering. “Are you perhaps scared? You call yourself a GUARD!” My father screamed at him. His voice broke through the forest, and the others didn’t dare say another word. “As I said, we need to find her, I don’t care if she is dead or alive. She caused enough problems for me already.” My father said bitterly. His words crushed me, and I couldn’t believe what I’ve just heard. Another thought came to mind, what did he mean by I’m out of control just like my mother…? Was she like me?

They were about to move on when one of the guards noticed something strange. “Alpha, I think I found something.” My heart sank as I watched them come closer to the bolder. The guard held the torch and pointed at something on the bolder. My father joined the guard, both looking at something. “scuff marks…” my father said in a low voice. “She’s close!” my father shouted, his voice echoing through the forest. My father moved away, but the guard remained by the evidence he found. It’s in that moment that my heart skipped a beat as he looked up into the tree, and his eyes met mine. “Alpha! Alpha! Up here!” he shouted. In a matter of seconds, the whole tree was surrounded by guards, and I was trapped.

“Get down here, Adrienne, or I’m sending someone up there to get you!” he threated. I had no choice but to obey my father’s command. I climbed down carefully. The eager guards waited patiently as I made my way down. They stood close to each other, leaving no room for an opportunity to escape. As my feet reached the ground, I was quickly knocked to my knees. One of them grabbed my arms viciously and pulled them behind my back, and another tied them together tightly. I felt the pins and needles in my fingers. They made sure I won’t be able to free myself. I sat there on my knees surrounded by my father’s men. I felt their eyes piercing my skull, watching every move I make, every breath I took, I kept my head down in submission.

“Well, well, well. Finally, we’ve found you.” my father said venomously. I looked up at him in disgust. “Took you a, while didn’t it?” I said mockingly. His face darkened, and a wicked smile formed on his face. “You have no idea what I’ve planned for you.” He said with a chuckle. With eyes fixed on me, he screamed at the guards, “bring it to me!” Two of them obediently turned around and disappeared out of sight for a moment, not long after they reappeared, carrying something between them. As they came closer, I saw it.

The cage had a certain shine to it, silver. Its bars were spaced closed to each other, making sure whoever was placed inside wouldn’t manage to squeeze through. Then a familiar stench entered my nostrils, it’s burned and made my eyes water. This cage was soaked in it, and it can only be the smell of Wolfsbane.

I watched as they placed the cage a few feet away from me. One of the guards, a strong-looking guy, with a black beard, stepped in front of the cage and opened the door.

“Come.” My father said. I looked him straight into his eyes, and with a venomous tongue, I said, “Go to h**l” Furious with my response, he barged forward and grabbed me by my hair. With my hands immobilized, I couldn’t do much. My head started throbbing more and more as he continued to pull with such force. I cried out in pain. For a moment, I thought that pieces of flesh would come off with strands of hair. We stopped at the cage door. He grabbed me by my arm and forced me inside. The overwhelming smell of the Wolfsbane is nauseating. He slammed the door shut and locked it.

“That’s how it’s done. Let’s get moving.” My father scolded. Four of the men came to the cage and lifted it from the ground. I lay curled up inside, fighting myself not to cry. The only thing I could hear is the marching of their footsteps on the forest floor.

Using my remaining strength, I sat up slowly. I scanned my surroundings, it’s so dark I couldn’t manage to figure out where exactly we are in the forest. Then I hear a familiar voice.

Guardian

I looked around nervously, afraid that one of them heard it, but no one seemed to notice anything. As we moved forward, I caught a glimpse of a black mass moving between the trees. It moved through the air swiftly without a sound. As it moved, the mass turned into a silhouette of something that looked to be some kind of animal. I kept my eyes on the unfamiliar creature. Then it started to grow in size, much larger than anything I’ve ever seen. As we continued to move, it moved with us, watching our every step. A low growl escaped its mouth, and this time, everyone heard it. “What was that?” one of the guards asked, worried. “Halt!” my father commanded. The two guards carrying me lowered me to the ground. They waited patiently for their next command. It’s then when the creature emerged, it’s piercing yellow eyes staring directly at me. It had the body of a man but the head of a wolf like creature. Its black horns stood upright on its head. It’s muscular arms dangling from its sides. It walked slowly towards us. Nobody dared to move.

The guards moved out of the way, and the creature stood in front of my cage. With a sharp claw like finger, it pointed at me. “Release her.” It said in a low voice. It’s then when one of the guards shifted and ran to the beast. With one swift movement, the beast swept him out of the way. It’s claws sliced through the guard’s skin. The guard let out a yelped. Again, the creature said, “release her”. That’s when every single guard shifted into their wolf form and started attacking the beast.