Moon Kissed

“Honey, don't wander too far. Dinner's gonna be done soon.” my mom called out to me. I laughed and ran through the yard chasing my friend Sammy. Sammy was my best friend and we did everything together. We were playing pretend. We liked to pretend one of us was a hunter and the other prey. Chasing, laughing, screaming, as we tried to catch the other. This was the norm for us. Our pack was small. Only about 30 members or so. My mom and dad were the alpha couple. They were highly respected in our pack. Mom was also the nurse, so she was always tending to the sick and injured. Being their only child, I was always spoiled and held to a high standard. They were also very protective of me. I was 8 years old and my wolf had started to show itself more frequently. Most pups don't get their wolf until they turn 10-15 but I, as the alpha's daughter, got mine earlier. I was still learning about her, learning the responsibilities behind the shift and the natural bond between us. I had never actually shifted yet, but I could communicate with her in my mind and occasionally, with strong emotions, I could feel her coming to take control more. Sammy was 9 and he was still without his wolf. It wouldn't be too much longer though before he felt the change. People would see us playing together and would giggle at us. Many times people would say that Sammy and I would become mates. At first, I didn't understand what that meant. Mom and dad explained that a mate was someone who loved you and that you love very much and would care for you for the rest of your life. It made me wrinkle my nose as I thought about my childhood friend being my mate. That was still gross to me. That day I wish I knew what was in store. I wish that I could go back and change it. My entire life was destroyed and changed forever. As Sammy and I played and tackled each other in the grass, we heard a loud howl. It made us stop playing and look around for what caused the sound. Within seconds, my mom ran out of the house, followed by my dad. My dad was in his wolf. A larger, dark brown wolf with golden eyes. My mom was still standing in her human form running towards us and grabbing us up to go back inside our house. I heard the screams and growls radiating through the pack territory. I was holding onto my mom and I couldn't help the fear that filled me. Minutes passed as the sounds continued. I saw my mom tense up as her eyes were glazed over. I watched with my friend by my side as my mom clutched her stomach and began to sob and scream in pain. I could only cry more and more. A feral sound came from outside and my mom stood up quickly and pushed us to the basement. We went down the stairs and to the exit hatch. “Listen carefully sweetie. I need you and Sammy to run. Run as fast and far as you can. Do not stop. Do not look back. I will find you soon. I promise. Don't stop, okay? You two need to look out for each other now. Go out the hatch and run. RUN!” I didn't understand. My mom hugged me tight and cried into my hair. She leaned down and kissed my forehead. Reaching over, she grabbed Sammy. Hugging him tightly and placing his hand in mine. She opened the hatch and nodded towards it. Sammy and I began to crawl through it. I looked back and saw my mom locking the hatch back. We crawled for a while through the tunnel that led to the forest. Once we saw light, we both climbed out and looked behind us towards the pack houses. I heard cries and howls of pain. My heart was beating fast and the pain in my stomach was making me want to throw up. Sammy looked at me and grabbed my hand. “Come on Nicole, we have to go!” We began to run away from the pack lands as fast as our legs could carry us. I am not sure how long we ran for, but when our lungs started to hurt and I couldn't stop coughing, we stopped for a moment. Sitting against a tree, we tried to catch our breath. We waited for a long time hoping my mom would be here soon. She promised she would meet us. Night time came and it was getting cold. Sammy and I sat curled up together. We were shivering and our stomachs were growling. I was scared. My mom should have been here by now. She knows my scent and she should be able to find me. This was something we worked on for emergency situations like this. I heard a stick break and I let out a small gasp as I tried to look around for the cause. I couldn't see anything in the dark. I wanted my wolf to come out so I could see through her eyes. They were much better in the darkness. I focused hard and tried to call her. My head started to hurt from the energy it took to do this. I was begging for her to come out. My parents told me that it was not safe to rush a shift but I needed her! I continued to think about the shift. Soon I felt a weird feeling in my head. The feeling was followed by a painful snap and I looked down to see my leg bent at a weird angle. I wanted to scream. I opened my mouth but I was surprised to see Sammy standing behind me with his hand over my mouth. He shook his head and continued to watch me as more bones broke and reshaped. One by one it hurt more and more. Soon my teeth and nails elongated and became sharp points. I closed my eyes as my skin began to burn. Within moments, it stopped. I sat next to my friend and waited to open my eyes. When I finally got the strength to look around, I saw his face clearly. He was shocked. Was it because I was so young and shifted? He pointed at me and I looked down following his finger. My mom's fur was golden brown and my dad's was dark brown. Most of the wolves in my pack had dark gray or brown shades of fur. Mine was white. Actually, it was almost pearl colored. I shook out my fur and stood up. Sure, I was a pup, but with the alpha blood, I was tall. My ears swiveled as I heard more sounds coming towards us. It sounded like the pattering of feet. I looked hard but I couldn't see anything. I heard Sammy gasp and as I looked back there were multiple large reddish brown wolves standing around us. Their teeth were bared and I could see their wolfish grins. My heart dropped. Their eyes were on me. One of them stepped forward and I let out the most menacing growl I could muster. He just laughed at me. “Wow, what do we have here? Look guys… A little toy.” The other wolves began to laugh. “Stay away from us!” I growled back at the guy in front of me. His head c****d to the side. “Aren’t you something? Let me guess… Youre the daughter aren't you?” I lowered my head slightly and took a step back. “Mmmm… See mommy and daddy fought like hell for you kid…” My ears went down. “But not hard enough…” He finished with a sneer. I felt myself cower and started to whimper. “I was gonna reunite you with your parents.. But I think I will keep you as my pet.” He stated with an evil glint in his eyes. I let out a small growl again. “ Grab this one. Don't ruin her pretty face. And kill the other runt”. I screamed and ran to my friend. I was tackled by a grown wolf who held me down with one paw. He was snarling in my face and I closed my eyes screaming and crying as I heard my best friend, my only friend, scream a blood-curdling scream and then a loud snap echoing through the silence. I couldn't open my eyes. I couldn't stop the tears. I felt myself becoming very dizzy. Soon everything went black. I woke up in a dark room. It was cold and wet. I was still in my wolf’s shape. Truthfully, I didn't know how to switch back. I curled up in a ball and laid my head on my small paws. I tried to clear my head from what had happened. My friends… my family… my pack… they were all dead… And now here I was stuck in some jail. Time kept passing and I felt my hunger growing more and more. I couldn't bear to move though. My heart was broken. No, my spirit was broken too. I was alone except for my wolf. The door opened and in walked a couple of men. They snickered at me lying in a ball of fur. “Aw. Look at the pup. She looks so sad.” The first man said. His words were laced with sarcasm. “Poor pup. All alone.” The second guy said. He sounded just as sarcastic as the first. “Don't worry precious. We will take good care of you.” The first guy said. I looked up at him and his smile and eyes held a promise. A horrible promise that made my stomach turn and my fur stand on end.