The Lost Moon Duchess

Pine and Dirt

Tonight, Selene was restless, she could barely close her eyes, turning in her bed. The image of Chris standing at her door running through her head, the feeling she had of being close to him lingered in her stomach. It was a feeling completely foreign to her, it was elation and hopeful excitement, she felt like melting into the sensation and letting it take over her.

The morning came and went as Selene revelled in the soft glow coming through her bedroom window. The weekend had rolled in and Selene could concentrate on preparing her university applications. She had managed to regain composure and decided that her long-term plans would not be interrupted by a guy, even one as incredibly sexy as her new neighbour. The day went by fairly quickly and as the sunlight outside dimmed Selene grabbed Sally’s leash and they walked into the forest side by side. The bond the two shared was uncommonly strong and harmonious. Selene had always felt a connection between herself, nature and animals, and when she finally had her puppy in her life, she had felt more complete than ever. The best part of Selene’s day for the past few years had been the daily walks in the forest the two of them took together. She loved going out at night as the forest was quiet and peaceful. She was not particularly fond of people and she could not stand small talk, all she needed was the company of Sally, the calmness of the forest and the moon shining in the night sky, making her feel powerful and at peace with the world.

Selene and Sally walked to a clearing with a view of the valley below where the town laid. The lights from the town illuminated the valley as the sun was setting behind the horizon and the moon was slowly climbing up the sky in its crescent form. Selene sat on a rock overlooking the valley enjoying the sound of crickets in the warm summer evening. Sally ran around, sniffing the ground and jumping trying to catch the fireflies in the high grass.

On their way back the two cut through the densely wooded part of the forest that contained a thin winding path. It was the quickest way back home and Selene loved the fairy-tale scenery. It was like entering a different world which existed right under the nose of society. The forest was so dense no moonlight reached within, so Selene relied solely on her eyesight and experience of walking through it for years.

Suddenly Sally became agitated and started walking in circles behind Selene. It was unusual of Sally to squirm and weep as she did, as she was usually brave and0 energetic, always running ahead of her human. Selene laughed at first and dismissed Sally a being dramatic and seeking attention however when Sally’s weeps became louder Selene felt her stomach tense and her throat became dry. She was all alone in the middle of a forest, with no way of protecting herself and she had done it carelessly, never considering she could come to any danger.

Selene crouched and called Sally to herself in attempt to stroke and comfort her, however Sally was not responding. She barked loudly and jumped in front of Selene, assuming a protective stance, growling towards the darkness. Selene’s breath paused as she tried hard to hear any sound signifying danger, but the forest was dead silent with the exception of Sally’s wild growls. Suddenly the dog started running towards the darkness, quickly disappearing despite Selene’s attempts to stop her.

Once Selene was all alone a mortifying fear began to overcome her. She tried to swallow it and keep walking as it was her only chance of getting home. She could not deny the uncomfortable feeling she felt in her stomach as if she was being watched. Whoever it was she knew she could not appear nervous or let it seem as she was aware of a presence. For all she knew it could be her mind playing tricks on her and it was just a deer or a coyote that spooked Sally. Selene felt silly and let out a breath, she just needed to get out of the forest and stop imagining things, she thought.

A deep silence-shattering growl echoed in the darkness, driving a chill though Selene’s whole body. She stopped in her pace and a gasp left her lips. The sound was ungodly and entirely unrecognisable to Selene, it sounded like a nightmare she wanted to wake up from. Selene’s eye caught a movement about 50 meters from where she was standing, a massive, dark form was rapidly approaching her.

Her heart was racing, the thumping sounding in her ears, rendering her in a deaf frenzy, she ran as fast as her legs could hold her. The adrenaline felt like acid in her stomach, making it clench, dissolving every hope she had of escaping the monster chasing her. She could hear an echoing, continuous growl, seemingly coming from all sides of the forest. The engulfing darkness and the vibration of the growling made her blood run cold, her body stiffened mid-run, making her fall on her hands and knees. She muffled a cry from the abrupt pain and picked herself up. Realising she had lost her direction she frantically looked around trying to figure out where the path leading to the entrance of the forest was. She quickly hid behind a bush making effort not to give herself away by the crunching of leaves and branches beneath her feet.

Before she had the chance to catch her breath the sound of galloping paws echoes in a close proximity to where Selene had taken cover. The running came to a sudden halt and the sound of sniffing sent chills down her spine. Selene grabbed a pebble underneath her shoe and with the least possible movement and sound she tossed it away in the opposite direction of where she was hiding. It was her best bet at distracting the creature and having a chance to flee undetected. Tears streaming down her face, she ran as hard as she could once she heard the creature’s footsteps sound more further in the distance.

A faint light shone through the trees. It was a streetlight and Selene had never felt more elated to see a streetlight in her life, she started running towards it with everything she had left. She did not know if the light was any close to her house as she had lost her sense of direction but she knew she did not want to die today and if this light was going to guide her out of the forest she was going to take that chance.

A large looming shadow with two big yellow eyes leaped in front of the running Selene making a terrified scream leave her lips. She fell backwards, thorns and weeds grazing her palms, she tried to crawl back knowing it would be no use as the creature’s stature gave her the impression it would get to her easily if it desired. It started moving towards Selene with menacing grace. Selene’s body was sore, her skin was cut and bleeding, her eyes were dry from crying, so was her throat, she felt helpless as it was all in vain, she had fallen into the creature’s claws.

Selene’s eyes stayed fixated on the monster’s piercing yellow eyes, as they were moving towards her. She could not take her gaze away; she was both frozen in fear and entranced in a death stare contest with a creature she had not yet seen.

Out of nowhere a shadow brushed through the air like a lightning crashing into the looming figure of the monster. A horrible sound of skin and bone crunching accompanied by teeth clanking and raging growls sounded in the dark. Selene hugged her legs in front of her body as she could not see where the fight was occuring, and she did not want to be in the middle of it.

Maybe this was her chance to run away, she slowly stood up holding herself up to a tree lest her shaking knees betray her. She started walking towards the glowing light ahead of her. She would probably run if it was not for her shaking legs, that could barely move at a regular pace at all. Suddenly she was pushed to the ground, fell on her face while a large pressure was applied to her back, pinning her down. She could barely breathe fearing her ribs would crack if a bit more weight was applied. She felt a hot breath in her hair and on her neck, rendering her frozen, waiting for the inevitable conclusion of her ordeal, Selene wondered how her parents would react upon finding out what had happened to her. She did not want her parents to suffer, she did not want them to be divided by her death or wonder if it was their fault in any way.

-          Let her go mutt. – a calm deep authoritative voice sounded loudly.

Selene gasped as the weight lifted off her back. She rose to her knees to look at where the voice came from but saw nothing. A swift gust of air passed by her, making her jump. A hand picked her up and held her steady. She was being held close by large hands, pressing her against a tall muscular body that gave off a strange amount of heat, more than any person Selene had ever felt. A smell of pine and dirt was sipping into her nostrils making her feel a sense of an intoxicating calmness. Selene felt her eyes close as she could no longer fight the exhaustion, her legs giving in and body falling limp into the person holding her.