Moonlit Fur Chronicles: Torn Fur

The full moon was a day away, Casey had made remarkable progress. He could take short walks around camp now. I didn’t want him to fight but I knew he would try. Jules had done a magnificent job with his traps and pits and all manner of painful surprises for Chad’s beasts. He had drawn us maps to show what parts of the area to stay away from. My inner wolf oozed with anticipation, the battle had it excited. As time grew shorter I could feel tension build in the air. I felt the first waves of rage and hate emanate from my four wolves who had once cowered under Chad. They had grown so fierce, so powerful in such a short time away from his harmful influence.

We had prepared the best we could as the hours ticked by slowly. The sun rose high in the sky and sank low behind the tree. I asked, “Casey, is there any point in asking you to stay and heal?” They shook their head, “Not a chance. We are a family.” We walked into the sunset, we were determined to get to the clearing before midnight. Jules made himself busy and tightened ropes, rearranged leaves to hide said ropes. We peeled off our warm clothes and climbed the trees in order to pounce on Chad’s monsters from above.

Quinn looked at me from the next tree over. I read the look on her face. She wanted to hold me tight. “Soon,” I mouthed to her. She nodded. The moon rose higher in the sky and covered the landscape with gorgeous pale light. A sound floated up to my ears. It happened again. I raised a finger to my lips and signaled my wolves to stay quiet. I carefully looked beneath me and saw nothing. I slowly looked around the tree I rested against. I saw shadows creep towards us. I could smell them. Chad must’ve had over fifteen wolves with him, almost double our number. I thought frantically of ways to get through this will all my wolves alive.

I quickly and silently slithered down the tree and sat down on a rock in the center of the clearing. A slight breeze tickled my bare skin, it felt kinda nice. Quinn stared at me as if I was insane. I shook my head ever so slightly, Chad was close enough to see me and I didn’t want to tip him off. It seems Chad had learned something from our last fight. He wasn’t in the front of his pack but in the middle. I grinned, he was such a weak loser. Howls of pain pierced the darkness as several wolves slumped to the ground. Jules’ traps had found their mark.

Chad’s monstrous wolf form padded up to me. He dragged something in his mouth. He threw it at me, my eyes widened with horror. Sloan’s lifeless body crashed to a halt at my feet. Chad’s body shook as he took his human form. “Where is my little slut? Behave yourself and I might just keep you alive as her play thing!” I looked him up and down and scoffed. I raised my voice and spoke to his pack. “I see Chad has brought you here tonight, but has he told you why?” “Shut up and fight you stupid little bitch!” Chad growled. “Shhh I am talking,” I retorted. Chad fell silent in surprise, no one, especially not a woman, had spoken to him like that. Once again I spoke to his pack, “I’m sure he has filled your heads with stories of betrayal and girls being crazy, needing to be put in their place and all that nonsense. Allow me to tell you the truth. Yes, I have four wolves in my pack who were previously in this…dirtbag’s pack.” I looked scornfully at Chad. “I assume most of you are new and don’t know Chad like I do, like the four people who ran to me for sanctuary know him.” Several of the opposing wolves sat down with their ears perked up. “You saw some of his true colors tonight. He called me a bitch, I’ve done nothing to provoke him other than simply existing.” Chad turned red with anger, “You stole my wolves!” I glared at him, “I said I am talking. Do not interrupt me again.” A tense silence settled over the clearing.

“Do you know the way he runs his pack?” I asked Chad’s wolves. “Do you know what his values are? I told mine to my pack as soon as they chose me as their alpha.” I put special emphasis on the word chose. “I told them how I was going to lead them. I told them I would treat them with the respect they deserve. These poor people were bowing to me. How absurd is that? Chad forces his wolves to bow and scrape to him? No! Not in my pack. Yes I might be the Alpha, but I can not be the Alpha if there is no one to walk with me.” I looked at the wolves who filled the clearing, their eyes wide.

“I know Chad promised you a fight. He needs no help from me being dishonest. We will fight. He kidnapped and killed my best friend!” I pointed to Sloan’s mangled corpse, my voice thick with rage. “Chad assaulted me and my friends before we were a pack. He beat Casey to the brink of death when they were trying to rescue Sloan. Chad killed Ellis and Kai’s friend for wanting to escape him. If he hasn’t already he will beat you down and break your spirit until there is nothing left of you. Nothing left of the individuality that makes you special, strong, and an important addition to a real pack.”

Tears of anger and loss streamed down my face, “If that is the kind of life you chose, then it is yours for the taking. But I choose a better life, full of respect and good people. You may join me if you like, I won’t force you to come with me though. You always have a choice. If you choose to join me, you will have a place in my pack and a voice. I firmly believe that is much better than anything Chad will ever give you!” Ears twitched and tails gently scraped the ground. “If you do choose to join me, do so now. Stand behind me. You do not have to be a victim of this terrible psychopath. ” The silence was palpable.

Two wolves slowly made their way through the ranks of Chad’s wolves and took their place behind me. “Cowards!” Chad spat and shook with rage. “The rest of you, I have no argument with you. You may choose to stay and fight or you may choose to leave in peace. Hell, you could even form your own pack, I don’t care. This pathetic sack of shit and I have business.” Chad was so furious he couldn’t form words, “You….Traitors…whore!” His body arched and snapped as he shifted into his wolf form. I stood up, stepped onto the rock I was sitting on, and launched myself into the air at Chad. My body twisted and instantly turned into a wolf. A split second later, I thundered into Chad.

Quinn and the rest of my pack leaped down and situated themselves between Chad and his pack. Quinn pounced on Chad and snapped at his legs. Two of Chad’s wolves roared and lunged forward. All the rest sat patiently and watched the battle. They would probably side with the winner. My wolves surrounded Chad’s two wolves and forced them into submission. The only ones left were Chad, Quinn and I. She and I worked as a team, she would strike high at Chad’s face and I would snap at his feet. I sensed Chad’s stamina fade, I smiled savagely. Quinn raked her claws across Chad’s spine. He roared in pain. I snapped my jaws down on his foreleg and pulled with every ounce of strength I had. His shoulder made a sick pop, I had dislocated it.

I wrenched my head to the side, his blood poured through my teeth. The skin on his shoulder stretched tight. Quinn clamped her jaws tight in the back of Chad’s neck. He couldn’t pull away, her body weight pinned him down as I pulled his foreleg. Chad whimpered and cried, as the skin of his shoulder slowly tore painfully. I savored his pain. He had earned it. He deserved it. Finally his foreleg left his body. Blood pulsed from the gaping hole, I shook my head and waved his severed foreleg in front of his face. His eyes were full of fear. Quinn stepped off of him and rolled him over, exposed his rib cage and stomach. We tore into his stomach, ripped flesh and chewed intestines. Chad wailed in pain. All I could see was red, all I could taste was blood.

Chad’s body twitched and shuddered. The blood that pulsated so vibrantly slowed to a stop. His lungs deflated. The light went out of his eye. The monster was finally dead, he would never bother us again. I stumbled away from the corpse, completely exhausted. I painfully shifted back into my human form. I stepped next to Ellis and leaned on him heavily for support. “As for you two,” I addressed the last two of Chad’s wolves. “As for you two, I will grant this last mercy. Run.” I panted, my breath short. “Run far away and do not come back. Never bother us again. Do not look for retribution. You will not find it.” To my wolves I said, “Let them up. They won’t trouble us anymore.” My wolves stepped back, the two wolves climbed to their feet. Quinn lunged at them, her face covered in blood. The two wolves quickly disappeared over the horizon.

“Help me Kai, I need to speak to the watchers.” She lifted my arm with her nose over her head and around her shoulders. Ellis stayed close to me as the three of us moved slowly to the group of spectators. “ I have no quarrel with you. You have no place in my pack as you did nothing to help us. Leave in peace and do not bother us.” They looked at each other, turned tail, and disappeared into the shadows. I turned and faced Jules, “Did you bring it?” He nodded his head and turned back into his human shape. He found his pile of clothes and produced a wicked hunting knife.

Quinn gazed at the knife. It glinted in the pale moonlight. “Carry on Jules. I need a new rug for my dorm.” A dark grin grew across Quinn’s muzzle. Jules went to work, the razor sharp knife sliced quickly and easily through the dead wolf. In about an hour, I had a brand new rug for my dorm. We collected our prize and slowly made our way back to the RV. I planned to take my new rug to the local taxidermist first thing in the morning. We finally trudged into camp and fell into our bed. Quinn and I snuggled up on the couch inside the RV. Instantly we were asleep.