The Last Shadow Luna

Catherine's POV

The creature standing over me was neither man nor wolf but a twisted fusion of both. 

It stood eight feet tall, covered in mangy gray fur that matted and fell away in patches to reveal diseased flesh beneath. Its face was of a wolf but wrong...elongated muzzle, too many teeth, eyes that glowed yellow. 

Its body stood upright like a man's with thick arms ending in claws that could rip through steel.

And it was looking right at me.

"Hello, little wolf," it rasped and the voice was nothing but hunger.

I tried to run.. I tried so hard.. but my legs gave out from under me and I crashed to the ground, tears streaming down my face. 

I was so tired.. so broken and so done with fighting a world that had never given me anything but pain.

The creature lunged and I closed my eyes, waiting for the end.

BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.

The shots rang out like thunder and the creature above me shrieked in a horrible piercing sound that made my ears bleed. 

It convulsed, jerking violently and then it was gone, rolling away from me in a convulsing heap of fur and flesh.

I blinked, dazed and saw them.

A group of people emerged from the tree line...seven of them, men and women both, armed with weapons that smoked in the cool night air. 

They moved with the coordination of soldiers, positioning themselves around the fallen creature.

"Silver bullets," one of the women called to me. "Keeps it down."

Two of the men approached the creature while it thrashed and one of them produced a gleaming silver knife from his belt.

"Hold it steady," he said.

The younger man grabbed the creature's mangy head and tilted it back.

The knife flashed in the dim light and then there was a spray of dark blood.

The creature went still.

Silence followed, broken only by my own ragged breathing.

The woman turned to me, her expression shifting from combat readiness to concern. 

"Are you hurt?"

I tried to speak.. failed and tried again.

"I... I don't think so."

"Hannah, check her over," the older man ordered, tucking away his knife. "Make sure she didn't get scratched or bitten."

"Not infected," the woman called Hannah said as she knelt beside me. "She's clean. Just scared and exhausted."

"Those are silver bullets," I managed, my voice coming out hoarse and strange. "And a silver knife. You knew what that thing was?"

The scarred man crouched in front of me. 

"He was rogue werewolf turned feral from decades of isolation and bitterness. You were lucky we were passing through."

"Lucky," I repeated flatly..

The boy who'd held the creature's head laughed. 

"Lady, you don't look so lucky. What are you doing out here alone? This deep in the forest? At night?"

"I..." The words caught in my throat. 

What was I doing? Running away from everything I'd ever known. Fleeing a pack that never wanted me. Chasing after a future that didn't exist.

"Her clothes," Hannah murmured. "That's ceremonial silk. She's from one of the local packs."

"Silvercrest," I said quietly. "I was from Silvercrest."

"Was?" The woman exchanged a look with her companions. "That sounds like a story."

I found myself telling them everything.. the mate ceremony.. Raphael's rejection and Cassandra's cruelty. 

By the time I finished, several of them were muttering curses under their breath and the young boy looked ready to commit murder on my behalf.

"Those bastards," the woman spat. "Publicly rejecting your mate? That's cold. That's seriously cold."

"Our parents didn't even try to stop it," I added painfully. "They just... watched. Like they were waiting for it to happen."

The scarred man shook his head slowly. 

"Some people don't deserve the gift of family."

For a long moment, no one spoke.. then Hannah gently touched my arm.

"We can take you back to Silvercrest if you want," she offered. "Tell them what happened. Make them see reason. Two wolves versus the whole pack might not win, but..."

"No." The word came out sharper than I intended. "No, I won't go back there. Not ever."

"Then where will you go?"

I looked up at the starry sky...my old friend, my only companion through countless lonely nights...and felt something inside me crack and reform.

"Oakhaven," I said. "Take me to Oakhaven."

The boy looked surprised. 

"The human town? But you're a werewolf. They'll notice eventually and if the wrong people find out..."

"Not if I hide my wolf." The thought had been forming in my mind since the words left Hannah's mouth. "Not if I just... disappear. Live quiet. Live small. Whatever's left of my wolf, I'll keep it buried."

"You can do that?" The woman looked skeptical. "Suppress your nature forever? It's not easy."

"I'm not asking for easy." I pushed myself to my feet, swaying slightly but standing nonetheless. "I'm asking for escape."

The scarred man studied me for a long moment and then he nodded slowly. 

"There's a path not far from here. Follow it east until you hit the main road. Oakhaven's about a half-day's walk from there."

"The town isn't exactly welcoming to strangers," Hannah added, "but there are decent people there. You'll find shelter somewhere. We are headed for Helen Ashmoor's safe haven for outcasts."

"What about Helen Ashmoor?" I asked suddenly.

"She's gathering werewolves who don't fit the traditional mold," the woman said carefully. "The ones cast out by their packs for one reason or another. We're on our way to meet her now."

"Come with us," the boy urged. "You wouldn't have to hide who you are. You could be surrounded by people who understand."

Something in me wanted to say yes.. wanted to believe that there was still a place for broken werewolves like me. But I was so tired and the wounds were too fresh.

"Maybe someday," I said. "But not today. Today, I just want to disappear."

They showed me the path, pointing me toward the human world.

"Watch yourself," Hannah said as I turned to go. "And if you ever change your mind, the path to Helen's sanctuary is always open."

I walked into the darkness and I didn't look back.

***

The sun was rising when I finally stepped out of the forest.

Oakhaven sprawled before me like something from a storybook. Humans.. completely and beautifully oblivious to the supernatural world that had defined and destroyed my entire existence.

My clothes were barely more than rags at this point...torn during my flight through the forest, bloodstained from my collapse in the dirt. 

I must have looked like a ghost or a walking corpse because more than one human did a double-take as I stumbled past them.

I didn't care.. I just kept walking, putting one exhausted foot in front of the other, searching for somewhere...anywhere...to rest.

There.. a garden and an old stone wall covered in blooming flowers with a little house beyond it.

I barely made it to the grass before my legs gave out completely. 

The smell of roses filled my nostrils...sweet and soft and nothing like the sharp pine of the forest. I was so tired.. maybe just a few minutes of rest...

"Harold! Harold, come quickly!"

An old woman's voice pierced the fog that was swallowing my mind.

"There's a girl out here! She looks half-dead! Harold, get out here NOW...!"