Chapter VI: Nature

Dimly illuminated by the moon’s light, it was hard for even my rabbit eyes to make out much of our surroundings, even when sniffing around; while parts were discernible, the whole was filled with one overwhelming scent—Luna’s. But being honest, none of that mattered; with Luna around, I did not need to rely on my prey’s instincts.

After running for about ten minutes, Luna stopped, placing me down on the floor feet first, allowing me to step out of her arms and onto the cold, soft ground.

Looking around, I found myself standing before a sizeable pool of water that bubbled in parts and steamed throughout. On one side, a large rock face overhung the pool, providing cover from wind and rain. In this cavern, tens of glowbugs and fireflies flew around, lighting the pool and stone in ethereal blues and greens.

“Is this a forest spring?” I asked, knowing the answer already as I stepped forward.

“Correct! There are a couple around here, but this one is the closest to us.” Luna said as she walked around the pool to the edge of the rock face, reached into a small gap, and retrieved a small bucket filled with a bar of soap and a towel.

“You just leave these here?”

“Of course, it's easier than carrying them from the den and back. And you don’t need to ask that with such an obviously suspicious tone,” Luna goaded with a wicked leer.

“I-I didn’t mean anything by it,” I defended, trying to work out what she meant.

“I know it was the question that you held back that I was referring to.” Luna leaned over me, waiting for me to admit to my crimes.

“I just never would have expected a wolf to care about hygiene; that’s all,” I admitted with a pout.

“Hahaha. Of course I do; I have this gorgeous appearance to keep up after all. Do you think I could have caught a cutie such as yourself without cleaning regularly?” She laughed before hugging me.

Looking Luna up and down, I found it impossible to deny that her rugged but well-kept looks had taken me. I smiled at her as she placed the bucket on the floor and tested the water with her toes as she transformed her feet from wolf paws to human feet. It wasn’t your looks. It was all of you. Marching over to her, I gave her a big hug of my own.

“Whoa! What’s this for?” She gasped, holding my arm to her body as she steadied her balance.

“For being you,” I remarked in a soft, thankful tone.

“Awww. You’re going to melt my heart if you keep saying stuff like that.” She said, hugging me back, before whispering in my ear. “Now get yourself in the water. I want to clean my girlfriend,” She finished, slapping my butt lightly and making my tail jolt with a shocking pleasure.

Getting into the pool, its warmth did not feel overpowering; it kind of reminded me of the warmth of Luna’s body when we had been sleeping in the den. Lying out my limbs, my whole body started to float around the pool thanks to the lightness of my body, as my black hair splayed out in all directions, waving with the water’s ripples and mine and Luna’s movements.

Grabbing my hand, Luna brought me over to the water’s edge. “I know you’re enjoying yourself, but we do have to be quick. Who knows what lurks in the shadows.” She said in a hushed, serious tone as she began rubbing my arms with the bar of soap, covering them in a floral-scented foam.

Rinsing my arms in the pool, Luna moved on to my body. “Are you okay with me touching your chest? Or would you rather do it?” She asked, leaning her head around to look at my content face. “I’ll take that as a yes,” She added after I failed to respond.

Rubbing the bar all over my body and chest, she slowed as she got to my breasts, taking care to cover them completely in the cleansing foam.

“They’re a lot softer and perkier feeling than I had expected for how big they are. How did you get so lucky?” Luna soothed domineeringly into my ears.

“I’m not sure you could call me lucky. The back pain isn’t exactly fun.” I said, surprised by my own lack of shame for Luna’s exploring, as I now lifted my breasts up and down in my palms.

“You’re luckier than me, that’s for sure,” Luna said, now playing with her own lean breasts, which accentuated her slim athletic figure.

“I don’t think that is true,” I contested, while turning around in the water. “I think they’re beautiful. Just as I think you’re beautiful.” I added as I reached out to touch them for myself. Pressing my hands against them, I found they were surprisingly soft and cushiony for their size. This sensation only intrigued me further as I continued to fondle them, becoming lost in their tender warmth.

“My eyes are up here,” Luna salaciously whispered in my ear, sending a shiver down my spine as I gazed up to find her. She loomed over me, her eyes glowing with intent, as she leaned in closer.

Closing my eyes, I readied myself for a kiss, but as our warm, anticipating breaths intermingled, Luna pulled away with sharp distraction. Opening my eyes again, Luna’s wolf ears were perked, moving side to side, scanning the tree line behind us.

“What is it?” I asked, scanning the trees myself and sniffing the air for danger. At first, Luna and the surrounding water, bugs and fauna were the only smells to fill my nose. But as I focused, I began to sense another scent, one not so different from Luna’s but much less potent, emanating from all around us, getting stronger with each sniff. “Wolves?” I asked, my tone fearful but serious.

“Wolves,” Luna confirmed, confident as ever. “Raven! Quick transform.” Luna barked.

Following her order, I transformed my whole body, falling into the warm water, before Luna grabbed me and carefully placed me on top of the towel in the bucket, and threw the bar of soap in next to me. Running to the gap in the rock, she stashed the bucket with me inside in the hole before running back to the head of the pool.

Climbing over the top of the bucket with my paws, I looked down; the pool was below me, and Luna in wolf form prowled at its edge, waiting for her kin to emerge.

Soon two wolves appeared through the bushes, on either side of Luna. Standing her ground, she eyed them both; at first, they seemed confused, as if they had been expecting to find something else taking a dip in the warm spring waters, a surprise they could not be blamed for. But soon they turned their attention to the snarling wolf before them.

Luna was quite a bit bigger than the two of them, but this knowledge did nothing to stem the shaking of my body and the rising pressure within me.

Moving around Luna, the wolves attempted to get her from the front and the back. However, understanding this, Luna made the first move, darting one paw forward at the wolf ahead of her, before quickly lunging backwards at the other, her jaws wide, her eyes filled with a predator’s bloodlust.

A faint. I thought, hoping that assessing the fight might distract my mind from its very real consequences.

Meeting Luna’s leap, the second wolf reached up with both their forepaws, claws out. Luna did not falter, putting all her weight into her attack; the wolf’s claws took root in her shoulders, but as Luna’s weight pushed the wolf down to the ground, her jaws grew ever closer to the back of the wolf’s head and neck. With an audible crunch, Luna snapped her jaws closed around the back of the wolf’s neck, breaking the bones in an instant.

As Luna landed and continued to hold the wolf in her mouth, they whimpered in pain as blood poured out and seeped into the ground and the pool. Luna locked eyes with the first wolf as the second breathed their last.

As the two stood off, two more wolves appeared in the small clearing, each looking at their friend before growling at Luna as she unceremoniously dropped them from her jaws, landing with a wet, bloody thump on the floor.

As I looked on, any doubt of Luna winning this fight left me, only to be replaced by another thought that gripped the shadows of my mind. This is the real Luna: a hunter, a killer, a predator. How could I have ever thought any different? My heart filled with fear as I looked on at the woman I loved, fighting, clawing and killing all those who got in her way. Was she doing this to protect me? Yes. Did that stop me from thinking about the scent of death that filled my lungs as it poured out of her? No. Before, I could see her as the gentle human she portrayed and desperately wished she was, but now all I saw was blood and death.

I need to get aw… Even as the thought formulated, my heart burned with pain. This was surely my fear talking; it was not my will to survive. Luna would never hurt me.

“No! No! NO!” I squeaked to myself in the bucket as I covered my face with my paws. “She would never!”

She’s a wolf. What if she gets hungry? What if I’m the only food in the forest? My thoughts kept up their attack.

“Stop it! These aren’t my real thoughts.” I desperately cried out to myself. “I love Luna!”

But can she love you back? My mind’s attacks were relentless; holding my face, I tried to picture Luna’s loving smile watching over me, but as that image emerged to save me, the bucket jostled slightly. My heart skipped a beat; I hoped it was Luna, but in that brief break, the sounds of her fight raged on around me, leaving only a few more options.

THUD!

Something hit the bucket again, jostling it more violently this time.

THUD!

And with the third hit, the bucket fell forward, dumping its contents and me onto the floor below.

Screaming as loudly as I could, hoping to get Luna’s attention as I fell, I landed on the unforgiving frosting ground with a deep thump, the impact winding and dazing me. Searching around, I caught a blurred glimpse of Luna locking claws with another wolf as they both stood on their hind legs, but as a shadow covered me, I stared up to find another wolf smitten with my scent, drooling from every canine.

Unable to move, I looked back at Luna and curled up into a ball. I’m sorry for doubting you! Please, can I just have one more miracle! Just one. Starting to cry, I closed my eyes; the heat of the wolf’s breath blew down my fur, as the scent of their bloodlust overloaded my senses, a scent I had never caught from Luna, an absence that proved her innocence, evidence that calmed my heart in the knowledge that despite her nature she did love me, unabashedly so; she had never been a lie. She was my wolf.

“I LOVE YOU LUNA!” I squeaked one more time, hoping my feelings would reach her.

The jaws of the wolf moved around me. Breathing in one last time, I stopped my heart before letting it all out. Ever since I met you, life never felt more alive. I guess now I must go where my family believes me to be. Goodbye, Luna.

However, as I gave up, a cold whirlwind of air whipped up around me, and vicious growls filled my ears. As the air settled, I heard the sound of bones snapping and pained whimpers of a dying animal. Opening one eye, I found my vision filled, not by a wolf’s waiting mouth, but by the silent night sky and the moon staring down at me.

Shaking all over, I tried to get up on all fours, only to stumble and limp, my limbs yet to recover from the fall. My whole body shook and never stopped; my eyes darted all over, and I saw dead wolves. Four in total, behind me where Luna had been fighting.

As I searched ahead, a fifth dead wolf was there, their neck in the bloodied jaws of another bigger wolf. Stopping as we caught each other’s gaze, the wolf dropped the limp corpse of the other to the ground before leaping over to me, sniffing me and eyeing me in a panic. My trembling increased as I tried to dart away, only for the wolf to turn into a human.

“Raven! Please don’t run! It’s me! L-Luna!” She cried, coughing and spluttering, as she ambled toward me.

Hopping in fright, I hid behind a tree, poking only my head out to see Luna limping for me and trying to cover her wounds, her face and body shaded by the backlight of the moon. Still, even in the shade, her silhouette was accented by the orange glow of her eyes and the glint of light off the blood covering her body and face. Hiding again, I steeled myself to go to her, only to hear the splash of water behind me.

Looking around, Luna was bathing in the spring, washing away as much blood as she could, only for more to explode from her injuries. Her body now fully lit by glowbugs and fireflies, she shook with worry as she grabbed the soap and tried to clean herself in desperation, but it was all for nought.

Hopping out into the clearing again, I moved over to Luna. As I got closer, she began to scream in pain, looking at her own blood-soaked arms and body, before craning her head to one side in an inhuman motion to find me. Seeing me, her eyes softened as a satisfied smile appeared on her face, before she fell backwards into the water.

Transforming into human form, tears exploded from my eyes as I broke out into a run, crashing into the water. I put my arms under Luna, holding her above the surface. “No, don’t do this. Please, stay awake.” As I pleaded, I looked up and down her body. There were bite and slash marks all over her, from her neck to her calves.

Freezing, I needed to do something, but what? Holding her still for a moment, the slow rise and fall of her chest brought me a modicum of comfort. Searching around the spring with my eyes, I soon fell on the body-sized towel in a heap on the floor.

Moving my arms under Luna’s armpits, I dragged her to the water’s edge, with my own right arm and leg screaming at me to stop. Continuing, I pulled Luna onto the shore, laying her steady before picking up the towel and tearing it into several lengths. With each, I tied a makeshift bandage around what I deemed to be her most severe wounds, tying it with all my might, putting as much pressure on the wound as possible, just as my Father had taught me. But now came the difficult bit.

Lifting Luna to a seated position, I put one of her arms around my shoulders before attempting to lift her. Thankfully, she was light enough for me to lift, even with my own injuries pleading with me to stop. Stumbling forward, Luna’s legs dragged behind as I made my way through the forest and towards the path we had walked earlier in the day.