Prologue
Night Black Star swiftly crossed the clearing, turning around to see if anybody was near. It was quiet. She dashed down a path, running swiftly on the hard packed dirt. She had not gone far before her wolven ears heard the pounding feet of humans. She surged forward, legs propelling her on. Suddenly, humans shot at her. An ambush! She growled in pain; she had been hit. She limped on, her hind left leg dripping with blood. She was slower now, weakening with the loss of blood. At last she stopped, forced to stand and fight the humans. She reared up onto her hind legs, transforming half way to her human form. She was now a werewolf, wolven head with clear blue eyes, fur covered body standing six feet six tall, a foot and two inches taller than her human form.
The group of humans came out, bunching together protectively. They knew the strength of a werewolf was much greater than that of a human’s, whether the werewolf in its human form was strong or not. One adolescent, evidently the leader of the group, motioned for the others to hold their fire, desiring to kill Night himself.
Night recognised him. “You!” She snarled, lips peeling back to bare a set of impressively sharp teeth. She lunged for him, but fell back in pain as the group raised their rifles and shot her, most of them missing but one hit her thigh, above the other wound. She whimpered quietly, but then ignored her pain as her anger flamed. “Noah, you traitor!” She laughed as the group looked at Noah in confusion.
“What is it talking about?” one asked Noah, bewildered.
“Nothing,” Noah answered sharply.
“Oh, so you haven’t told your little friends, have you? Well I’ll tell them for you!” Night said. “Humans, Noah here has taken part of a werewolf tradition, the Joining ceremony! He shares now the blood of werewolves. Look at the Design that has been cut into his palm! He is double the traitor and has betrayed us both!” She growled and launched herself at him, grabbing his hand and turning it over roughly. “See here!” she cried, revealing the Design.
The humans gasped. “She speaks the truth!” one yelled. “Kill them both!” He raised his rifle and fired, but Night leaped to avoid it. She defended herself, extending a claw and slicing any humans in her reach. Finding none, she advanced on the humans and swung her arm, clipping four on the head with her claws. They died instantly. The rest ran away, fear of her overcoming their desire to kill Noah.
Night now turned to Noah, who looked at her beseechingly. “Please! I didn’t know! I didn’t know it was you, Night!” He threw his rifle away.
“Does it matter whether it is me or any werewolf? You are by ceremony a werewolf yourself,” Night replied. “Would you kill your own kind?”
“No! No!” Noah said, panicking. “I didn’t mean to! I only wanted higher status, only to help the werewolves,” he tried to explain.
“I’m sure you did.” Night snorted. “Somehow I doubt that.” She grabbed him by the throat with her clawed hand, pinning him to a nearby tree trunk. His legs dangled above the ground. “I trusted you,” she hissed. “Don’t think I’ll make that mistake again!” She let him go, and turned, limping away. Noah crumpled to the ground, gasping for air. Night did not look back.
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