Preface

The Call

The moonlight caressed her naked skin, the cool breeze relaxing her muscles as the summer night revealed to her the full moon. Azure eyes blinked sleepily, dark lashes stroking her reddened cheeks and sweeping up as she gazed at the clear sky. Slipping from her lips was a soft purr. Her fingers convulsed into the damp earth beneath her and her spine bowed. Power flowed on the breeze, bringing with it the smell of summer and the mouth watering scent of prey.

Soft hair swept over bare skin, causing her to flinch as it touched the long scars that wouldn't heal. They traced thick, jagged lines across her lower back and curled up over her shoulder to twine around her neck and collar bone. There were smaller, yet still serious, scars marring her face. Over one cheek in messy streaks and trailing over her nose.

A soft hiss escaped her parted lips, and it echoed through the forest. She tried to move, rivets of red rolled down her sides, tickling the sensitive flesh of her sides. It slowly formed a pool in the dirt around her, growing wider as she struggled to free the arm beneath her stomach.

The locks of her messy brown hair fell over her face, a curtain of curls that were soon soaking up the blood. She blinked, the world shook before her. She pain began to blaze now that she was fully awake. Her heart beat faster. The blood flowed faster. And her breathing became shallow and quick.

A strange sound burst from her throat, roaring through the forest. It bounced off the trees and flew over the water. She blinked again, feeling her whole body shaking and broke out in a cold sweat. She didn't want to die. But neither did she want to live with the agonizing pain.

And then an answering sound mirrored her own through the trees. Her heart leapt into her throat. She didn't know who it was; she didn't recognize the power that came with the call.

After a moment of frozen anticipation, the sound of paws hitting the forest floor began to beat like a drum. They grew louder and louder, she twisted around, trying to see where they were coming from, but the pain in her back kept her from doing much. And just when she thought they would burst into the immediate area, the pounding stopped. Leaving her breathing hard in the silence. Her eyes roved the thick bushes and the tall trees, desperately seeking any sign of anyone, anything.

She tried to raise her face to sniff the air, but she felt too weak and she blinked. When she opened her eyes, her cheek was touching the ground and she could smell the dirt. And the blood. But there was also something else.

It made her draw in a deep breath, filling her lungs with that scent. It made her head spin, and her fingers clench tightly into fists. It was the scent of home, and it was the scent of pack and wolf. She had never felt it more strongly than then. Yet she couldn't even lift her head to look, to find who belonged to the power that crawled over her skin and invaded her own metaphysical guards.

"Wolf." she murmured almost inaudibly. There was a sound, the earth at her side moved slightly, as if someone had walked up to her.

A hand, hot enough that it felt like a brand against her skin, touched the wound at her back. Followed it up to her shoulder and then cupped her neck, pressing against her pulse. She shifted slightly, a small, pain filled sound escaped her lips unbidden.

Arms wrapped around her, surrounding her with a burning heat. Yet she could do nothing to pull away, or recover. She felt like she was burning, her body shuddering and shacking. The arms around her tightened, agonizingly tight, so hot.

"Let go." she wailed, but nothing happened.

A growl vibrated along her back, she gasped in pain. And then she went limp. A smothering feeling came over her, the moon swirling before her, disappearing behind a cloud of black that swept over her until she could see nothing. It filled her eyes, her nose, her mouth. And then she succumbed. Let herself fall into the cool embrace as wings of black night enveloped her.


I hope you liked the preface for Moonlit Scars. I am unsure as to whether to continue. If anyone likes it, or wishes to see what happens, please review or message me. Any feedback would be appreciated.

If there was anything you didn't like or anything you did, I'd love to know.

Emily