I was immediately on both feet and unsheathed my claws.

I growled at him as I stepped backward—narrowly escaping the sharp swipe he intended for my right shoulder.

The forest was thick with shadows, the scent of pine and damp earth clinging to the air as I sprinted through the underbrush. Moonlight struggled to pierce the canopy, but my keen senses guided me through the gnarled branches and twisted roots. As the daughter of the Alpha, a proud and fierce one, I will never back down from a fight.

But I can hide.

And hiding is the best move to keep me alive tonight. I’m not really that trained in combat so I wouldn’t dare fight that feral Rogue with maneuvers that I barely mastered nor theories that I’m not sure would really knock him down and defeat him.

I peeked behind me. The Rogue was relentless, his feral growls echoing through the cluster of trees nearby.

“Where are you, Princess?” He purred, calling my name in the most malicious manner I ever heard.

His back was behind me, larger than my brother. He turned around my direction. I ducked. His amber eyes gleamed with wild fury just like the stories my brother, Rowan told me: Rogues are unpredictable, untethered by pack law, and dangerous to all who crossed their paths.

And here I am: face to face with one of them. Perhaps one of the fiercest of them given his size—

“There you are.” He grabbed my wrist and pinned me on the earth. I struggled beneath him with a shrill.

“No, I’m not!” My forehead collided with his that made stars dance in my vision. I rolled beneath him. Jumping in both feet and steadying my body, I bared my teeth, claws glinting against the silver moon.

“Come here, you foul beast!” I gathered my fists and attempted to punch him in the jaw.

He dodged it. But as soon as he lowered his body, I threw a flying kick to his crotch.

The Rogue groaned, falling face first on the dirt.

But the kick caused me to slip and I almost hit my head on the rock when I willed myself to land in the row of brambles and thorny roses instead.

The fall there wasn’t too fatal but it still hurt as fuck. The thorns scraped my hand, my arms, my face. It tore my clothes as I attempted to stand, and even resulted in drops of blood from my abdomen.

I gritted my teeth and ignored the pain, stepping out from the thorns and brambles.

Just as the Rogue was about to get up, we both shifted to our wolf forms.

I snarled as claws slashed through fur, teeth snapped dangerously close to our throats. I leaped back from him and landed on a nearby boulder on my paws, my wolf licking her teeth stained with blood. I can hear my heart pounding; I can feel my adrenaline surging through my veins.

The Rogue, with his brownish-black fur sprayed with his own blood, growls at me as he realizes he was caught in those same brambles and thorns I was in earlier.

I shifted back to human form, chest puffed out in victory. “You lost.”

The Rogue shifted in his human form too. He growled once, letting all the anger shatter his ears.

But then he laughed.

His laughter was soft at first. Then it becomes louder, rising into an eerily sound. I prowled closer, making sure he’s really wounded.

It happened so fast that I didn’t had time to blink—

He kicked me in the stomach.

My back thudded in a groan that I vividly heard the breaking of bones, an explosion of pain that rendered me immobile. I faced the sky as I struggled to breathe. I can’t even move my fingers, only my eyes.

I heard the Rogue escaping from the sharp thorns and strode slowly towards me, relishing every step as if he’s walking into his summit of victory.

This Rogue is definitely not an easy bastard to deal with. He’s cunning, and very strong.

My breath hitched, my legs wobbling. He towered over me like Death given form. I feel my neck slicked with blood. I think my whole body is.

“Any last words, princess?”

And then I screamed. Really screamed. Louder than I ever did.

With his figure looming before me, teeth bared in a savage snarl, I didn’t hesitate to show him it’s not the end of my fight. But my body betrayed me.

This couldn’t be the end. Not here, not like this. I wouldn’t die today—

I closed my eyes, sending mind-links to my brother and father as I waited for the Rogue to lunge his killing blow.

“If you’re so brave, Rogue, then kill me with your bare hands. Do not shift or use a stone,” I side-glanced the huge stone between us. “Kill me with your hands alone.”

A dark chuckle, and then, “Of course. I can do you with my own hands—”

Movements on my side distracted both of us, the blur of motion shattering the scene.

He was another Rogue—sleek, powerful, and fast—who collided with the Rogue that was supposed to end my life. I can tell what he was because of his scent. And because of his ragged look that seemed to wander anywhere the moon guides them.

The Rogue that attacked me hissed at my savior, facing him in a fighting stance that he’s sure will knock down my savior in a blink.

My savior filled the forest with his howl. He shifted into his human form, and his snarl even set the hairs on my arms to its tip.

“Uhm—”

They clashed, even before I could say more. Teeth and claws and punches thrown at one another against the dim.

My vision started to blur, but I forced myself to stand up and rise to my feet.

As I whipped my head to the two Rogues, I realized that my savior really meant to protect me and drove the Rogue out from our sights. I can even see in his eyes and the way his body moves that he’s willing to punch him in the throat and bury him beneath one of the trees.

As I was on my both feet, I didn’t wait for either of them to turn around at me.

I ran away—back to the Moonbeam Pack even if I’m no longer sure which path to take.