Meeting the mother

Lisa walked the rest of the way to the clearing in silence. In the middle of the thick forest, the area opened up suddenly to about the length of a football field both ways. In the middle was a circle of stone pillars spaced about 10 feet apart.  Inside the pillars was an open space with flat stones interspaced in the short grass. The stone circle was set a little lower than the rest of the land and made the place look like a Roman amphitheatre. This is where their mating ceremony had taken place.

There was no signal to start the fight, it just started. James rushed towards Ruben while he was still in human form. Narrowly avoiding claws, Ruben threw the wolfman to the ground and circled, shifting as he did. James got up and came back at him, using a little more stealth this time. James managed to cut Ruben's arm with a clawed hand, and Lisa had to put her hands over her mouth to keep from screaming out loud.

She looked on horrified as the men fought. Sensing an