Chapter 19

A couple minutes into my fight I realized that I was wrong. It wasn't softness in Trina pale blue eyes it was coldness and indifference. My cheek was bleeding and I felt as though she had broken several of my ribs, but I was still standing. Trina wasn't looking too good either, patches of fur had been ripped out by my teeth and a black eye was beginning to form though she managed to keep the swollen lid open. I growled as we once again prowled in a circle and I dodged another swipe at my face. I tried to scan the yard for anything I could use to gain an upper hand, remembering the thrown rock from earlier. It must have gotten knocked from the well manicured rock and cactus garden some twenty feet behind me. It wouldn't be easy to get over there though as I couldn't risk turning my back on my opponent. I thought briefly of my brothers and the acts of violence they are forced into every day because of this family. What violence wouldn't I commit if it meant my only chance to save them?

At that moment she made a push forward and our front paws met in mid air and our fangs gnashed at we struggled for dominance. I gave just a little bit bringing us into a biting and scraping roll. I felt her claws tear at my stomach and blood drip into my eye as we rolled over and over. It wasn't my lucky day because when we came to a stop she was on top. I bit at her leg to try and knock her off balance and the warmth of her blood in my mouth brought brought me new energy. Unfortunately the move left my neck vulnerable and Trina took hold of it and I felt her instinctively trying to shake it back and forth until it broke. A Luna will never give up. Her back paws kicked at mine until I could feel the bone begining to fracture. I yanked and kicked but I could not get her to release her grip on my neck. I felt my vision begin to blur and a tingly feeling moving from my paws to my chest. I only had moments to escape before it was too late. There was only one way to break free but I'd be risking my life to do it.

I shifted into my human form and as my neck shrunk from her vice like grip I shifted so that her jaws were instead locked onto my shoulder. Confusion filled her blue eyes as her teeth easily sunk into my human shoulder in a way they couldn't in through my wolf hide.

The blood loss was starting to overwhelm my other senses and I felt Trina start prepare another vicious shake. I was weak and my flesh tore like paper in this form when put against wolf fangs. I took the only advantage a human body has over a wolves. Hands. My hands reached out and was just barely able to reach an iron fence stake marking off the rock garden. I licked away some blood from my lips (was it hers or mine? I couldn't tell anymore) and plunged the stake into her side as deep as I could push it. I thought that relief would be instant when she let go, but the throbbing and the bleeding continued mercilessly. My arm was now stuck underneath her and my vision wouldn't clear. A Luna never gives up. The last thing I saw was the panic in her eyes as she lay there gasping before everything went black.

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A long moment of silence fell over the field when neither female stood up to claim their glory. The mother Luna gave a nodd to the medical team laying in wait and they rushed over to see if either wolf could be saved.