I turned fast, as if moving quickly would frighten off whoever was approaching me.
My back paws entered the cold river.
A black wolf, easily twice my size, bared its teeth to me.
I’d recognise him anywhere, in any form.
Ashford.
He lunged for me. I lunged backwards, further into the river, and not anticipating how deep it would be, or how fast the current would pull me downstream.
The coldness made my legs and tail numb; the warmth of my previous exertion bleeding freely from me, stolen by the river.
I tried to swim towards the edge, aware that Ashford was chasing me along the riverbank.
Mustering all the strength I could, I forced my numb limbs to push me towards the edge of the river until my paws hit the silt and slippery stones, the sound of the river deafening in my ears.
I scrambled out of the water, only to be tackled back into the shallows, with Ashford landing heavily on top of me.
He pressed my muzzle under the water with one heavy paw.
I couldn’t breathe.
Water entered my nose, and in panic I managed to push him from me, coughing and gagging as I threw myself onto the bank.
Ashford had fallen into the water but was quick to get back up, angrily shaking water from his fur as he stalked towards me.
I pushed myself to my paws with what energy I had left, taking ragged breaths, trying to breathe past the sensation of water trapped in my throat threatening to enter my lungs and drown me. In the back of my head, I remembered hearing that it took less than a teaspoon of water to drown or something equally terrifying, and I coughed again.
There was no more running left for me to do.
I squared my stance, lowered my head, and bared my teeth.
I wouldn’t make it easy for him.
He had taken everything from me. He thought he had the right. He thought that because he was an alpha and had saved me once, my life was his.
I would make him work for it.
If I were going to die, I would die with the taste of his blood on my tongue.
He lunged, launching himself from the river towards me. I met him head-on, pushing up on my back legs, his weight crashing against me.
I was sent sprawling to the side.
He was on top of me, his teeth tearing into my shoulder, coming away with clumps of fur and red staining his teeth.
It was like being pierced with a hot poker, feeling more like a burn—an initial searing pain that was forgotten quickly.
I kicked his belly with my back legs, and he jumped back growling angrily, hitting across my muzzle with his paw like swatting away an annoying insect.
I scrambled up onto my paws. My shoulder was weak; the lightening blue of the sky allowed me to see the dark dampness of my blood coating my brown fur from the corner of my eye. I couldn’t assess the damage properly; I couldn’t even feel it, not really. All my attention was on Ashford, who began to stalk me in a circular motion.
I turned as he moved, following him, not allowing him an opportunity to attack me from the side.
Something instinctive roared inside me, made my chest heave, and the muscles in my abdomen and legs tightened until I burst forward, lunging at Ashford.
He was surprised, his head tilting to the side momentarily in a wolfish sign of confusion.
