Bad Moon Rising {J. Black}

*battle of two wolves*

Dearest Readers,

Thank you so much for reading! I hope you are all doing well and staying safe! Now onto the story :)

XOXO Ally Layne 

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It didn't even take a second for me to realize that the scream had come from me.

I also realized that I had unleashed Aegis from where it sat upon my wrist, and it formed into a large shield, protecting my body from a massive weight that struck into it, forcing me back onto my heels.

The wolf that he turned into had red hair and dark brown eyes, eyes that matched his own. They were largely expressive, and I could tell he was shocked and took a few steps back that I could feel from the ground given just how large he was.

His wolf was nearly the size of Mrs. O'Leary, and she was a full-grown hellhound.

I blinked, before unsheathing my sword and stood in front of him in a readied stance.

He let out a low whine at the sight of the tear in my skin on my left shoulder that occurred right before my shield took the cover of the rest of my body.

I lowered my shield so he could see more of the wound, and he took a few more steps backward, his head bowing in shame.

"I'm fine, see?" I offered, even though I had no idea why I was trying to talk to him while he was in wolf mode. Was he even able to understand me? "And I can heal this easily if I had some water, or even if I went back out into the ocean-"

His growl cut me off, and I looked over to see his eyes staring at something behind me, barking out at whatever came my way. The hair on his neck was sticking straight up, and I barely had time to duck as another large wolf came vaulting out of the thicket.

"Shit!" I yelled, tucking under the shield, Aegis, barely avoiding being shredded by the large claws of the dog. "What in Hades's Underpants?"

A large silver-gray wolf was now standing in front of Jake, who had put himself forcibly between the newcomer and me. Jake's wolf had quite a few more pounds on the other wolf, but they were both so much larger than the one I had swerved to avoid the first night I arrived here.

Jake snarled toward the newcomer, and I gripped my sword steadily.

Who was that wolf? Were they a part of the pack? Or an enemy?

"Andie, get over here!"

A quick glance to the side, and I saw Embry and Sam standing there with grim features. I looked back over to where the silver wolf had now attacked Jacob and had to tuck and roll to avoid being slammed into.

I decided they probably weren't wrong that I should get out of the way.

After getting up from the roll, I kept my eyes on the two wolves who were trying to bite pieces out of each other.

I looked back to Sam and Embry in confusion as soon as I stood at their side. "Are you just going to let Jacob-"

"It serves him right," Sam snarled, his eyes harshly following after the two wolves that disappeared after Jake swiped the silver wolf out of view and sprinted after it.

I blinked. "So... you guys are a bunch of wolves, then?"

Embry and Sam shared a look. Sam pursed his lips before nodding. "The legends of our people are not just legends."

"Most legends exist because of something in truth," I agreed.

Their eyes were then drawn to my large shield and sword. "It seems we are not the only ones with secrets, Andromeda."