The sounds of paws thumping against the forest earth filled Neveah's ears as she darted through the forest at blinding speed, the Eclipse warriors hot on her heels.
Neveah could hear her own wild heart beat as the mere thought of being caught and taken before her father filled her with bone chilling fear.
"Why are we running from them? They're no match for us. We could kill them all! Take this chance and leave the Eclipse Fang...to finally be free." Neveah heard her wolf's voice in her head in her usual matter of fact tone.
Neveah was momentarily startled by her wolf's voice,
It had been years since Neveah had last spoken to her wolf, by blocking off her wolf side, she had effectively blocked off their bond along with and although her wolf disapproved, Neveah knew she understood why.
Neveah's wolf knew the implications of being an Alpha wolf and for Neveah's safety, she had agreed to be blocked off and caged away in the deepest parts of Neveah's mind.
Neveah's wolf had then fallen into a slumber and had remained so for as long as Neveah could remember,
However now, for the first time in years, all off a sudden, Neveah had summoned her wolf side, successfully awakening her wolf to take on her form,
Yet Neveah wished she had considered the repercussions more carefully before taking such an action,
The Eclipse warriors were now alerted to the presence of a strange, unidentified Alpha wolf in their territory,
They were hell bent on capturing Neveah and had been chasing her for the better part of an hour, although Neveah maintained a good distance ahead of them,
She could not go any faster as she bleed profusely from the injury to her side where the tail of the black dragon had dug into her flesh.
The pain was searing and Neveah could barely see ahead of her as black spots danced across her vision and Neveah knew the only reason she could still move was due to the strength of her wolf.
"Veah! Let's leave!" Her wolf growled more fiercely in her mind.
"No...you know we can't," Neveah thought back to her wolf.
"Why not?! What are you so afraid of?! Say the word Veah and I will get you out of here and whoever stands in my way, will die!" Neveah's wolf roared in a domineering tone.
Neveah frowned slightly, this was another reason she avoided taking her wolf form even in secret.
Neveah knew her wolf was dominant and authoritative, it was not easy for her to accept Neveah's terms to be caged and never released to be herself.
But she had complied for Neveah's sake and with each taste of freedom she got, Neveah knew it would only get more and more difficult to restrain her wolf from her desperate desire to escape.
"I will not be patient for much longer Veah. We were born to be free and we will be, one way or the other." Neveah's wolf warned.
Neveah was in no mood to respond to her wolf and so she focused on her movement, shaking her head to clear her vision.
Neveah's wolf had always been of the opinion that the only way they could be free was to leave the Eclipse Palace, to begin life anew elsewhere,
But Neveah knew better, there was absolutely nowhere she could run to within Eclipse territory that her father would not find her,
Not with the benefits he had grown accustomed to getting from her,
Alpha King Lothaire had long made it clear to Neveah that she could never escape him, back when she was much younger and still foolish enough to attempt to break free.
And then, there was one more reason.
Alpha King Lothaire was the only one who had any information of Neveah's mother, on who she was, what she was like and perhaps even why she had abandoned Neveah.
This was a question that had hung heavy over Neveah's heart since she began forming thoughts of her own, if Neveah left now, she would never be able to find her mother.
Neveah took a sharp turn, grateful for her familiarity with the forest, she raced towards the Northern edge of the forest surrounding the Eclipse Palace,
Neveah leaped over a fallen log, her ears twitching as she caught the sound of running water up ahead,
Neveah pumped her muscles even faster, eager to arrive the lake she knew was situated in this direction,
Neveah had chosen to come this way because it had the closest water source and wadding through water was the surest way to get rid of her scent trail.
Soon Neveah arrived at the lake and jumped right in without hesitation,
The freezing water soaked Neveah's fur, overcoming every resistance she bore to cold and chilling into her bones,
Neveah gritted her teeth against the chill as she wadded through the lake, keeping only her head above the water surface.
It did not take long for Neveah to get through to the other side and she shook violently, shaking the water off her fur before she took a detour, heading back for the Eclipse Palace.
The Eclipse wolves would never guess what they believed to be an intruder would head back to their palace and so once they came up to the lake and realized her scent was distorted,
They would keep chasing in the direction of the Northern border and with that, Neveah would be safe.
Neveah darted through the forest for another half hour, making sure to keep out of the patrol routes which she was familiar with,
She then stopped behind a hollowed out tree and shifted into her human form, releasing a groan of pain as she glanced down to see her torn up side.
The wounds were deep where the spikes on the black dragon's tail had pierced in and although Neveah had begun to heal, the severity of the injuries were making the process far too slow,