*“Ohhh…” Sophia moaned pitifully, the sound dragging her the rest of the way to full awareness against her will.

Awake now, her nerves insisted on updating her brain on the status of every part of her body all at once. She was lying on her side, curled up into a ball with her legs drawn into her stomach. Pain flared in her abdomen as she twisted onto her back. Opening her eyes, she stared up at the white plaster of her ceiling.

“Urgh,” she moaned again, placing one hand on her stomach and using the other to brush hair off her face.

To her surprise, her fingers brushed something both crusty and sticky on her cheek. She rubbed at the strange substance in an attempt to remove it and discovered it wasn’t just a small spot. Sensing that some of whatever it was had stuck to her fingers, she brought her fingers where she could see them.

<Blood?> Sophia felt a surge of panic as she saw the crusty, dark red substance on her fingertips. <Oh, no.>

Images of the deer flashed through her mind, and she nearly threw up then and there. Lifting her head, she looked down at her chest and wished she hadn’t. Her sweatshirt was covered in blood, gore, and other dirt. The garment itself was practically in tatters, with rips all across her front exposing pale skin.

“I didn’t,” panicking, she tried to deny the horror in front of her. “I couldn’t have.”

Ignoring the protests of her stomach and sore muscles, she propped herself up on her arms to assess the state of the rest of her body. Although not covered in gore, her sweatpants weren’t in much better shape than her sweatshirt. A large tear exposed the side of her knee, which was stained with dry blood. Her light blue bed sheets were mottled with dark patches of dirt and blood.

<I can’t let Dad see this.> Sophia glanced at the door and was relieved to see it was shut. <Well, it looks like I’m down more clothes.>

The initial shock was wearing off, and her horror and disgust at consuming a deer - skin, fur, guts, and all - was fading. Sure, it was gross, and she’d rather not think about some of what she’d eaten, but at least she didn’t feel like she was going to vomit.

<I was a wolf, sort of, and it tasted pretty good.> A sharp pain in her abdomen registered its disapproval of the meal. <I don’t think I want to do it again, though. Oh, I need to pee bad.>*

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In the Shadow of Moonlight, Chapter 16

A huge thanks to   Wolfizen for paying for a new round of illustrations for my novel, In the Shadow of Moonlight! This is the third page of four drawn by the talented   wolfnowhere and shows several scenes from chapters 17-19.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3 <
Part 4

Previous illustrations by Dirty Horror.

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