The Mating Moon

Ivy pounded her fists against the firm arms that held her waist in an iron grip. As panic bubbled up inside her, she tried to scream, but the sound lodged inside her throat.
The attacker hauled her backwards easily shifting her smaller frame against his hip. Her nose itched from the scent of dirty fur and the smell of decay from the garbage that riddled the dark alley.
The half moons of his long fingernails bit into her flesh and sent a small wave of pain spearing through her stomach.
Ivy’s instincts screamed “fight,” but she could only focus on the slimy sensation of his hands on the bare skin of her stomach. Her body shook as fear clawed at her insides turning her gut into an icy knot that froze her to the bone.
Ivy couldn’t seem to string together a coherent thought. She snarled, screamed and kicked like a feral animal as her fists connected with anonymous places on her attacker’s body. Her attacker’s tight hold squeezed her harder, until she felt like her ribs had been incased in cement, and she could barely manage a half gasp of air.
With a muttered curse, he pulled her feet higher off the ground.
As she squirmed in an attempt to free herself, her heel connected with his kneecap and a dull thud sounded.
The steel bands of his arms loosened, and she seized the opportunity.
Her defense training kicked in, and she went limp in his hold.
The shift in weight threw off his center of balance and, as he adjusted his grip, Ivy’s feet hit the ground.
She hunched forward using all her strength, doubling over his arms and coiling in on herself.
Ivy reared back and swung her elbow in an upwards arch into his face. A sharp crunch accompanied a yowl of pain as Ivy connected with what she prayed was his nose.
At the same time, she kicked out, catching his leg just above the kneecap in a downward angle.
A sound like a branch snapping filled the air, and he cried out as his arms dropped away from her waist.
Ivy lost her balance and crumpled to the ground.
“Stupid bitch, you broke my nose.” The attacker cursed from somewhere behind her.
Ivy focused on getting to the entrance of the alley.
Run. Now.
Run!
Spurred into motion, she rushed toward the lighted entrance at the mouth of the alley. With the darkness around her, that entrance seemed as though it was several miles away instead of only a few yards. Panic boiled up inside her, her heart racing as her feet stumbled over the piles of rotting trash that had permeated the air with a putrid stink that was like acid to the nostrils and made her stomach roll in disapproval. She pushed on even as she feared she would never make it into the light before he caught her and forced her back into the dark.
“You can’t run from me, Ivy.” He plowed into the back of her knees collapsing her to the ground.
A short, shocked burst of a scream tumbled from her lips. The brunt of her weight landed on her knees, scraping them against the wet mucky blacktop.
The attacker scrambled up her body, and his arms locked around her waist again as she tried to push back up. He threw his weight against her back and pressed down until she fell flat onto the ground. She struggled to breathe under the burden of his heavy body even as she tried to find purchase with her hands on the slick ground to wiggle out from under him. Her nostrils flared as they filled again with the scent of wet dog fur and dirty ground. She growled inside her throat as her senses overflowed with information.
White-hot pain ripped through her, muscles stretched and Ivy’s fingers elongated. Bones popped and distorted taking on the new shape of her tiger’s paws. Muscles throbbed and cinched down, torquing her bones into unnatural shapes while agony ripped a heated path through her body with claws that tore and ripped apart her delicate flesh. Thousands of tiny needles stung her pores as fur sprouted from her skin in a tingling rush. Her attacker’s arms tightened around her shifting form.
Her clothing ripped and dropped away onto the alley floor.
Ivy stretched her claws testing the strength in her changed body. A trembling growl emanated from deep inside her throat, the animal she had become protesting the sheer terror that had invaded her brain.
With her transformation complete, she pushed up onto all four paws with a roar and bucked her attacker off her back. His hands slipped and landed in the fur near her spine, taking two fists full in his grip. He dug into her skin and it took a second time of her throwing him off to send him flying. She turned her head in time to see him bounce off the wall.
“Dammit.” The attacker steadied himself while he shook his head as if he were dazed.
Her cat had protected her, knowing before she did that she needed the help. Self-esteem bloomed inside her chest as heated warmth traveled through her limbs, and she realized now that she could protect herself.