A Horse-Shifters Tale (Under Going Minor Editing Of Chapters)

Chapter One

Hali's POV
I pulled the grass out of the ground, listening to the satisfying ripping noise as the roots tore out of the ground and made its way into my mouth. I chewed and gazed up, staring at the small herd of horses I called family.
Storm caught my gaze and returned it, offering a slight whinny to ask if I had sensed danger. I shook my head and he returned to grazing. The mountains in the background of our grazing spot had always fascinated me. The lush rolling green fields we called home (see pic) never browned, except in winter when we moved to the forest for shelter. It was a particularly sunny day and my black coat shone, my black mane and tail hanging low, almost touching the ground.
While the rest of the world felt miles away, I knew that each year the wild roundup still took place. The herd I lived in always somehow managed to avoid it, moving east as the werewolves came in with helicopters and their... tame horses. Vampires never seemed to be interested in the thrill of chasing horses. I knew the roundup would happen soon, Storm seemed unaware at how close the roundup truly was.
I offered a neigh to Storm and he trotted over, his brown and white coat always was beautiful to me, along with his white and black mane. I shook myself out of gazing at him and alerted him at how close the roundup was. He looked surprised as if he expected it was further off. He bobbed his head in understanding and alerted the rest of the herd, whose heads perked up the second he made a noise. They followed him as he started East, me following them at the rear.
We hadn't traveled for ten minutes before I heard hoofbeats. These weren't the heavy hoofbeats of mountain horses like us, these were agile, graceful, yet weighed down. I immediately understood and reared, pounding my hooves in alarm. Storm reared as well, keeping the herd organized as we took off in the direction of the eastern mountains.
I dared allow myself a look behind us, and wasn't surprised at the sight I saw. At least ten "men" on horseback, with wolves half the size of the horses side to side with them. Losing them in human form was easy, wolf form was a lot harder. I spent my days keeping myself smelling a horse, so at least I knew I'd be safe from death today.
The herd ran on, if we could make it to the mountains, we could use our rough hooves and experience to "climb"  the mountain. I swore in my mind as the wolves got quicker, using their werewolf speed to gain on us. I kicked a wolf in the face as it got close. It slowed me down a bit, but it felt good. We were almost to the mountain when a loud as heck noise sounded, panicking the herd. I looked up and lord behold, a helicopter advancing from the east, aimed to scare us right back to the horse-backed wolves. I followed Storm, who kept heading east, despite the heli.
I flattened my ears in pity as some horses broke off and ran the other way, getting roped and led away immediately. I knew how to break a rope, just bite it hard enough and it'd snap right in two.
I noticed that by the time the herd got to the mountain, the size had been split on two. We proceeded upwards into the mountain and looked back once we were on a ledge that could support us. I would smile if I could at the sight that unfolded. Horses attempting to climb the mountain, only to fall back on their riders. They'd been trained for speed, not so much for climbing. I flinched as one of our horses went down a little too much and got roped and dragged down the mountain, being scrapped by the rocks as she fell. I kicked a rock at her captor, whinnying a victory whinny as she was freed and climbed back to us with minor wounds.
I could understand a few words that they spoke, but not much. I caught words like "trouble" and a phrase "stay all night". From what I gathered, they weren't giving up. What a strange wild horses roundup.
I woke from a nap to find the men gone. I alerted Storm who began to lead the descent down. It was only when our hooves touched the grass that I realized we'd been tricked. Ropes were tossed blindly, snagging any horse they could. I ran around, biting into ropes and watching the horses flee, including Storm. I ran to catch up with them and collided with a wolf. I looked at the wolf I had collided with and went to get up when a rope grabbed my hoof. Then my neck, then another on my neck. I sighed and was thankful that at least Storm and a few others had gotten away.
One of the men spoke "she's the troublemaker" I heard him say. They dragged me to my feet and began to drag me south, towards what I assumed was their camp. When I tried to lunge for a rope, another one tugged me back or made me lose balance. I was dripping with sweat by the time we reached their camp. It was dark and the stars had just come out.
I was shoved into a pen barely big enough for my size alone. I resisted the urge to sleep, at least until a needle was plunged into my neck and I collapsed, looking at the stars one last time before I gave into the darkness.