The rejected white haired Luna

The hunt

The Rejected White-Haired Luna

Chapter Two — The Hunt

Elena ran until her lungs felt like they were tearing apart.

Branches slapped against her face. Thorns caught in her dress. Her bare feet were cut by stones and broken twigs, but she barely noticed the pain anymore.

There was only one thought in her mind.

Run.

Behind her, the forest was alive with movement.

Paws thundered over the earth.

Growls echoed between the trees.

She didn't dare look back.

“Faster,” she whispered to herself.

Her wolf pushed her body harder.

Left.

Elena turned sharply.

A wolf crashed through the bushes where she had been standing a second earlier.

She screamed and kept running.

Another wolf appeared ahead.

She stopped so suddenly that she nearly fell.

Two wolves behind her.

One ahead.

They had surrounded her.

Elena slowly backed away.

Her chest rose and fell.

Her hands trembled.

The wolves growled.

She looked around desperately.

No weapons.

No shelter.

No one was coming to save her.

She had been rejected only hours ago.

Her mate had broken their bond in front of everyone.

Her pack had watched her suffer.

And now she was going to die alone in the forest.

A bitter laugh escaped her.

“So this is how it ends?”

The wolf ahead lowered its body.

It was preparing to attack.

Elena closed her eyes.

Then something inside her whispered.

Don't be afraid.

Her eyes opened.

The voice hadn't sounded like her wolf.

It had sounded older.

Calmer.

Almost like a distant memory.

The wolf lunged.

Elena moved.

She didn't know how.

One moment she was standing still.

The next, she had twisted sideways and grabbed a thick branch from the ground.

The wolf flew past her.

She swung the branch with everything she had.

Crack!

It struck the creature across the jaw.

The wolf stumbled.

Elena stared at the branch.

She had never been strong enough to do that.

The wolf recovered and turned toward her.

Its eyes were no longer hungry.

They were frightened.

Elena's breathing slowed.

“What are you afraid of?”

The wolf backed away.

Then another wolf attacked from behind.

Elena spun.

Its claws were already coming down.

She raised her arm instinctively.

A burst of silver light exploded from her body.

BOOM!

The wolf was thrown several feet away.

It slammed into a tree.

The other two wolves fled.

Elena stood frozen.

Smoke seemed to curl around her fingers.

Her heart hammered.

“What…”

She stared at her hands.

Nothing.

No light.

No smoke.

Just trembling fingers.

She remembered the rogue from earlier.

The way it had stopped.

The way it had looked at her.

Fear.

Not hatred.

Fear.

“What am I?”

A distant howl answered her.

Elena's stomach tightened.

She didn't wait.

She ran again.

The forest eventually changed.

The thick trees opened into a narrow valley.

Elena slowed.

She had never been this far from the pack.

A rocky cliff rose on her left.

A river rushed along her right.

There was nowhere to hide.

She looked behind her.

Nothing.

For the first time, she allowed herself to breathe.

Maybe she'd lost them.

She leaned against a tree.

Her knees buckled.

She slid down the trunk and sat on the cold ground.

The pain in her chest returned.

Not physical pain.

The memory.

Damian's voice.

I reject you.

Elena squeezed her eyes shut.

A tear slipped down her cheek.

She wiped it away angrily.

“No.”

She refused to cry again.

Not for him.

Not for the pack.

Not for anyone.

She had spent eighteen years trying to prove she wasn't a curse.

She had spent eighteen years hoping someone would choose her.

Tonight, she finally understood.

Nobody was coming to choose her.

So she would choose herself.

Elena looked at the river.

“If they want a monster…”

She slowly stood.

“…then maybe I should become one.”

A twig snapped.

She turned.

Her heart stopped.

A man stood between the trees.

Elena immediately grabbed the branch.

“Stay back.”

He raised both hands.

“I'm not here to hurt you.”

“Who are you?”

The man looked young, perhaps twenty-five.

He wore a dark cloak and carried a bow across his back.

“I was sent to find you.”

Elena tightened her grip.

“By who?”

He hesitated.

“The Silver Moon Pack.”

Her stomach dropped.

“Damian?”

The man nodded.

“He wants you brought back.”

Elena laughed bitterly.

“Of course he does.”

“He said you were in danger.”

“I don't care.”

“He said you wouldn't survive the night alone.”

Elena stared at him.

“Then tell him he was right.”

The man's expression softened.

“Elena, please.”

She frowned.

“How do you know my name?”

He didn't answer.

That was enough.

Elena took a step backward.

“You're lying.”

The man sighed.

“I didn't want to frighten you.”

“You already did.”

He reached toward his waist.

Elena raised the branch.

“Don't.”

He stopped.

“I have something for you.”

Slowly, he pulled a small piece of folded cloth from his pocket.

He tossed it onto the ground.

Elena stared at it.

She knew the fabric.

It was from the Silver Moon Pack.

She didn't move.

“What is it?”

“Open it.”

She didn't trust him.

But curiosity won.

She crouched and picked it up.

Inside was a small silver pendant.

Her breath caught.

She had seen it before.

Around the neck of one of the elders.

“What is this?”

The stranger's face changed.

“You recognize it.”

“Yes.”

“Then you know what it means.”

“No.”

His eyes narrowed.

“That's strange.”

“What?”

He suddenly looked past her.

His expression changed.

“Get down!”

Elena dropped.

An arrow flew over her head.

It struck the tree behind them.

The stranger grabbed her arm.

“Run!”

They sprinted toward the river.

More arrows flew through the trees.

One struck the ground beside Elena.

Another pierced the stranger's shoulder.

He stumbled.

Elena caught him.

“You're hurt!”

“Keep moving.”

“Who are they?”

“Hunters.”

“What hunters?”

“Just run!”

They reached the river.

The stranger looked toward the opposite bank.

“We have to cross.”

Elena stared at the rushing water.

“That's impossible.”

“Do you want to live?”

She didn't answer.

He pushed her toward the river.

They jumped.

The freezing water swallowed them.

Elena gasped.

The current dragged her beneath the surface.

She fought to reach the top.

Her dress pulled her down.

She kicked desperately.

A hand caught her wrist.

The stranger pulled her upward.

They surfaced.

Elena coughed.

“Hold on!”

They struggled across.

When they finally reached the opposite bank, Elena collapsed.

She was shaking violently.

The stranger crawled beside her.

“We need to keep moving.”

Elena looked at him.

“You knew they were coming.”

“Yes.”

“How?”

He looked away.

“I've been watching the pack border for weeks.”

“Why?”

He didn't answer.

Elena pushed herself up.

“Who sent you?”

He hesitated.

Then he said something that made her blood run cold.

“The same people who have been watching you since you were a child.”

Elena froze.

“What?”

Before he could explain, an arrow struck his chest.

His body jerked.

Elena screamed.

He fell.

“No!”

She crawled toward him.

His eyes were open, but there was no life in them.

Elena stared at the arrow.

The tip was silver.

She backed away.

A voice echoed from the trees.

“Take the girl alive.”

Elena's blood turned cold.

More hunters emerged.

Five.

Then ten.

They wore dark armor.

Silver weapons hung from their belts.

One of them stepped forward.

He wasn't a wolf.

Elena could tell immediately.

He was human.

A hunter.

He looked at her white hair.

Then smiled.

“So it's true.”

Elena stood slowly.

“What do you want?”

“You.”

“Why?”

“You'll find out soon enough.”

He raised his crossbow.

Elena looked around.

She was trapped.

The river behind her.

Hunters in front.

No way out.

Her wolf growled.

Fight.

Elena swallowed.

“I don't know how.”

You do.

“What?”

Remember.

The hunter fired.

Elena moved.

The arrow missed her face by inches.

She grabbed the nearest hunter's wrist.

Something strange happened.

The moment she touched him, his eyes widened.

He dropped his weapon.

“What's happening?”

Elena didn't understand either.

But suddenly, she could hear his heartbeat.

She could feel his fear.

She squeezed his wrist.

The hunter screamed.

Silver light spread across Elena's fingers.

The man dropped to his knees.

The others stepped backward.

“What is she?”

“Don't let her touch you!”

Elena stared at her hands.

The hunters were afraid.

Again.

Just like the wolves.

She looked at them.

“Leave.”

Her voice shook.

Nobody moved.

Elena's eyes flashed silver.

“I said leave!”

The force that came from her was invisible.

But it hit them like a storm.

Three hunters were thrown backward.

Another dropped his weapon.

The rest ran.

Elena stood in silence.

Her body shook.

She looked at the unconscious hunter.

She hadn't killed him.

But she could have.

And that frightened her more than anything.

By sunrise, Elena had reached an abandoned cabin deep in the mountains.

She found an old blanket and wrapped it around herself.

Her wet hair hung down her back.

She sat beside the broken fireplace.

For hours, she thought about everything that had happened.

The rejection.

The wolves.

The silver light.

The hunters.

The pendant.

And the stranger who had died trying to help her.

Someone had been watching her.

For years.

Why?

She picked up the silver pendant he had given her.

There was a symbol engraved on the back.

A crescent moon.

Three claw marks.

The same symbol she had seen carved into the tree.

Elena traced it with her finger.

The moment she touched it—

Pain exploded through her head.

She gasped.

Images flashed.

A woman running through snow.

A newborn baby crying.

A white-haired child.

A wolf kneeling.

A burning forest.

Then—

A voice.

She must never know what she is.

Elena screamed and dropped the pendant.

The vision disappeared.

She sat there breathing heavily.

“What was that?”

Her wolf was silent.

For the first time since the night began, it offered no answer.

Elena looked at the pendant.

She wanted to throw it away.

Instead, she picked it up.

Something told her she needed it.

Three days passed.

Elena survived by stealing food from abandoned hunting camps and drinking from streams.

She never went near another pack.

She never trusted another wolf.

Every night, she dreamed of the same thing.

A white wolf standing beneath a red moon.

It always looked at her.

And every time she woke, she heard the same words.

Not yet.

She didn't understand.

But she was beginning to notice something else.

Her wolf was changing.

She could run farther.

Hear things from impossible distances.

Smell danger before it arrived.

And sometimes, when she became angry, silver light appeared beneath her skin.

She was afraid of it.

But she also felt powerful.

For the first time in her life, she wasn't helpless.

Then, on the fourth night, she saw the smoke.

Elena climbed onto a hill.

Far in the distance, the Silver Moon Pack territory was visible.

Smoke rose into the sky.

Her stomach tightened.

The pack was burning.

She immediately thought of Damian.

She hated herself for it.

She should have been happy.

He had rejected her.

He had humiliated her.

He had called her a danger.

So why did she care?

Elena stared at the smoke.

Then she noticed something.

The flames weren't spreading randomly.

They surrounded the outer walls.

Someone was attacking the pack.

And the attackers were moving toward Alpha's mansion.

Elena's heart raced.

She whispered,

“Damian.”

Her wolf stirred.

Go.

“No.”

Go.

“Why?”

Her wolf didn't answer.

Elena looked at the smoke again.

Then she saw something impossible.

A figure standing on the highest tower of Alpha's mansion.

Damian.

Even from that distance, she recognized him.

He was surrounded by wolves.

Then something massive slammed into the tower.

The structure shook.

Damian disappeared from view.

Elena's heart jumped.

She turned away.

“No.”

She had made her choice.

She wasn't going back.

But then she heard it.

A howl.

Painful.

Desperate.

And beneath the howl was Damian's voice.

Not aloud.

Inside her mind.

Elena.

She froze.

The mate bond was broken.

It should have been impossible.

Yet she heard him clearly.

If you can hear me… run.

Elena's face went pale.

“What?”

The voice came again.

Don't come back.

She looked toward the burning territory.

“Why?”

Silence.

Then Damian whispered something that made her blood run cold.

They aren't attacking us.

Elena stared.

“Then who are they attacking?”

His voice came faintly.

They're here for you.

The connection vanished.

Elena stood motionless.

The wind moved through her white hair.

Then she heard a branch snap behind her.

She turned.

A wolf stood at the edge of the trees.

Black fur.

Scarred face.

Silver eyes.

Elena's hand moved toward the pendant.

The wolf didn't attack.

It simply stared at her.

Then it lowered its head.

Not in submission.

In recognition.

Elena took one step backward.

The wolf spoke inside her mind.

You have three years.

Her heart stopped.

“What?”

Three years before they come for you again.

“Who are they?”

The wolf lifted its head.

The people who know the truth.

“What truth?”

The wolf's eyes glowed.

That the Moon Goddess did not curse you.

Elena couldn't breathe.

The wolf turned away.

“Wait!”

It stopped.

“Who am I?”

The wolf looked over its shoulder.

For a moment, Elena thought it would answer.

Instead, it said:

Become strong enough to survive the answer.

Then it disappeared into the forest.

Elena stood alone.

Three years.

She looked toward the burning pack one last time.

She thought of Damian.

Then she thought of the way he had rejected her.

The way everyone had laughed.

The way she had begged him to look at her.

She wiped the last tear from her cheek.

“No more.”

Her voice was quiet.

But this time, she believed in herself.

“I won't come back as the girl you rejected.”

She turned away from the Silver Moon territory.

“I'll come back as someone you can't destroy.”

Behind her, the fire continued to burn.

And inside Alpha's mansion, Damian stood before a group of masked strangers.

One of them removed his hood.

Damian's face went pale.

“You're supposed to be dead.”

The man smiled.

“We all thought you were going to keep your promise, Alpha.”

Damian's hands curled into fists.

“What do you want?”

The stranger looked toward the forest.

“The girl.”

“She is gone.”

“No.”

The man's smile widened.

“She has awakened.”

Damian's heart stopped.

The stranger leaned closer.

“And now that she has…”

His eyes turned silver.

“…the three-year countdown has begun.”

To be continued.