Moombound

Episode three

Chapter Three – The Huntress

Kael didn’t speak. Couldn’t. His throat was dry, raw—like he’d been screaming in his sleep again.

The woman stepped closer, moonlight catching the silver tip of her spear. She moved like she’d been in battle before. Calm, coiled, ready.

He backed up a step, half-stumbling over a rock. “Who the hell are you?”

“Lena Voss,” she said. “And you’re not asking the right question.”

Kael glanced around. No paths. No clothes. No weapon. Just him—bare, bloody, exposed.

The right question, then: Why are you here?

“You tracked me?” he asked.

“Tracked the blood trail you left from the river,” Lena said, eyes sharp. “And the howls. Not exactly subtle.”

“I didn’t—” His voice broke. “I don’t remember.”

“That’s the problem, isn’t it?” she replied. “You never do.”

Kael’s jaw tightened. “You know what’s happening to me?”

Lena didn’t answer. She reached into her coat and tossed him a bundle. Jeans, a T-shirt, a thermos.

“Get dressed. You’ve got about thirty minutes before someone else picks up your scent.”

“Someone else?”

She raised an eyebrow. “You think you’re the only one?”

Kael pulled on the clothes. They smelled faintly of cloves and steel. Her scent? Or something meant to mask his own?

As he dressed, Lena circled him, keeping a measured distance. Always watching.

“I’m not a monster,” he said, quieter now.

“You sure?” Her voice didn’t carry judgment—just cold practicality.

Kael looked down at his hands. Still stained red. Still trembling.

“Who are you really?” he asked. “You’re not a cop.”

“No,” Lena said. “I’m a hunter.”

“For me?”

“For your kind.”

The words sank like stones. He opened his mouth to argue, but she cut him off.

“You’re not the first, Kael. And you won’t be the last. But if you don’t get control, you’ll be the next.”

A silence stretched between them. Somewhere in the trees, an owl hooted once and fell silent.

Kael felt the heat building in his chest again, low and smoldering, like embers waiting to flare. The hunger. The pull of something ancient.

“You don’t get it,” he said. “I didn’t ask for this. I don’t even know what this is.”

Lena looked at him evenly. “You’re a werewolf. A Moonbound. Your kind is cursed, dangerous, and hunted for a reason.”

His laugh came out hollow. “I thought those were just stories.”

“They are. Until they’re not.”

She turned away, as if to leave.

“Wait,” he said. “What am I supposed to do?”

Lena paused. “You survive. You fight it. Or you give in and let someone like me put you down before you hurt anyone else.”

Her words weren’t cruel. They were matter-of-fact. That made them worse.

“But you haven’t killed me,” he said. “Why?”

She looked over her shoulder. “Because I don’t think you’ve turned. Not fully.”

“Turned?”

“The change isn’t just claws and teeth. It’s losing who you are. Becoming it.”

She started into the trees. “Come on. Sunrise isn’t far. And Raven Hollow’s not as quiet as it looks.”

Kael hesitated, then followed.

Behind him, the claw marks on the trees glistened in the moonlight—fresh, deep, and unmistakably his.