The Hours Before the Moon
747 Words
Mara had never noticed how loud the world was until she was waiting to die in it.
Every sound felt sharper now. The crackle of the fire. The distant howls echoing through the trees. Even her own breathing felt like it might betray her.
Kade pulled her away from the clearing the moment the Alpha left. Not roughly, but not gently either. His grip on her wrist was tight, like if he let go, she might disappear.
They stopped near the old storage shed at the edge of the territory — the place where the pack kept supplies, bones, things no one wanted to look at too closely.
“This isn’t happening,” Kade said, pacing. “They won’t touch you. I won’t let them.”
Mara leaned against the cold wooden wall, trying to steady herself. “You heard him. The list is law.”
“The list is bullshit.”
She almost laughed.
Kade had always believed strength could fix everything. If something was wrong, you fought it. If someone was cruel, you broke them first. That mindset had kept him alive.
It had never worked for her.
“They’ve been waiting for a reason to get rid of me,” she said quietly. “I’m human. I eat less. I can’t heal like you. I don’t belong.”
“You belong to me.”
The words came out before he could stop them.
They both froze.
Kade looked at her like he had said something dangerous.
Mara looked away first. “That’s not how it works.”
“It is in this pack,” he said. “Everything belongs to someone. That’s why they haven’t killed you already.”
She hated how true that was.
Five years of survival reduced to ownership.
Kade exhaled slowly and ran a hand through his hair. “We still have time. Before moonrise. We can hide you in the river tunnels. They won’t scent you there.”
“They will,” she said. “Eventually.”
“Then we keep moving.”
“They’re faster.”
“I’m stronger.”
“They’re more.”
Silence settled between them again — but this time it wasn’t the dangerous kind. It was heavy. Tired.
Mara slid down the wall and sat on the ground. Her legs finally gave in.
“I don’t want you to die for me,” she said. “That’s not friendship. That’s just… waste.”
Kade crouched in front of her. His voice dropped. “You think I’ve been protecting you all these years because I’m noble?”
She looked up at him.
“I did it because you were the only thing in this place that wasn’t trying to turn me into a monster.”
The words hit harder than any threat.
Mara swallowed. “You’re already a werewolf.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
In the distance, a howl rose.
Then another.
The pack was gathering.
The hunt was getting close.
Mara stood up slowly. “I won’t run.”
Kade’s head snapped up. “What?”
“If I run, they chase both of us. If I hide, they torture you for information. If I die…” She hesitated. “At least you live.”
His eyes darkened. “You don’t get to decide that alone.”
She stepped closer to him, close enough that she could see the faint scars on his neck from old fights.
“You taught me the rules of this place,” she said. “One of them is that weakness gets punished. But another one is that the pack doesn’t kill what doesn’t resist.”
He stared at her, realizing what she meant.
“You’re going to let them catch you.”
“I’m going to make it boring,” she said. “No chase. No sport.”
His jaw clenched. “They’ll still kill you.”
“Yes,” she said softly. “But they won’t break you first.”
The moon began to rise.
Silver light filtered through the trees, touching the ground like a countdown.
Kade grabbed her shoulders. “Mara, look at me.”
She did.
“I swear to you,” he said, voice shaking with something close to rage, “this pack will regret putting your name on that list.”
For the first time that night, she believed him.
Not because he could save her.
But because whatever happened next…
Something in Kade was about to change forever.
- Writer
