Chapter 3: First Blood
380 Words
The forest blurred around them, but Luca could hear everything: the pounding of paws, the snapping of branches, the low growls that weren’t entirely human.
They were being hunted.
His heart thundered, not from fear—from awakening. Every breath sharpened his senses. The wind carried scents like ink: sweat, gunmetal, blood.
Raine moved beside him, silent and fast. Her hand brushed his as they ran. Every time they touched, a jolt passed through him.
They stopped at a clearing. The moon hung low and red above the treetops.
“They’re close,” she whispered, drawing a blade from her belt. Not silver—but cold iron, gleaming dark.
Luca looked at her. “What do they want?”
“You,” she said, eyes flashing. “New wolves are… valuable. Especially ones from old blood.”
He didn’t know what that meant—but he didn’t get the chance to ask.
A gunshot cracked through the night.
Raine tackled him to the ground just before a dart zipped past his neck. It buried itself in a tree and sizzled. Holy water. They weren’t just hunters—they were professionals.
“They’ll kill us,” Luca panted.
“No,” she growled, low and feral. “We kill them first.”
She kissed him.
Hard. Fast. Like it might be the last thing either of them ever did.
It wasn’t gentle. It was fire and hunger and instinct. Her lips were warm, her breath ragged, and when she pulled away, her eyes were wild.
“That was either a terrible idea…” she said, voice shaking, “or a really, really good one.”
Then she turned, and shifted.
Bones cracked, her form stretching and reshaping into a sleek black wolf with burning silver eyes. No blood, no scream—just magic and muscle and fury.
Luca gasped—then felt it again.
The fire in his chest. The pull. The need.
He let go.
Pain tore through him as his body twisted, reformed, claws sprouting, fur bursting from skin. But it felt… right.
He landed on all fours beside her, no longer afraid.
And for the first time, Luca didn’t feel lost.
He felt alive.
They charged into the trees together—two wolves, one heartbeat, ready for war.
- Writer
