The Rejected Luna’s Revenge

Chapter 5 – The Hunt Begins

(First Person POV – Elara)

I didn’t bother with questions this time.

The second Ronan mentioned they were closer than I thought, something inside me flipped from confusion to pure survival mode.

“Move,” he said, his voice low.

And I did exactly that.

We didn’t bolt immediately, which was odd.

Ronan moved with a quiet speed, his steps controlled and precise, like he instinctively knew where to place his weight to stay silent. I tried to mimic him, but I wasn’t even close.

Every footstep I took seemed too loud, too slow, too obvious.

“They’ll hear me,” I whispered, a hint of frustration in my voice.

“They already know you’re here,” he replied.

That wasn’t exactly comforting. Not in the slightest.

My chest tightened as I followed him deeper into the woods. The air felt thick, almost suffocating, like something unseen was closing in.

“Who are they?” I asked.

Ronan didn’t slow down.

“Not your pack.”

Well, that was stating the obvious.

“But not strangers either.”

My stomach lurched.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means,” he said, sparing me a quick glance, “they’ve been watching you for longer than you realize.”

A chill went down my spine.

Watching me?

For how long?

What did they know?

Before I could ask another question, a sharp c***k echoed behind us.

Too damn close.

My heart hammered in my chest.

“They found us,” I whispered.

“No,” Ronan said, his voice even. “They were already here.”

That was even worse. So much worse.

“Run,” he said.

This time, we didn’t hesitate.

I ran as fast as my legs could carry me, branches whipping at my arms, my breath coming in ragged gasps. The ground was uneven, roots snagging at my feet, but I didn’t dare slow down.

Behind us….footsteps.

Fast ones.

Too fast.

They weren’t even trying to be quiet anymore.

They didn’t need to.

They were confident.

Hunters.

“You need to focus,” Ronan’s voice cut through the panic swirling in my head.

“I am focusing!” I snapped, my breath catching in my throat.

“No, you’re panicking.”

“I have a pretty good reason to be!”

“Not if you want to live through this.”

His words hit me harder than I expected.

I gritted my teeth. Fine.

Focus. Think.

My senses sharpened slightly as I forced myself to calm down. The sounds became clearer, the movement around us more defined.

Left.

Something moved to our left.

“They’re trying to surround us,” I said quickly.

Ronan didn’t seem surprised.

“Good,” he said.

I blinked. “Good?!”

“It means they’re underestimating you.”

That didn’t exactly fill me with confidence.

Before I could say anything, a figure dropped from the trees in front of us.

I skidded to a halt, my breath catching in my throat.

He wasn’t like the guards from my pack. He moved differently, stood differently. His eyes locked onto mine, and I felt it instantly—danger. Real danger.

“Well,” he said slowly, a faint smirk playing on his lips. “You’re not as weak as they described.”

My stomach twisted.

Described?

Ronan stepped slightly in front of me, a protective stance, but not one of fear.

“Back off,” Ronan said calmly.

The man laughed. “I don’t think so.”

More figures materialized behind us. Three, no, four.

We were surrounded.

My pulse raced. I couldn’t fight them, not like this, not yet.

“Stay behind me,” Ronan said quietly.

For once, I didn’t argue.

“Take her,” one of them said. “Alive.”

That word echoed in my head. Alive? Why?

Before I could dwell on it, they attacked.

It happened fast, too fast.

Ronan moved first. His body shifted slightly, and then he was no longer just standing there.

He was fighting, and it was unlike anything I’d ever witnessed. No wasted movements, no hesitation. Every strike was precise, controlled, dangerous.

One attacker lunged at him. Ronan sidestepped and struck, sending him crashing into a tree. Another came from the side. Ronan blocked, countered, and forced him back in seconds.

I stared, mesmerized. He was incredible.

But there were too many of them.

One slipped past him, heading straight for me.

My body froze. Move! MOVE! But fear rooted me to the spot.

The attacker grabbed my arm. Pain shot through me as his grip tightened.

“Got her,” he said.

Something inside me snapped. Not fear, not panic, but something deeper, hotter, stronger.

“Let go,” I whispered.

He tightened his grip.

Wrong move.

The energy surged again, stronger this time, faster. It didn’t explode like before. It focused.

My body reacted without conscious thought. I twisted sharply, and the power surged through my arm.

The man was thrown back violently, hitting the ground hard.

Silence. For a split second, everyone froze, including me.

I stared at my hand. I did that. Again.

But this time it didn’t feel out of control. It felt right.

Ronan looked at me, and for the first time, he didn’t look calm. He looked certain, like something had just been confirmed.

“They weren’t wrong,” one of the attackers said slowly.

My stomach dropped. “What do you mean?” I demanded.

The man who had spoken earlier smiled again, but this time it wasn’t mocking, it was knowing.

“You really don’t know, do you?” he said.

I took a step back. “Know what?”

His gaze darkened slightly. “What you are.”

The words sent a chill through me.

“I’m not anything,” I said quickly. “I’m just”

“Not a Luna,” he interrupted.

Silence fell, my chest tightening.

“How do you”

“Because Lunas don’t do that,” he said, gesturing to where his companion had fallen.

My heart pounded.

Ronan didn’t speak, didn’t deny it, didn’t explain it, and that scared me more than anything.

“Take her,” the man ordered again.

But this time, I didn’t freeze. I stepped back, raised my hand slightly. The energy flickered beneath my skin, unsteady but there.

“I’m not going with you,” I said. My voice wasn’t strong, not fully, but it didn’t break.

The man smiled wider. “That’s going to be a problem.”

Ronan stepped forward again. “No,” he said calmly, “it’s going to be yours.”.The air seemed to thicken.

Tension stretched, taut as a wire.

And right then…a chilling thought struck me.

This wasn’t simply about making it through.

This was about something far grander.

Something I couldn’t grasp.

Something everyone else appeared to be in on…except for me.