Hunt Begins
The first howl rose with the dawn.
It echoed across the mountains, long and sharp, carrying on the cold morning wind. My wolf froze inside me, hackles raised. I had heard many howls in my life, but this one was different. It was not a call to gather. It was a declaration of war.
Lucien lifted his head, his coal-dark eyes gleaming. He didn’t look surprised. “It begins.”
I wiped sweat from my brow, chest still heaving from the brutal drills he’d forced me through. “What begins?”
“The hunt,” he said simply, his smile curving like a blade. “Your precious Alpha has declared you prey.”
My blood ran cold. “What?”
Lucien’s shadows rippled as he stepped closer, his voice dripping with amusement. “You didn’t think Derrick would lick his wounds in silence, did you? No. He will use
