Hunted by the Moon
402 Words
Chapter 1: Hunted by the Moon
The forest was alive with shadows.
Twigs snapped beneath Ava’s bare feet as she ran, breath ragged, heart pounding like a war drum in her chest. The cold air cut against her skin, but it wasn’t the chill that made her tremble—it was the sound of heavy footsteps crashing through the woods behind her.
They were coming.
The same men who had killed her aunt. The same wolves who had said she didn’t belong.
She didn’t understand why they were hunting her. Not completely. Only that ever since the night of the full moon, something inside her had changed. Something wild. Something wrong.
The ground shifted beneath her as her legs gave out, sending her tumbling into a shallow ravine. Her palms scraped against the dirt as she landed hard. For a moment, she lay still, gasping, tasting blood on her tongue.
“She’s close!” A male voice shouted behind her. “I can smell her fear!”
Ava forced herself to move, crawling toward the edge of the clearing where moonlight spilled through the branches above. Her vision blurred. Every breath burned. But then—something deep within her stirred. A pulse. A roar. Her bones ached. Her skin burned.
She was changing.
No, not now. Not here.
Her fingers dug into the earth, trying to anchor herself, but her body didn’t listen. Her spine arched violently, and a scream tore from her throat—except it wasn’t human anymore.
The sound echoed through the trees, primal and chilling.
The hunters stopped. She could hear the hesitation in their steps.
And then—
A different growl answered from the darkness. Low. Dominant. Deadly.
The scent hit her first—smoke, pine, and something metallic. Then a figure stepped into the clearing, tall and broad, his eyes glowing silver in the moonlight. He wasn’t part of the hunting pack.
He was something far more dangerous.
His voice was cold and commanding. “She’s mine.”
The hunters froze. One of them growled. “Alpha, she’s not from your territory. She’s rogue. She’s—”
“I said,” the stranger snapped, his voice laced with fury, “she’s mine.”
Ava’s vision swam. Her body convulsed again, but this time the pain dulled. She could feel his presence wrapping around her like chains and warmth all at once.
And then everything went dark.
- Writer
