Silver Moon Huntress

Alex

I was walking through the pack house grounds, following the scent of my prey. It got stronger as I approached the back terrace, and I saw tiny droplets of blood here and there, staining the white terra-cotta tiles. I quickened my pace as the droplets grew more frequent, pausing for a moment to sniff a bloody paw print. It was a scent I knew well. I pressed on and saw smears of blood covering the face of my mother’s favorite wallpaper.

There were more familiar scents here, and I caught a whiff of two unknowns. One was rusty and foul, with a stench of decay. The other was the sweetest mixture of honey and orange blossoms. Still, the blood grew thicker, welling in pools along the baseboards. I heard a whimper from the greeting gallery and picked up speed, running as fast as my paws could carry me as I slipped and slid through the slick puddles. I turned the corner to the gallery and saw what lay before me: c*****e.

A pile of dead wolves, nearly reaching to the ceiling. A beautiful midnight black wolf lay dead at the foot of the pyre, as if guarding it from some unknown enemy. Her scent was mixed with the decay of death, but I could still smell the honey. I approached the mountain of carcasses and recognized many familiar faces: my father, mother, sister, Zander, and more. I whined as I nudged my father’s unmoving wolf. To my surprise, his eyes opened. He struggled to focus his eyes on me, and I heard his faint mindlink:

“You could have saved us.”

His body went slack and I knew he was gone. I howled in pain as his loss hit me. Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a shadow. It flew swiftly toward me, and I scrambled to get away. I felt it breeze past me and halt. It turned, and I lunged as it neared me, but my teeth closed on empty air. It struck me with the force of a train, smacking my head again the floor, and all I could sense was pounding in my head. I knew this would be the end of us.

The pounding continued, and I cracked a bleary eyelid. The sun had not yet risen.

The banging continued and I heard Sgt. Hollis yell, “GET UP YOU LAZY SONS OF BITCHES. IF I HAVE TO COME BACK THROUGH THIS HALL, I’LL HAVE YOU ALL CLEANING LATRINES!”

I groaned and put my pillow over my face.

“Suffocate me.”

“Wish I could man, but I’d hate to have to explain that to your father. And your mother. And my father”, said Carter, my academy roommate.

I sat up grumpily and looked over at Carter, who was already in uniform, tucking in the sides of his bedsheets.

“Doesn’t Hollis ever sleep?”, I asked.

“Nope. I heard his family are nightwalkers”, Carter replied jokingly.

“That would explain so much”, I said, pulling on my uniform and getting started on my own bed.

Carter sighed and said, “Only one more day!”

***

Sgt. Hollis droned on and on about the importance of ethics and integrity when resolving pack disagreements.

I’d zoned out an hour ago and started to count the tiny circles in the ceiling tiles instead. It’s not that I thought the lesson was unimportant. I knew that I had to lead my pack with a firm but fair hand. But honestly, there’s only so much you can say on the matter before you start repeating yourself. Sgt. Hollis was really beating a dead horse with this lecture.

The bell finally rang and I jumped from my seat, gathering my books. We fell into line and marched back to the dormitories in unison.

My class was exceptionally large. There were nine future Alphas in the group, but none of their packs were anywhere close to mine. Growing up in Silver Moon, I was closed off from the rest of the world. Obviously I shadowed my father in his duties as he met with neighboring Alphas, but I’d never grasped the full scope and spread of the Union packs.

There are 471 werewolf packs in the Union. When the academy was founded, there were far fewer, but we wolves have a tendency to multiply quickly.

It’s hard for one person to keep tabs on so many packs, so the Union Council was created. Their job was to travel around to packs and ensure peace between them. It was an incredible honor to be selected to that council—one that even the Moon Goddess acknowledged with the blessing of long life. The Union Council leader, Xavier Pierson, was nearly 300 years old. He was one of the Alphas who brought an end to the wars, hundreds of years ago.

Personally, I’d hate to be on the Union Council. Constantly traveling and never having a real home sounded exhausting and sad. I’m a simple wolf. All I want is to continue my father’s legacy and nurture my pack. Starting tomorrow, I’ll finally get the chance to start my future.

***

Carter plunked his lunch tray down next to me with a smack.

“Goddess, that was dull. I know Hollis is just trying to prepare us but seriously. Anyone would be a better lecturer than him. I feel bad for his son”, he said.

Sgt. Hollis was a relatively new class leader, having turned over responsibility of his pack to his son seven years ago. We were his first class. Lucky us.

“At least this is the last day! And I still have one more opportunity to dump you on your ass in training this afternoon”, I said, grinning at him.

“Oh please. You know I’m going to destroy you”, he replied with a smirk.

“What are you guys gonna do first when you get home?”, asked Jake, sliding into the seat across from us. His lunch tray made a squealing sound against the vinyl tabletop that made my ears ring.

“Probably run the perimeter and see how the army’s shaping up”, I said with a shrug.

“I’m going to spend some qual-i-ty time with Viv”, said Carter, winking mischievously.

“Dude. Same. It feels like forever since I’ve seen Angie”, Jake agreed.

I rolled my eyes and tuned out. Both Jake and Carter met their mates before coming to the academy. That was pretty common since most people found their mates around their seventeenth birthday. It was pretty much all they talked about and it got old quick.

I was twenty-five and still unmated, which is pretty much unheard of, and I did start to feel a little left out when the guys talked about their family plans. Still, I wasn’t in a rush to find my Luna. The perfect woman was out there somewhere, and I’d find her when the time was right. Besides, even without a sealed matebond, I was the strongest in my class.

I’d noticed that the longer the guys went without seeing their mates, the weaker they got on the training field. I wasn’t sure if it was just distraction or if they actually had a physical reaction to the separation, but I used it to my advantage in training sessions. The day after they saw their mates was when I had to fight the hardest, but as the days passed, it got easier and easier for me, until the cycle restarted in two weeks.

My father only visited me every few months or so, but my mother came to see me regularly. I understood how busy he was so I didn’t hold it against him. Our pack was also the furthest from the academy that we could possibly be, so it was a time consuming trip, even in the jet.

The bell rang, interrupting my thoughts. Training time!

***

Training flew by in a blur. I dominated, of course. I’m not egotistical about my fighting skills, I’m just a realist.

Before I knew it, Carter and I were packing our belongings. We’d leave at dawn since there was no graduation ceremony. I guess the logic was that we shouldn’t be rewarded or honored for doing the bare minimum that was expected of us. I didn’t mind. It just meant I’d get out of here sooner.

I fell asleep thinking about my pack, wondering what had changed in the years since I’d left.

***

I said my goodbyes to the guys and saluted Sgt. Hollis. I knew we’d stay in touch, even if it years passed before we saw each other again.

I boarded our jet and prepared myself for the six-hour flight home, then wrote list of everything I should do when I arrived.

1. Greet family—hug Callista!!

2. Meet with Caleb—make him Beta? Ask Zander?

3. Run perimeter

4. Visit army training grounds

5. Meet Hunter Squad—explain expectations

6. Relax

The mid-afternoon sun shone brightly as I stepped onto the tarmac. I blinked, trying to get my eyes to adjust to the light that was in such contrast to the dark interior of the jet.

I heard a screech as I was hit in the chest with what felt like a small explosion. I looked down to see a familiar dark haired girl. Callie.

“Welcome home bro”, she squealed.