The first hunt
1402 Words
The power didn’t fade.
That was the first thing Aiden noticed.
It stayed.
It burned.
Not like pain—no. Pain was sharp, temporary, something you could grit your teeth through.
This was different.
This was alive.
It coiled beneath his skin, humming softly, like something waiting to be used… or unleashed.
Aiden stood in the middle of the forest, chest rising and falling unevenly, the broken remains of the vial still clutched in his trembling hand.
The boy who had attacked him was gone.
Not dead.
Not unconscious.
Gone.
Like something had scared him off.
Or worse—
Like something had warned him.
The forest felt different now.
Sharper.
Clearer.
Every rustle of leaves. Every shift of wind. Every distant heartbeat.
Aiden could hear it all.
Feel it all.
It was overwhelming.
His fingers twitched as he pressed his palm against a nearby tree.
The bark cracked.
Not splintered.
Cracked.
A clean fracture spreading beneath his touch like glass under pressure.
Aiden froze.
Slowly, he pulled his hand back.
“…What did I just do?”
The question barely left his lips before something answered.
Not in words.
In instinct.
More.
A branch snapped somewhere behind him.
Aiden turned instantly.
Too fast.
The world blurred for a second, his body moving before his mind could catch up.
Something moved between the trees.
Watching.
Waiting.
Not one.
Several.
“You shouldn’t have taken it.”
The voice came from the shadows.
Low. Calm.
Dangerous.
Aiden’s gaze snapped toward it.
A figure stepped forward, emerging just enough for moonlight to catch his face.
Familiar.
Too familiar.
“Ronan,” Aiden said, his voice quieter than he intended.
Ronan Virex didn’t smile.
Didn’t posture.
Didn’t rush.
He simply watched.
Like a predator that already knew the outcome.
“You drank the Bloodmoon vial,” Ronan said, his tone unreadable. “And you’re still standing.”
Aiden said nothing.
Didn’t move.
Every instinct screamed at him to run.
But something else—something new—held him in place.
Ronan took a step closer.
Then another.
Slow.
Measured.
“You don’t smell like the others,” he continued. “No frenzy. No instability.”
His eyes narrowed slightly.
“Why?”
Aiden clenched his jaw. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
A lie.
A weak one.
Ronan’s gaze flickered—not to Aiden’s face.
To his hand.
The broken vial.
Recognition sharpened in his expression.
“So it’s true,” Ronan murmured.
Silence stretched between them.
Heavy.
Charged.
Dangerous.
“You should give it to me.”
The words were simple.
But they weren’t a request.
Aiden let out a quiet breath.
“I can’t do that.”
Ronan tilted his head slightly.
Not surprised.
Almost… intrigued.
“No,” he agreed softly. “I don’t think you can.”
Another step.
Closer now.
Too close.
“You don’t understand what you’ve done,” Ronan continued. “That vial doesn’t just make you stronger.”
“I figured that part out.”
“It makes you a target.”
Aiden almost laughed.
“Pretty sure I already was.”
“Not like this.”
Ronan’s voice dropped slightly.
Quieter.
More dangerous.
“Now everyone will come for you.”
As if summoned by his words—
A howl echoed through the forest.
Then another.
And another.
Aiden stiffened.
Ronan didn’t move.
“They’ve felt it,” he said calmly. “Power like that… it doesn’t stay hidden.”
The trees shifted.
Figures emerged.
Eyes glowing.
Bodies tense.
Hunters.
Aiden’s pulse spiked.
“You planned this?” he snapped.
Ronan’s gaze flicked to him.
Cold.
Sharp.
“If I wanted you dead,” he said quietly, “you wouldn’t still be standing.”
That… didn’t make Aiden feel better.
The first attacker lunged.
Fast.
Too fast.
Aiden reacted on instinct.
His body moved—faster than it ever had before.
He twisted to the side, the claws missing him by inches.
His hand shot out—
And connected.
The impact was brutal.
Bone cracked.
The attacker flew back, slamming into a tree hard enough to shake the branches.
Silence followed.
Aiden stared at his hand.
Shocked.
Then chaos erupted.
They came all at once.
From every direction.
Aiden barely had time to think.
Didn’t have time to hesitate.
His body moved.
Fought.
Reacted.
Each movement faster.
Stronger.
Cleaner.
He ducked under a strike—countered with a blow that sent another attacker crashing to the ground.
Pain flared as claws grazed his side.
But it didn’t slow him.
Didn’t stop him.
Something inside him was taking over.
Not control.
But instinct.
A growl tore from his throat.
Low.
Feral.
Not entirely human.
Across the clearing—
Ronan watched.
Unmoving.
Observing.
His eyes tracked every movement.
Every strike.
Every reaction.
A flicker of something unreadable crossed his face.
Interest.
Recognition.
Possibility.
Aiden stumbled back as another attacker came at him.
This one was different.
Stronger.
Faster.
Eyes burning brighter.
“Give it up,” the attacker snarled. “You don’t deserve it.”
Aiden’s chest heaved.
“Come take it then.”
The fight was brutal.
Close.
Relentless.
Blow after blow—each one heavier than the last.
The attacker was skilled.
Experienced.
Aiden was not.
But Aiden had something else.
Something new.
Something unpredictable.
At the last second—
Aiden shifted.
Not fully.
Not cleanly.
But enough.
His senses sharpened again.
His strength surged.
And when he struck—
It ended.
The attacker hit the ground.
And didn’t get back up.
Silence fell again.
Broken only by Aiden’s breathing.
Ragged.
Uneven.
Unsteady.
Slowly—
The remaining figures stepped back.
Not defeated.
Not retreating.
Reconsidering.
Aiden stood there.
Alone.
Surrounded.
Changed.
Then—
A slow clap echoed through the clearing.
Ronan.
“Well,” he said, his voice carrying easily through the silence. “That was unexpected.”
Aiden glared at him.
“You’re just going to stand there?”
Ronan stepped forward.
Calm as ever.
“You handled it.”
“That doesn’t answer my question.”
“No,” Ronan agreed. “It doesn’t.”
He stopped a few feet away.
Close enough now that Aiden could see the details—
The control in his posture.
The restraint in his expression.
The danger in his eyes.
“You’re not normal,” Ronan said.
Aiden let out a breath.
“Yeah, I’m getting that a lot tonight.”
Ronan didn’t react.
Didn’t smile.
Didn’t soften.
“You should have lost control,” he continued. “They all do.”
A pause.
Then—
“But you didn’t.”
Aiden met his gaze.
“And that’s a problem?”
Ronan’s eyes held his.
Longer this time.
Deeper.
“It depends,” he said quietly.
“On what?”
Ronan’s voice dropped.
Barely above a whisper.
“On whether you’re going to become something worse.”
The words settled between them.
Heavy.
Unsettling.
Real.
Another howl echoed in the distance.
Closer this time.
More organized.
Aiden tensed.
“There’s more coming,” he said.
Ronan nodded once.
“There always are.”
For a moment—
Neither of them moved.
Then Ronan turned slightly.
“Come with me.”
Aiden blinked. “What?”
“If you stay here, you’ll be overwhelmed.”
“And if I go with you?”
Ronan glanced back at him.
Something flickered in his expression.
Not kindness.
Not exactly.
“Then you might survive the night.”
Aiden hesitated.
Every instinct screamed not to trust him.
But every other instinct—
The new ones—
Recognized something else.
Strength.
Safety.
Danger.
All wrapped into one.
Another howl.
Closer.
Aiden made his choice.
“Fine,” he said.
Ronan didn’t react.
Just turned—
And started moving.
Aiden followed.
The forest shifted around them as they ran.
Faster now.
Deeper.
Away from the chaos.
But not away from the danger.
Never away from the danger.
“You’re making a mistake,” Aiden said after a moment.
Ronan didn’t slow.
“Probably.”
“Then why help me?”
A pause.
Brief.
Measured.
“Because,” Ronan said quietly, “I want to see what you become.”
Aiden didn’t like that answer.
Not even a little.
Behind them—
The howls grew louder.
Closer.
Relentless.
And somewhere deep in the academy—
Something ancient stirred.
Watching.
Waiting.
Because the game had changed.
And Aiden…
Was no longer just a player.
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