The Hunt Begins
1007 Words
The crimson light pouring from Lyra's pendant illuminated the entire forest.
Every tree, every stone, and every terrified face glowed beneath its supernatural radiance. The air grew unbearably heavy, and the ground trembled as though the earth itself recognized the power that had just awakened.
Lyra lay on the forest floor, her body wracked with pain. Silver veins of light spread beneath her skin before fading just as quickly as they had appeared. Her vision blurred, and strange voices echoed in her mind.
"Find the Crown..."
"The Blood Moon Child has awakened..."
"Protect her..."
"Kill her..."
The voices overlapped until she could no longer distinguish one from another.
"No..." she whispered, clutching her head. "Make it stop..."
Kael immediately knelt beside her.
"Lyra!"
He reached for her shoulder, but the moment his hand touched her, a pulse of silver energy burst from her body.
Boom!
The invisible force hurled him several meters backward, crashing through a fallen oak.
The rogue werewolves stared in disbelief.
"The Alpha King..."
"...was pushed back."
Kael slowly stood, brushing splinters from his black coat. There was no anger in his expression—only astonishment.
"So the legends were true."
Lucien watched silently, his crimson eyes fixed on Lyra.
"Her power is still sleeping," he murmured. "If this is merely its first awakening..."
He did not finish the sentence.
He didn't need to.
The consequences were unimaginable.
The rogue leader suddenly laughed.
"So this is the girl our master fears."
He raised one clawed hand.
"Kill the Alpha King."
"Capture the Blood Moon Heir."
"Leave the vampire to me."
With deafening howls, the rogues charged once more.
Kael's golden eyes glowed brighter.
"Stay behind me!"
His body blurred.
One moment he stood beside Lyra.
The next, he was among the attacking rogues.
His silver sword sliced through the night.
A rogue leaped from above.
Kael caught it by the throat before slamming it into the ground with such force that the earth cracked beneath them.
Another attacked from the left.
Without looking, Kael spun and drove his elbow into its jaw.
Bones shattered.
The creature collapsed.
Three more rushed him together.
Kael inhaled deeply.
Then he roared.
The sound wasn't human.
It was ancient.
Primal.
Powerful.
The Alpha King's roar echoed across the forest like rolling thunder.
Every rogue froze.
Some collapsed instantly.
Others whimpered, unable to withstand the overwhelming authority flowing from their king.
Even Lyra felt the force of it, though instead of fear, she felt something else.
A strange sense of... belonging.
Meanwhile, Lucien moved through the battlefield like a phantom.
No footsteps.
No wasted movements.
Only death.
A rogue swung its claws toward his neck.
Lucien vanished.
The creature blinked in confusion.
A second later, Lucien appeared behind it.
"You missed."
His voice was almost gentle.
Black claws extended from his fingertips.
One swift strike.
The rogue disintegrated into ash.
Another lunged toward him.
Lucien merely smiled.
The attack passed through an illusion.
The real Lucien appeared above the creature, descending with impossible speed.
The rogue never had time to scream.
Within moments, half the attackers lay defeated.
The remaining rogues hesitated.
Their confidence had vanished.
Lyra struggled to her feet, leaning against a tree for support.
Her ankle still throbbed, but something inside her felt... different.
Stronger.
Warmer.
As if a fire had been lit deep within her soul.
She looked down at her hands.
Tiny silver sparks danced across her fingertips.
"What is happening to me?"
Before anyone could answer, a deafening howl echoed from deeper within the forest.
It was louder than the others.
Older.
Stronger.
Every rogue immediately dropped to one knee.
Kael's expression hardened.
"No..."
Lucien's eyes narrowed.
"He came himself."
The trees parted.
A massive werewolf emerged.
He stood nearly nine feet tall, his silver-gray fur streaked with scars from countless battles. One of his eyes was milky white, while the other burned bright blue.
Around his neck hung a necklace made from the fangs of defeated Alphas.
He carried no weapon.
He didn't need one.
"The Rogue Alpha..." Kael said coldly.
"Damien Frost."
Damien smiled, revealing rows of razor-sharp teeth.
"Your Majesty."
His mocking bow carried no respect.
Only hatred.
He turned his attention to Lyra.
"So..."
"This is the Blood Moon Heir."
His blue eye studied her carefully.
"You look disappointingly ordinary."
Lyra met his gaze despite the fear gripping her heart.
"I don't know who you are."
Damien chuckled.
"You will."
His smile disappeared.
"Because your blood belongs to me."
Without warning, he attacked.
The ground exploded beneath his feet.
He crossed the distance between them in the blink of an eye.
Kael intercepted him.
Their fists collided.
BOOM!
A shockwave tore through the clearing.
Trees snapped in half.
The earth split open.
Lyra was thrown backward by the force of the impact.
Kael and Damien exchanged blow after blow, each strike carrying enough power to crush stone.
Neither gained the advantage.
"They're evenly matched," Lucien observed quietly.
"No," Kael growled between attacks.
"I've only begun."
His muscles expanded.
Golden markings spread across his arms.
His eyes became brighter than the moon itself.
Damien frowned.
"So you're using your Royal Alpha Form."
Kael answered with another devastating punch.
Damien flew through three trees before skidding across the forest floor.
For the first time, the Rogue Alpha looked surprised.
Then...
He laughed.
"Excellent."
He wiped blood from the corner of his mouth.
"You're finally taking me seriously."
Before the battle could continue, an unnatural silence fell over the forest.
No wind.
No insects.
No birds.
Even the moonlight dimmed.
A cold voice echoed from everywhere at once.
"You are all too late."
Everyone looked around.
The voice continued.
"The Blood Moon Heir has awakened..."
"...and the first seal has already been broken."
Far beneath the battlefield, hidden inside an ancient underground temple, a massive stone gate cracked.
A skeletal hand slowly emerged from the darkness.
Its fingers curled around the broken seal.
Ancient red eyes opened.
And for the first time in a thousand years...
Something imprisoned beneath the earth smiled.
- Writer
