Luna's Outcast

Chapter9

Madeline's POV

As the sun rose down the mountains, I still could not believe I had agreed to be Hunter's apprentice.

I knew the next few days were going to be intense and filled with a lot of training, but I was not something I was new to.

Hunter was not one who believed in gentle lessons.

I have seen him train people and it… it can be brutal.

All hunger believed in was survival.

We were at a cabin deep in the mountains, a place he assured me no one could find us, which is almost as scary as it is reliving.

It was my first morning here and now standing in a small clearing I clenched a blade hunter had given me.

It was a silver lined blade, the type most hunters use. Just the sight of silver made me uncomfortable, but not have to train with it, I have to

The metal burned faintly against my skin, as Hunter has refused me from wrapping the handles with clothes.

“Hold it,” Hunter said.

“I am holding it.” I snapped, gritting my teeth through the pain.

“No. You are enduring it.”

His eyes were sharp, studying every twitch in my fingers. “If you can’t command the pain, you can’t survive it.”

So he made me fight.

Again.

And again.

He attacked without warning, it was fast and precise.

He was not aiming to injure, but he was not pulling his strength either.

This was my routine for days.

“Partial shift!” he barked when I faltered.

I let my claws slide free without fully transforming. My bones cracked lightly, and my senses sharpened and for a few seconds the world slowed.

And that was Hunter's goal. To control my partial shift control. To not lose myself in the process and not surrender to my wolf.

He circled me. “Hunters don’t wait for full moons. You won’t always have time for a full shift.”

Our blades clashed and sparks flew.

I moved faster than I had the day before.

Faster than I should have.

Hunter noticed. He always does.

“Now you can hold a silver blade without shrinking in pain, it's time to increase it a notch.” He said as he dragged me to a chamber and tied silver chains loosely around my wrists.

“Ah….” I screamed out in agony.

The pain was blinding at first. My wolf thrashed inside me, furious. While the smell of burnt flesh filled the room

“Breathe, find a way to stay calm even in pain,” he said calmly.

I forced my breathing into rhythm. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale.

I imagined the moon… the happy moments with my family.

I did everything to make the pain stop and after a while the burn dulled. It was not completely gone but it was slightly manageable.

Hunter’s gaze narrowed slightly.

“You’re adapting…..very quickly.”

“I thought that was the point,” I muttered through clenched teeth.

He didn’t answer.

But something shifted in his expression, made me feel Hunter was hiding something.

Hunter taught me things I had no idea about. How different Hunters mask their scent or take the scent of wolves to make other wolves believe they are one of them.

He taught me how to see things like a hunter.

“Wolves rely on instinct,” he said. “Hunters rely on observation. You need both.”

I crouched beside him, studying the ground.

Without thinking, I reached out and traced the earth. I knew which direction the imaginary prey had gone. Not by scent but

By pressure patterns, from broken twigs,

Shifted soil to the heel mark pressed too deep.

Hunter stared at me longer than usual.

“You learn too fast,” he murmured.

Something in his tone was not admiration.

Later that night, I caught him watching me from across the clearing. Not like prey but like I was a puzzle.

Like a puzzle.

Because I didn’t understand how I was doing these things.

My instincts felt Alpha-tier. Like something enormous was sleeping beneath my ribs.

I had been training in this desolate cabin for days and finally Lucas came to visit.

Although it was a cold night, the burning fire kept me warm.

Lucas stayed at the edge of the clearing. Close enough to protect. Far enough to give me some privacy.

The fire crackled between Hunter and me.

For a while, neither of us spoke.

“Why do you hunt wolves?” I asked finally.

The question had been burning inside me.

His jaw tightened.

“My family was slaughtered,” he said quietly.

The words were simple and direct and, to be honest, quite shocking as I did not expect him to answer my question.

“By wolves?”

He nodded once.

“I was a child. My uncle found me in the wreckage.”

The firelight flickered across his face, casting shadows along his cheekbones.

“He trained me,” Hunter continued. “Taught me discipline. Taught me control.”

“There’s an ancient gunter Rite,” he added after a moment. “It requires nine bloodlines.”

My heart skipped.

“What kind of rite?”I asked. His gaze drifted to the flames.

“An ending. Or a beginning.”

“That’s not an answer.”

A faint, humorless smile touched his lips. “You ask dangerous questions.”

“And you avoid them.” I snapped.

Silence stretched between us again.

Then suddenly, I felt guilty wondering how hard and traumatic his childhood must have been. And guilt stirred in my chest.

My kind had ruined his life.

My wolf shifted faintly inside me. Not defensive but restless.

It felt… aware of him and that frightened me more than silver ever had.

“Do you hate us?” I asked softly.

He looked at me then.

Really looked at me.

“I hate what took my family,” he said.

That wasn’t the same answer.

The fire popped loudly. I flinched slightly.

Without thinking, he reached for my hand.

Our fingers brushed.

Heat shot up my arm and my wolf stirred sharply, pressing against my skin. For one suspended second, we were too close.

But with each passing second. The distance between us depreciated, and his breath mingled with mine and his hand hoovered near my cheeks.

If I leaned forward…

If he leaned forward… we could…

But suddenly the tension snapped, and he pulled back like he had just touched something hot.

The air between us felt charged with unusual tension.

Lucas shifted at the edge of the clearing. I could feel his gaze like a silent warning.

Hunter and I didn’t speak again that night.

And I could not slope all night.

At dawn, Hunter packed his weapons.

“I need to travel to the human settlement nearby,” he said.

“Then I will come,” I replied immediately.

His expression hardened. “No.”

“I can mask my scent.” I insisted.

“Other hunters are there. They won’t hesitate.” His voice was firm. “You will be dead before you cross the outer gate.”

The certainty in his tone made my stomach twist.

“When will you be back?”

“Soon.”

He said not giving up any more information.

He slung his blade across his back.

Lucas stepped forward slightly but said nothing.

Hunter’s gaze lingered on me for a heartbeat longer than necessary.

“I will leave her in your custody,” he said to Lucas, then he turned and disappeared into the trees.

And just like that, the clearing felt colder and empty.

Lucas exhaled slowly beside me as we stared down at the path Hunter had disappeared.

“He is not one of us,” he said gently.

I crossed my arms. “I know.”

“We can’t trust him.”

“He’s training me.”

Lucas’s eyes softened, but pain flickered there. “Training doesn’t mean loyalty.”

I looked away, I knew that already.

“Both of you are getting too close,” he added quietly.

“I am not.”

He stepped closer. Not accusing. Just searching.

“You look at him differently.”

Heat rushed to my face. “I am just grateful he didn’t kill me. That’s all.”

“Is it?”

“Yes.” The word came too fast.

Lucas studied me for a long moment.

Then he nodded slowly, even though I could see he didn’t fully believe me.

I didn’t want to believe it either.

But as the hours passed, the forest felt too quiet and still without Hunter’s presence.

I hated that I noticed. I hated the fact that I listened for his footsteps, anticipating his return.

And I could not deny one thing…. I missed him