Luna's Outcast

Chapter6

Madeline’s POV

The man standing in front of me watched me like I was some strange creature he had never seen before.

His eyes were sharp, calculating, and the weapon in his hand made my stomach twist in fear.

“Explain something to me,” he said slowly. “What business do you have with the Adorni werewolf hunters?”

My throat tightened, as I wondered who Madeline really was and why she would be involved with a group of werewolf hunters.

But I swallowed hard and forced myself to stay calm, even though my heart was racing wildly in my chest.

“I… I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said quietly.

The stranger's eyes narrowed and the air inside the small wooden hut suddenly felt suffocating.

He stepped closer, each step more intimidating than the last as the wooden floor creaked beneath his boots.

Up close, his presence was even more terrifying.

There was something about him… he was not like any other werewolf hunter I have come across. He was. Nearly him and but he seems to have a strange ahra around him.

This man felt dangerous, he wS a predator and I who was once a forbidable wolf felt like a prey in that moment.

“My name is Hunter.” he said out of nowhere and for a second I thought I misheard him.

Hunter?

The irony almost made me laugh. A werewolf hunter… named Hunter.

But the laugh never came. Fear swallowed it before it could escape.

Hunter tilted his head slightly as he studied me.

“The Adonis hunters don't go after humans so what deal did you have with them? And you seem too weak to be considered a werewolf hunter.” He said as he stared at me with a hint of disgust?

“I seriously don't know anything about what you are saying. I was lost and…”

“Nobody just wanders into Adoni’s territory.” He interrupted.

I twisted my wrist in different directions behind me, as I struggled to untie my wrist from the rope binding me to the wooden pillar.

“I told you already,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady. “I was taken. I was kidn*pped. I have no idea who those people were.”

Hunter’s gaze hardened.

“ So you are telling me that you were abducted by an Adoni hunter?” he asked looking suspicious

“Yes!”

He stared at me for a long moment.

The silence stretched uncomfortably between us.

Then he crouched down in front of me.

“You're lying.”

The words landed like a slap.

“I am not!”

His eyes flashed with irritation.

“Then explain why the hunter was trying to kill you.”

“I don’t know!” I shouted, feeling frustrated.

I still didn’t understand half the things that had happened since I woke up in this new body.

This new life made no sense.

Hunter suddenly grabbed the rope binding my wrists and yanked it hard. Pain shot through my arms.

“Enough games, Tell me the truth or I will give you a fate worse than death.” he threatened and for a second I could see that he meant those words but I was determined to exonerate myself from this situation.

“I am telling the truth!”

Before he could respond, a loud crash echoed from outside the hut.

Both of us froze and no other word was uttered, the only sound that I could hear was my ragged breath but then another sound followed this time it was louder.

It was as if someone had crashed on the ground and the noise was followed by a series of whispers and

Hunter's demeanor became more tense and his entire posture became more alert, and focused.

If he did not look deadly before he certainly did now. I almost felt pity for the people outside.

“Stay here,” he ordered with a low, dangerous tone.

He grabbed his weapons and moved toward the door silently.

Before leaving, he glanced at me one last time.

“If you try anything stupid, I will hunt you down and kill you” he said coldly, then he stepped outside.

The moment the door closed behind him, my heart began pounding faster. This was my chance, my only chance to get away from here.

With shaking hands, I twisted my wrists against the rope.

The knot wasn’t tight anymore and with my fingers working quickly the rope finally slipped off my wrists.

Without wasting another second. I ran toward the window and climbed through it, ignoring the splinters digging into my skin.

The cold night air hit my face as I landed outside and although it felt like it was a negative degree outside, I knew I could not afford to stop running.

I ran as fast as I could through the forest, the branches scratched my arms, leaves crunched beneath my feet and my long burned with each distance covered. But I didn’t stop.

Then I heard it.

A loud, heavy footstep behind me echoed behind me and my blood ran cold.

He had found me.

Before I could react, something slammed into me from behind.

I crashed into the ground and pain exploded through my body.

“Going somewhere?” Hunter’s cold voice came from above me.

I tried to crawl away and fight him off but suddenly…. Something inside me snapped.

A sharp, burning pain shot through my spine and I screamed not being able to hold it in anymore.

The pain spread through my entire body like wildfire and my bones began to c***k.

I gasped as my fingers curled violently.

I had no idea what was happening to me all I knew was that I was in excruciating pain

Another snap echoed through my body.

My spine arched painfully.I felt my bones stretching… shifting.My muscles tore and rebuilt themselves, the agony was unbearable.

The realization hit me like lightning.

My wolf was finally awakening.

I was shifting.

I thought I had lost her, I had tried to connect with her but there had been nothing.

But now…

She was there.

The shift continued and my senses exploded to life.

I could smell everything and my vision sharpened.

My body involuntarily dropped to all fours as thick white fur burst through my skin.

The transformation tore through me like a storm until finally….It stopped.

I stood there, panting heavily in my wolf form.

For the first time since I reincarnated I shifted. It was my first shift and possibly this body's first transformation.

But the reality dawned when I lifted my head to look at Hunter who stood a few feet away, stunned.

looked shocked.

But before I could even process what had happened…The pain returned.

My wolf whimpered inside me and suddenly the shift reversed.

my bones cracked again and my fur disappeared.

My body collapsed back into human form and I laid unmoving in the cold first ground naked, weak and shaky.

Slowly… I lifted my head only to see that Hunter was still staring at me.

Pure shock was written across his face.

He had thought I was human, now he knew the truth.

Fear swallowed me whole. Because I knew exactly what came next, Werewolf hunters only did one thing when they found wolves.

They killed them.

Now my fate rests entirely in Hunter’s hands.

And judging by the look in his eyes…

I was already dead.