The Hunt Begins
991 Words
The wind roared in my ears as Kael raced through the forest.
The Lycan King moved like a living shadow.
Faster than any wolf I had ever seen.
Hours passed in what felt like minutes.
Mountains.
Rivers.
Dense forests.
Everything blurred together.
By sunset, we had covered more distance than I could have walked in several days.
Kael finally slowed near a secluded valley.
A crystal-clear stream cut through the center.
Ancient trees surrounded the area.
The place felt peaceful.
Safe.
Which was probably why Kael chose it.
The giant black wolf lowered himself.
Carefully.
Allowing me to climb down.
The moment my feet touched the ground, my legs nearly gave out.
I grabbed a tree.
Dignity was overrated anyway.
Kael shifted beside the stream.
A flash of silver light.
Then the Lycan King stood there once more.
His dark hair was slightly messy from the journey.
Oddly enough, it made him look less intimidating.
Only slightly.
"How do you feel?"
"Like I spent the day being thrown around by a hurricane."
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"Fair."
I blinked.
Was that a joke?
The Lycan King made jokes?
The world truly had gone mad.
Kael walked toward the stream.
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
The setting sun painted the valley in shades of gold and crimson.
Beautiful.
Peaceful.
Almost enough to make me forget everything waiting ahead.
Almost.
The Silver Temple.
The prophecy.
The immortal king.
The approaching war.
The list just kept getting longer.
I sat beside the stream.
My reflection stared back at me.
Dark hair.
Silver eyes.
I froze.
Silver eyes.
My eyes.
Not brown.
Silver.
The same color as the Moonborn Queen.
My breath caught.
"When did that happen?"
Kael glanced at the water.
"The awakening."
I stared.
"They're permanent?"
He nodded.
The realization felt strange.
Another reminder that I wasn't the same person who had left Moonfall Pack.
That girl was disappearing.
Little by little.
A sharp pain suddenly shot through my chest.
I winced.
Kael immediately noticed.
"What is it?"
The pain vanished as quickly as it came.
I frowned.
"I don't know."
But I did.
The mate bond.
The connection between Damon and me.
Still there.
Still broken.
Still painful.
I looked away.
Kael didn't press further.
For some reason, I appreciated that.
---
Meanwhile...
Moonfall Pack.
Damon Blackwood stared at the abandoned cave.
The destroyed trees.
The shattered ground.
The lingering scents.
Evidence of a battle.
A large battle.
His wolf snarled.
Aria had been here.
Recently.
Very recently.
One of the scouts approached.
"Alpha."
Damon turned.
"What did you find?"
The scout swallowed.
"Rogues."
Damon's expression darkened.
"How many?"
"Dozens."
The answer made his blood run cold.
Dozens.
Against a newly awakened wolf.
Aria should have died.
Any ordinary omega would have.
Yet she hadn't.
Why?
The scout hesitated.
"There was someone else."
Damon's eyes narrowed.
"Who?"
The man looked uncertain.
"As impossible as it sounds..."
"Speak."
The scout took a deep breath.
"We found the scent of the Lycan King."
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Damon stared.
The Lycan King?
Kael Nightshade?
Impossible.
Why would the ruler of the Lycans be involved?
Unless—
His stomach twisted.
"No."
The possibility formed instantly.
Aria.
Kael.
Together.
His wolf erupted with fury.
The force of it nearly staggered him.
Damon clenched his fists.
He had no right to be angry.
He was the one who rejected her.
He knew that.
His wolf clearly didn't care.
"Continue tracking them."
The scout blinked.
"The Lycan King?"
"Both of them."
The command left no room for argument.
The scout nodded and hurried away.
Damon remained behind.
Staring into the forest.
Something inside him felt wrong.
Off-balance.
Broken.
For the first time, he began to truly understand what he had thrown away.
And the realization terrified him.
---
Far to the north...
Deep beneath a mountain...
A pair of golden eyes opened.
Ancient.
Cold.
Hungry.
The chamber around him was massive.
Covered in glowing chains.
Ancient runes.
Moonborn magic.
Yet cracks had begun appearing.
The seal was weakening.
The immortal king slowly rose from his throne.
The chains strained.
Several shattered.
Dust filled the air.
His smile widened.
"Alive."
The single word echoed through the chamber.
After a thousand years.
The final heir existed.
The last Moonborn.
The one person capable of either destroying him...
Or setting him free.
His smile became dangerous.
"I've waited a very long time, little heir."
Another chain snapped.
Then another.
The mountain trembled.
Outside, entire forests shook.
Animals fled.
Ancient creatures awakened.
And the world moved one step closer to war.
---
Back in the valley...
Night had fallen.
A small fire crackled nearby.
Kael sat across from me.
Silent.
Watching the stars.
For a while, neither of us spoke.
The quiet wasn't awkward anymore.
It was comfortable.
A strange realization.
Then I noticed something.
A scar.
Hidden beneath the collar of his shirt.
It ran across his shoulder.
Old.
Deep.
The kind of wound that should have killed someone.
"What happened?"
Kael looked up.
I pointed.
"The scar."
His expression shifted.
Not quite sadness.
Not quite anger.
Something older.
"I lost a war."
The answer stunned me.
"The Lycan King lost?"
A faint smile appeared.
"Once."
I waited.
But he didn't elaborate.
Eventually, I sighed.
"You're terrible at answering questions."
That earned a genuine laugh.
Low.
Warm.
Unexpected.
The sound caught me completely off guard.
For a moment, he didn't seem like a king.
Just a man.
Then his smile faded.
His attention snapped toward the darkness.
Instantly.
Every muscle in his body tensed.
Danger.
I felt it too.
The night had become unnaturally silent.
No insects.
No birds.
Nothing.
A shadow moved between the trees.
Then another.
Then dozens.
My pulse quickened.
"Kael..."
His eyes narrowed.
"We've been found."
The shadows stepped into the moonlight.
Not rogues.
Not soldiers.
Something else.
Something older.
Their glowing red eyes locked onto me.
And every one of them smiled.
- Writer
