The Alpha's Rejected Luna: I Am The Blood Wolf Queen

Hunted

On the fifteenth night of my exile, I catch a scent that stops my heart. Wolves. Not Blood Moon Pack wolves. These wolves smell different. Darker. Sharper. Like old blood and wet ash. Shadow Fang Pack. Every wolf in the region knows about the Shadow Fangs. They are the reason Kael's father died. Border wars that have been going on for decades. They are bigger than most packs, more aggressive, and they answer to no Council. They take what they want and destroy what they cannot take.

And now they are in my territory. I am in my wolf form, drinking from a stream under a full moon, when I detect them. Three wolves. Two are large, probably warriors. One is smaller but more deliberate. A tracker. They move through my territory with purpose. Not wandering. Hunting. Hunting me.

The scent is fresh, one of them says. His voice is a low growl. She was here within the hour. The Alpha will reward us well for a Blood Wolf, another responds. Alive, if possible. Dead, if necessary.

My blood runs cold. They know what I am. How? Did someone in the Blood Moon Pack sell the information? Did Elias talk? Or did the Shadow Fangs have their own way of sensing awakened Blood Wolves? It does not matter how. What matters is that they are here, and they are not leaving without me.

I could run. I am faster than they are. I could disappear into the deepest parts of the forest and they would never find me. But something in me refuses. This is my territory. My home. I have spent eighteen years running and hiding and making myself small. I am done with that. The fire surges under my skin.

I step out from behind the boulder. Three wolves, all in human form. The two warriors are massive, even bigger than Kael's elite guards. The tracker is leaner, with sharp features and eyes that reflect the moonlight like a cat's. They wear the black and gray colors of the Shadow Fang Pack.

Well, the tracker says, a thin smile spreading across his face. She comes to us. How considerate. I am giving you one chance, I say. My voice is calm. Steady. Leave my territory. Now.

The warriors laugh. The tracker tilts his head, studying me. You are smaller than I expected, he says. The reports said Blood Wolf. I was expecting something more. Last warning. He sighs. Take her.

The warriors charge. They are fast. Faster than any wolf I have ever seen in combat training. But I am faster. The fire answers my call before I even consciously summon it. Silver flames erupt from my palms, forming twin blades of pure heat that extend three feet from my hands.

The first warrior does not have time to stop. He runs straight into my fire blade. It does not cut him. It burns through him. He screams and collapses, clutching his shoulder. The second warrior hesitates. That hesitation costs him. I close the distance in a blur and press my palm against his chest. He flies backward, slamming into a tree with enough force to crack the trunk.

The tracker has not moved. His smile is gone. Fear has replaced it. Tell your Alpha, I say, my voice ringing with power, that the Blood Wolves are back. And this one does not forgive.

He runs. I let him. A message needs a messenger. I stand in the moonlit clearing, surrounded by the groaning bodies of the warriors I just defeated. For the first time in my life, I feel like I am exactly where I am supposed to be. The hunted has become the hunter.