Chapter 8: The Hunters
1151 Words
The hunter’s words settled over the courtyard like poison.
“The mark is complete.”
My stomach twisted violently.
Complete?
What did that even mean?
Rain poured harder now, soaking the shattered gates and bloodstained ground. Warriors surrounded the hunters cautiously, but nobody attacked first.
Because everyone could feel it.
These weren’t ordinary humans.
They stood too calmly.
Too confidently.
Even surrounded by wolves.
Kael’s voice turned dangerously cold. “You have ten seconds to explain yourself before I rip your throat out.”
The older hunter smiled faintly.
“I expected more control from the Alpha of Moonstone.”
Darius stepped forward slightly, golden eyes sharp. “And I expected better manners from relic hunters.”
The man’s expression shifted at that.
Recognition.
“Well,” he murmured, “the Nightbane Alpha himself.” His smile faded. “That complicates things.”
“Only for you,” Darius replied calmly.
The air crackled with tension.
I forced myself to stay steady despite the fear clawing through me. My wolf paced restlessly inside me, sensing danger from every direction.
The hunter’s cold gaze returned to me.
“You’ve inherited her eyes.”
A chill slid down my spine.
“What?”
For the first time, genuine emotion flickered across the man’s face.
Hatred.
“Your mother had the same look before she died.”
Everything inside me stopped.
My mother.
Dead silence filled the courtyard.
Kael looked sharply at me while Lucas frowned deeply.
I could barely breathe.
“My mother?” My voice came out barely above a whisper.
The hunter tilted his head slightly. “You didn’t know.”
Darius’s expression darkened instantly. “Enough.”
But the man continued.
“She ran longer than the others.” His eyes narrowed. “Made the purge unnecessarily difficult.”
Rage exploded inside me so suddenly that it burned.
“You killed her?”
The hunter looked almost amused. “We cleansed an abomination.”
The world blurred red.
My mark burned violently against my skin.
Something ancient and furious surged inside me.
Without thinking, I moved.
Fast.
Too fast.
One second I stood near the fountain.
Next, I had crossed the courtyard and slammed the hunter against the broken gate hard enough to crack stone.
Gasps erupted around us.
Even I froze in shock.
The hunter looked stunned for only a second before smiling again.
“There it is.”
My hands trembled against his throat.
Power pulsed violently beneath my skin.
Dangerous.
Wild.
The hunter’s companions immediately raised silver weapons toward me.
“Aria!” Kael shouted sharply.
But I barely heard him.
All I could see was the man who spoke about my mother’s death like it meant nothing.
“She begged for the child to survive,” he whispered cruelly. “Pathetic, really.”
Rage snapped completely.
A growl tore from my throat, low and inhuman.
The ground beneath my feet cracked.
The entire courtyard went silent in horror.
Even the hunter’s smile faltered slightly now.
My wolf surged violently beneath my skin.
Kill him.
The voice inside me didn’t even sound like my own.
Suddenly, strong arms grabbed me from behind.
Darius.
“Aria.”
His voice cut through the rage sharply.
“Look at me.”
I fought against his hold instinctively.
The hunter laughed breathlessly despite my grip still crushing his throat.
“Yes,” he rasped. “That’s exactly what she was.”
Darius’s voice hardened instantly. “Enough.”
Something dangerous flashed through his golden eyes.
Real danger.
For the first time, the hunters looked uncertain.
Darius slowly stepped in front of me, placing himself between us.
“You came into my presence and threatened someone under my protection.” His voice remained calm. “That was stupid.”
The lead hunter straightened his coat carefully. “She doesn’t belong to you.”
Darius smiled faintly.
“She doesn’t belong to anyone.”
The words hit strangely.
Not ownership.
Protection.
Choice.
Kael stepped beside us now, silver eyes locked on the hunters. “You murdered Lunar Guardians.”
“We preserved balance.”
“You slaughtered families.”
The hunter’s expression hardened. “Those creatures threatened the natural order.”
Creatures.
The word sliced through me.
Kael’s power rolled heavily through the courtyard now. “Leave my territory.”
“No.”
The hunter pointed directly at me.
“She comes with us.”
Every warrior growled instantly.
Darius looked genuinely entertained now. “You really have a death wish.”
The hunter ignored him.
“The Crescent bloodline cannot be allowed to rise again.”
Rise again.
My pulse quickened.
What exactly were they afraid of?
Before anyone could speak again, the mark on my neck suddenly burned hotter than ever before.
Pain exploded through me.
I gasped and dropped to one knee instantly.
“Aria!” Nina shouted.
Another vision slammed into me violently—
A massive stone temple hidden beneath moonlight.
Warriors wearing crescent symbols kneeling before a silver throne.
Blood covering the floor.
Screams echoing through the fire.
Then,
A woman with silver eyes turned toward me.
My mother.
I knew it instantly somehow.
She pressed a trembling hand against my face.
“They cannot find the heart,” she whispered desperately.
My breathing shook violently.
“Protect it, Aria.”
The vision shattered.
I jerked back into reality gasping hard.
The courtyard spun around me.
Kael crouched beside me immediately. “What happened?”
I barely heard him.
The heart.
Protect the heart.
Darius grabbed my arm suddenly, his expression sharp. “What did you see?”
The urgency in his voice startled me.
“You know something about this,” I realized shakily.
Darius hesitated.
That single hesitation told me everything.
The hunter noticed too.
And suddenly smiled.
“Well,” he murmured, “this just became much more interesting.”
Kael stood instantly. “Explain.”
Nobody moved.
Rain hammered against the courtyard stones while tension thickened dangerously around us.
Finally, Darius exhaled slowly.
“There’s an ancient Lunar artifact,” he admitted. “Something the hunters never found during the purges.”
The older hunter’s face darkened instantly.
So it was true.
Darius continued carefully.
“The Heart of Selene.”
Even the name felt powerful.
Ancient.
Sacred.
Lucas frowned. “What is it?”
Darius looked directly at me.
“The source of Lunar Guardian power.”
The courtyard erupted into shocked murmurs.
My pulse pounded painfully.
“No,” the hunter snapped immediately. “The heart was destroyed centuries ago.”
Darius smirked faintly. “Apparently not.”
The hunter’s eyes narrowed toward me slowly.
Understanding dawned across his face.
“She knows where it is.”
Cold fear slid through my chest.
Because I didn’t.
But somehow…
Part of me felt connected to it already.
The hunter lifted his silver blade slowly.
“Then we kill her before she remembers.”
- Writer
