Filed to story: When The Moon Hides Crown
A bison. While I kept hearing the howls of other Alphas that kept coming from the distance one by one. It was a victory howl. Someone had completed their hunt and already returned!
Finally, as the sky shifted from inky black to deep navy, heralding the coming dawn, I found it.
A bison.
It loomed ahead. massive, brutal-its breath steaming in the cold air as it pawed the ground, ready to charge at the slightest threat.
Its sheer size made my stomach clench.
I took a careful step forward and felt my heart sink. In my human form,I didn’t stand a chance.
Not against that.
A direct hit from its horns would shatter every bone in my body.
I clenched my fists. I had two choices-
Shift. or fail.
Failure meant elimination.
Failure meant being dragged out of the Academy in defeat.
Failure meant returning to my pack and becoming someone’s Luna.
Unacceptable.
I locked my eyes on the beast, my decision made.
I would take it down, no matter the cost.
Glancing around, I checked for other Alphas.
Nothing.
No scent.
No sound but the restless wind.
Satisfied that I was alone, I quickly stripped off my clothes and hid them behind a fallen tree.
Breathless, I let the shift take over.
Bones cracked, flesh stretched.
And then Phina burst free.
I stood on four powerful legs, white fur gleaming in the dim light.The world sharpened-the scents richer, the earth more alive under my paws.
Locking my wolf’s bright eyes onto the bison, I crouched low, muscles coiling, ready to strike.
Time to hunt.
When suddenly, a faint sound snapped my head around.
From the shrubs-a shadow moved.
My heart slammed into my ribs.
Someone was there.
Watching.
Since when…?
A sick feeling twisted in my gut.
Did they… see me strip? See me shift?
SERAPHINA
Was it my imagination? I whispered to Phina, my heart hammering against my ribs as I stared into the darkness.
Phina’s reply was low, shaken by the shadow we’d seen. ‘If someone had seen us, they would have instantly exposed us.
Her comment made sense. The Alphas at the Lupine Academy were evil to the bone and hated me with a vengeance. If anyone had spotted me, they would have sounded the alarm without hesitation. But nothing happened
‘Could it have been just an animal?’ I asked.
Phina nodded slowly. ‘I think so. I didn’t sense another werewolf nearby. And our fear of being exposed was always gnawing at us-it could have made us imagine things.
Relief bled through me, and I exhaled shakily, forcing myself to focus again on the bison in the distance. Thankfully, I’d been concealed well behind the trees, far enough that it hadn’t noticed me.
I crouched low, stalking through the underbrush, Phina humming with raw, electric energy beneath my skin.
The bison grazed heavily, oblivious, its muscles rippling beneath its thick hide.
One wrong move…one snapped twig, and it would bolt. Then I would lose precious minutes I didn’t have.
Be patient. Be precise.
I circled wide, studying the clearing, calculating. A direct charge would get me crushed under its hooves. I had to be faster. Smarter.
The bisons head dipped, distracted.
Now!
With a feral snarl tearing from my throat, I lunged. Claws ripped through the earth as I sprinted-a white blur slicing through the trees.
The bison whipped its head around, bellowing loud enough to rattle the ground. It charged -a wall of muscle and rage, so real, so deadly.
And far too fast.
I veered sharply to the side, feeling the gust of air as its bulk thundered past me, missing by inches. My paws scrambled against the torn-up ground