Filed to story: When The Moon Hides Crown
Then more followed. Crimson eyes like embers from hell.
Two. Five. Then dozens.
And every single one of them stared at the Alpha wolves.
I didn’t stop. Couldn’t stop.
But I heard them. Heard the fear in Reed’s voice. The edge in Cassius’ growl.
“What the…”
“We’re in rogue territory!” Cassius snapped, panic rising.
“She lured us here?! That crazy bitch!” Reed howled, unhinged.
Their panic was deafening. Delicious.
I tore through the underbrush, mud and leaves scattering beneath my paws, as the rogues closed in behind mean impenetrable wall of snarling, bloodthirsty chaos now separating me from my would-be attackers.
If they wanted me, they’d have to go through them.I finally stopped on the far side of the battlefield, panting, my fur bristling with energy.
“You wanted a hunt?” I met Reed’s eyes with a cold, emotionless stare.
Here. Hunt this.
He read the message clear as day and his rage cracked through his composure as he launched into battle, snarling, trying to defend himself from the swarm of rogues.
My gaze slid past him.
Dante stood in the distance, strangely still, an unreadable look in his eyes. Something… hauntingly familiar.
I had seen that same expression the day he devoured Jordan.
Then he smiled at me.
My heart clenched.
It was him. That smile. That nightmare.
And then… my gaze returned to Ronan.
Still unmoved. Still watching.
He hadn’t interfered.
He didn’t even look like he planned to.
He just watched me.
Growls ripped through the night…raw, feral, unrelenting. It was too late for retreat. The four Alphas had no choice now but to fight for their lives if they didn’t want to be torn apart by the rogues.
I stood across the clearing, no longer running. Moonlight bathed my fur in silver as I faced them-unmoving, unafraid. I let them see me. All
Of me.Cassius’ eyes widened, as if he were seeing me for the very first time.
And then…
A rogue lunged on him.
But at the same time another finally noticed me.
Ronan still watched. He hadn’t moved as I slowly began backing away from the snarling wolf now advancing on me. I hadn’t expected to see rogues here-hadn’t even dreamed I’d cross their path again. But tonight, they’d become my weapons.
And I knew this weapon could turn on me just as easily.
Just before the rogue lunged toward me, lips curled in a deadly snarl, I made my move.
Without hesitation, I dove sideways into a shallow stream that glittered like shattered glass beneath the moonlight.
Splash.
The cold water slammed against my body. The current grabbed hold of me, fast and unforgiving.
I let it take me.
Let it carry me far and fast. Away from the rogues. Away from Ronan.
Away from the eyes that had begun to see too much.
But before the current swallowed me whole, I looked back. Ronan was still there. Standing like a storm on the horizon.
Watching me.
Silent
Unmoving.
He’d seen everything.
And I didn’t know what terrified me more-what I had just escaped… or what that look in Ronan’s eyes meant for me.
The current yanked me under before I could brace myself. I shifted into my human form, desperate to stay above the surface before things got worse.
Water roared around me, icy and merciless, pulling at my limbs like phantom hands. I kicked hard, trying to keep my head above water, my lungs aching. The stream wasn’t deep, but it was wild-angry. It dragged me far from the growls and chaos behind.
Far from them.
Rocks scraped my stomach. Branches whipped my cheeks. The world spun in sharp bursts of pain and rushing sound.
When I finally spotted a patch of calmer water ahead, I twisted, clawing at the current with desperate strokes. My fingers scraped moss. I kicked, gasped, and heaved myself toward the edge.
“Come on… come on..”
With one last lurch, I hauled myself onto the muddy bank and collapsed. My body hit the earth in a heap-soaked, shivering, breathless. My chest heaved. My vision swam.