Chapter 36: Chapter 36

SELENE

The stench of blood clung to the air.

Lux moved ahead of me, his form rigid with tension, his fingers gripping the hilt of his sword as he surveyed the carnage. The forest floor was littered with bodies—some dead, others barely clinging to life. Erik stood beside him, jaw clenched, watching the scene unfold with grim determination.

Lux turned to him, his voice low, dangerous. “I thought you said they hadn’t attacked.”

Erik’s throat bobbed as he exhaled sharply. “They hadn’t. Not when I left to get you. This must’ve happened after—”

Lux’s growl cut him off, his shoulders bunching with fury. “Then we were too fucking late.”

I stepped forward, scanning the fallen. Some were our wolves—our people—while others were human, bloodied and torn. The scent of death was thick, cloying. Kora prowled beneath my skin, itching to tear ~something~ apart.

“Help the survivors,” Lux ordered, his voice cold with command. “No one else dies if we can stop it.”

Our warriors moved quickly, tending to the injured, assessing the damage. I knelt beside a young woman, her breaths shallow, her eyes fluttering. Her leg was mangled beyond recognition, the wound oozing thick, dark blood.

“Stay with me,” I murmured, pressing my hands against the wound.

She whimpered, eyes unfocused, but I felt it—the pull of my wolf, the raw power thrumming beneath my skin. I had never felt stronger, never felt so completely in control of what I was. This body, this power—it was mine now.

I used it.

Warmth surged from my palms, not a full healing but enough to stabilize her, enough to ease her suffering. When I looked up, Lux was watching me, his expression unreadable.

I didn’t wait for approval. I didn’t need it.

I pushed to my feet and moved forward, scanning the tree line, sniffing for the hunters who had done this.

They weren’t here anymore.

But they weren’t far.

Lux must’ve felt the same thing, because he turned, his stormy blue eyes locked on Erik. “We track them. Now.”

Before Erik could respond, the sharp crack of a gunshot echoed through the trees.

I froze.

My heart pounded.

The sound rippled through my bones, through my wolf, igniting something raw and primal inside me.

I met Lux’s gaze, and in that moment, we both knew—the hunt had just begun.

Lux moved like a predator, his entire body taut with anger and purpose. His shoulders were stiff, his fists clenched at his sides as we tracked through the thick underbrush, following the scent of gunpowder and blood.

“~Lux~,” I linked him, keeping my pace steady beside him. “~We’ll get them~.”

His jaw tensed, but he didn’t respond. Not immediately.

I could feel his emotions through the bond—rage, frustration, and an underlying thread of guilt. He blamed himself for not being here sooner, for letting them slip through the cracks.

I reached out, brushing my fingers against his wrist as we moved. “~You’re doing everything right. This isn’t your fault~.”

His breath was rough, his wolf pacing beneath the surface, barely contained. “~It doesn’t matter if it’s my fault. It’s my responsibility~.”

I understood that. I felt the weight of my own responsibilities settle deeper into my bones every day. But this wasn’t just about duty—this was personal. They had come onto our land. Hurt our people.

And Lux was going to make sure they ~never~ did it again.

“~Then we handle it together~.” My voice in his mind was steady, unwavering. “~You’re not alone in this~.”

A flicker of something passed through the bond—acknowledgment, gratitude, something deeper that he didn’t say aloud.

Then, suddenly—movement.

Lux stopped abruptly, holding up a fist, signaling for the others to halt. I came up beside him, lowering into a crouch as I strained my senses, listening, smelling.

Footsteps. Close.

They weren’t running anymore. They were waiting.

Lux’s eyes met mine, the murky blue flashing dangerously in the moonlight. He didn’t need to say it aloud.

This was an ambush.

And we were walking straight into it.

I kept low beside Lux, my wolf coiled tight beneath my skin, waiting.

“~They know we’re coming~.” I shifted my weight, keeping my senses sharp.

“~Let them~.” Lux’s voice was dark, edged with fury. “~They have no idea what they’re about to face~.”

The wind shifted, and I caught it—the sharp tang of sweat, of gunpowder, of something human but laced with something unnatural.

Poison.

My stomach twisted.

Silver.

I turned my head slightly toward Lux. “~They have silver~.”

His nostrils flared, his grip tightening on the hilt of his sword. “~Then we kill them before they can use it~.”

The trees thinned ahead, the shadows stretching long under the moon’s light. I could feel them now, the way their heartbeats thrummed just out of sight, steady, waiting.

Cowards.

I shifted my weight, steadying my stance, my fingers flexing as my claws threatened to push through my skin. The warriors at our backs were still, silent, ready for the signal.

Then—a voice.

“You wolves really don’t know when to lie down and quit.”

A man stepped out of the tree line, his face obscured by the darkness, but I could see the glint of metal in his hand.

Then another.

And another.

More figures moved into view, some holding rifles, others with blades, their eyes gleaming with cruel amusement.

There were more than a dozen of them.

I bared my teeth.

Lux took a step forward, his body radiating dominance, his voice low and lethal.

“You’re trespassing.”

The lead hunter smirked. “And you’ve been getting too comfortable in our country.”

A slow, simmering rage unfurled in my chest.

This wasn’t just an attack.

It was a message.

Lux exhaled through his nose, his energy pressing into the air like a storm on the brink of breaking.

And then—the hunter raised his gun.

LUXURY

Chaos erupted the moment the first shot was fired.

The wolves lunged, shifting mid-air, bodies twisting, bones snapping as they shed their human forms in favor of raw, unrelenting power. Snarls and gunfire tore through the night, the scent of blood thick and suffocating.

I didn’t hesitate. I let the shift rip through me, the sensation of fur and fangs overtaking flesh, my body growing massive, stronger, deadlier.

And then—I was in it.

A hunter screamed as I tore through him, my claws slicing his chest open before my jaws closed over his throat. I felt the wet snap of bone between my teeth, the hot rush of blood filling my mouth as I ripped him apart. No mercy. No hesitation.

I turned, snarling, and another one was already raising his gun.

Too slow.

I lunged, my paws slamming against his chest, knocking him to the ground. His rifle went off, the shot exploding into the trees just as I crushed his skull beneath my weight.

Around me, my wolves devastated the hunters. Limbs were torn. Throats were shredded. They fought with rage, with vengeance.

But something was wrong. No, not wrong. ~Different~.

I could ~see~ it.

I had never fought with sight before. Never relied on my eyes to track movement, to predict attacks. My instincts had always been honed through sound, through scent, through the vibration of life around me. But now…now there was ~too much~.

Shadows flickered too fast. Movements blurred at the edges. My depth perception was off. By the time I turned, the enemy had already shifted.

A blur of motion in my periphery—a blade swinging toward me.

I twisted, barely avoiding the cut, but I was slower than I should have been.

A growl of frustration rumbled through my chest. This wasn’t me. I was better than this.

Another hunter rushed from the side. I lunged, aiming for his throat, but I misjudged the distance. My teeth grazed him instead of locking down, and he twisted free.

A second later, he swung his weapon—not at me.

At one of mine.

I realized too late.

Riven barely had time to react before the blade sank into his side. A sharp yelp tore through the battlefield. Blood hit the ground.

Fuck.

I turned and ripped into the hunter, my jaws locking around his skull, crushing it with a sickening crack. But the damage was done.

Riven stumbled back, shifting mid-motion, his hand pressing into his wound, eyes wide with shock.

It should have never happened.

I was failing.

I could feel the eyes of my pack on me, waiting for orders, for leadership. But the rage inside me burned hot, clashing with the doubt creeping in.

I couldn’t afford mistakes.

Not here.

Not now.

“~Close your eyes, Lux~.” Fen’s voice rumbled through my mind, steady, commanding.

“~What~? “I growled, snapping my jaws around the arm of another hunter, feeling the satisfying crunch of bone.

“~Close them. Stop relying on sight. Fight the way we know how~.”

I hesitated. A split second. Then—I shut my eyes and everything else ~sharpened~. The scent of blood. The rasp of metal scraping against leather as a knife was unsheathed. The pulse of a heartbeat stuttering just to my left.

I spun, claws raking through flesh before my teeth found their mark, tearing into muscle and sinew. The man gurgled, choking on his own blood as I flung him to the ground.

“~Better~.”

I felt Fen’s satisfaction as we moved seamlessly, our body reacting before the fight could shift. This was what we were ~made for~.

Gunfire erupted behind me. I dodged before the trigger was pulled, leaping into the trees, landing hard on another hunter, crushing him beneath my paws. He screamed, the sound of leather scraping silver the tell-tale sign the man was scrambling for the knife at his waist.

I didn’t let him reach it.

I tore into his stomach, his insides spilling onto the forest floor.

No mercy.

I turned, baring my teeth, already looking for my next kill when—

~Click~.

A cold sensation crawled up my spine. I twisted too late, and a hunter had gotten ~behind me~.

The barrel of a rifle was aimed right at my head.

His finger pressed against the trigger.