Chapter One:
"Let me go!" My throat was raw from screaming, but I kept thrashing against the ropes cutting into my wrists. Silver burned my skin, every second searing deeper. "Let me go, damn it!"
The laughter that answered me froze me in place.
Damien.
Out of all people, it had to be him of all people. The one boy I'd totally crushed on for months now if not years. I'd once dreamt of kissing under the bleachers. Now stood in front of me, smirking like this was some twisted joke with a cigar in his mouth.
" Damien what's the meaning of this?"
"Don't look so shocked Luna. You've always wanted my attention, didn't you, Luna?." His tone dripped with mockery. "Well, here it is. Not quite the date you imagined, huh?"
A date. He had asked me to come with him tonight, and stupid me—I'd said yes. I thought he finally took a liking to me. I thought maybe the universe had finally given me something normal. Instead, I was tied up in the middle of the forest, surrounded by men reeking of blood and steel. Hunters.
"You know?" My voice cracked as I forced the words out. "You know what I am?"
Damien's smirk widened. "Of course I know, I've always known. If it weren't because I didn't want your clan to get suspicious. Do you think I'd waste time on gutting you beast?. But it was worth it. Every single part of you is worth a fortune to the right buyer."
My stomach lurched. "What… what are you talking about?"
He leaned closer, close enough for me to smell the metallic tang of silver on his hands. "Your know the usual. Your heart, lungs and liver. Are rare and rare means expensive. I mean you guys are apparently almost extinct. So I get paid handsomely delivering parts of your kind. And we're going to give them exactly what they paid for."
"No…" The word slipped out like a prayer, my voice trembling. "You can't—"
He straightened and barked to the others, "Watch me. Give her the wolfsbane. Then harvest the requested part. Once you're done burn the rest, I don't want any werewolf sniffing around the body and tracing it back to us."
Has his men moved closer terror ripped through me. My body shook violently against the ropes. "No! Don't touch me!"
One of the hunters grabbed a vial, the sharp stench of wolfsbane filling the air. The wolf inside me couldn't help but howl in agony, thrashing harder than I was. If that poison touched me, I maybe be crippled—maybe gone forever.
"You bastards!" I screamed, choking on rage and fear. "Do you even know who you're messing with?"
"Shut her up," Damien ordered.
A rough hand shoved a filthy rag soaked in wolfsbane between my teeth, cutting off my words. I gagged, twisting my head violently, but they forced it in. My cries turned muffled, desperate.
Then—movement.
A rustle in the bushes. A low growl rolling through the night.
Every hunter froze, their gaze turning towards the bushes.
"Go check it out," Damien snapped, pointing his knife at one of the men.
The man hesitated. "Damien, maybe we should—"
"Now!" Damien barked.
The hunter cursed under his breath and edged toward the noise, silver blade raised. The forest was silent for a beat—then a scream ripped through the night, high and shrill. It ended in a crunch, bones snapping like twigs.
The others swore, stumbling back. My heart thundered. Someone—or something—was out there.
I spat the gag from my mouth, gasping." Better run while you still can" I rasped, glaring at Damien.
His clenched his fist then punched me on the face. "Shut up."
Another growl. Another rustle.
"Go," Damien ordered a second man, shoving a silver blade at his chest.
The hunter's face went pale. "I'm not going out there—"
Damien's voice sharpened. "Do it, or I'll gut you myself."
The man swallowed hard, then crept forward. He disappeared into the shadows. Seconds later, another scream split the air, cut short with a sickening snap.
My blood sang with savage relief. Whoever was out there wasn't human. Maybe one of my pack. Mayb it was will of the moon goddess.
Damien swore and yanked me upright by the ropes. Cold steel pressed against my throat—his silver blade. "Listen to me, wolf bitch!" he shouted into the trees. "Show yourself, or I slice her open right here!"
The blade nicked my skin, sending a sting of pain blazing down my neck. I sucked in a sharp breath, heart racing so hard it hurt.
And then I saw it.
Eyes.
Glowing red in the darkness.
A massive wolf stepped out of the shadows, its fur dark as midnight, its presence filling the clearing with raw power. The hunters around Damien staggered back, fear flooding their faces.
Damien's hand trembled against my throat. "Shift back!" he shouted, voice cracking. "I said, Shift back into human form!" he brought the blade closer to my neck that it cut me a little.
The wolf's lips peeled back, exposing teeth sharp enough to tear through bone. But then, slowly, his body shimmered. Fur rippled, limbs twisted, and in seconds, a man stood before us.
Naked. Powerful. His chest heaved with steady breaths, muscles taut beneath moonlight. His eyes—still glowing faintly red—locked on Damien with a cold fury that made the hunters quake.
And me?
My heart stuttered. Even in my terror, something inside me sparked. My wolf whimpered, not in fear, but recognition.
Damien forced a laugh. "What the hell are you doing here?"
The stranger didn't answer. His eyes flicked to me, then back to Damien.
"You hear me?" Damien shouted, desperate now. "Answer me, or I'll kill her!" His hands shaking.
In that brief moment of hesitation. The man bent, picked up a blade from the dirt, and in one fluid motion, hurled it across the clearing.
I barely had time to blink.
The silver struck Damien straight in the head. His eyes went wide, his body collapsing to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut. Dead.
Silence crashed over the clearing.
The last hunter bolted into the forest, footsteps pounding until they faded. Only the stranger remained. He walked toward me, slow and deliberate, the moon catching on his skin. My body trembled—not from fear, but something hotter, wilder. My veins burned as though my wolf was clawing to the surface.
He knelt, sharp claws sliding out just long enough to cut the ropes. The silver bindings fell away, and I collapsed forward, catching myself on shaking arms.
"Wait," I gasped, voice breaking. "Please—don't go."
He froze, his back half-turned.
"What's your name?" I asked, my voice raw, desperate.
For a moment, he didn't answer. Then he glanced over his shoulder, his crimson eyes softening just enough to steal my breath.
"John."
And before I could say anything else, he shifted back into the massive wolf and vanished into the night.
I stayed there on my knees, heart pounding, staring at the spot where he disappeared. My wrists throbbed, my throat burned, but none of it mattered. Because one truth was louder than the pain, louder than the fear.
To me John wasn't just a stranger, he was my savior.
I could feel it right then and there, He was my destined mate.
And I knew we would meet again.