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ONE
LUNA
“Iknow you’re out here!” Luna screamed into the empty air, the smell of pine and damp earth heavy on her senses. The white moon hung overhead, painting the dense forest of firs in an ethereal glow.
She dashed through the trees, dancing under swaying branches and jumping over thorns. She could smell them, but they were moving fast.
All the while, she thought about her pack and how much she missed them already. Perhaps it wasn’t meant to be. Perhaps she wasn’t cut out to be an alpha’s mate.
She often thought about that.
But if he were still alive, he would be standing by her side, regardless. He had chosen her. Who cared if fate had other plans?
Fate could go screw itself.
The rogue wolf was moving fast. Luna wondered if she was ever going to catch up to him. Her incredible speed should have been more than enough, but he had evaded her by staying deep in the jungle-dense foliage. Thick and pointy branches cut into her skin. It was a minor setback … really … nothing her healing capabilities couldn’t immediately recover from.
But it still hurt.
She took a second to smell the air. He was nearby, but where.
Her eyes darted among the trees, looking for a shadow in the spotty moonlight.
“It does no good to hide, you know,” she said. “I know you killed him. And I’m going to make sure you pay for it.”
The smell wasn’t moving. But she still couldn’t pinpoint it. She couldn’t place the scent of this creature, who was responsible for so much of her misery.
She thought of holding Darius, her intended, in his dying moments while the rest of the world moved on. Why was she the only one out here looking for his killer? They should be tearing the world apart trying to find these conspirators.
Closing her eyes for a moment, she took in everything around her, letting her smell guide her focus. She was blind because she wasn’t looking at this the correct way. It was too personal. If she wanted to get justice for Darius, she’d need to change her perspective.
She had been looking right at him the entire time. As she opened her eyes, she saw that the elderly rogue had coated his clothing in mud and branches, hiding his breathing through careful training. She had to hand it to him. He might have been a bastard, but he knew how to hide.
She ambled forward with no clear sense of direction or purpose, seeing him move back slightly as her steps placed her in his general vicinity. She gripped the jeweled dagger on her holster, ready to spring at a moment’s notice.
Now that she saw him, she could feel how nervous he was. The slight palpitations in his heartbeat.
With her dagger in hand, she lunged as soon as she got the opportunity. His heartbeat stuttered as she charged, blade at the ready.
“You’re going to die just like he did,” Luna called out, caressing the leather hilt of her dagger.
The man dodged, the layer of leaves and mud that covered him crumbling off his body from the sudden movement. She could see bits of his pale, cracked face, his eyes glassy, nose scratched in several places.
He parried, dragging out his own knife as she lunged. His blade made contact with her torso, slicing her as she jumped backward.
He wore a sinister smile, the whites of his teeth shining through the gray mud that covered his face.
Luna felt a ringing pain cut through her. She shouldn’t be feeling anything at all from such a minor abrasion.
“That’s silver, darling,” the man said. “I’m going to unmake you just like we killed your lover.”
Luna scowled.
“Talk is cheap,” she said, charging again with her blade.
This time, she intended to study him and observe how he moved to better strategize. She wasn’t going to leave her defenses open.
He sprang back with little effort, and Luna noticed he favored his right side. If she wanted to subdue him, she’d have to go for his weakness.
