CHAPTER 5

Hannah P.O.V

Tonight was supposed to be the beginning: of my new life. I wore a simple white dress and stood clutching the smallest bouquet, with the weight of the moment settling over me.

"Victor," I breathed low, my voice mere nothing as I gazed at the minuscule gathering before me. His family was all there, his mom, dad, and uncle. My heart leaped with the excitement of finally marrying the man I love. We had chosen a quiet, way out from the packs ruling within Hampton's door. It was supposed to be safe here, safe from that world's dangers, living among humans where we could just. Exist.

As I looked up, a smile crept onto my lips as I saw Victor stand up at the altar, waiting for me. He seemed so perfect, full of surety regarding everything. For the first time in a long while, I could see peace hold any chances. Our ceremony was simple yet stunningly beautiful: no politics, no wars—just us, and love.

But the thump of heavy paws in the distance made my spine tingle. My hair stood tall on the back of my neck, and my heart ran fast and furious as I recognized what was happening. Wolves. A pack was coming.

My eyes scanned Victor, and before I could even react, they were upon us. The wolves, larger than any I had ever seen, tore into our small gathering without mercy. In the chaos, my heart was shattered as I saw Victor rush to protect his mother, only to be thrown aside like a rag doll; the sickening crack of his body hitting the ground was deafening.

"No!" I shouted to the wood; it was unnecessary. Everything moved in a sudden slow motion, just as they slaughtered him before my horrified gaze—my Victor.

I dropped the flowers. My fingers spasmodically shuddered as I watched them attack my family. My knees gave in, and I collapsed onto the ground; I couldn't stop myself. I couldn't think straight, not even get up; my limbs locked with fear.

"Victor…” I whispered, my voice cracking and tears streaming down my face.

It wasn't just Victor they wanted. They turned towards me as well. The wolves looked at me. Their leader, a man in black, looked back at me with eyes as cold as death. He smiled. And his cold breath glinted under the moonlight.

“Leo, are you sure she is one of the twins the girl with short hair asked?” The woman with short hair asked him casually like there was no blood on her hands.

The guy smirked. “I know who holds the eclipse essence. Now get her and give her to me.” 

Before I let them get me I already ran.

I ran. The dress, once so white as snow, was now caked with earth from my run. Through the woods my legs sped by, my heart pounding so hard that I felt it would burst. Yet still I ran and breathed, my breaths ragged as I tried to find relief. There was nothing in my head but escape, flee this nightmare.

"Victor. Mom. Grandma." Their names became my mantra, a desperate prayer as I ran through the trees. But no matter how fast I ran, their footsteps echoed behind me, closing in relentlessly.

Why was this happening? What had we done? We wanted peace. That's all we ever wanted.

Tears blur my view, but memories of Victor reached the surface of my mind: his voice, his laughter, how he used to hold me close, and how he told me everything was going to be fine. We were to begin this new life together. He never stopped teasingly telling me about the number of children we were going to have, and about the plans.

But now. he's gone. And I couldn't restrain the overwhelming rise of hatred inside me, consuming every part of my soul. The more I ran, the stronger it became. I didn't know that was what it was at first, but it clawed at me, demanding to be let out.

I stopped. The moonlight came through the trees and cast long shades on the ground. My body shook, not just from the fear but from something more. Something more primal. My eyes blurred as a sharp pain rent my head, burning my bones.

What was happening to me?

Then, my hands tore into the earth, gulping and gasping, fighting for air in the lungs. Tortured by pain, something rose within me, dark and almost uncontrollable in its strength; hatred transformed into a blazing flame from a smoldering ember. My body felt heavier and stiffer; it was as if the air around me had grown heavier.

The wolves that chased me. They stopped. They stared at me with a strange caution now. I felt them and smelled the bloodlust, but it was different. They were no longer the hunters alone.

I walked forward, my heart thumping madly. Each breath was like fire in my chest, and the moon up above pounded wildly. My body had a life of its own, but my mind was sinking deep in anger. I could think only of the blood they spilled, the life they'd taken from me.

And then, I felt it.

The transformation.

My bones twisted and stretched painfully, and a low growl came from my throat. The moon, the full moon, was pulling something out of me that I had no idea was there. All the hatred, all the sorrow, every ounce of pain that I endured—all of it was fueling this transformation.

I wasn't a simple wolf anymore.

I was so much more dangerous.

So I stood up stronger, taller, as the transformation was complete. My senses heightened because the world had become clearer and more vivid to me. Their breathing hung heavy in the air, and I could sense their fear as they closed in, unsure of what they had gotten themselves into.

"I wanted to kill them all.".

All that I could think of was the loathing that was burning hot within me. I could see Victor's face again; I could hear his voice once more; I could feel the warmth of his touch once more, and it made the fire inside me roar that much louder.

I wanted revenge.

But before I could attack them, something else reached my nose a new scent different blood. Someone else was here. My head jerked to the right toward the scent. It was unknown, yet it pulled inside me at something deep within. Not from the wolves that had murdered my family, but still blood was in there. To be spilled soon.

My vision is already black. All my heart craves is to murder and to murder all those who murdered my family and my husband.

The night seemed like a plague that reminded me of all that I had lost. The moon sneered at me by casting dark, icy shadows on the forest floor. My heart was a storm of pain and anger and of hunger that could never be sated. Tonight was supposed to be mine. *Ours*. Victor and I had had a quiet life in the future planned away from the madness of pack politics and bloodshed. But now. everything is gone.

He dragged along lifeless and broken in front of every step I walked. They tore him apart right in front of me like he was nothing, like *we* were nothing. And for what? Some sort of sick game with power? My fists clenched as rage and sorrow wrestled their way through me. They took everything away from me-love, a future, life. Revenge is all that's left for me now.

I ran through the forest, not out of fear, but because the hate burning inside me was too much to hold within myself. It was burning me up and thrusting me forward, urging me to find them and make them pay. My body ached with each step, my bones just starting to adjust to the transformation that had torn its way through me earlier. I wasn't supposed to be like this. I wasn't supposed to be. A monster.

But monsters were all that were left to me now.

Bloodfume greeted my nostrils first, sharp, metallic, and familiar. Heart twisting, I let myself follow the scent like a hunter on the prowl. The girl was close. I could feel her fear as it pulsed through the air. It was a thing that felt tangible and seemed to beat as one with her panicked heartbeat.

As I saw her, tied to that tree, my breath caught in my throat. She was no enemy. She didn't deserve this. But the heat of fury inside me didn't give a damn about all that. The pain was too deep and raw to let emotions twist my mind toward taking it out on anyone who came my way.

Wide, fearful eyes fixed on mine. "Help," she whispered, her voice breaking on silent terror, but I couldn't help her. Not tonight. Not when I was drowning in my agony.

I crept closer, my hands shaking as I reached out to caress her neck. Her pulse leaped at my touch, and for a moment, I could feel her life—warm, vibrant, everything I'd lost. She wasn't Victor, but the hatred clouding my vision made her a substitute for the wolves who'd stolen him from me.

I didn't hesitate. Couldn't.

I sank my teeth into the flesh. The taste of her blood hit me like a drug, almost hot, coppery, thick. Her scream cut through the night, and I barely heard it. I could feel nothing but the rage, to hurt, to kill, to take something back after everything that had been taken from me. Every drop felt like fuel feeding this fire inside, making it burn hotter, fiercer.

But something was wrong.

Pain tore across my chest, and I pulled back, fighting to catch my breath. Her blood…. It flared, and ignited something deeper inside me. My body arched, my head spinning as I fought back, falling hard to the ground.

I let out a cry of anguish. Now I felt anger seething up through every fiber of my being. This wasn't what I wanted. No release. No peace. Just pain. More anger.

Victor was still gone. Nothing less than blood would bring Victor back.