Chapter 3 Into the Night

The night air hit Luna like a cold slap as she stepped out of the cabin, her backpack slung over her shoulder. The trees appeared tall and dark with their branches twisting like skeletal arms against the bright full moon. She could feel the men walking behind her, the footfalls quiet but powerful.

Alec walked ahead leading them into the thick of the forest. Jax was still close to her, scanning their surroundings with his eyes, and Kade walked last, maintaining silence that only added to the tension. Luna felt like she was walking into a trap, but wether it was the truth or not, staying at the cabin was just as dangerous. Maybe even more dangerous.

She glanced at Jax, catching him looking back at her with a smirk. 

"Do you expect me to develop fur and howl at the moon?" He grinned teasingly, his tone earnest but light-hearted.

Despite her erratic heartbeat, Luna was able to chuckle shakily. "I am trying not to think about it."

"You really will get used to it," Jax replied with a smile, although the twinkle in his hazel color so aptly shown he was enjoying her distress a bit too much. "We aren't too bad once you get to know us."

"Incredibly, not so bad?" Luna repeated incredulously. "You just said you were-what was your word's-the werewolf. I'm supposed to feel better about that?"

"Good point," Jax chuckled again.

Alec came into their conversation gently but assuredly, "Focus-off this topic. You are not out of peril yet."

Luna frowned again and quickened her stride to walk beside him, "And what exactly is the plan. You keep saying Ronan is coming for me, I don’t even know who he is or why I’m involved."

Alec gave her full attention, his intensity concentrated in his green eyes, "Ronan is the alpha of a rogue pack. He has been looking for moon bearers for years to utilize their energy to reign over other packs. If he were to gain control of a moon bearer while it was full moon, he could reign over people like us, for all intents and purposes, he could create his own army.”

Luna jerked back briefly in disbelief before shaking her head, “But I don’t even understand how to use the ‘energy’. You are saying I have the ability to control you?”

“Yes, in theory,” Alec confirmed. “But you lack training. That puts you at risk.” 

"So I’m out there like a sitting duck." Luna muttered to herself. "Perfect."

"He is not going to get to you," Kade expressed in a deep voice from somewhere behind and above her. "He is not even going to breathe on you." 

The forcefulness in his tone made her skin prickle. Luna turned back slightly to glance over her shoulder at him, but Kade had no discernable expression, and only the light of the moon reflected darkly off the blue in his eyes, creating an enigmatic and unreadable look.

“But what if I can’t control it? What if Ronan does come and I can’t stop him?” she asked with a quieter voice.

Alec’s eyes softened a bit as he took on the slower pace of walking side by side with Luna. “We’re going to teach you how to use it before he gets the chance to. You’re stronger than you think, Luna." He stated, as though addressing a child.

Luna opened her mouth to object, but the rustling sound in the trees made her freeze, instinctively grabbing at Alec’s arm. Jax stepped towards them, putting his hand on Luna’s shoulder as if to ensure her safety, but his eyes were sharp, scanning the trees.

“What is it?” Luna whispered shakily, with her heart pounding like drunken drum.

Alec put his hand up again to silence everything and motioned for his own silence. The forest seemed to hold its breath, too, and all they could hear was the wind whispering through the trees, far away.

Then they heard a low growling, deep, deep and guttural from somewhere the dark ahead.

The blood in Luna turned to ice. “What was that?”

“Trouble,” Jax muttered, his formerly playful expression gone now, replaced with the serious and focused demeanor of a predator about to seize its prey.

The growl came again, much closer this time. Luna quickly darted her wide-eyed gaze to Alec, who had already shifted forward to meet his fate, muscled body tensed as he prepared to shift. The shift was not instantaneous, but Luna could sense the wolf waiting beneath the surface of his human skin, prepping to unleash the beast within. 

Kade crept soundlessly to her side, lifted his hand, and placed it on her lower back, leading her to hide behind him as Jax moved forward readying himself for a fight. 

“Stay close," Kade said, voice low and detached like a growl.

Luna began to breathe quicker, fighting to make sense of the situation. Were they going to fight? Would it be Ronan’s pack? She could barely process that werewolves existed as it was, and here she was witnessing one fight.

Suddenly, a large, hulking figure sprang from the trees, unmistakably a massive wolf. It was dark, almost black, with a fierce, glowing amber gaze. It snarled, showing its teeth forlornly, and froze at the mere sight of it.   

Before she could scream, Alec lunged forward, fast as a blink, toward the wolf. He did not fully shift, but the sheer power being absorbed into his fantastic body rippled through him as he threw himself into the wolf, veering him off his course. He was once animal and man and blended together, dog-like, snarling, versatile motions.  

Jax was a quicker shade of light than she could imagine, circling around it, an extension of golden-fur bristling with the wool underneath, and then he was behind it, flanking the rogue wolf. Kade did not shift but stayed focused on the fighting, human muscles coiling and compressing, readying for action if he should intervene, though that didn't appear to be a threat at first. 

Luna pressed her back firmly against the trunk of a tree, gasping for breath. This was not real. She was not part of a real situation. She was watching men turn into wolves fight-- and she had no idea how she would fit into this hellish nightmare in total. 

The wolf let a piercing yelp escape after Alec had bitten into its shoulder and pulled it to the ground. Jax fronted him, hunter's instincts on full display and not allowing any escape from its own bloodthirstiness, snapping just feet from the wolf's exposed throat. Luna was just about to believe the fight was over when the rogue twisted around, broke free with a snarl, and disappeared back into the trees, lost into the darkness. 

The silence that followed was almost deafening. Alec and Jax stayed in their wolf forms for another moment, panting heavily, eyes scanning the forest as they checked for movement. Gradually, they shifted back, simply transitioning like they had always done this. 

Luna couldn’t take her eyes off of Alec. He was covered in a coat of sweat, his muscles still surged with the adrenaline. He wiped a bit of blood off the corner of his mouth and turned back towards her.

“You okay?” he asked, his voice steady, though his eyes clearly had a hard edge to them.

Luna nodded, even though her legs felt like jelly. “What was that?”

“A scout,” Kade said, before stepping closer. “Ronan's testing us. Seeing how close he could get.”

Luna swallowed hard. “So he’s already here?”

Alec clenched his jaw. “He’s close. That’s why we need to move quickly.”

Jax rubbed the back of his neck, feeling way more casual the further away they were from the unsafe energy. “Yeah, I don’t want to hang out for a re-match.” 

“Agreed,” Alec replied, his vocal tone darkening. “We need to get to the pack’s territory. We’ll be safe there.”

Luna’s mind was racing, trying to comprehend what just happened. She was way over her head, plunked into vulnerable danger and power that she could barely conceptualize and now Ronan was hunting her and she didn’t know this dude, did he really want to hunt her? He was gonna use her for reasons she couldn’t imagine. 

As they resumed their journey, Luna could not help but take a glance at Alec, Jax, and Kade, who were moving effortlessly through the night, like wolves in pursuit of their prey.

She had no idea who Ronan was, but one thing was certain - these men were the only line of defense she had against whatever was to come.

 If she wanted to survive it, she had to trust these men.