Bound by Moon and Blade

In the core of the woods, Brookfield Town holds a lonely house.

Not a single sound from the groups of men as they slowly crept around the lone house.

"Dylan, are you sure he's here?" Zach, the leader of the hunters, whispered, slowly putting down his bow.

"Positive," Dylan muttered, adjusting his bow. "He's trapped. He took a heavy hit in the last fight and couldn't have gotten far."

Zach motioned for the three companions to go to the back of the house...While he motioned for Dylan to accompany him to the front of the house. 

They were met with silence as they entered the house. As Zach ascended the stairs to the second floor of the house, he gave Dylan a look and motioned for him to look at the room downstairs.

Dylan crept down the hall and pushed open a side room door. 

However, as soon as he entered, someone grabbed his hand and threw him into the wall. The impact caused him to release the arrow he was carrying.

When he saw that the man was getting ready to attack him once more, he quickly pulled the knife out of his pocket. Dylan repeatedly waved the knife he was holding so that the man couldn't get close to him. However, the man choked him against the wall and grabbed his hand with a knife, giving him the appearance of a young child.

"Who are you," a low, dangerous voice growled, the pressure on Dylan's neck tightening, "And what are you doing in my territory?" 

Dylan choked out, "We're... looking for Harper." 

“Harper? The lone Alpha? Why are you looking for him here? We have no connection with him!” The guy explained before he threw Dylan out the window.

Since this was his first time participating in the hunt, Dylan had no idea what to do when he fell to the ground and began to crawl.

“Leave our territory, before our Alpha arrives!” His threat as he got closer to Dylan. But he stopped speaking when he felt a sharp object pierce his back and penetrate his chest...

"The Wolf Hunters take orders from no one," Zach said, his voice cold and steady as he stepped forward, spearing the silver arrow once more and striking the man in the chest. 

As the dead man fell to the ground, Dylan took a deep breath. Zach approached him,"This is the last time I want to see you shaking like a coward," he reacted angrily as he pulled the silver bow in the man's back.

Dylan scrambled to his feet, clutching his bow with trembling hands. "I told you, I'm not cut out for this! I can't handle killing like this!" 

Zach froze, his eyes flashing with fury. He crossed the distance in a heartbeat, slamming Dylan back against the exterior wall of the house. 

"It is in your blood, whether you want it or not. You don't get to choose to walk away. Do you understand?!" Zach exclaimed.

Choking back his fear, Dylan swallowed hard and gave a stiff nod.

Only then did Zach release him, turning his back into the shadows without another word.

"Your son... when are you even going to convince him to take up the hunt?" Dylan asked, clutching his sore neck.

‘'My son is still young, but I see in him the potential and fortitude that you don't seem to have!'' Zach responded as he stared at an uneven patch of the ground. He prepared the crossbow as he slowly approached... He also told Dylan to get his weapon ready.

While clutching the crossbow in one hand, Zach used his other hand to draw the sword from behind him and repeatedly stabbed the ground.

"You're starting to chase ghosts, Zach. You're getting overly paranoid—" 

Zach scowled at Dylan as he drew his blade behind his back... At the same moment, they were surprised when someone grabbed their feet and their planned victim, Harper, appeared on the other side of the ground.

They shouted at the same time when Harper threw them... With solid force, Dylan hit the home wall as Zach struck a tree hard.

"Provoking an Alpha," Harper murmured, his voice a low, rumbling threat as he stalked forward, stepping over toward Dylan, "...is a very stupid way to die."

"Wait! Stop, wait—!" Dylan gasped, throwing his hands up in panic.

"Wait!!! wait!!!” Dylan pleaded, but Harper ignored him. His hand closed around Dylan's throat, lifting him effortlessly off the ground before tossing his limp weight straight across the clearing toward Zach. 

"Damn it, Zach! If Alpha is the one you would hunt, next time I won't join you.” Dylan complained when he fell next to his brother.

When Zach guessed that Harper would launch another attack, he withdrew the tiny crossbow from his wrist and shot Harper once in the stomach.

Zach stood up, "If I were you, I wouldn't move. It includes paralysis. And the more you move, the quicker it spreads to your body.”  

Harper scoffed at the warning, spinning around and breaking into a dead sprint. Even as his muscles began to lock up and his limbs grew heavy, he pushed forward, refusing to slow down. 

"Zach, we have a problem! A whole pack is quickly heading here in our direction. We have to go now!” one of his men stated.

"Get the car ready!" Zach ordered, his eyes tracking Harper's escape. "We're tracking him down." 

Scrambling into their cars, the hunters sped off, tearing down the winding forest road in pursuit of their target. 

Ahead, Harper stumbled to a halt as a violent, blinding throbbing seized his bones. Gritting his teeth against the paralysis, he forced his head back—only for his breath to hitch as the heavy canopy broke away, revealing the glowing, full moon hanging mercilessly in the night sky. 

"Damn it!" Harper cursed, jumping as a sickening crack echoed from his own spine. For a wild second, he wondered if it was a severe side effect of the hunter's poison, but a cold wave of dread hit him—he was losing control of his own body. 

Cutting through the dead silence of the night, a long, mournful howl tore across the forest. 

Inside their speeding vehicle, Zach and his men exchanged grim, panicked looks. "Step on it! We can't let him reach the town!" Zach barked, pointing ahead. 

Before they could close the distance, a massive, shadowy beast burst from the tree line. It was enormous, racing through the dark with a predatory hunger, its eyes locked firmly on the distant lights of the settlement.

Before the hunters could react, the giant wolf lunged, slamming directly into the side of their moving car. Metal groaned and glass shattered as the vehicle bucked wildly, teetering dangerously on two wheels before crashing back down onto the road.

Zach fires a shot at the giant wolf right away, but it appears the bullet had no effect. It didn't do anything but growl and glare at him before scurrying into town.

"Zach... Your son's school is that way!" Dylan states while looking at the town.

"I know!" Zach's furious answer. "Let's go to Stanwood University!" he commanded.

The driver slammed his foot down, roaring the engine to life as the tires screeched against the pavement, cutting hard toward the campus. 

"Why Stanwood?" Dylan asked, bracing himself against the dashboard as the car swerved around a tight bend.

"Because they're holding a campus festival tonight," Zach said, his face carved in stone as the terrible realization set in. "The whole place is packed—and every single student is in mortal danger."

——*——

Stanwood University

Blind to the world around her, a young woman hurried across the campus grounds, silent tears streaming continuously down her face.

The heavy moisture blurring her vision made it impossible to see the path ahead. Frustrated, she slipped off her thick glasses and hastily wiped her eyes with the back of her sleeve, her shoulders trembling from quiet heartbreak. 

Just a few yards away, half-hidden in the deep shadows of the campus oak trees, a massive, feral creature crouched. Its muscles rippled beneath dark fur, a low, menacing growl vibrating in its throat as its glowing eyes locked hungrily onto her.