The Alpha’s Hunt

The howl echoed across the mountains.

It was not the cry of a wounded wolf.

It was a summons.

Every member of the Shadow Pack stopped what they were doing and turned toward Blackwood Forest. Warriors abandoned their training. Scouts emerged from the trees. Even the elders looked toward the crimson banner flying above Blackthorn Keep.

Only one wolf had the right to call the entire pack with a single howl.

Their Alpha.

⸻

Kael Blackthorn stood at the edge of a cliff overlooking the endless forest below.

The wind tugged at his black cloak as his golden eyes searched the sea of trees. His face was calm, but the tension in his broad shoulders betrayed the storm raging inside him.

Someone had used ancient magic.

Not ordinary witchcraft.

Moon magic.

The very power the world believed had vanished two centuries ago.

Behind him, hurried footsteps approached.

“My Alpha.”

Kael didn’t turn.

“Report.”

Damon Blackthorn, his younger brother, bowed his head.

“Our scouts found traces of powerful magic in Blackwood Forest. The trees are still humming with it.”

Kael’s expression hardened.

“And the wolf?”

“He survived.”

That caught Kael’s attention.

He slowly turned.

“Survived?”

Damon nodded.

“He was crushed beneath a fallen oak after chasing a rogue beast. He swears a young woman saved him.”

Kael folded his arms.

“A healer?”

“No.”

Damon hesitated.

“He said the forest obeyed her.”

Silence settled between them.

Kael’s jaw tightened.

“Describe her.”

“Long black hair. Green eyes unlike anything he’s ever seen. Human… at least that’s what she appeared to be.”

Green eyes.

For a brief moment, Kael remembered a story his father used to tell him when he was a child.

Beware the eyes that shine like moonlit emeralds.

If they ever appear again… the last Moon Witch has returned.

He had dismissed it as an old legend.

Until now.

⸻

Miles away, Clover hurried home with her heart still racing.

She couldn’t stop thinking about the wolf.

Or the vines.

Or the impossible green light that had burst from her hands.

She pushed open the cottage door.

“Grandma?”

No answer.

The fire still burned.

A pot of herbal tea rested on the table.

Everything looked normal.

Except for one thing.

Agnes was standing by the window.

She wasn’t looking outside.

She was staring at Clover’s hands.

“You used magic.”

It wasn’t a question.

Clover’s stomach dropped.

“I… I don’t know what happened.”

Agnes closed her eyes.

“I prayed this day would never come.”

“Grandma…”

Agnes crossed the room and gently held Clover’s hands.

There, faintly glowing beneath the skin of her wrist, was a tiny silver mark.

A four-leaf clover.

Clover gasped.

“That wasn’t there before.”

“No,” Agnes whispered.

“It has finally awakened.”

Before Clover could ask another question—

A violent knock shook the cottage.

Bang.

Bang.

Bang.

Both women froze.

Another knock came, louder than before.

Then a deep voice called from outside.

“We know someone in this house used magic.”

“Open the door.”

Agnes’s face drained of color.

“They’ve found you.”

“Who has?”

She looked Clover straight in the eyes.

“The hunters.”

Outside, five cloaked figures surrounded the cottage.

And hidden among the trees beyond them…

A pair of glowing golden eyes watched without making a sound.

Kael Blackthorn had found the girl with emerald eyes.

He had expected a monster.

Instead…

He found someone who looked completely unaware that the fate of two races now rested in her hands.