Chapter eight: The Hunt

Aria Blackwood......

The morning air was thick with expectation. By the time I reached the great hall, it was already overflowing with things.

Long tables stretched from end to end, filled with bread, roasted meats, and steaming pitchers of wine. Warriors from every pack crowded the benches, laughter and growls blending in the cavernous space.

But the center table… that was where the true attention was.

Damien, our Alpha, lounged with forced ease, flanked by Serena draped in silk, very transparent silk, I could see her taut nipples , she was sitting like she already was crowned Luna.

At the head, larger than life, sat him.

The Alpha King.

Even seated, he dwarfed the rest, his shoulders were broad, his dark hair brushing against the collar of his black tunic, and those golden eyes scanning the room as though every wolf present were his to command.

He didn’t need to speak. The weight of his dominance pressed against my skin, sharp as claws and I was supposed to serve him.

“Aria.” Mrs. Callahan shoved a tray into my hands, piled high with fruit. “Don’t drop this and keep your head down, we don’t need you embarrassing the pack.”

My palms were already slick with sweat, I forced a nod and willed my legs steady as I moved forward.

Each step seemed heavier than the last, the chatter dimming in my ears. I placed the goblets before one Alpha, a plate before another. My chest tightened as I neared the King.

Up close, his presence was suffocating. He didn’t look at me at first, but when I reached across to place the fruit before him, his gaze flicked upward and my breath caught.

Those ever changing eyes locked on mine for a fraction of a second, sharp and assessing, almost… curious and that was when my heel caught the edge of the rug.

The tray tilted and my body lurched forward, gasps erupted from the tables but I didn’t hit the ground.

An iron-strong hand closed around my wrist, steadying me with effortless strength. The tray wobbled, but his other hand shifted just enough to catch it, balancing the fruit as though it weighed nothing.

Silence fell and the Alpha King’s hand lingered on my arm, warm and unyielding. His gaze burned into me, so intense it felt like my very bones vibrated.

“Careful,”

he said quietly, his voice low, smooth, but carrying a weight that silenced the entire hall.

I swallowed hard, my face flaming. “Y-yes, my King.” I pulled back quickly, forcing myself upright, my knees threatening to give out.

And then I heard laughter.

“Oh, look at her,” Serena’s voice rang out, sharp and cruel. “Clumsy little Aria, always tripping over herself. Honestly, why do we even let her serve? She can’t even manage a tray without making a fool of herself.”

Snickers rippled along the benches, I bit the inside of my cheek, holding back the sting in my eyes.

Serena leaned against Damien’s shoulder, her smile wicked. “Perhaps we should give her a leash then at least someone could pull her back before she humiliates us in front of royalty.”

Heat flooded my face and my vision blurred. I couldn’t stand there another second.

I dropped the tray onto the nearest table and fled, ignoring the calls, the mocking laughter that followed me out the hall.

The last thing I saw before the doors slammed shut behind me was the Alpha King’s unreadable gaze tracking me as I ran.

I didn’t stop until I reached the back courtyard, my breaths sharp, chest heaving.

No matter how many times I told myself not to let her words sink in, they always did. Serena had everything, beauty, confidence, the pack’s approval. And me? I was the shadow, the mistake, the unwanted.

I pressed trembling hands to my face, trying to force the tears back but there was no time.

A horn blared across the grounds.

The Hunt was beginning, I had to wear something appropriate

The entire pack gathered at the forest’s edge. Warriors shifted into wolves, fur bristling and teeth gleaming. The visiting packs lined up alongside them, snarls and howls rising into the sky.

Damien stood tall, his chest puffed with pride, while Serena clung to his arm, her smile radiant.

The Alpha King was there too, a few paces ahead, his crew standing like shadows behind him. His gaze swept over the field like a blade.

“The Hunt begins,” Alpha Damien declared, his voice deep and commanding. “May the strongest prevail, may the Goddess guide your claws.”

The Alpha king stepped forward and all the Alpha's bowed

"there will be no killing of the women, if they don't agree to mate you , leave them alone and don't kill them." he said his voice loud and dominant

The ground trembled with answering howls and then they surged forward.

I shifted, my bones cracking, fur spilling across my skin as my wolf emerged. The forest swallowed me, branches whipping past as paws thundered against the earth. The thrill of the chase burned in my veins—

But then it hit me, a wave of heat so violent it tore a whimper from my throat.

I stumbled mid-run, collapsing against a tree, my body trembling. Fire licked through my veins, pooling low in my belly. My wolf snarled in confusion, but the scent, my scent poured into the air, thick, sweet, intoxicating, I felt hot all over and I felt an ache and I whimpered

No. No, no, no. Not now.

My heat.

Panic surged as I forced myself upright, but it was too late. The shift in the air was immediate.

Wolves nearby froze, their heads snapping toward me. Their pupils blew wide, their nostrils flaring as my scent wrapped around them. Hunger twisted their snarls, but it wasn’t prey they sought.

It was me “Run,” my wolf hissed inside my head.

I bolted, crashing through the underbrush, my heart pounding. Behind me, snarls erupted, their claws tearing the earth as wolves gave chase, not for the Hunt, but for me.

Branches whipped my face, my legs burned, but the heat pulsed through me, making me weak, sluggish, every inhale was fire and every exhale a plea.

I risked a glance back and my blood froze.

Half a dozen wolves, their eyes crazed, foam at their mouth, chased me with singular focus. Their howls split the air, primal and savage.

This wasn’t the Hunt anymore this was survival. I darted left, leaping over a fallen log, but the fire in my body made my limbs heavy. My paw snagged, and I tumbled, rolling across the dirt before scrambling upright.

They were closer, too close.

Terror clawed at my throat and my body betrayed me, trembling with heat, scenting the air with my desperation.

They would tear me apart and then the forest went silent.

An aura rolled through the trees, crushing and suffocating. A force so powerful it drove the wolves to their bellies mid-stride, whining, their bodies bowing under its weight.

I froze, my chest heaving and my legs threatening to buckle and through the shadows, he emerged.

The Alpha King.

His wolf form was massive and towering, his fur was black as midnight, his golden eyes glowing like molten steel.

His snarl split the air, a sound so fierce the ground itself seemed to tremble, He was as huge as a full grown Alpha in how wolf form I whimpered, baring my neck

The feral wolves scrambled back, whining, tails tucked, their earlier hunger extinguished under the sheer dominance radiating from him.

His gaze locked on me and for a moment, the world held still.

The fire of my heat warred with the raw power of his presence, and something inside me shifted, a spark or a pull. A dangerous, undeniable recognition.

The Alpha King stepped forward, each stride deliberate, his aura wrapping around me like chains.

And in that moment, I knew my life would never be the same again.

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