The Moonlit Bond:Secrets And Shadows

Tia's POV

The forest floor crunched beneath my paws, the dry leaves crackling like brittle bones as I stalked my prey. My pack mates canned out around me, their ears perked up as we fixated on the deer grazing in the clearing. We'd been hunting for hours, and my stomach growled with anticipation.

  This will make the perfect lunch, I thought.

  Just as we were about to pounce, a blur of gray fur shot past me, and a wolf form snatched the deer from beneath our noses.

  I felt myself getting angrier than I'd ever been in a while. My pack erupted into snarls and growls, furs standing on end as they were about to fight. If only we could curse in our wolf forms.

  I knew who it was that had that super speed that no wolf ever had; Kael. The most renowned hunter and fighter. And he wasn't just regarded highly in Oakwood City, but outside of it too. It really wasn't fair that he wasn't from our pack.

  The important thing though is, everyone in my pack hated him. I didn't, I just didn't like him. And I disliked him even more now that he'd stolen our lunch. I growled as I watched Kael's pack, lounging in the trees, merely watching our reactions with mild interest.

  My pack charged forward, teeth bared, but Kael's team didn't flinch. The air was thick with tension and I didn't want to feed any more into it as I growled at my pack members to back off. Fighting was going to do more harm than good. And I wasn't cocky enough to think that fighting them, especially when Kael was around, was a smart move.

  My pack members gradually backed down, retreating to a nearby clearing to shift back into our human forms.

  I yanked on my clothes, my movements jerky with irritation.

  "I really hate that Kael guy," Lori, my best friend grumbled as she dressed. "Scratch that, I "hate" the entire Crescent Shade pack."

  My pack mates let out a sound of agreement as they grumbled and complained.

  "Let's go home. We could try hunting in the night," I said. It's not that I wasn't mad and didn't want to let out curses too, it's just that I was trying my best to be mature.

  However, that maturity flew out the window when we bumped into Kael's pack members, who were dressed in casual attires.

  Kael's alpha, Jason Lockwood, a towering figure with a bright and mocking gaze, sneered at us. "Looks like someone needs to work on their hunting skills," he taunted.

  "Looks like someone needs to learn how to hunt before their number one hunter decides to leave them for being lazy by being overly reliant on him to do their hunting for them," I shot back, to my pack mates' laughter.

  Jason and his team growled, their faces twisted in anger letting me know I hit a nerve. Kael, however, seemed almost... amused? His eyes locked onto me, a hint of a smile playing on his lips. I felt a shiver run down my spine as our gazes met, my skin prickling with unease. Because why was he looking at me? We've never really acknowledged each other that much and we're enemies so...

  I tried to ignore him, but his stare made me feel like I was some fascinating specimen under a microscope.

  "Kael is our beta and he does this because he wants to," one of the opposing pack members said.

  "Yeah, right," Lori responded, folding her arms across her chest. "You just let him do the work because you're unskilled and lazy, just like my alpha said. At least we actually put in some effort as a team."

  Jason looked like a vein was about to pop out from his head, and the other members became infuriated.

  "We give Kael the job because he wants to and is very capable!" someone from Jason's pack yelled.

  "I bet you do," I began in a mocking tone. "Which means there's no need for Jason to be the alpha, because I think there's only one leader here, and it's definitely not him."

  The argument escalated, accusations and insults flying back and forth. Kael's pack seemed to be itching for a physical fight, but since we were holding the upper hand in the verbal fight, my pack members remained in lighter spirits, laughing occasionally, though ready in case we were about to be attacked. It wouldn't be the first time.

  I glanced at Kael and found him to still be so infuriatingly calm, his eyes still focused on me. Then he stepped forward and stood in the middle of the closing gap between the wolves.

  "We should go home and make our lunch," he said calmly to his pack mates, hands in his pockets. He was facing us as he said this, his back to them. "There's no need to fight over a battle that's already been won."

  Now I really wanted to smack him in the face. He acted like he was breaking the fight, but he was simply interested in insulting us!

  I glared at him, stopping Lori from saying anything with my hand, and motioned for my team to leave.

  "Let's go guys," I said, fighting the urge to flip Kael the bird.

  My team and I stormed off, grumbling about the Crescent Shade Pack's thievery as we heard them making sounds taunting us.

  As we trudged back to our territory, I couldn't help but remember how Kael's eyes were focused on me all through. His eyes were so… piercing and... I suddenly pushed the thought aside, attributing it to my own frustration. Still, I couldn't help but wonder what he was thinking.

  "Don't worry guys, by nighttime we'll definitely get something," I encouraged my team.

  "It's almost like they intentionally wait till when we're hunting to steal our prey," one of my members grumbled, and a lot of the others voiced agreement.

  "Yeah," I agreed. It was too much of a coincidence.

  But Kael was right, we lost.