Chapter 3: The Hunter and the Hunted

"Elena?"

Her voice barely registered at first. My mind was still spinning from what had just happened. The moment felt surreal, like I had imagined the whole thing. But then she called my name again, more urgent this time.

"Yo, Rox! Are you okay?"

I blinked and turned toward her. My pulse was still racing.

“Elena...” My voice came out quieter than I expected. I swallowed hard and quickly glanced back in Aidan's direction.

But he was gone.

Just... gone.

Like he had never been there in the first place.

The street was empty now, the night silent except for the distant hum of the city. The only sign that anything had happened was the still-warm blood staining my blade and the remains of the werewolf's body slumped against the wall.

Shit.

Elena was already walking toward me, her brows furrowed in concern. "What's the problem? Are you hurt? What happened?"

I shook my head, still processing everything. "Yeah, um... he's gone."

Elena frowned. "Who? The werewolf?"

"No, not the werewolf." My grip on the knife tightened. "The guy from the other night. The one who followed me after the hunt."

Elena's expression darkened. “Wait, what? The same guy? Are you sure?"

I nodded slowly. "Yeah. Says his name is Aidan Thorne."

Elena's eyes flickered with something- concern, suspicion, maybe both. "Aidan Thorne..." she repeated. Then she shook her head. "Doesn't ring a bell."

"It does for me," I admitted. "I don't know why, but the name sounds... familiar. I just can't figure out why."

Elena exhaled sharply, scanning the area like she expected him to be lurking nearby. "Okay, let's get out of here first. We'll figure it out later."

I hesitated for a second, still unsettled, but then I nodded.

We left the scene, making our way through the quiet streets, but my mind was elsewhere.

I couldn't stop thinking about him.

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Later That Night

The nightmare came again.

It always did.

The same horrific scene that haunted me every time I closed my eyes.

My mother's terrified expression as she realized what was coming.

The way my father's flesh was torn apart, his screams ripping through the night.

My little brother's helpless sobs, the way his tiny hands trembled as he reached for me.

And then-

The force of the impact. The way they flung his small body across the room like he was nothing.

The sickening crunch of bone cracking.

I woke up gasping.

My chest was heaving, my heart slamming against my ribs. My hands curled into the sheets, damp with sweat. The images burned behind my eyes like fresh wounds.

It was the same nightmare. The same night. Over and over again.

I exhaled shakily, rubbing my hands over my face. Morning light was already creeping in through the blinds. Elena was gone-probably already at work.

I swallowed back the lump in my throat, forcing myself to pull it together. There was no use dwelling on the past. I had a job to do.

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The Hunter's Report

After freshening up, I headed out to meet Jackson.

Jackson wasn't just my leader-he was the one who had taken me in after my family was slaughtered. The one who trained me. The one who turned me into a hunter.

When I arrived, he was already waiting. His sharp eyes scanned me the moment I stepped in.

"Are you hurt?" he asked.

"I'm fine," I answered. "Took care of the werewolf last night."

He nodded. "Good work."

I hesitated for half a second, debating whether to mention Aidan. But I didn't.

Not yet.

Instead, we talked more about last night's hunt, what I had observed, and how the werewolves had been behaving lately. Then the door opened, and Marcos walked in.

He was another hunter, part of the organization, and someone I had worked with before. He walked straight to Jackson and whispered something into his ear.

Jackson's face darkened.

I narrowed my eyes. "What is it?"

Jackson turned to me, his expression unreadable. "We might have a new lead on the pack that murdered your family."

For a moment, the world tilted.

The air around me felt too thick. Too suffocating. I could hear my own heartbeat pounding in my ears.

"Rox?" Jackson's voice cut through the haze. "Roxanne-are you good?"

I blinked rapidly, snapping back to reality. "Yeah. Yeah, sorry. Did you say you had a lead on the pack that murdered my family? Did I hear you right?

Jackson studied me for a moment before repeating, "We're not sure yet, but we have a lead. When we confirm it, you'll be the first to know."

I clenched my fists. "No. I want to know now. Take me with you when you

investigate."

Jackson exhaled. "Rox, we've talked about this. Let me handle it. Your job is to keep hunting."

My jaw tightened, but I forced myself to nod. "Fine. Just... tell me the moment you find out."

He placed a hand on my shoulder. "I will."

I gave him a small nod, then left.

The Attack

By the time I stepped outside, night had already fallen.

The air was crisp, the streets quiet. But something felt... off.

I kept walking, but my instincts were screaming at me. Something wasn't right.

Then I heard it-soft footsteps behind me.

I kept moving, my fingers slipping toward the silver knife hidden in my boot. My senses sharpened, every muscle coiled tight.

A low growl echoed from the darkness.

My blood ran cold.

I turned just in time to see two massive wolves emerge from the shadows, their glowing eyes locked onto me.

Not just wolves. Werewolves.

And they weren't here by accident.

They came for me.

I didn't hesitate. The second they lunged, I moved.

The first one snapped at me, but I dodged, slashing my silver blade across its shoulder. It howled in pain, but the second one struck before I could regain my balance.

It tackled me hard, knocking the breath from my lungs. My back slammed against the ground.

I fought back, kicking, slicing, but they were faster. Stronger.

I managed to injure one, but the other pinned me down, its fangs bared.

For the first time in a long time, fear crawled down my spine.

And then-

A blur of movement. A figure lunging from the shadows.

The werewolf on top of me was yanked away in a blur of speed and violence. Snarls and growls filled the air. Claws slashed. Teeth snapped.

I barely registered what was happening. All I knew was that, seconds later, the werewolves were gone.

And then, a hand reached out towardme.

I hesitated before taking it.

The moment I stood up, I recognized the

voice.

"Are you alright?"

I froze.

No. No, it couldn't be.

I turned my head slowly. And then the moonlight hit his face.

Aidan.

He was standing right in front of me.

"You," I breathed. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Aidan tilted his head slightly, his expression unreadable. "Funny. I was about to ask you the same thing."

And that's when I saw it-

His eyes.

They were glowing.

A sinking feeling settled in my gut. The speed, the way he fought, the glowing eyes... it could only mean one thing.

My breath hitched.

"You're..." I took a step back, pulling out my knife. "You're a werewolf."

Aidan didn't move. "I'm not here to hurt you."

"Bullshit." My grip on the knife tightened. “The only thing werewolves know how to do is hurt.”

“If I wanted to hurt you, I wouldn’t have saved you.”

I hesitated. Just for a second.

“Why are you following me?” I demanded. “Why is a werewolf following me?”

Aidan exhaled. “What you don’t know, Roxanne, is that I’ve been following you for a lot longer than you think.”

I narrowed my eyes. “That’s impossible.”

“Your last birthday,” he said casually. “You celebrated it at a café. You ordered chocolate cake, but you don’t even like chocolate, do you?”

I stiffened.

There was no way he could've known that.

My pulse pounded in my ears. "Why?" I whispered. "Why have you been following me?"

Aidan took a step closer " I'm gonna need you to calm down and let me introduce myself. I'm Aidan Thorne next in line for Alpha of the Crimson pack."

"Crimson pack?" I asked trying to recall. I definitely knew them but at the moment my brain was not thinking straight.

"Yes you heard me right. Crimson pack. My father is Alpha and he has commanded I got myself a wife because that was the only way I could become the next Alpha. It was a long standing tradition and there were no exceptions.

"So what exactly is my business with all that werewolf family drama" I asked cutting in "if you need a wife so badly, go get yourself a wife shouldn't be that hard should it?

He smirked "That's what I'm doing Rox."

At this point confusion was clearly written on my face " What do you mean?"

"I mean," he said simply. "You are my Luna, Roxanne. You are my fated mate."