Chapter 52 The Luna's First Hunt
LIRA POV
The morning of my first hunt, I woke to find Kael already gone. A note lay on his pillow in his harsh scrawl: Pack business. Aria will help you prepare.
I crumpled the paper, hating the distance he'd rebuilt between us. Three days of fevered intimacy, and now he couldn't even face me before the most important pack ritual.
"He's scared." Aria's voice came from the doorway. "Of what you mean to him."
"Then he's a coward." I threw off the furs, ignoring my body's protests. "How long do I have?"
"Two hours until the hunt begins." She entered carrying traditional Luna hunting leathers. "Every pack member will participate. You'll need to prove yourself to the hunters, the warriors, even the elders."
"By killing something." I took the clothes, fingering the supple leather. "I've never hunted before."
"You've survived worse than hunting." Aria helped me dress. "Trust your wolf , she knows what to do."
The leather fit perfectly, molded to my body like a second skin. I caught my reflection in the window—no longer the broken cellar girl, but something fierce and dangerous.
"One more thing." Aria produced a silver circlet from her satchel. "Traditional Luna crown, worn during first hunts to identify you to the pack."
"Will it burn?" I eyed the silver metal warily.
"It's moon-blessed silver, it won’t harm Moonblood wolves." She placed it on my head. "There, now you look the part."
But looking the part and being it were different things.
The pack assembled at the forest's edge. Hundreds of wolves in both forms, all waiting to witness my first hunt.
Kael stood at the front with Thomas and the hunting party leaders. His expression remained carefully neutral when I approached.
"You came." His tone held surprise.
"Did you think I wouldn't?" I stopped before him, refusing to show weakness. "Or were you hoping I'd hide in your tower?"
"I hoped you'd be smart." He moved closer, lowering his voice. "Half these wolves want you to fail. If you can't take down proper prey"
"Then they'll have ammunition against me." I finished. "I understand pack politics, Kael. Probably better than you think."
Selene's voice rang out before he could respond. "The First Hunt begins! By ancient law, the new Luna must prove herself worthy by taking down significant prey. No pack assistance, no alpha intervention."
"What qualifies as significant?" I called out.
"Something that fights back." Eldric emerged from the crowd, a cruel smile on his face. "Something dangerous enough to prove your worth as a hunter."
"And if I succeed?" I met his challenge directly.
"Then you earn the pack's hunting rights." Selene gestured to the forest. "Access to our prey grounds. Recognition as a provider, not just a political symbol."
I felt every eye burning into me. Felt their doubt, their hope, their desperate need for me to be either savior or scapegoat.
"Then let's begin." I called Selwyn forward, feeling her rise beneath my skin.
The shift came easier this time, light erupted as my bones restructured, my senses exploding into wolf clarity.
When I opened my eyes again, I stood on four legs. The pack murmured—some in awe, others in fear.
Kael's massive black wolf moved beside me. Through the bond, I felt his protectiveness warring with political necessity.
You can't help me, I sent through our connection.
I know. His frustration bled through. Doesn't mean I have to like it.
Selene's ancient white wolf howled, signaling the hunt's start. The pack surged forward into the forest, but I held back.
Rushing in would only prove I was reckless.
Smart, Selwyn approved. Let them chase the easy prey. We hunt something worthy.
I padded into the forest alone, following scents the others ignored. Deer, rabbits, small game—all beneath a Luna's first kill.
Then I caught it as my hackles rose.
What is that? I asked Selwyn.
Razorback boar. Her excitement pulsed through me. Ancient, territorial, deadly animal. It’s Perfect.
Or suicide. I hesitated. I've never even fought before.
You survived twenty years in chains. She pushed forward, following the scent, definitely you can survive one boar.
The trail led deep into the forest, away from the pack's hunting grounds. I heard howls behind me—other wolves making their kills, celebrating their catches.
But I pushed on.
The scent grew stronger. Then I heard it—grunting and the sound of tusks against bark.
I emerged into a clearing to find the boar. Massive, easily three hundred pounds of muscle as scars crisscrossed its hide, evidence of battles won.
It saw me as Red eyes fixed on my form.
This was a mistake, I thought.
This was necessary, Selwyn countered. Now move!
The boar charged. I barely dodged, its tusk grazing my flank.
Pain exploded through me as blood stained my fur.
I heard howls in the distance—the pack sensing my injury through our territory bond.
Focus! Selwyn snapped. Use speed, not strength. Tire it out.
The boar charged again. This time I was ready, darting aside and snapping at its legs.
It squealed rage, wheeling to follow. But I was faster, more agile. Years of starvation had made me thin, light and quick.
I circled the boar, nipping and dodging. Drawing blood in small cuts that added up.
It grew tired, slower. Its charges less coordinated.
Now, Selwyn commanded. Go for the throat.
I lunged. My jaws closed around the boar's thick neck, tasting blood. It thrashed, trying to throw me off. Its tusks caught my shoulder, tearing deep.
But I held on, bit down harder and felt its struggles weaken.
Finally, it fell as a dead weight beneath me.
I released my grip, panting. Blood covered my muzzle—the boar's and mine.
Howls erupted around the clearing. The pack had followed my scent, witnessing the final moment.
Kael's black wolf emerged first, his storm-gray eyes wide with something between pride and terror.
You're hurt, he sent through the bond.
I'm victorious, I corrected. There's a difference.
Selene's white wolf padded into the clearing, examining the massive boar. She circled it once, twice, then sat.
The Luna has hunted, she announced through the pack bond. And hunted well.
Other wolves flooded the clearing. Some touched their noses to my bloodied fur in acknowledgment. Others kept their distance, fear written in their postures.
Eldric's wolf stood at the clearing's edge. Through his expression, I read grudging respect mixed with renewed determination.
I'd proven myself today. But that only made me more dangerous in his eyes.
I shifted back, ignoring my nakedness and injuries. Someone threw a cloak over my shoulders—Thomas, his expression approving.
"Razorback boar." His voice carried to the assembled wolves. "The Luna's first kill is worthy of songs."
"Or questions." Eldric shifted to human form, his scarred chest bare. "Razorbacks don't come this far south. They're northern territory animals."
"Are you accusing me of something?" I lifted my chin despite exhaustion.
"I'm noting suspicious timing." He moved closer. "A convenient beast appears exactly when you need to prove yourself."
"Convenient?" I gestured to my torn shoulder, still bleeding. "This nearly killed me."
"But it didn't." His amber eyes held calculation. "And now you have a trophy no other new Luna has claimed in fifty years."
Murmurs rippled through the pack. I felt doubt creeping into their recognition.
"Enough." Kael's voice cut through the whispers. "Lira tracked, fought, and killed dangerous animal alone. That's all pack law requires."
"Pack law." Eldric turned his challenge to Kael. "Tell me, Alpha—did you help her find that boar? Use your territory sense to guide her?"
"I did nothing." Kael's jaw tightened. "She hunted without my aid or knowledge."
"Then explain how a wolfless girl, newly shifted, managed to track and kill a beast that's bested experienced hunters." Eldric addressed the pack now. "Unless her Moonblood powers give her unfair advantages."
I understood then. Win or lose, I'd never be enough. Every success would be questioned, every failure magnified.
"You want proof my power isn't an advantage?" I moved to the center of the clearing, ignoring pain. "Fine. Next full moon, I hunt without shifting in my human form only. Let's see if I'm still worthy then."
Shock rippled through the pack. Kael grabbed my arm.
"Don't." His voice dropped. "You're injured, exhausted"
"And clearly need to prove myself again and again." I pulled free. "So let's make it official. Does the council accept my challenge?"
Selene's expression held something like approval. "The Luna offers voluntary hardship trial. Pack law allows this, we accept."
"You're insane." Kael hissed through our bond.
"I'm trapped." I sent back. "This way, I control the terms."
"Or die trying." His fury burned through the connection.
"Then at least I die free." I met his gaze steadily. "Can you understand that?"
Something broke in his expression. "No. But I'll support it anyway."
The pack dispersed slowly, carrying the boar's carcass for the feast. As tradition demanded, I'd eat first—the Luna claiming her kill.
But as I followed them back to the packhouse, limping from my injuries, I felt Selwyn's warning.
That wasn't luck, she said quietly. That boar being there.
What do you mean? I asked.
Someone wanted you to find it. Wanted to see if you'd take the bait.
Ice flooded my veins. Who?
That's what we need to discover. Her presence pulled back, leaving me with human consciousness. Before the next trap springs.
Aria met me at the packhouse entrance, her healer's bag ready. "Those wounds need treatment."
"After the feast." I pulled the cloak tighter. "Tradition first."
"Lira" She caught my arm, lowering her voice. "Someone poisoned three of my healing draughts this morning. Wolfsbane mixed with silver dust."
"Who?" The question came out flat.
"I don't know yet." Fear flickered in her eyes. "But whoever it is, they're getting bold. If you'd been injured worse, if you'd needed those draughts."
"I'd be dead." I finished. "Message received."
"You need to tell Kael." She glanced around nervously. "He needs to know there's a traitor in the pack."
"He already knows." I touched the completed bond mark on my neck. "He just hasn't figured out who yet."