Chapter 30 First Hunt

Chapter 30 First Hunt
Sienna's POV

Hunters poured from the trees.

Not ten. Not twenty. Hundreds.

They wore black armor that swallowed light. They carried weapons that hummed with anti-magic. They moved like a single creature with one purpose.

Kill me.

"Get Lily inside!" I shouted at Kael.

He ran. Daemon followed. Creating a barrier with his body between my daughter and the hunters.

"Sienna, we need to go!" Luna grabbed my arm.

"No." I pulled free. "I'm done running."

"You'll die!"

"Then I die protecting my daughter instead of hiding from cowards."

Luna's face twisted. But she didn't run. She stood beside me.

The hunters stopped fifty feet away. Formed a perfect circle around us.

A woman stepped forward. Not Vera. Someone else. Tall. Silver hair. Eyes like chips of ice.

"Sienna Voss," she said. "I am Commander Thrace of the Assembly Hunter Division. You are under arrest for murder, destruction of property, and violation of supernatural law."

"I was defending myself."

"You killed seventeen Assembly guards. Destroyed two buildings. Injured dozens more." Thrace's voice was flat. Emotionless. "Those are capital crimes."

"They attacked me first!"

"That's not what our witness says."

Vera stepped from behind the line of hunters.

She looked different. Cleaner. Like she'd bathed and changed. Like she hadn't just escaped custody.

Because she hadn't escaped. She'd been released.

"Hello, Sienna." Vera's smile was poison. "I told them everything. How you attacked the pack. How you threatened my son. How you've been hiding your dangerous powers for years."

"That's a lie!"

"Is it? Then explain the bodies. The destruction. The evidence." Vera gestured at the hunters. "These good people are just doing their jobs. Protecting society from rogues like you."

My power surged. Silver light crackled around my hands.

"Don't," Luna whispered. "That's what they want. You attack, you prove her right."

She was correct. This was a trap. They wanted me to fight. To look dangerous. To justify killing me.

I forced my power down. Let it settle.

"I'll go with you," I said. "Just leave my daughter alone."

"Your daughter is evidence," Thrace said. "She comes too."

"No."

"It wasn't a request."

"She's five years old!"

"She's also a moon witch. Unregistered. Untrained. Dangerous." Thrace nodded at two hunters. "Secure the child."

They moved toward the building where Kael had taken Lily.

Daemon stepped out. Blocked the door. "You're not touching her."

"Stand down or be arrested for obstruction."

"Arrest me then."

The hunters raised their weapons. Anti-magic rifles that could kill supernaturals instantly.

"Stop!" I stepped forward. "I'll cooperate. I'll do whatever you want. Just don't hurt them."

"Sienna, no," Luna said.

"I don't have a choice."

Thrace smiled. "Smart decision. Hunters, restrain her."

Two hunters approached. They carried chains that glowed with binding magic.

The same magic that nearly killed Orion.

My body tensed. Every instinct screamed to fight. To run. To protect myself.

But if I did, they'd kill everyone I loved.

The hunters reached for me.

"Don't fight them," Luna said quietly. "We'll find another way."

The chains wrapped around my wrists. The binding magic burned into my skin.

I screamed.

The pain was worse than anything I'd felt. Worse than the anti-magic weapons. Worse than childbirth.

The chains weren't just restraining my body. They were crushing my power. Forcing it down. Caging it.

Everything Luna had taught me said this was right. Power should be caged. Controlled. Suppressed.

But my body knew different. My magic knew different.

Being caged was killing me.

"Mommy!" Lily's scream cut through the pain.

I looked up. Saw her running from the building. Kael chased after her but couldn't catch her.

"Lily, no! Go back!"

She didn't listen. She ran straight toward me.

A hunter stepped in front of her. Not to grab her. Just to block her path.

But Lily was running too fast. She crashed into him. Bounced off. Hit the ground hard.

She cried out. A small sound of pain and fear.

That sound broke something in me.

My daughter was hurt. Scared. Crying.

And I was in chains. Helpless. Unable to protect her.

No.

No more chains. No more caging. No more suppressing.

Luna's voice echoed in my head. "Don't fight them. Don't prove them right."

But she was wrong. She'd always been wrong.

Suppression didn't keep me safe. It made me weak. Vulnerable. Unable to protect the people I loved.

I looked at the chains on my wrists. At the hunters surrounding me. At Vera's smug face.

At my daughter crying on the ground.

And I chose.

Not safety. Not control. Not survival.

Power.

The chains shattered.

Silver light exploded from my body. Brighter than before. Hotter. Stronger.

The hunters stumbled backward. Shielded their eyes.

"Restrain her!" Thrace shouted. "Use the suppression weapons!"

Three hunters raised strange guns. Not anti-magic rifles. Something else.

They fired.

The weapons shot energy that wrapped around me. Tried to bind me. Tried to force my power down.

But I wouldn't go down. Wouldn't be caged.

Not anymore.

I pushed back. Hard.

The suppression energy shattered. Flew back at the hunters.

They screamed. Fell. Didn't get up.

"She killed them!" Vera shouted. "See? She's out of control!"

I looked at the three hunters on the ground.

Not moving. Not breathing.

Dead.

I'd killed them.

"No," I whispered. "I didn't mean to."

"Doesn't matter," Thrace said. Her voice was cold triumph. "You just murdered three Assembly hunters in front of witnesses. There's no trial now. Just execution."

My stomach dropped.

This was the trap. Not getting me to attack. Getting me to kill.

And I'd done exactly what they wanted.

Luna appeared beside me. "Sienna, run."

"I can't. I just..."

"I know what you did. Run anyway. I'll hold them off."

"Luna..."

"GO!"

The hunters rushed forward. All of them.

I ran.

Grabbed Lily as I passed. Kept running.

Kael was suddenly beside me. "This way!"

We ran into the forest. Behind us, Luna's power exploded. Buying us time.

Daemon appeared from the trees. "My pack is waiting at the north border. Follow me!"

We ran harder. Faster.

Lily cried against my shoulder. "Mommy, what's happening?"

"We're running, baby. We have to run."

"Why?"

Because I killed three people. Because the Assembly wants me dead. Because everything went wrong.

"Because I love you," I said instead. "And I'll do anything to keep you safe."

Even become a fugitive. Even become a killer.

Even become the monster they always said I was.