MONLIT VENDETTA

Elara POV

I moved like a shadow through the thick shrubbery, my eyes narrowed as I studied the forest around me. The moon hung high in the sky, casting golden light on the leaves, making them shimmer like tiny mirrors. I could feel the pulse of the earth beneath my feet, the soft words of the wind, and the faraway sounds of creatures of the night. This was my kingdom, and tonight, it was under danger.

"You sense it too, don't you, Elara?" Susan, my inner wolf, whispered in my mind, her voice low and alert.

"Yes," I answered inwardly, my senses sharpening as I picked up the faint smell of people nearby. Intruders. A low growl rumbled in my chest, dangerous and feral. I moved quietly, my moves smooth and precise as I closed in on the group of hunters who dared to trespass into my area.

"These humans... they don't belong here. We should teach them a lesson," Susan pushed, her tone angry and protective.

"Patience, Susan," I warned. "Let's see what they're up to first."

As I got closer, I noticed something different about one of them. His scent-it wasn't like the others. It was... familiar, yet I couldn't place it. Crouching low, my heart pounded in my ears as I studied them. Their outlines were highlighted by the moonlight, but one figure stood slightly apart from the others, his back straight, his motions planned. This one was no everyday shooter.

"Luca Thorn," I whispered to myself, my voice barely audible.

"You know him?" Susan asked, her interest stirred.

"No," I answered, confusion eating at me. "But there's something about him... something that makes me pause."

For the first time in years, I paused. I was a fighter, trained to strike without pity, but this man, this hunter, made me pause. Why?

Luca's head suddenly turned, his eyes searching the darkness. I froze, blending into the darkness, holding my breath as his gaze swept over where I was hiding. But then, his eyes locked onto mine. Time seemed to stop.

A jolt of recognition shot through me, like a bolt of lightning hitting my heart. I knew those eyes. But how? Why did they feel like they were looking right into my soul?

"What is this? Why do we feel this way?" Susan's voice shook with the same confusion I felt.

"What...?" Luca muttered, taking a step forward, his eyes narrowing as if he were trying to remember something long forgotten.

My mind raced, my feelings in turmoil. "Who are you?" I whispered under my breath, even though I knew he couldn't hear me.

I should have attacked. I should have stopped this threat right then and there. But instead, I paused, my mind filled with questions. The other hunts moved lazily through the forest, unaware to the energy sparking between Luca and me. They thought they were alone. They were wrong.

"Why do I feel like I know you?" Luca said softly, almost to himself. His face wrinkled in confusion, his hold on his weapon easing.

My heart thudded painfully in my chest. I couldn't afford to be sidetracked like this. Shaking off the strange link I felt, I readied myself to pounce. But just as I tensed my muscles to leap, Luca did something that stopped me cold.

He reached inside his shirt and pulled out a pendant, the silver shining in the moonlight. It dangled from his fingers, swinging gently back and forth. My breath caught in my throat as my eyes locked onto it.

"No..." I whispered, my voice barely audible. The pendant was obvious. It was my mother's-a unique piece, with a wolf's head cut into the metal, the eyes made of tiny emeralds. I had seen it a thousand times in my childhood, watched it glinting in the sunshine as my mother wore it proudly. But it had been lost, taken the night my family was killed.

"How... how does he have that?" Susan's voice quivered with a mix of shock and anger.

Luca held the pendant up, looking at it as if searching for answers. "This... this belonged to someone important," he muttered, lost in thought.

My view blurred with feeling. Anger, confusion, and a deep, aching sadness all rose within me. How did this hunter have my mother's pendant? What did it mean? My heart ached with the loss I had never fully allowed myself to feel.

Suddenly, the forest around us seemed to grow colder. The wind picked up, stirring the leaves with a sound like faraway whispers. Every urge screamed at me to move, to escape, but I was frozen, caught by the weight of my feelings.

Luca seemed to feel it too. His eyes snapped back to where I was hiding, his face changing from confusion to something darker, more determined. "Show yourself," he ordered, his voice sharp and demanding.

I knew I was vulnerable, knew that I had been too busy to notice the hunts circling around me. My feelings told me to run, but something deeper, something primal, rooted me to the spot.

"I said, show yourself!" Luca's voice cut through the night, louder this time, filled with authority.

The other hunters looked up, startled by his tone. They followed his eyes, their guns at the ready, but none of them saw me. None of them except Luca.

My heart pounded in my chest, the pendant still swinging in Luca's hand like a clock counting down to something inevitable. My mind raced, trying to make sense of it all. How could this hunter have my mother's pendant? How could he know anything about my past?

The moment stretched, the stress so thick it was almost choking. Luca's eyes narrowed as he stepped closer, his hand reaching toward the shadows where I hid. My breath hitched, my body curled like a spring ready to explode into action.

But then, before I could decide what to do, the trap was sprung.

With a sudden burst of movement, the other hunts closed on my position, their nets and lines flying through the air. I responded automatically, my muscles tensing as I sprang up, barely avoiding one of the nets. But there were too many of them, and they were well-prepared.

I slashed at one of the ropes with my claws, growling as I fought to free myself, but another net caught me, pulling me down. The hunters shouted in victory, their voices ringing through the trees as they tightened their hold on me.

"Fight them, Elara! We can't let them capture us!" Susan's voice was a desperate plea in my mind, but I was stuck.

Luca's words cut through the noise. "Don't hurt her! We need her living!"

I thrashed wildly, my breath coming in jagged gasps as I fought against the bonds that held me. My vision blurred with rage and frustration. How had I let this happen? How had I been so busy, so careless?

Luca knelt in front of me, his eyes searching mine. "Who are you?" he asked, his voice quieter now, filled with something that almost sounded like desperation.

I glared at him, my chest heaving with the effort of holding back the storm of feelings inside me. I could feel the weight of my mother's pendant pushing against me, the memories it stirred almost too much to bear.

"Why do you have that pendant?" I growled, my voice thick with anger and pain.

Luca paused, his hand still gripping the pendant tightly. "It was my mother's," he said slowly, as if trying to piece together a problem in his thoughts. "She told me it was important, that it was... connected to something I needed to find."

My heart skipped a beat. His mother? How could that be possible? There was no way a human hunter could be connected to my pack, to my family. But the pendant was real, and so was the pain in Luca's eyes as he spoke.

Before I could ask more, one of the hunters yanked on the rope, tightening it around my arms and pulling me down to my knees. I snarled, baring my teeth, but the weight of my situation crashed down on me like a huge wave.

"I don't want to hurt you," Luca said softly, his voice filled with a strange mix of determination and sorrow. "But I need to know the truth. Who are you?"

My eyes burned with anger as I fought to break free, but the ropes held firm. I could feel the edges of my control slipping, Susan screaming inside me, demanding to be released. But even as I fought, I couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to Luca's story, more to this moment than I understood.

"Tell me!" Luca's voice rose, filled with a desperation that matched the storm in my heart. "Why do I feel like I've seen you before?"

My breath came in short, ragged bursts as I stared into Luca's eyes, looking for answers I didn't have. How could I explain the link I felt, the strange comfort that tied us together in ways neither of us understood?

"Who... are... you?" Luca's voice cracked with emotion, his grip on the pendant tightening until his knuckles turned white.

My world spun around me, the weight of the moment pressing down on me with crushing force. I could see the confusion in Luca's eyes, the fear and desire that reflected my own. But before I could speak, before I could find the words to answer his question, a new sound pierced

The howl of a wolf rang through the bush, a chilling sound that sent shivers down my foot. It was close-too close. My heart raced as I recognized the voice of the pack that hunted me, led by Alpha Marcus Gray.

The hunters tensed, their eyes moving around the dark forest as the howls grew louder, closer. Luca's eyes opened with fear, but he didn't move