Chapter 1 One

Eliana's POV

Branches whipped against my bare arms as I tore through the forest, my lungs burning, my legs aching, but I couldn't stop.

Not now.

Not when the pounding footsteps behind me were getting louder.

My shaky breath came in gasps, every inhale laced with the sting of fear.

Dirt clung to my face and smeared my arms.

My long auburn hair tangled around my shoulders, catching on low-hanging branches. I didn't care, I just needed to move.

To disappear!

I could hear their voices as they chased after me.

"Did you see that?" one of the men shouted behind me. "Her eyes!"

Another voice snarled. "She's a Blood Moon. Get her! We have to catch her!"

No. No no no, if they got a hold of me it would be game over, goodness knows what they'd make me do.

I was a blood moon, a rare kind of werewolf born only when the full moon is red.

I had the abilities to summon creatures called Lunaris beasts.

Mom and I had always kept this a secret. But earlier today, something that wasn't supposed to happen, happened.

My eyes had accidentally glowed red while I was in the marketplace and these men saw it, and now they were after me!

Blood moons were the only creatures whose eyes could glow red and so, they now knew my little secret.

I pushed harder, my heartbeat thundering in my ears louder than the shouts behind me.

My hazel eyes darted through the trees, searching for any opening, any place to hide but it was too late.

They'd seen me, they knew.

They saw my eyes glow bright red earlier, I couldn't control it.

The heavy thud of boots on wet leaves echoed through the dark woods. Shadows flickered under the twisted branches.

The night sky above was thick with clouds, swallowing the moonlight whole.

It was as if the forest itself wanted me caught.

Shit!

"Leave me alone!" I screamed, turning my head for just a second to glare at the men behind me.

But that was a mistake.

"She'll be a great asset for the Alpha," one of the men growled. "For our pack. Don't let her escape!"

They were faster now.

I stumbled over a root, caught myself just in time, and then sprinted harder. Something in me pulsed, something hot and wrong and alive right beneath my skin. A strange glow flashed across my arms, fading just as quickly. My breath hitched.

Not now, please not now. My nerves were acting up, I was panicking. If I summoned these creatures now, it would be terrible.

I broke through a cluster of trees and my foot slipped on mud. I lost my balance down a small slope and crashed to the ground at the base of the hill. Pain exploded through my ribs.

But there was no time to cry, no time to think.

I scrambled to my feet, my chest heaving. But it was too late, something. No, someone was there.

A dark figure stood just a few feet away, tall and motionless. His eyes locked onto mine, glowing faintly in the dark. A powerful presence rolled off him like heat.

"Found her," he murmured, voice low and unreadable.

I backed away, panic choking me. But my body refused to move fast enough. That strange heat surged through my veins again, and my vision tilted.

A scream caught in my throat.

My vision swam as I came to, my head spinning from the fall. The forest was silent but only for a second.

Then boots crunched into the dirt, the rest of them were catching up!

The man stepped out of the shadows in front of me. He was tall, broad-shouldered, a jagged scar running across his brow. He was one of the ones who had been chasing me.

His eyes gleamed with cruel satisfaction as he looked down at me.

He stepped closer, and before I could scramble away, his hand shot out and grabbed a fistful of my hair, yanking my head back roughly.

"Why would you run from your own pack huh?" he sneered. "So this was why you and your mother left the pack and became rogues. You should be honored, blood moon. You belong with us, with your people."

I gasped in pain, trying to twist away, but his grip was iron.

"Imagine it," he continued, his voice thick with feverish ambition. "You, standing beside our Alpha. You summon your beasts, those huge creatures that I've only read about in ancient literature. You and our Alpha will rule, becoming the strongest Alpha in the land. We'd be unstoppable."

He leaned closer, his breath hot on my face.

"Don't resist, come with us. Walk with us, it's where you belong."

I clenched my jaw, fury rising like fire in my throat. Then fast and desperate, I twisted my body and sank my teeth into his hand.

"AGH!" he roared, stumbling back.

I scrambled to my feet again, but before I could run, two more men crashed into the clearing, breathless from the chase. Their eyes landed on me with vicious intent.

One lunged and kicked my hand, hard. A sharp, bone-deep pain shot up my arm and I dropped to my knees, screaming.

"Leave me alone!" I gasped, tears threatening to fall from my eyes as I glared up at them through strands of my tangled auburn hair. "I said leave me alone!"

I stared at each of them, my hazel eyes blazing with hatred. But they just laughed.

The man who I had bitten earlier took a step forward, pressing his hard spiky boots on my hand.

I screamed as the excruciating pain spread from my hand to every part of my body.

He retrieved his foot and crouched to my level, he was Titus, gamma of my former pack.

"What are you going to do?" he taunted. "Summon your beasts?"

Another one snorted.

"You wouldn't dare. You wouldn't risk showing the world what you are. You know what would happen. More packs would come for you. More power-hungry freaks like our Alpha. You'd be hunted down like an animal."

My lips curled into a trembling snarl. "Don't test me," I growled, voice low and shaking with fury. "Don't you dare."

They scoffed again, like I was a joke.

Then Titus reached for my hair again but this time, his hand never reached my scalp.

Because...my eyes snapped at him, and they were no longer hazel.

They were red.

Glowing, fiery, blood red!