BENEATH THE MOON'S BITE

RAFE

The forest had never felt so loud.

Each crunch beneath my boots was a threat, and every rustle of leaves screamed a warning. I kept glancing over my shoulder, my instincts screaming at me that we were being followed even though we hadn't seen anyone since we left my house.

Luca walked a step ahead, his hood was pulled low, and his shoulders seemed tense. The moonlight made his hair glow silver, he didn't speak, but I could hear his heartbeat, fast, uneven and matching mine.

I wanted to reach for his hand, to ground us both. But that wasn't an option anymore, not with the way our scents had changed.

We reeked of bond.

It clung to us....faint, but wrong and different. Anyone with a nose would notice it soon, and once they did, we were dead.

Zayne's sudden return hadn't helped. He trudged behind us now, silent as a shadow. His presence gnawed at me, it felt alive, changed and haunting.

He hadn't said much when we left, just that we needed to move, and fast.

Now, I couldn't stop thinking about what he'd muttered when Luca wasn't listening:

"Caleb is hunting you both, not just Luca, you too, Rafe, he's been told of what you are."

I didn't ask who because, I already knew.

"Stop," Zayne said, his voice was low but urgent.

Luca and I froze, my body tensed, wolf rising. I tilted my head, listening. There was a second heartbeat, maybe two and it was far but closing in.

"They've picked up your trail," Zayne whispered, "And I'm not sure they're alone."

"How many?" I asked.

"Three I can sense. But Caleb... he's smart, he wouldn't come without a plan."

I cursed under my breath. "We have to move."

"No," Zayne countered, "We need to hide."

Luca turned to him. "Why should we trust you?"

Zayne flinched, then looked at me instead. "Because I didn't die like everyone thought. I was captured and the only reason I escaped was because someone else needed you alive."

His gaze flicked to Luca.

I stepped in front of him, my wolf bristling, "What does that mean?"

Zayne shook his head. "Later, because right now, we either run or fight."

A howl tore through the air, close enough to make my blood chill.

They'd found us.

"Run," I snapped, grabbing Luca's arm. "Now."

We broke into a sprint, branches whipped past, roots grabbed at our feet, and the forest became a blur of shadows. Behind us, footsteps thundered....closer, heavier.

Luca stumbled. I caught him before he hit the ground. His eyes were wide, panicked, and glowing faintly.

That stopped me cold.

His eyes, they were glowing.

Omegas didn't glow, not unless...It can't be true.

"What's happening to me?" he whispered, voice shaky. "I feel... off."

"Not now," I said, pulling him upright. "Later, keep running."

We cut through a clearing, moonlight drenching us, bad move.

A growl echoed across the trees, and suddenly, he was there.

Caleb.

His wolf leapt from the shadows, black as pitch, his eyes locked on Luca, his growl vibrated through my bones.

I shifted mid-air, fur erupting, bones snapping, landing between him and Luca with a snarl.

He lunged.

We collided with brutal force, claws raking, and teeths snapping. Pain bloomed down my side, but I held firm, I wouldn't let him touch Luca, not now, not ever.

Zayne appeared from nowhere, slamming into one of Caleb's flanking wolves causing a blur of motion and blood.

"Get Luca out of here!" he yelled.

I turned to Luca, his face pale, and shaking. "Run, don't stop, head for the river, I'll find you."

"No," he said, voice breaking. "I won't leave you..."

Another wolf crashed out of the underbrush, charging straight for him.

That's when it happened.

Luca screamed, not in fear, but in fury and the air around him trembled.

The attacking wolf froze mid-strike, his eyes widening. Then he yelped, his spine arching unnaturally, and was thrown backward by something I couldn't see.

A force, a blast.

Luca stared at his hands, in horror.

"What did I....?"

"Go!" I roared, my own fear mixing with awe.

He ran, and the forest seemed to move with him, shadows bending, trees shivering. Whatever he'd unleashed, it wasn't normal and it definitely wasn't Omega.

I turned back to Caleb, barely avoiding his claws. He was laughing now, blood dripping from his mouth.

"You're protecting a monster," he spat, shifting back mid-fight. "He's not just an Omega, you feel it, don't you? He's wrong, he's a curse"

"You're the curse here," I growled, fur bristling. "You and your twisted rules."

"You think you can outrun the Purge?" he sneered, "You think you can protect him when the entire pack system turns on you?"

I hesitated only for a second.

He slashed my shoulder open.

Pain blinded me, but I forced my wolf to push through. One last shove sent him crashing into a tree.

I didn't wait to see if he got up, I ran.

The forest blurred and my wounds burned, but I didn't stop. I followed Luca's scent, wild and bright and terrified. I needed to get to him, now.

Then I saw him.

Luca was standing by the river, staring into the trees like he was waiting for something or someone.

And then I felt it too.

A ripple in the air, power, cold, ancient, and foreign.

This wasn't Caleb, it was something worse. Figures emerged from the trees, hooded, unfamiliar, and scentless.

Rogues.

But not ordinary ones. These were marked, ritual-burned, feral and controlled.

They hadn't come for both of us.

They'd come for Luca.

I stepped forward, but one of them spoke first, his voice sounded deep, and inhuman.

"There he is," he said. "The Lunar Omega."

Luca backed up, eyes darting to me. "Rafe...?"

I started toward him.

Then a dart flew from the shadows, silver-tipped, soaked in wolfsbane and hit Luca square in the side.

He gasped and tumbled.

I screamed his name.

He collapsed into the river's edge, convulsing.

The last thing I saw was one of the rogues lifting his limp body over his shoulder, and stepping into the shadows.

And then they were gone.