The sounds of her screams jolted her awake. She was shaking quite violently, and then she threw up, retching until there was nothing left in her system. She was a tad glad morning had finally come; it made her feel safe. She would have liked to cry, but she really had no tears left to shed. She doused the fire and stepped into the light, steeling herself for what came next.
She needed a test subject.
Luna had spent days grinding the herbs, carefully mixing them into a deadly concoction, but she had no proof of its true potency. If she was going to rely on it for survival, she needed to be sure it worked. She walked for hours before she found her opportunity.
A group of wild boars had gathered near a small, muddy stream, their thick bodies grunting as they drank. Their tusks gleamed under the sunlight, sharp and deadly. Boars were vicious creatures; even werewolves tended to avoid them unless hunting in groups.
If her poison worked on them, it would work on anything else. She gripped a handful of the powdered mixture, and after making sure her head was covered with a cloth to avoid breathing it in, she let out a loud, piercing cry.
The boars snapped their heads up in unison, snouts twitching, their beady eyes glinting with primal fury. A guttural snarl ripped through the stillness, and then chaos. They charged, hooves thundering against the earth like war drums.
Luna's breath caught in her throat. Her fingers trembled, but she moved on instinct, flinging the powder high into the air. It shimmered faintly, a ghostly cloud drifting like a silent curse.
Time slowed. The powder swirled toward the oncoming beasts, and Luna held her ground, her heart hammering like it might tear from her chest.
"Please work," she silently begged.
The lead boar barreled toward her, a blur of tusks and fury. Luna barely managed to hurl herself aside as it thundered past, its bulk brushing the edge of her cloak. It skidded violently, hooves tearing up the earth, then collapsed with a strangled grunt, its body writhing in unnatural spasms.
And then the others came.
One by one, the herd faltered mid-charge. Agonized squeals split the air as their limbs buckled beneath them. They staggered, foam flecking their mouths, eyes wide and rolling back into their skulls. A few spun in wild, confused circles, crashing into trees, trampling each other in a frenzy of fear and pain.
The forest rang with the sound of cracking bones, panicked grunts, and the thud of bodies hitting the ground. Luna stood frozen, chest heaving, the acrid scent of the powder still clinging to the air. The silence that followed felt eerie too sudden, too complete like the calm after a curse had done its work.
Then, just as suddenly as the chaos had erupted, it ended.
Silence fell heavy, absolute.
Luna stood trembling, her chest rising and falling in jagged, desperate gasps. Her heart still raced, thundering in her ears, but the forest was deathly still. One by one, the boars crumpled to the earth, their massive bodies thudding dully against the ground. Not even a twitch. Not a breath. Just stillness.
She stared at them, her hand still half-raised, the last of the powder slipping through her fingers like dust from a nightmare. A sick feeling twisted in her stomach not fear, not triumph, but something colder. Something hollow.
She had done this.
The weight of it pressed down on her chest, making it hard to breathe. She hadn't expected it to work so completely... so cruelly.
Luna took a shaky step back, eyes burning.
"I didn't mean to kill them all," she whispered to the silence.
It had worked.
She stepped forward cautiously, her fingers trembling as she reached out to touch the nearest boar. Its body was still warm, its eyes vacant. There was no sign of injury, only death. She exhaled shakily. This was it. This was her new weapon, but she had been stupid; she should not have tried the test on so many animals. If it had failed, she would have been minced meat for these animals and the humans. Unless they were incredibly stupid, they would be looking for what caused this. She had to get as far away from this carcass as possible.
Luna had lost her wolf. She had lost her pack. She had lost everything.
But now, she had this.
A dark smile curled at the edges of her lips as she gathered more of the poison into small pouches, securing them tightly.
She was no longer defenseless.
Let them come.
Luna had been smart enough to cover her nose and mouth with a strip of cloth while handling the poison, ensuring she didn't breathe in the deadly mixture. But despite her caution, a deep exhaustion settled into her bones.
By the time she found shelter for the night, she had long since crossed the boundary of her former pack's territory. The invisible protection it had once offered was gone, leaving her vulnerable in unfamiliar land. She chose a small, cramped cave nestled between jagged rocks, its entrance partially hidden by overgrown vines. It wasn't comfortable, but it was safe, or so she thought.
She had no idea how long she had been asleep when her instincts screamed at her to wake up.
Her eyes snapped open, and her body tensed.
Two figures loomed over her.
The firelight from their torches cast eerie shadows across their faces, revealing cruel smirks and greedy, predatory eyes. They weren't werewolves. She could tell from their scent, or rather, the lack of one. Unlike wolves, who carried the distinct, earthy musk of their kind, these men smelled of sweat, smoke, and something sour beneath it.
They were human.
For a brief moment, Luna felt a flicker of relief.
Then she saw the way they were looking at her.
Lust. Contempt. Amusement.
Her stomach twisted.
She had crossed into human territory thinking she would be safer here. Wolves were territorial, vicious when defending their land. More often than not, trespassers were either killed on sight or imprisoned, especially if they belonged to rival packs. She had assumed humans would be different.
But these men?
They were predators just the same.
"Well, well," one of them sneered, crouching down. "What do we have here?"
His companion let out a low chuckle. "A lost little lamb, all alone in the wild? What are the odds?"
Luna forced herself to stay still, to assess.
She was weak. Tired. And she had no wolf to help her now.
But she wasn't defenseless.
Her hand slowly inched toward the hidden pouch at her waist, fingers grazing the fine powder inside. She had been prey. Hunted. Cast out. But now, she was holding death in her palms. Let them come.
She met their eyes, her expression unreadable, her heart pounding against her ribs.
They thought she was prey.
They were about to learn otherwise.
Luna swallowed hard, forcing herself to stay calm despite the violent tremor in her hands.
"What do you want?" she asked, her voice thin and shaky. It had been so long since she had spoken that it barely sounded like her own.
The men chuckled. The sound sent a shiver of revulsion down her spine.
One of them, the taller of the two, had brown hair and a lean build. The other was shorter, stockier, with black hair and a cruel glint in his eye.
"What do we have here?" The taller one drawled, his lips curling into a smirk. "The heavens must be smiling down on us."
His companion snorted. "Looks like they sent us something to quench our thirst."
Luna knew exactly what kind of thirst they meant.
Her stomach twisted, bile rising in her throat.
The taller man took a step closer, reaching for her. Instinct kicked in, and she jumped back, her body coiling like a spring.
"Little bitch," the shorter man spat, his face twisting in anger. He lunged for her again, but Luna sidestepped him, pressing herself against the cave wall.
The taller man laughed, watching her with an air of amusement. His gaze swept over her, slow and assessing.
Despite the dirt smudging her face and the ragged state of her clothing, she still had striking curves in all the right places, haunting silver eyes, and an untamed wildness about her. The exhaustion in her face only made her look more vulnerable. More easy.