Chapter 20 Bison

SERAPHINA

“Over. My. bDead /bBody.”

The entire crowd around us held its breath. Some looked away, others wide–eyed with tensionb. /bA few whispered, but no one bdared /bmove. While the two of us..we never looked away from each other.

And bthen/b, from somewhere in the trees behind us, a loud bhorn /bsounded.

The hunt had begun. The Alphas scattered, some shifting and dashing into the forest, but neither of us moved.

We stood locked in ba /bsilent, furious standoff wolf against wolfb, /bpride against pride.

Ronan’s grip btightened /bslightly, his bface /blowering closer until his breath brushed my car.

“If you don’t apologize,” he whispered, voice rough and low, “then you’ll have to die.”

My heart hammered against my ribs, not from fear, but from rage. I met his eyes, my own burning with defiance as 1 whispered back. Then try your luck.”

Neither of us blinked. Neither backed down.

But then

“Seth!” Finn’s voice cut through the thick tension like ba /bde.

A hand grabbed my arm, pulling me roughly away from bRonan/b. It was almost as if the spell broke. I stumbled back, finding myself running with Finn as wolves all around us shifted, bbodies /blunging into the forest like barrows /bshot from a bow.

“The hunt’s started, man! Do you wanna die here, lose the hunt, or what?!” Finn shouted, panic flickering in his eyes.

I barely registered hisment band /blooked over my shoulder because right then, just over Finn’s shoulder, past Ronan’srge figure…I saw bhim/b.

Dante.

Standingzily beneath a tree, arms folded, a smug smile curling his lips.

He caught my eyeb, /balmost as if he had been waiting for me to look over or already knew I would and mouthed silently across the chaos: It was Reed

The blood drained from my face. My mind nked in an instant.

Phina also shook in my mind muttering in shock whispered, ‘It hadn’t been bAsher /b

My body turned cold, Asher never touched me but

It was Reed. Hidden in the shadows. bSetting /bme up.

And Dante knew

Or even more likely he bwas /bthe bone /bbwho /bnned it so that Ronan and I

I looked at bRonan /bI really looked at him this time

For a fraction of a second, I bsaw /bthe storm in his violet eyes, the primal need to dominate, to bbreak/bb. /bTo bkill /b

And then in a sh of silver light and cracking bones, he slutted into a bmassive /bbck /bbwolf/b, bfur /bdark as midnight, fangs gleaming

A heartbeatter. Dante shifted too into the ck woll, bfaster/b–looking, but no less deadly.

Both wolves turned their heads toward me. Both had their eyes locked on me

15 PM

Chapter 20 Bison

They weren’t just starting the hunt.

bPhina /bbsaid/b. “They are hunting us!”

+8 Pearls

Both Alphas were after me. Without wasting another secondb, /bI bspun /baround and dashed into the forest. My feet bbarely /btouched the ground. They were in their wolf form and I could not shiftb, /bso in this condition I was at a disadvantage band /bcould be easily killed.

I pushed every ounce of speed from my body, sprinting through the underbrush with a wild, electric desperation.

Behind me, the crashing sounds of pursuit exploded.

Faster, faster!

Thankfully they could not pick up my scent but I still kept hiding my aura to prevent them tracking my down. bBreath /bburning my throat, I summoned every trick I had blearned/b…every survival skill, every hidden instinct Phina whispered into my mind.

Turning back to check once in a while, I veered bsharply /bleft at the base of a twisted pine.

Rolled under a fallen log. Sshed briefly through a shallow stream. Anything to hide bmy /baura or scent if it slipped. Anything to make them lose my btrail/b.

I wasn’t just fighting to win the trial now.

I bwas /bfighting to stay alive from two crazy bAlphas /bafter me.

I sprinted through the bdense /btrees, my heart hammering against my ribs, my lungs burning with every breath. Only when I bhad /bput enough distance between myself and the clearing did I finally nce down at the crumpled chit still clenched in my

fist.

One single word WILL scrawled there: BISON.

I stumbled slightly, disbelief punching the air from my chest. A bison? Were they serious?

Massive, homed beasts, nearly impossible to take down alone, even for an bexperienced /bhunter.

But there was no time to curse my luck.

Behind me, the ground shook from the weight of something heavy moving through the forest. Fast and violent,

I twisted my head and caught a glimpse through the trees. Arge wolf with sleek ck fur and bglowing /beyes tearing through. the underbrush–bDante/b. Not Ronanb. /b

I gritted my teeth. This Alpha…. He was the one who had fucked up my already messed up situation. Now Ronan was after me bthanks /bto him or this bhunt /bwould have been me solely focusing on my bhunt/b.

Dante had shifted band /bnow he was hunting me blike /ba true predatorb, /bnot bhis /bassigned prey. bAnd /bhis killing intent was obvious.

bShit/b. Did he bpick my /bscent? It bwas /bimpossible right?

I couldn’t boutrun /bhim forever. And if bDante /bfound me then bRonan /bwould be here soon as bwell /b

“Fighting against two bAlphas /bbwould /bnot be wise.” Phina bstated /bin my mind. “Especially when we bhave /bto hunt the Bison as

well

“You are right,” I breathed bhard/b. “We bhave /bto bavoid /bthe fight. When they were bnot /bbeven /bmy bprey /bbut actually hunting me”

If I wanted to survive the night, get my hunt and through this ridiculous btrial/b, I needed to use my brain, not just bmy /blegs

rkly. I seered off the obvious trail and dove binto /ba thick bpatch /bof berry bushes. The wild, sour scent hut me imunediately. I grabbed a handful of berries and bcrushed /bbthem /bbagainst /bmy clothes, smearing the strong smell bover /bmy bskin /bto mask my scent.

My ears twitched at the faint sound of pawsteps drawing nearer

Ducking low, I crept bforward /buntil I spotted a bbranch/b, half–bbroken /bband /bhanging bprecariously /babove ba /bnarrow path.

Chapter 20 Bison

A perfect little gift from the forest gods.

+8 Pearls

Silently, I climbed the nearest tree, clinging to the trunk like a cat. My hands found the weakened branch…and with one strong jerk. I broke it loose.

The branch crashed to the ground with a deafening crack.

Below, Dante’s wolf form skidded to a bhalt/b, muscles tensing, head snapping toward the bsound/b.

Perfect

Before he could spot me, Iunched myself into the neighboring tree, keeping high and out of reach. The branches swayed, but I moved with them, keeping my body fluid band /bsilent like a shadow.”

If I could keep misleading him, keep him chasing ghosts, he’d waste precious energy and time.

“Let’s see if you’re still so eager when the tables turn, Dante‘

I swung from branch to branch, deeper into the heart of the deadly ckmoon Forest.

Hours blurred into each other but my search for a bison continued. With each passing second I became desperate because I had been running out of time. At the same time bPhina /bhad been demanding to shift and make our search quickb. /bbI /bbalso /bwanted to do it but the risk of being exposed bwas /blike a bsword /bat my neck.

The ckmoon Forest bwas /bbalive /bwith chaos. Snarls, growls, and the sh of teeth and ws echoed through the trees..

I moved like a whisper through the dense undergrowth, my senses sharpened, always one breath away from danger. Twice, I slipped past dueling Alphas locked in brutal fights with their assigned prey–a huge boar thrashing a boy into the mud, an Alpha bwolf /bdesperately fending off a mountain lion with bloody ws.

I didn’t stop. I couldn’t.

“Where is bthis /bbison!” 1 growled under my breath while ncing around once in a while to bmake /bsure no one was bfollowing /b

I climbed rocky ridges, slid through muddy valleys, and even bwaded /bthrough a shallow, ice–cold stream to further throw off my scent

The night deepened around me, and time ticked dangerously away.

My muscles ached, and my stomach twisted in hollow hungerb, /bbut finally–finally–my efforts paid off.

A sharp, distinct sign.

A huge, cloven hoof print stamped deep into the damp earth.

My heart leapt.

I crouched, tracing the wide print with my fingers, feeling the heavy pressure left bbehind/b. bNearby/b, bI /bspotted bbroken /bbranches

at shoulder height–far higher bthan /bany wolf or deer could reach. The beast had passed through not long ago.

“We are close.” I said to bPhina /b

“Yes, let’s hunt it” Phuna growled

Excitement red bthrough /bmy

Tould do this I could catch up, bring it down, and

But bjust /bbas /bI took boff /bafter the trail weaving through the bthickening /btrees, a low growl rumbled to my left

I skidded to a halt, whipping my head around.

Emerging from the misted darkness, muscles rippling under his dark bck /bbcoat/b, was a massive wolf with f

familiar cold, violet.

Chapter 20 Bison

furious eyes

Ronan

His wolf form stood tall, blocking my path, the raw fury in his gaze making me hold my breath.

He found me.

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