The Hunt

Nova's tears dripped down her cheeks as she stared in the direction where Aria was taken. One part of her wished that aria would emerge from the distance.

But she saw nothing.

As she knelt feeling helpless. She looked down at the scroll in her hand, wondering what instructions it held. Her mind went back to Aria. Hope she's safe! She thought as a sense of nostalgia spread over her. The only thing she could do was to follow the instructions.

Then she sobbed as she unrolled the scroll. A tiny sheet of paper fell out from the scroll, a letter. She examined it. It had a pale creamish hue and was full of writings and symbols on it. It read:

Dear Nova,

I apologize for any inconvenience caused before you received this letter. It was a necessary evil.

I require you to retrieve an amulet that was taken from me. It's the lunar amulet, and it is kept in the Crescent Manor. The map will guide you on this journey, you must bring me this item.

You must gain entry into the manor, there is an important upcoming event. It’s a mating rite known as the Chase, which you should be aware of. You must disguise yourself as a maiden to participate. The maidens would arrive and set camp a day's walk from your cabin. You need to be among them.

There's also a location marked on the map that will indicate where you'll get what to wear.

Follow it.

Follow the instructions carefully. I can assure you that no harm will come to your sister. If it goes sideways, I will kill Aria, and I will find you!

Cheers,

Ryker.

She squeezed the paper and focused on the scroll. It revealed a map beside it. There was a note at the bottom, written in red ink.

Follow the map to the location. It read.

Nove sighed as she thought of the dangers out there. Rogue wolves, werewolf hunters, and other dangerous things she might not even know about. But knew that she had to follow the map.

No matter the danger! She had to save her sister!

She stood up with determination, wiped her tears, then gathered what she needed and set off toward the forest, following the map.

Shortly before entering the opening of a nearby bush, she stood in front of the cabin, her eyes fixed on it. Hesitant to take another step, she felt nostalgia spread over her.

The cabin held long-forgotten memories. In a split second, she thought back to a time when life was simpler, when the only worries were those of childhood. She remembered laughter, tears, warm summer days, and cold nights with her family. These were the good old days.

She began to shed a tear as the memories overwhelmed her. She wiped it off with the back of her palm. Nova's thoughts quickly snapped back to the present. She remembered why she was here, what she had to do.

I have to save Aria! She exclaimed

Aria was counting on her, and she couldn't let her down. Not now!

With a deep breath, Nova tried to calm herself as she took a step forward. And continued till The trees seemed to grow taller and closer together casting faint shadows on the ground with each step she took. The scent of damp soil and decaying leaves filled the air.

Nova's determination made her press on.

Moments later, the scent changed and it was sour. She knew she had just entered another wolf territory. The wolves do not take kindly to outsiders or humankind.

She heard a faint howling coming from a distance. In human form, those wolves would rip her apart instantly.

Nova moved deeper into the wolf territory, the howling grew louder. She could feel the vibrations of the wolves' cries through the ground.

One cry led by another. She could tell that they were far apart from each other. The howls were a warning sign. Had they sensed her trespassing in their territory?

Immediately, another one howled, it was too close to her. Soon, Panic set in. To be on the safer side, she decided to transform into a wolf.

Without a moment to waste, she wrapped the scroll on her wrist just as she had seen the naked man in her cabin do, but it was just too big for her wrist. Immediately, she strapped it around her waist.

Setting her legs apart, Her face elongated, her nose flattened. Her skin itched as furs replaced it and burst forth, covering her body in a thick, gray coat. Her teeth grew into razor-sharp fangs.

She closed her eyes as the transformation took hold, feeling every twist, every bone in her body snapping. She screamed in anguish. Then, a surge of power and strength spread through her body. She felt whole.

In a moment, She was no longer human but a wolf with all the instincts and abilities that came with it. Her senses were heightened. She could hear, smell, and see things from miles away. And she knew another wolf was nearby

Nova let out a low, rumbling growl and She instinctively howled, her voice blended with the chorus of the other wolves. The sound echoed through the forest.

The other wolves fell silent, their voices ceasing as they listened to Nova's response. For a moment, there was a tense silence as her howling echoed for miles.

That's how it's done! She thought as pride spread all over her. I'm safe!

Immediately, a figure emerged from a bush. A large, gray wolf with glowing yellow eyes, its fur scarred from countless battles.It was the wolf nearby.

The wolf padded towards Nova, its tail held high, its ears pointing upward. Nova froze in panic but still stood her ground, her tail held as high as possible, and her ears perked up in response.

The two wolves circled each other, their eyes locked in a fierce stare and the atmosphere was filled with tension.

Nova knew that she had to be careful. Her heart was beating fast. She was in a foreign territory, most likely surrounded by hostile wolves who would not hesitate to attack her if they sensed any form of weakness. She tried to calm herself. Any wrong move could get her killed. But this wolf didn't seem too hostile.

Then, The wolf licked its paws and ran off into the bushes from the opposite direction it came out of.

Nova felt relieved that the wolf was just passing by. She padded forward through thick tall grasses. Her senses were still heightened in wolf form. The scent of the territory was more pungent and sour, a clear warning to outsiders to stay away. She ignored it.

With a quick shake of her fur, Nova stood tall, her eyes scanning the horizon. Not a sign of danger in sight.

Immediately, her ears perked up as she heard leaves rustling and twigs snapping .She stopped and listened. She knew that sound too well. It was the sound of a human, possibly a hunter, stalking their prey.

But she was wrong! There was more than one human, and they were closing in with shouts and laughter echoing through the forest. She could count up more than four different laughs. There were not just any hunters- wolf hunters.

“Over here,” one said.

They were coming in her direction. They were hunting that wolf that she had come across earlier. But now she was the only wolf nearby. Nova's heart began to race as she realized that she might just be the prey. Wolf hunters hunt for sport and she had been so careful to avoid detection from the wolves, now she had humans to worry about.

Suddenly, Thawack!!! The arrows began to fly in her direction when they spotted her.

“What beauty!” one snorted.

“We need it alive,” another one said, hitting the other with a bow in the head

Suddenly, she sprinted with her paws pounding on the damp soil. In a desperate attempt to get away from the hunters. The hunters chased her with weapons.

Now, she could hear the hunters behind her, their shouts and laughter echoing through the forest.

"You're def’ not getting away from us that easily!" one of the hunters yelled.

“Get her!” another yelled.

They were getting dangerously close.

Suddenly she felt a searing pain on her shoulder. She had been hit on her shoulder. She kept running.

Thwack! The arrow went through her other shoulder, slowing her down.

She yelped in pain as she stumbled to the ground. She felt dizzy. She could feel the blood leaking from her shoulder. Everything was spinning around her as she lay on the floor.

“I think I got her” one guessed

“Get the net!" another hunter shouted, his voice echoing through the forest.

“Hurry!”

Her visions began to close. She saw the net coming and tried to dodge it but was too weak.

"Ah ha! We've got you now, you pesky wolf!" one of the hunters taunted, as he threw the net over Nova. The net landed on top of her, tangling her legs as She struggled to move.

"Ha!" one of the hunters exclaimed, standing over her with a cruel grin. "We've got ourselves a wolf!!"

“I told you it was a girl” another argued.

She was outnumbered, Nova snarled and snapped. She struggled to get free.

"Easy there, girl," one of the hunters said, holding up a tranquilizer dart. "We don't want to hurt you."

"You're going to make us a lot of money," one of the hunters teased.

“ I think she's a werewolf” one guessed

"Then, We've got ourselves a prize wolf," one of the hunters gloated, as they continued to drag Nova away.

Slowly the tranquilizer took effect. Nova's vision began to blur. She felt dizzy and then felt herself being dragged away

At that moment, she thought of her sister's bright smile and laughter. She fought to keep her eyes open.

And then, everything went black.