The Darkest Moon

Prologue ~ Once Upon A Time...

There was a girl with silken brown hair that waited for her prey to pass under her from the birch tree she was perched in. Her skin glowed like honey in firelight due to long hours spent in the field. Her bow aimed perfectly down at the creature below her. Midnight dark fur, bloodstained red eyes, and claws sharper than her arrows all made up the wolf that was stalking through the forest beneath her. The string was pulled taught, ready to let loose the silver tipped ammo, when the wolf stopped in its tracks. 

She held her breath, not daring to make a sound as stealth was of the essence when hunting these creatures. There was no way for her, a woman the consisted of a small frame and lean muscles, to overpower a creature like that. In what was only 30 seconds but felt like a lifetime, the werewolf suddenly disappeared. She hadn't even blinked, and yet the monster was gone. 

In a panic, she lowered her bow and put her arrow  back in its quiver. The girl unsheathed the silver ring blades from their holsters at her sides. Though she knew that there wasn't a chance the wolf felt her presence or caught her scent, her Mark made sure of that, but she would do well to be ready for close quarters combat.

She took a deep breath, straining to listen to the sounds of the forest. She heard the birds chirping their songs and wind rustling the green canopy of leaves overhead, but she did not hear her prey. 

A hand had gripped her ankle and yanked hard. Then she was falling. Expecting the ground at her back any moment, she braced herself for the impact. It never came. 

Holding her in his arms was a muscular man. His black hair curled at the ends, and his eyes were greener than the leaves in the trees. He was tall. Very tall. And also very naked. 

She screeched, pushed away from him, and tumbled out of his arms, softly landing on the ground. She used her momentum to roll into a fighting stance and faced the strange man, ring daggers at the ready. 

The man didn't look alarmed, or even scared. If anything, he was surprised, and infuriatingly amused. 

"Who are you?" The girl questioned, being the first to break the silence. 

"I would assume you would know considering you've been trailing me for the past twenty minutes." The man scoffed, crossing his arms over his broad chest. She couldn't help but silently correct him in her head that it was actually twenty five minutes. 

But who's counting? 

She was trying to think of something to say back, but his appearance took her a minute to process. She wasn't used to seeing a werewolf as a human, for he was much more lethal in his wolfen form. It was odd to see a supernatural creature that she had been trained to hunt and kill, look so human. 

"You could've broken my back with that fall," she landed on this topic with genuine curiosity, "Why'd you catch me?" The werewolves she hunted down were vile and nasty. Never in a million years would she think one would... save her like that. 

"Well, I was the one that pulled you out of the tree," he shrugged, showing how completely relaxed he was, "figured it was the least I could do." The girl knew he didn't see her as a threat. Whether that was a good thing or bad thing, she didn't know. But he hadn't seen her Mark yet, so maybe she could get out of this alive. 

"Don't you want me dead?" She asked, ring daggers lowering slightly.

Eyebrows scrunching together in confusion, he asked,

"Should I?"  

Of all the answers he could've given, she certainly hadn't been expecting that. The girl had seen a lot of untrustworthy people. But... she could tell from his relaxed stance, the way he was leaning back on his heals, the slight tilt of his head, and the fact the he never broke eye contact with her, that he wasn't lying. 

"Now, how about this, you tell me your name and I'll pretend like you weren't trying to kill me just now." 

"How about you put some clothes on, then we'll talk." 

She didn't know what was more disarming, the combination of his smile and laugh, or the miniscule part of her that was slowly growing to hate that she took this bounty.

"Josias." He didn't stick out a hand to shake, and he didn't expect her to either. In his eyes, she was just a lone hunter that was trying to keep him talking to make it out alive. He had no intention of killing her, but he did want to find out who stuck a bounty on his head. Probably his brother no doubt. 

She hesitated. This was the first civil conversation she'd ever had with a supernatural creature. It was odd, but she wasn't afraid of him like she ought to be. 

"Elise." 

And thus started a long journey to hell and back. I wish I could tell you this story ended happily with love, marriage, and a baby in a baby carriage. 

But this isn't that story. 

And I'm not a liar.