Moon Bound

(17) Into The Fray |Scarlet's POV|

The wounds healed. The scars faded. New skin grew to replace the one that was peeled off my flesh. Weeks after I broke the bond, there was nothing to remind me of that night but the ache of loss. Cole said it was my body compensating for the heartache. I didn't know if it really was why it healed to the last scar, but I knew I was changing.

Each day I became stronger and each day I craved it more than the one before. Cole said I had to pay a price for that strength and, even if I didn't want to believe it, I could still feel it.

A burning ache. A need that slithered its way inside me. An urge to do things that scared the shit out of me. I couldn't deny what I had to fight against every second of every minute now.

I had to embrace it and accept who I was becoming. It was what Cole kept telling me during the months spent in denial.

It had taken some convincing on his part, but eventually, it all led to tonight – my first hunt, a celebration to mark my early graduation. People usually had a party or a dinner outside with their families. I was going hunting.

Micah and I had been on the road for hours, the others departed a day before we did to arrange for my arrival. What did they need to prepare for a hunt was beyond me.

Pulling the van on the side of the road, she glanced down at the watch on her wrist. "They are supposed to be here in a couple of minutes," she informed me and killed the engine. "Let's wait outside."

I followed her and hopped out of the vehicle. We were in the middle of nowhere, the closest town twenty or so miles away and with all the snow that covered the frozen earth, there was not a single living person out in the wilderness.

Perhaps traffic picked up during summer but now, it was close to nonexistent here.

The Moon was shaded from view behind the winter clouds. On the night of the lovers, she was most likely engaged in much more pleasant activities than to spy on us committing our crimes. And all tonight amounted to was committing crimes.

Despite Cole's assurance that we wouldn't do anything wrong, I didn't have any illusions about what was going to transpire on this hunt. We were going to turn into predators and we were going to kill.

I just hoped that out there into the wild there was something that we could kill, but knowing how most animals hid during this season, the chances we found anything to actually satisfy the hunger inside of us were close to none.

A few minutes later, Micah rounded the van to come stand beside me. "Damn, I'm freezing," she murmured and huddled closer to me. "I hope Cole shows up before we turn into icicles."

"You should have dressed better, Micah," I pointed out, taking into account the very few clothing items covering her – a pair of black leggings, a black v-neck shirt with a cropped leather jacket, none of which could protect her from the biting cold.

"As you should've chosen a more practical outfit," she retorted, eying my long trench coat. "You're gonna stumble and fall on your face wearing that thing."

"I thought we were going to shift."

She rolled her eyes at me. "Of course, we're not shifting. We can do that at home so why would we drive four hours to come here and shift? Besides, we're not wolves."

She had a point. We were not just wolves. We were so much more, but more was so much scarier.

"Anyway, this will be so much fun. You're gonna remember tonight for a long time, Scar. Just wait till they come," she whispered, her voice filled with excitement.

I sighed. Despite how ecstatic everyone was about tonight, I couldn't find it in me to muster that level of excitement.

"Your first hunt, Scar," she said, guessing the reason behind my deep sigh. "You're gonna love it, I promise."