Chosen by Fate, Rejected by the Alpha

1020 Chapter 5- Reagan – The Hunter’s Moon (VOLUME 6)

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Reagan

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Tonight, this amazing and powerful night, was the first time that Rika and I were taking part in the hunt for the full moon. This was an annual thing that happened in our pack, in all packs really. If there was a place for the pack to go that was away from the humans, then they went to hunt deer and other animals in the forest at night.

It was a primitive thing, and I knew that most people didn’t understand why we went on these anymore. In truth, I didn’t know the answer to that any more than they did, but I knew that it was tradition. And I also knew that there was something magical about tonight.

Now that I was eighteen, and that I was able to be a part of this night, I could feel the magic that was radiating in the air around us. I could feel the thrumming of the earth and the whooshing of the wind all in a different capacity than I was used to. It was all so much more intense. And I just couldn’t get enough of it.

I knew that Rika could feel it too. Not just because she was my twin sister and I was able to sense what she was feeling, which I could. But I also knew that she could feel it just as intensely as I did because of the look on her face. She looked so happy, so excited, so everything, that her eyes were literally glowing.

Rika had eyes like our dad. They were honeyed gold and sharp as a tack. Me, on the other hand, I had the more blue looking eyes of our mom. I also had her hair color as well. It has always been a joke that I looked like half mom and half dad, and so did Rika. If we swapped just a few of our features, we would be perfect replicas of our parents. I was glad that we were different though. I didn’t want to look like someone just copied my dad and made me. That wouldn’t give me any originality at all.

Sensing the thrumming thoughts in my sister’s head, I stopped thinking about the ways that we were different and focused on the fact that she was my twin sister, and we had so much more in common than most other people. Aside from maybe Zachary, Zander, Zayden and Zaley. They were quads and just as linked as Rika and I.

.....

The moon was almost at its highest point. It was almost time to start the hunt, and everyone was looking to me and Rika to start it. I could see dozens and dozens of eager eyes on me, and beyond the ring of fire light that illuminated the sacred circle for our pack, I could feel so many more. There were a lot of people here tonight, and they were all ready to start hunting.

Knowing what I needed to do, I started to walk. I wasn’t moving aimlessly though. No, I was moving to stand on the platform where the Alpha was meant to be when he addressed his people. This was my place to be right now, as the representative of my father, this was my place to stand.

“I want to thank you all for joining us for the hunt tonight. As most of you know, this is the first year for me and my sister Rika. We are proud to be joining in on this powerful night. We know what is to happen tonight, and we will make sure that you all have an amazing hunt. This will be a memorable night not just for myself and Rika, but also for all of you as well. I know that you can all feel the moon’s strength getting stronger and that we will be setting off for the hunt. Before that happens, I want to remind you all to be careful as much as you can. Do not take unnecessary risks, and make sure you stay away from all humans. We do not need them seeing a pack of giant wolves running around the forest. If they were to see that, then they would have the scientists in here looking for the chemical spill that caused the mutant population.” I heard some chuckles at my bad joke. It was good to be in charge, I guess. I mean, they wouldn’t have laughed at the groan worthy comedy otherwise.

“Reagan, it’s time.” I heard Rika’s voice whisper out. She was looking up at the moon as if in a trance. I looked up at it as well and saw that there was a slight purplish glow to the moon as it practically pulsed with power.

“You’re right.” I told her calmly. “It is time, everyone. Let us shift and begin the hunt.”

Several people just shifted right then and there. Others took the time to remove their clothes before they shifted. It is quite uncomfortable to change forms with the clothes on. That is, unless you had the queen as your mom. And then she was able to make you magical clothes that didn’t rip off when you shifted. Rika and I were both wearing them right now, and so we shifted into our other forms smoothly.

I saw Rika’s wolf standing in front of me before any of the others. She was a white wolf like our mother, so she stood out more than they did. The thing about our family is that we didn’t follow the standards that most of the werewolves did. We were unique in coloring. Most wolves were similar to their hair color, but still brindled like real wolves. Not our family though. My dad was pure black. Our mother was white with sapphire blue markings. Talia was different shades of purple. Rika was white, but without that goddess markings that our mom had. And as for me, well my wolf was golden. It wasn’t just a golden blond either, it looked like gold spun into fur. It was also slightly reflective. I loved the way that my wolf looked, and I was proud of it. Others thought that it was amazing as well, since they always looked at me enviously.

Now that we were all in our wolf forms, it was time to begin the hunt. As the leader for the night, I took off running into the forest first. I was followed by Rika, Uncle Shawn and Uncle Shane, who were both silver wolves, Alexa, Levi and Luka who were all black and silver, Uncle David who had a brown brindled wolf, and then the rest of the pack that was with us. It was time for me to make my first kill ever.

I could smell and see better in this form than I did in my human form. Even with how sharp those senses already were, they were better in this form than anything else. And the first thing that I noticed was the smell of all the deer that were in the area. There were other animals as well. There were cougars, bears, bobcats, moose, and so many more. We had our pick, as long as we didn’t over hunt one particular species.

The thing that I needed to decide on now was what I was going to hunt. I was the Alpha King’s son, I needed to do a really good job here. I needed to make sure that I showed my power and strength. I needed to show them that I was just as good as my father. And that was when I made my decision.

The most difficult of the prey in the woods wasn’t prey at all. It was a predator itself, and I wanted to take it down myself. The scent was easy enough to identify. It was a bear. A grizzly bear, male, and it smelled strong as hell.

“I’m coming for you.” I spoke in the grunting growling language that passed as speech in wolf form and heard my sister chuckle.

“Race you to first kill.’ She grunted back at me. ‘I smell a really big cougar up that mountain there.”

“I’m going for the bear.” I could practically feel a smile curling my wolfish face. “Let’s see who makes the kill first.”

“Sounds good.” She rocketed forward then. She was faster than me, but not by much. Not to mention that I was stronger than she was. This wasn’t going to be that much of a competition, at least not in my mind. I knew that I had this in the bag.

With my heart pounding in my chest, my pulse thudding in my veins, and my breath panting and puffing out into the chilly air around me, I raced silently through the forest and toward the bear that I heard lumbering just ahead of me. I was going to take the thing by surprise.

There it was. I broke through a line of trees, and there next to a large cave was a huge bear that had just dragged over a deer for its dinner. Too bad for the bear, but the bear was going to be my dinner.

The bear noticed me just as I leapt from the ground and threw myself toward it. I heard and felt its roar of fear and anger just as I crashed into it. My jowls closed around its throat while I pulled the thing along with me on my forward trajectory. It toppled to the ground with me, but that wasn’t the end of the bear.

Even though it was bleeding and clearly injured, it was getting swiftly back to its feet and roaring at me again. He was also starting to swipe at me with large claws that were several inches in length.

I nimbly avoided the claws, twisted out of its way, and leapt at it again. I took it by the other side of its neck this time. And even though I wasn’t moving as fast this time, I was still a large enough wolf that I managed to bring the bear down with me. The power of my leap had been that strong.

I growled like a real wolf at the bear as it roared once again. I wanted it to stay down this time. Then again, I didn’t mind if it got back up once more. If he got up and I had to fight it a little longer, then I would be able to take it down once more. And I liked that part of this whole thing. I liked proving that I was an Alpha and that I was strong enough to do this.

I let off the bear and stepped away from it, letting it get to its feet and shake its head. I didn’t want to attack it while it was momentarily incapacitated. And I didn’t want to act like I needed the element of surprise to beat the beast. I was going to use my brute strength and my razor sharp teeth. There would be no traps here, just a fair fight to prove strength and dominance.

The bear charged me then. I avoided it easily, leaping over it and landing on my feet behind it as the thing tried to stop their forward motion. Skidding to a halt, the bear turned to face me again and roared once more. I howled in excitement and let the bear come at me once more. This time, I didn’t jump out of the way. Instead, I slipped onto my back and lifted my paw toward its chest and felt the claws dig into the fur and skin of the bear. As the bear continued forward and I slid under it, my claws raked huge slashing gashes in its underbelly. Blood poured all over my face and chest, but I didn’t mind. It was just blood, and I could wash myself later.

As I slid out from behind the bear, flipping to my feet, the bear crashed to the ground. It was dead. I had killed it, and now it was time to enjoy the choicest pieces of the animal in my victory.

“Not bad, brother.” I heard Rika’s voice. “I finished about a minute ago though.” She said as she pawed at the cougar on the ground.

“Yeah, well, mine was bigger.” I shrugged.

“And I was faster.” We both laughed. “I’ll share mine if you share yours.” She was wanting to taste the meat of both animals, and I admit that I wanted that as well.

“Sure. Come on.” I told her as I pawed at the bear to flip it over. It was time to eat.

Rika and I gutted and ate the animals raw. That was what tonight was all about. It was about connecting with the animal that lived inside of each of us. It was about embracing who and what you are and not being afraid of it. It was about becoming one with the magic that flowed through us all. And it was amazing. I was truly glad that I was a part of this night. And it made me excited about the next year and what animal I might bring down then.