Chapter 7 The Blood Moon Pack

• The fear was not just in the air; it was like a fog that clung to her skin, an invisible weight that enveloped everything. Ellie could feel it before hearing the footsteps, quick and calculated, drawing nearer. It was as if the forest itself whispered warnings, as if the very earth was telling her to run, but her legs wouldn't move.
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• The sound of those footsteps echoed in her chest, each echo like an increasing threat. Her heart raced, and with each beat, she felt the ground sinking beneath her feet.
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• “HELP, SAVE ME!” Her voice came out broken, torn by desperation, as if her whole being had surrendered to the scream.
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• A brief moment of hope flickered in her mind. Maybe someone would hear her. Maybe... But that illusion faded when an arm wrapped around her body with a force that made her feel like she was trapped in burning iron. The hand covering her mouth was like a slab of concrete, stealing her breath, pressing her chest until it was nearly impossible to breathe.
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• Panic surged through her like an electric current. The adrenaline burned inside her, but her body didn’t react. She just trembled.
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• “Shut up.” The werewolf's voice was a low, raspy growl, cruel.
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• Everything around her changed in a breath. The pack, which had been silent until then, began to move. Ellie could feel the tension in the air, as if the entire world was preparing to explode. The werewolves were on guard, and she couldn’t stop watching, as if something deep inside her told her that this was more than just a fight.
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• “Who would dare ambush the Half Moon Pack in the full moon?” one of them said, his voice full of mockery. Ellie couldn't help but notice how his eyes shifted, as if they were transforming, adapting to the threat.
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• The growls started, low and guttural, as if the sound came from the very bowels of the earth. Branches cracked, ragged breaths filled the air. It was as if time had stopped, as if each werewolf was waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
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• Ellie's body was frozen, every fiber of her being trembling. But there was no attack. Not yet. Just gazes. Glares that pierced through her, stripping her of all humanity, leaving her bare before what surrounded her.
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• And then, the shadows began to move.
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• They were fast, like phantoms between the trees, almost impossible to follow with the eyes. The sound of their footsteps faded into the forest's darkness, as if they were part of the night itself. And the moon, the cold and distant moon, illuminated them with its pale light, revealing what was hidden in the shadows.
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• Werewolves.
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• Ellie saw them, and her breath stopped for a moment. Eyes like embers, glowing with wild fury. Claws, fangs, muscles taut. But they didn’t attack. Not yet.
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• Confusion. Only confusion filled her mind. Why didn’t they touch her? Why her? What did they want from her? Her mind tangled with those questions as fear kept growing, darkening everything she could see.
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• The sound of battle was like an explosion. The thunder of claws against flesh, screams and roars, filled the air, leaving Ellie with her heart in her throat. Bones cracking, bodies falling. It was a war of beasts, fierce and chaotic, where violence reigned uncontrollably.
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• She couldn’t look. Her hands trembled uncontrollably, her stomach twisted. She only thought about whether this would be her end, if they would leave her for last, if one of those monstrosities would kill her.
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• Then, through the fog of her fear and the tears threatening to spill, she saw something. A flash of white, something that didn’t fit. At first, she thought it was another werewolf, but it wasn’t.
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• It was more. Much more.
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• A figure moved between the fight with superhuman agility. It didn’t run, it slid, cutting through the air with lethal elegance. Everything it touched seemed to stop when it passed, as if it was chaos personified.
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• And then, his eyes found hers.
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• Purple. Glowing with an intensity that froze her blood. He wasn’t a man. He wasn’t a wolf. He was something that surpassed everything she had imagined. Something that made her feel so small, so vulnerable.
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• He was the Alpha of the Blood Moon Pack. The leader. The being who controlled it all.
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• Before she could understand what was happening, the man holding her was suddenly ripped away, as if he were a ragdoll. The Alpha hit him with brutal force, and the werewolf's body fell lifeless to the ground, as if it were nothing.
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• And she was free.
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• The cold wind surrounded her, lifting her hair and pulling her veil, while the battle raged on. The moon continued its course, indifferent.
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• She was free, but fear didn’t let her go. It was like a shadow, an invisible weight that wouldn’t release her. The sensation of horror continued to hug her, closing her chest. Was she really free, or had the cage just changed?
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• The Alpha took a step toward her, his presence so powerful it seemed like the world stopped around him. The pack drew near, their silence charged with expectation, as if they all waited for something.
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• Ellie didn’t know if she was safe or if this was just the beginning of something much worse.
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• He looked at her, but said nothing. There wasn’t even a spark of emotion on his face. Just coldness. Just dominance.
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• “Take her.” The order was given with such authority that it resonated in the air.
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• Ellie didn’t understand. She couldn’t. She didn’t know whether to feel relief or terror. Her mind was so overwhelmed by the chaos that she couldn’t process what was happening. She only felt the weight of her destiny, crushing her, leading her to a place she couldn’t escape.
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• Amidst it all, she heard cruel laughter around her.
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• “Finally, we gave them where it hurts the most!” one voice mocked, as if this were just a game to them.
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• “A human? Really? What a disgrace for the Half Moon tribe,” another voice added, full of disdain.
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• Ellie heard them, and the words pierced her skin like knives. Was that what she was to them? A burden, something they could discard when it pleased them?
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• The pain in her chest grew. Zean. His name echoed in her mind, like a wound that never healed.
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• Daelan, the Alpha, walked ahead of her. His step was firm, emotionless, like a force of nature, unstoppable. He said nothing. It wasn’t needed. He just walked, leading his pack.
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• Ellie didn’t dare look at him. She couldn’t.
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• What would they do with her? Would they throw her into the same chaos of death and fury she had just witnessed?
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• The air was thick, heavier than before.
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• One more step.
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• “Alpha, what shall we do with the woman?”
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• Ellie held her breath, waiting for the answer she knew she couldn’t bear.
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• A silence stretched, and then, Daelan’s deep voice broke the stillness.
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• “When we arrive, we will summon the council of elders. Then I will decide.”
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• The word “decide” hung in the air, like a sealed fate she couldn’t control. Everything she was, everything she could be, was now in the hands of this impossible being, this werewolf.
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• And all that remained was the cruel laughter around her, the fear that wouldn’t let her breathe, and the promise of an uncertain fate that, although she
• didn’t yet understand, was already beginning to consume her.
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• The darkness enveloped her again.