Chapter 176

Hannah

The feast was in full swing, the aroma of roasted deer filling the thick forest air and mingling with the lively sounds of the live music.

I meandered my way through the crowd, casually sipping a glass of iced tea. My muscles still felt loose and relaxed after that run through the forest, the coppery tang of blood lingering at the back of my tongue.

A group of children darted past me, nearly knocking me over, their squeals of laughter echoing through the clearing. I stepped aside quickly, narrowly avoiding a collision with little Adam, who seemed to be leading the pack.

“Sorry, Luna Hannah!” he called over his shoulder, not slowing down for a second.

I couldn’t help but smile as I watched them disappear into the crowd. My hand unconsciously drifted to my stomach, and I found myself wondering what it would be like to have my own child running and playing amongst them.

At that moment, my eyes sought out Noah almost of their own accord. I spotted him standing across the clearing, deep in conversation with some of the older pack members. My hand quickly fell back to my side.

As if sensing my gaze, he looked up, our eyes locking for a brief moment.

My wolf stirred inside of me in response to that look, a low whine escaping my throat. The desire I had been trying to ignore came rushing back full force. I wanted him. Badly.

It was getting harder and harder to quell these feelings lately, especially since that night we had spent together. It was as if tasting what we could have had only made the hunger worse.

And now that I had tasted the doe’s blood on my fangs, awakening that primal part of me, it felt as though only one thought existed in my mind: him. Noah. Mate.

“Hannah!” The sound of Drake’s voice blissfully pulled me from my thoughts, mercifully stopping me from thinking, saying, or even doing something that I would regret later. I turned to see him approaching me with a broad smile on his face.

“Drake,” I said, turning.

Drake stopped a foot away from me. “That was some impressive hunting earlier. I’ve never seen a Luna take down a deer like that. So quick and clean.” He gestured to the fire, where today’s kill was being carved up to serve. It felt both beautiful and barbaric at the same time, to feast on something that I had hunted myself. But it felt so, so right—so in tune with the primal beast that lived inside of all of us.

I felt my cheeks warm at the praise. The cooks had even commented on how tender the meat was, indicating that the deer had not suffered—sometimes, the overwhelming suffering of an animal could tinge the meat with a strange taste. But not today.

“Thanks, Drake. Although I think Noah might have let me win,” I admitted.

Drake chuckled. “Well, even if he did, it doesn’t change the fact that you made a clean kill. It’s obvious you’ve still got it in you.”

I nodded, sipping my iced tea. Then, remembering what I had seen earlier, I decided to probe a little. “By the way, I couldn’t help but notice earlier... was Zoe riding on your back when you arrived at the kill site?”

Drake’s eyes widened slightly, and he glanced around before leaning in closer. “You saw that? I didn’t think anyone had noticed.”

“I did,” I confirmed. “Is everything okay?”

He hesitated for a moment, then sighed. “I shouldn’t tell you this, but... Zoe has been having some trouble shifting lately. I think it might be stress-related. She asked me to help her keep up appearances during the hunt.”

Despite everything that had happened between us, I felt a pang of sympathy for Zoe. It was only today that I had overcome some of my own shifting troubles.

“Oh. That must be difficult for her,” I murmured.

Drake nodded solemnly. “It is. But don’t let on that you know, okay? She’d be mortified if she found out anyone knew about her struggles. Especially you.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Me?”

“Well, it’s no secret that you’ve been on the up and up lately,” Drake said with a sheepish grin, rubbing his hand along the back of his neck. “Don’t think Zoe hasn’t noticed.”

Despite my urge to smirk in a self-satisfied manner, I simply nodded. “I see. Well, I won’t say anything.”

As Drake moved away to join another group, I decided to head to the refreshment table for a refill. I was halfway there when Leonard stepped into my path with a smug look on his face.

“Well, well, if it isn’t our mighty huntress,” he drawled, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

I raised an eyebrow. “Is there a problem, Leonard?”

He scoffed. “Oh, nothing. I just find it hard to believe you actually made that kill. It was too clean for a female.”

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me, Hannah,” Leonard continued, seemingly oblivious to my growing irritation. “Females have smaller teeth than males, and their spatial abilities are less pronounced. There’s no way you could have made such a precise kill.”

That was it. Without warning, I let my fangs drop, leaning in close to Leonard’s face. “Why don’t you take a closer look, then?” I growled, baring my teeth. “See how small my fangs really are. If you want, I can even test my spatial abilities on your throat.”

Leonard’s eyes widened at the sight of my fangs, and he took a step back, his face paling slightly. “I... uh…”

Satisfied with his reaction, I retracted my fangs and brushed past him, taking care to slam my shoulder into him. “Next time, think twice before you question my abilities, Leonard,” I called over my shoulder.

As I refilled my drink at the refreshment table, I caught sight of Zoe standing alone by a nearby tree, looking a bit lost. Making a split-second decision, I grabbed two plates of deer meat and approached her. I knew I shouldn’t bother, but… I couldn’t help it.

I kept trying to tell myself that I just wanted to pry and be nosy, but I knew that wasn’t really the case. Seeing her standing alone like that… Well, it sort of reminded me of how ostracized I used to be before my rebirth. As much as I detested Zoe, I didn’t want the same for her.

“Hey,” I said, offering her one of the plates. “Thought you might be hungry.”

Zoe looked at me warily for a moment before accepting the plate. “Oh. Thanks,” she said quietly.

We stood in awkward silence for a few moments, both picking at our food. The meat was fragrant and juicy, and it was an effort to not bury my face in my plate and eat like an animal.

Finally, I decided to break the ice. “So, how have you been? I saw Adam earlier. He seems happy to be back with you.”

Zoe’s face softened at the mention of her son. “Yeah, things have been better. I got a steady job as a lounge singer, and my parents finally agreed to let me have Adam back.”

“That’s great,” I said , shocking even myself with my sincerity. “I’m happy for you.”

She nodded, taking a bite of the deer meat. I noticed she didn’t mention anything about her shifting troubles, and I didn’t push. If Drake was right about the stress, the last thing she needed was to feel like she had to explain herself to me.

Goddess knows that I knew how that felt.

“How about you?” Zoe asked, taking me by surprise. “How have things been?”

I shrugged. “Busy, as always. But good. The hunt today... it felt really nice to reconnect with that side of myself.”

Zoe nodded, a flicker of something—envy? longing?—passing over her face.

But then, suddenly, Zoe’s eyes widened as she focused on something behind me. She pointed, her fork still in her hand.

“Is Noah drunk already?”