Darkness and the scent of ashes surround me, and yet there are no bodies nor the odor of burned meat.

This place seems to be in peace, yet not the slightest noise reaches my ears. I've seen ghost towns before, but this one isn't supposed to be a ghost town.

Of course, it was a tiny town, just two streets crossing each other, but now no buildings are standing by it; everything was burned. The ashes have been scattered around, yet I see the leftovers of the houses that were once there, not long ago.

The stench of smoke is still fresh, still irritating to eyes and nostrils. My mother used to say that fire purifies everything, makes a fresh start, and allows people to start anew. And yet, here I sense no calmness; here, I feel pure terror. Whatever happened here was not calm nor pure. I'm sure that people screamed in horror when something came for them.

My dog growls, and I know there must be traces of blood despite the ashes, but not a fight. The blood was spilled, the town was burned, and yet no sign of a battle. Have those who lived here faced something so unexpected that they didn't even realize their lives were stolen?

I step more into the woods, more into the darkness, more into unknown danger. The slight rain covers my smell and my steps, both mine and my dog's.

I walk slowly into the woods, spotting small traces of dragging something, probably bodies. No signs of a fight, but they didn't burn the inhabitants of this town in their houses. No, they were dragging them into the woods, but what for?

I notice the traces of paws, but their size is strange. I've chased werewolves my whole life; I know how their paws look and how the traces of their paws left in mud look. But this, this isn't something I have ever seen before, and I'm sure this isn't something any werewolf hunter has ever seen before.

More steps into the woods, less moonlight, more drops of rain. 

My dog whimpers, tugging his tail down. He isn't happy he is here with me, and we are together long enough to know that none of us gets scared easily. The cold wind hits us strong from time to time as I walk.

I am scared; I don't intend to lie to myself, and that feeling is very unfamiliar. I haven't been that scared in 15 years; I haven't been that scared since my first hunt.

Surrounded by the darkness and silence except for the drops of rain, I get into the place where fewer trees are scattered, and I crouch, touching the ground and touching the sticky dirt, soil recently soaked with blood.

I came here from the main road in the burned town, but despite the main streets in the town, there were also houses belonging to that town scattered around the area. Whoever has done it has dragged bodies from all the places around.

My dog growls a bit, and I look around, hearing small steps, and soon I notice a wolf standing a couple of meters away from me. No, not the wolf, the werewolf. I clench my fingers on my gun, swallowing my saliva. He looks at me, completely motionless. He is big, for sure he must be high rank, Alpha probably?

I look into his eyes, which is a sign to him that I am a hunter and a Silver Bullet. Only the strongest hunters, named Silver Bullets, dare to look Alphas in the eyes.

My dog growls a bit stronger, tugging his tail behind him, but not at the Alpha but behind me because of the sound coming from behind me. Pants and steps of something big. My dog is scared shitless; I know it. I'm scared shitless. My mother used to say that when you hunt, the easiest way to die is to pretend you are unafraid and try to be cooky.

And that survival instinct is the strongest force in any living being; I whistle faintly, allowing my dog to run into the woods and return to where I left my squad. As I look at the Alpha standing in front of me, something is coming closer to us. 

Common ground and survival instincts...

The Alpha bends his legs slightly, taking a ready stance, and jumps. He is behind me in seconds, snarling as I turn around and shoot, praying that whatever the Alpha saw behind me is dead.

The roar that is heard is making my blood cold. My bullet hit it, I know it, and the Alpha managed to push it onto its back,  sinking his teeth in it. I smell blood as the creature trashes between the trees, trying to pry one of its limbs from the werewolf's jaws. I shoot one more time, and I know I hit the target again because it roars louder.

The Alpha lets go of his prey and lands next to me; we both take in the sight before us. 

The creature seems not to understand what is happening, yet I see fangs shining in the dim moonlight. It's big, at least two meters high, and its red, bloody eyes look at us, and yet I'm sure they don't know what they are looking at. Its big humanoid body with solid muscles and unnaturally long hands is covered with fur: heavy breath and saliva drip from its muzzle alongside the blood. 

The creature reaches one of its limbs in my direction, but the Alpha jumps again, crushing into its massive body with full strength, forcing it to lose balance. I have time to send more bullets into it, nailing its chest as the Alpha has time to stand up and charge again, sinking his canines in the creature's neck.

The beast is trashing, crashing the trees, and roaring in pain. It sinks claws into the Alpha's fur and rips him away from itself, throwing him at least a couple of meters in front. I don't wait as I jump, sliding between the creature's legs and sinking my big knife in, I think, its ankles. The muddy ground makes it easier for me. And yet this thing is fast as it grabs one of my legs, and suddenly I'm in the air swung as if I was a rug doll. For a brief moment, I think that's it, that it will throw my body into the ground for sure, breaking my scull.

The Alpha cannons into our enemy with full force one more time, causing it to lose its balance. My body is dragged to the ground along, but I have time to sink my knife in hand that was squeezing my leg. It lets go; I'm free. The werewolf doesn't wait, one more time biting right into the beast as I managed to take my other gun, which now was stuck to my thigh. The beast roars stronger, trashing the ground and using his other hand to sink the claws into the Alpha's stomach. I hear whimpers, but I don't wait to think. I'm close enough to put the bullet directly into the back of the creature's skull.

The sound of my shot echoes as the creature stops moving. The Alpha howls,  standing on slightly trembling legs as I pant hard, sitting on the ground. I feel no strength in me, no strength to think as we look each other in the eyes.

We both are bleeding, we both are tired, and we both have no idea what just a moment ago has been killed by us. We both wait, listening very intensively, hoping or maybe praying that whatever it was, it was alone.

Finally, Alpha starts shifting slowly as I put my gun away. 

The sign of trust, he stands in front of me in his human form. I have no gun in my hands. Once again, we look each other in the eyes this night, each of us sore and scared, knowing that something unexplainable happened here.

"My name is Chandler Crow. I'm a Silver Bullet from Murrow Clan," I say slowly.

The Alpha nods and replay:

"My name is Mikkeli Blackwood, former Alpha of the Black Moon Pack, and it seems, dear hunter, that we have had a common enemy since today."

I avert my eyes from him to look at the creature lying on the ground, not knowing, not even imagining that this is just the beginning of the nightmares hidden in the darkness of the night.

Book Four in the Black Moon series is about to start, and it is a stand-alone story

As always, I also recommend reading my other stories:

Book One: Unwanted Mates https://www.wattpad.com/story/294610684-unwanted-mates

Book Two: Unrejected Mates https://www.wattpad.com/story/313107395-unrejected-mates

Book Three: Unmarked Mates https://www.wattpad.com/story/326949162-unmarked-mates