6. Full Moon Hunt
FULL MOON HUNT
The Full Moon Hunt was possibly one of the few important werewolf customs shared by both northern and southern clans.
Every month on the night of the full moon, all werewolves would sense an intense, unbridled rage and an insatiable urge to kill, and it was especially strong among the younger werewolves. It was believed to be a curse in our blood, passed down from the Great Wolf, our common ancestor and god.
In earlier days, werewolves often went out to hunt wild animals or humans, which directly led to centuries of war between humans and werewolves.
At some point, werewolves were almost wiped out.
But the remaining clans signed a treaty with the human kingdoms, promising never to hurt a human without provocation.
In return, humans would never set foot on werewolf territories.
To release the energy and prevent any werewolf attacks on humans, most young, strong werewolves, especially the alphas, would participate in a massive, violent, bloody hunt on this day, as long as there was no war between clans.
Leif and I were led to the field west of Erevos, the wildflower-dappled land between the opulent city and the immense, dark forest. It was a clear night, with only wispy clouds running across the sky.
The full moon was on the rise, and the silver moonlight scattered over the field like powdered sugar.
Over fifty young werewolves from the nobles’ houses were gathered there.
Alphas and male betas were the majority present, though a few omegas and female betas also came.
However, since the first step before transformation was to undress, the omegas and female betas were led to a different preparation camp.
I wasn’t too worried about Leif going to the omega preparation camp.
He had been joining the Winterthrope hunt since he was fifteen, and I was sure no southern corset-wearing demure damsels could harm him in any way.
What I worried about more was what would happen after the hunt began.
Though rare and severely punished, some alphas might take the chance and try to mark omegas while others were distracted.
It was one of the reasons that many omegas were reluctant to join the hunt.
I didn’t want Leif to come, but he insisted.
“You come and find me right away after the hunt begins, I’ll wait for you at the starting point,” I said to Leif emphatically. “No matter what others tell you or try to get you to go with them, don’t listen.”
“I know, Fenris. You’ve only told me like two hundred times since last night.” Leif rolled his eyes. “You know I’m stronger than some of the male betas here, right?”
“They don’t necessarily fight fair here.” I grunted, patting his shoulder. “Just be on guard.”
“Alright, you are worse than my mom sometimes.” Leif rolled his eyes in feigned annoyance before heading to the omega camp.
I went to the camp for alphas and male betas.
A servant led me to a small tent to undress.
I noticed several bottles of scented oil inside, which was funny, because one of the common jokes circulated among northern warriors was that southern alphas applied scented oils to their bodies before transformation.
Allegedly, it could improve performance during hunting, but to us, it almost sounded like the southern werewolves didn’t think their own authentic alpha scent was strong enough.
Using a human analogy, it was like using an aphrodisiac before sex.
However, since it was their tradition, I’d admit I was a little curious.
I took off my clothes and opened a bottle of scented oil, and it smelled surprisingly good and milder than I expected.
It gave a hint of the warm scent of sandalwood.
I applied some of it to my neck and chest, and when it mixed with my own scent, it unexpectedly changed.
Instead of altering my scent, it made it stronger and more dominant, like pouring oil on fire.
It invigorated me, as though I had just had a perfect sleep.
I wrapped the loincloth around my waist and exited the tent. The moon was already high in the sky, and I could feel the urge tingling under my skin, like little insects crawling, gnawing, and only the scent of blood and the feeling of my claws ripping flesh open could quench it.
From the increasing noise of hissing and growling among the gathering alphas and male betas, I could tell they were having the same craving.
A pre-hunt brawl might break out at any time, which was only natural when such a large group of young, bloodthirsty alphas was herded together, each with intensified dominant scent, each yearning for violence.
The royal guards were patrolling around us with vigilant eyes, ready to intervene in case anything happened.
I saw Damien and his companions standing at the very front of the group, next to his brother, Valerian, and his alpha sister, Cassandra.
Even though I despised Damien, I had to admit his physique was ...
impressive. He wasn’t the most massive, bulky alpha I’d seen, but there was absolutely no excessive fat on his lean, powerful body.
Moonlight trickled like quicksilver along the curves of his perfectly developed muscles, forming a beautiful contrast of light and shadow.
Standing next to him, Valerian looked much softer, almost like a male beta.
Coincidentally, Damien was also looking back, and for a moment, our gaze locked through the crowd.
His eyes lingered on me, roaming over my body as though sizing me up, and he grinned, devilish and provocative.
I returned a cold scowl, showing my fangs a little, letting him know the game was on.
Johnathan, who noticed his prince’s fixed attention, looked back too. He smiled and waved at me, which made my heart melt a little. But then he quickly turned back when Rydel growled at him, probably chiding him.
In the North, before the hunt started, all the participants would be blessed by the seer of the village.
But in Nocturne, there were no seers, only oracles, virgin omegas who swore celibacy for life, and served the gods under the guidance of the Prime Oracle.
There were two of them present today, each wearing white robes, their faces covered by veils.
They sang beautifully before all the participants, though kept their distance and had no contact with anyone, unlike the seers, who would go to each warrior and draw a smidge of lamb blood on their forehead.
As the moon approached the zenith, the urge in my blood intensified drastically, like something was about to burst out of my skin.
A dull ache pounded in my head, commanding me to submit to my thirst. It wasn’t an unfamiliar sensation, but no less irritating.
By the end of the oracles’ singing, I was barely holding back.
Finally, the hymn concluded, and the moon had reached the highest point of the firmament.
It started with a young alpha; his body began to twitch and spasm violently as his bones broke and changed under his skin, and his muscles and organs shifted within him, pushing and grinding into each other, while dark grey fur began to push out of his pores.
The delicious pain that all werewolves knew well made him scream, yet that scream became a long, haunting howling of a wolf.
Soon, all around me, one by one, the werewolves began to shift.
I relaxed my control and let the urge overwhelm me.
I felt my bones crack inside of me, my spine bending at an unnatural angle, straining my body like a drawn bow.
The pain was almost exquisite, making my blood boil.
I watched grey fur push out of the skin on the back of my hand, as my fingers stretched longer and my palms wider, my nails then grew into razor-sharp claws.
My hands (front paws), soon planted to the grassy ground, as my body finished its final transformation.
My wolf shape was massive, even compared to most other alphas. My coat had the typical agouti patterning, a mixture of black, gold, grey, and red; the overall hue was a little more toward yellow or red in the daylight, but silvery under the moonlight.
My senses changed with my form, too. My nose, which had morphed into a snout, could pick up hundreds of times more scent, and I could smell the prey, humans, vampires or other werewolves from miles away.
My ears could capture every thread of sound vibrating in the distance.
My eyes could see as clearly in the dark as in the day.
It had been a while since I took my wolf form, and it felt … good. So good that I shivered a little, shaking my body to loosen the tension that had built up in my muscles. The alphas around me had mostly finished their transformations, too, leaving loincloths scattered on the grassland.
Most of the alphas and male betas who had shifted had already bolted toward the forest like a dark, furious, deadly tide. I lingered behind, waiting for Leif to find me. Sure, it would reduce my chance of finding the best game, but making sure Leif was safe was much more important to me.
I waited and waited, yet Leif still hadn’t shown up. Anxiety grew rapidly in my heart, and even the bloodthirsty urge was dulled by it. By now, even the omega camp should be empty, so where was Leif?
Had he gone into the forest with someone else? Was he in danger? Had Lovel from Eclipse done something to him?
I decided to go to the omegas’ camp to check but was stopped by several guards. It was against tradition and law for an alpha to approach the omega camp. They told me the camp was empty, though.
Shit …
I dashed into the woods from the entrance point, where most omegas would go, sniffing the air, trying to pick up Leif’s scent.
Other werewolves ran past me, giving me curious side glances.
I couldn’t care less about the hunt now.
In my head, a thousand worst-case scenarios had happened to Leif, and I had to find him immediately!