The sickened luna’s last chance

Chapter 260

+25 BONUS

Chapter 260

Ella

The morning of the hunt, | woke up with a plan.

| dressed in the most impractical outfit | could find: a white blouse that would show every speck of dirt and a pair

of ballet flats that would be useless for running through the forest. | braided my hair loosely so it would come

undone and look disheveled. | even borrowed sof Lilith’s red lipstick and tucked it into my pocket along with

a book I'd grabbed from the library.

Perfect. | looked like someone who had never spent a day outdoors in her life.

After feeding Lucien and making sure he was settled with Lilith for the day, | made my way to the main grounds

where all of the contestants were supposed to gather.

The place was already buzzing with activity when | arrived. Women in hunting gear were stretching and checking

their weapons. Others were huddled in groups, whispering amongst themselves-having teamed up to make it to

the next round.

| spotted Anya near the edge of the crowd, looking nervous but determined in a practical brown outfit and sturdy

boots. She’d clearly done her research on what to wear for a hunt. | almost felt bad that | was planning to get

myself eliminated instead of teaming up with her and helping her out.

Then, turning, | spotted her. Sophia.

She was standing near the front of the group, dressed in an expensive hunting outfit that didn’t have a speck of

dirt on it. Her hair was pulled back into a perfect, sleek ponytail and she was grinning widely as a group of girls

fawned over her.

| almost wanted to laugh. Last I'd seen Sophia was when she and Alexander were dancing drunkenly together.

She'd been hanging off of him like her life depended on it.

And he was still making her go through the trial like everyone else.

After all those years of chasing him and scheming and pining for him, he was still making her compete along

with the Omegas, Gammas, and any other woman who wanted to be his future wife.

Her self-esteem had to be incredibly low to keep pursuing this man after all these years. How many times could

someone get rejected and keep coming back for more?

Well, she could have him now. I didn’t want Alexander anymore, and honestly, | was glad to no longer be a victim

of Sophia’s constant scheming. It was nice, for once, not to be the object of her hatred. And if she wanted to deal

with Alexander's sour moods and disloyalty and his tendency to lock up his own wife over false evidence, then

more power to her.

Just then, a horn sounded, and everyone turned toward the platform that had been set up at the edge of the

forest. Alexander stepped up onto it, looking every inch the Alpha King in his dark suit. He surveyed the crowd of

contestants with a sharp gaze, skimming straight over me, then turned to the microphone.

“Welcto the first round of the Luna Trial,” he announced. “Today's challenge is a hunt. The rules are

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Chapter 260

simple: one hundred of you will enter the forest, but only seventy rabbits have been released. This means at

least thirty of you will be eliminated today.”

Murmurs rippled through the crowd. Swomen looked confident, others nervous. Anya sidled up next to me

and nudgedwith her elbow.

“Wanna team up?” she whispered. “We can help each other out.”

“Oh, I'd be a horrible teammate,” | said with a wry smile, gesturing to my outfit. “I've never hunted before and

I've always been the worst when it comes to physical exercise. You might want to find someone else.”

Anya'’s face fell. | felt a little bad again, but this was for the best. | was going to make a fool out of myself to get

out of this competition and | didn’t want to drag her down with me.

“However,” Alexander continued, “contestants who kill multiple prey can eliminate additional competition. The

more rabbits you bring back, the better your chances of advancing to the next round.”

| glanced around, noticing Sophia's look of absolute focus nearby. She still had that gaggle of teammates around

her but | knew she was already thinking about how to screw them all over.

“You have two hours,” Alexander said. “The hunt begins now.”

At another peal of the horn, the crowd surged forward into the forest. | hung back, letting everyone else rush

ahead before | casually strolled into the trees. No point in looking too eager when my plan was to fail

spectacularly.

| wandered deeper into the forest, taking a path | knew that led to a small clearing where I'd be unlikely to run

into other contestants. The sounds of the hunt faded behind me.

When | found my chosen spot, | sat down against a large oak tree and pulled out my book.

My plan was simple: | was going to sit here and read for the next hour and a half, then smear sof Lilith’s red

lipstick on my clothes to look like blood. I'd return to the starting point with no prey and a story about how a

rabbit had gotten the better of me—maybe say it bitand | got scared and ran away.

It would makelook weak and completely unsuited for Luna duties.

Alexander would have no choice but to eliminate me, and | could go back to my quiet life as Lucien’s nanny.

| was about twenty pages into the book when | heard a rustling in the bushes nearby. Probably just another

contestant passing through, | figured, so | kept reading. But the rustling got closer, then stopped.

Curious, | glanced up to find that a rabbit had hopped out of the treeline and was sniffling around the clearing in

search of clover to eat. My wolf immediately bristled at its closeness-close enough to see its little pink nose

twitch and hear its breath as it rooted around in the grass.

My wolf wanted to hunt. Wanted to prove herself to Alexander.

But | ignored her and returned to my reading.

Just then, | hear footsteps in the undergrowth. These ones were definitely not of an animal, and when | peeked

over the top of my book again, | saw a familiar pair of eyes peering out from amongst the trees.

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“Stella?” Anya whispered, remaining hidden in the bushes. “Why are you reading?”

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| lifted my finger to my lips and pointed at the rabbit. Anya’s eyes widened further, although she seemed torn

between focusing on the prey and wondering why | was sitting around reading.

Just then, a blur of gray shot out from behind her.

The wolf slammed into the rabbit with a sickening crunch, killing it instantly. Anya gasped and stumbled back.

But this wasn’t one of the contestants in wolf form. The scent was too wild and musky-1 recognized it

immediately as a rogue and shot to my feet.

The wolf lifted its head from the dead rabbit and looked directly at Anya. It curled back its upper lip, revealing

yellowed fangs dripping with saliva and blood. A low, threatening, and very hungry growl rumbled in its chest.

And then it lunged for her.

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