Humans have no business at a Mate Hunt. These primal events draw shifters from surrounding packs—newly transformed adults sent into the woods to find their fated or chosen mates. The females get a head start, an hour to flee before sundown. Then the males are unleashed, driven by instinct to track and claim. It's pure barbarism, and it's no place for someone who can't shift. Yet here I am, racing through the darkness with my human heart slamming against my ribs, lungs screaming with each desperate breath. The howls surrounding me are relentless—an entire wolfpack closing in, intoxicated by the thrill of the hunt. My feet bleed. The cold cuts like knives. I don't even know how I ended up here. This was supposed to be impossible. But I'm still running, chased by predators who've caught my scent, surrounded by the frenzy of creatures built to hunt things exactly like me. ----R18. Content warnings: graphic violence and multiple murders; attempted homicide; betrayal; a love interest draped in red flags (though inexplicably fond of green); mild sociopathy; an irrational vendetta against blueberry muffins; and systematic pillow larceny.