The Hunt for The Alpha King

It was a day of celebration for the Hunt family and even more so for Raven Hunt whose birthday was today. She was turning ten and she indeed felt very special. She wore her favorite dress and she ate her favorite food. Her entire family gathered around the round table for a celebratory dinner and that huge smile wouldn’t leave Raven’s face no matter how much she tried to hide it. Just as she was about to take a bite of her roasted chicken, an arrow whooshed past her face and impaled itself right in her father’s forehead. Her father’s eyes were wide with shock with shrieks and screams breaking out at the table just as blood began pouring out of his wound. More arrows flew by as the rest of the Hunts scampered around the table, trying to get to safety, but Raven remained frozen to her seat, watching the light leave her father’s eyes. She finally blinked when she felt someone grab her, pulling her beneath the table. “What are you doing, Raven?! Hide!” Her older sister, Lark yelled, her face pale and her eyes wide with terror. “W–what is happening? I—Is dad dead?” Raven stuttered, her lips quivering as she took in the arrows which kept flying, taking down her family one after the other. Lark opened her mouth to speak, but her words were swallowed up by the noise of the front door blasting open. A loud scream tore through Raven’s lips as masked men in black rushed into the house, attacking everyone in sight. Lark roughly grabbed Raven, beads of sweat trickling down her face. “Raven. Listen to me. Once I let go, I want you to run inside and find a place to hide, alright? Do not come out unless you are sure everything has gone quiet.” Raven’s eyes were wide and they quickly filled up with tears as her entire body trembled. “B—but–” “Promise me, Raven,” Lark insisted, pressing her damp forehead gently to Raven’s. “You will run as fast as you can and hide, and when all of this is over,’’ Lark’s lips quivered as tears streamed down her face. “When you get out of this alive, promise me that you won’t try to seek revenge.” “But, Lark!” Raven cried, her eyes wide with disbelief. “Promise me!” Lark insisted, holding on to her sister firmly. “I promise.” Raven finally answered, unable to hold back her sobs. Lark managed a smile as she pulled Raven close and pressed a kiss to her forehead, ruffling her hair fondly. “I love you, my little Raven. Now go. Run and don’t look back.” Raven did not get the chance to tell her sister she loved her back before she was pushed away from the table. “Go now!” Lark whisper-yelled and despite the fact that Raven was tempted to go back and stay with her sister, she obeyed her and fled inside without looking back, her heart pounding loudly against her chest. Just as she almost reached her parent’s room, Raven heard her sister’s screams of terror and she instantly stopped in her tracks, turning around, her face pale as a sheet. Everything inside her screamed for her to turn back, but she knew she had to obey her sister. Lark asked her to hide no matter what. Raven disappeared into the room, managing to hide in one of the closets before shutting the door gently. Her entire body trembled and she was so overwhelmed with so many emotions that she began sobbing. She covered her mouth with her trembling hands, trying her best to stay silent, but she couldn’t as more cries escaped her lips. Suddenly, she heard the door open making her heart nearly stop. She clasped her knees tightly, her eyes wide as terror filled her insides. Heavy footsteps approached the closet, making Raven’s hands turn clammy as she began shaking uncontrollably. She internally prayed to the moon goddess that it was her sister or one of her family and not those scary men. The closet door flew open and she instantly came face to face with a man dressed in all black with a mask covering his face and a boy dressed similarly to him. Their eyes were exposed and when Raven’s eyes locked on the boy’s, she went still for a moment. Each eye color was different. One was steel blue and the other was hazel and even though Raven could not see his entire face, she was mesmerized. She couldn’t look away no matter how hard she tried to. She saw fear and confusion dancing in the boy’s mismatched eyes as he stared back at her. The boy tried to take a step close to her but the man instantly held him back, his eyes narrowing to slits. “What do you think you’re doing?” He spat, his voice muffled by his mask. He took out his bow and pointed the arrow straight at her. “Wait! No!” The boy yelled but that was not enough to stop the man. He drew the arrow and released it. A loud gasp escaped Raven’s lips as the arrow struck her heart. She felt all the air leave her lungs as her vision slowly grew fuzzy. She could hear the boy yelling at the man, but she had no idea what he was saying as her body fell to the ground with a thud. Tears slowly slipped from her eyes as the world went dark. *** Raven had no idea how much time had passed when her eyes shot open. A loud gasp escaped her lips as she sat up, her eyes darting around in confusion. Her vision was fuzzy and it felt like she had just woken up from a long sleep. Slowly, the memories of what had happened earlier before she passed out began filling her head. How the house was invaded and how an arrow was shot straight through her heart. Raven’s eyes went wide with terror as she quickly looked down at her chest where the arrow still lay with streaks of blood around it. But the arrow was not what caught her attention. What caught Raven’s attention was the red glowing mark which was right where the arrow had struck.