The Skinwalker Hunter

Chapter 8 - Hunter

The air is thick and heavy with the humidity from the day, which was likely to linger long into the night. Hunter hated this God-forsaken country and longed to return to his mother country. The land of the free and the home of the brave. He was condemned to suffer the numerous annoyances encompassing the essence of what Australia was like.

Soon, he thought. Soon this intolerable existence would be over and the wretched curse would be broken. The blood of the last two kin would be spilled.

Edging ever so slowly with carefully placed footsteps, Hunter maneuvered his way through the minefield of brittle leaves covering the ground. Stealth was of vital importance tonight. The hybrid was with them and he was becoming a complication.

He made his way to the same vantage point he'd used the previous two nights, wrinkling his nose at the stench now present. The hybrid had been here.

From where he stood he could easily see into the backyard as well as a view of the street. Cursing under his breath, Hunter knew he had to change vantage points and slowly edged his way around the rocky path, careful not to knock any loose stones off the edge and avoid the suns burning effects.

The path was slow and deliberate winding around the property until the entrance to the house was visible. The thick scrubland lining the edges of the street provided sufficient coverage to serve his purpose and stay downwind. Perfect for concealing his scent from the hybrid. He crouched down and waited. Patience was a virtue and he had all the time in the world. Once the hybrid had left, he would make his move.

As the sun began to sink and brilliant purples and oranges replaced the blue of the sky, Hunter felt the familiar prickle of unease spread across his shoulders and down his back. The hybrid hadn't left yet. Previous nights had the hybrid leaving before sunset and returning several hours later to walk the perimeter. They hadn't left the safety of the house the whole time he'd been there. Something was different and he knew the hybrid was to blame.

As darkness filled the sky, Hunter repositioned himself, no longer requiring the safety of the shade of the trees. LED headlights turned the corner and pulled up out the front of the house. Hunter recognised the car as the hybrid's car, but the hybrid wasn't driving. He was still inside.

A new player in the game, he thought, changing his position to better see the driver. A stunning dark-haired woman was behind the wheel, her black handbag sitting on her lap as she rummaged through its contents in search of something. Her skin was creamy, pale perfection with eyes as black as his. Moments later she plucked out a gold cylinder, removed its lid and applied the blood-red lipstick to her ample lips.

Vampire!

He took a deep breath, tasting her scent in the air and furrowed his brow.

Definitely vampire.

She dropped the lipstick back in her bag and pushed the door open, hooking the bag over her shoulder and quietly clicking the door shut behind her. She was a petite little thing with a white silk blouse buttoned up the front and full breasts threatening to break out the top of it. Her shapely hips were accentuated by the tight-fitting leather skirt with finely muscled legs balanced perfectly in three-inch red heels strapped to her delicate ankles.

Hunter hadn't appreciated the features of a beautiful woman like this in decades. Shaking his head to focus back on his mission, he pulled his eyes back up the length of her delicious body and onto her face. Her full red lips and fine features were framed with large black curls tumbling over her shoulders and down her back, but there was something about her face that felt familiar.

He doubted that he would have forgotten a beauty such as her but still, he couldn't shake the feeling he had seen her before.

The front porch light flickered on as the door creaked open. The hybrid strode down the path towards the woman, kissing each cheek with a greeting before whispering in her ear and turning back to the house. He considered what he saw, smiling to himself. They were not the actions of lovers, more nestmates then anything else he decided, contemplating when and how they would cross paths again.

The woman slowly walked towards the house lifting her face upwards to gaze at the stars. Light from the porch reflected on her fine features and her lips parted in a smile.

Nooooo! 

 Hunter stumbled back in shock, a twig snapping under his foot. The woman's face spun in his direction, her lips curling back over her teeth and she let out a hiss. He froze hoping the thickness of the bushes around him would break up the outline of his shape. She scanned the treeline searching for the source of the noise but quickly gave up when the front door opened again.

Hunter stiffened as the hybrid returned. This time with his arm around the waist of the older skinwalker. He stopped a safe distance from the woman and used himself as a barrier between the two females. 

He would have to do something about the hybrid and soon. He had been a thorn in his side for too many decades now and with the female vampire on his side, ending the curse seemed further away than ever before. Hunter stepped backwards away from the treeline, carefully placing each foot as stealthily as possible. The hunt was cancelled for the night as far as he was concerned but far from over. When he had moved to a safe enough distance, Hunter let his mind reel with the realisation of why the woman was so familiar. Fighting off a barrage of emotions hitting him all at once he siphoned through them to gain composure. Shock, denial, anger and hatred coursed through him.

How is this possible?

He searched through his memory back to the night when he had last seen the woman. She wasn't the focus of his hunt that night, just a mere irritant and just a mere human. How was it possible for a human to wind up halfway across the world, over a hundred and fifty years later. There were no other vampires in the region that he knew of that could have turned her. Was she that unlucky to have lost her pregnant sister at the hands of one vampire, only to cross paths with another not long after? Did she search out a vampire to end her mortal life?

Hunter shook his head at his last thought. Who would search for an eternity of grieving murdered family members? Something had happened to that woman not long after he had left. He wondered if the hybrid was responsible for her immortality or how long she had known him. Was the hybrid even capable of turning a human?

The aged skinwalker was waving her arms around, an animated expression on her face. If he didn't know any better he would say that the old woman was laying down the rules to the much older yet younger-looking woman across from her. After some time, the old woman turned and strode back into the house.

Hunter shifted his position, glancing to the back of the house, checking for any movement. Flaring his nostrils, he sucked in the hot night air. 

Damn hybrid:

The stench of the hybrid was tainting the air. It burned all the way down to his lungs and obscured any other scent. Hunter had hoped that the unique sweet scent of the skinwalkers would help him pinpoint where they were in the house. He would have snuck in through the back of the house and drained the powerful nectar from the skinwalkers, one at a time. He'd used the same technique previously. He smirked to himself as the memory came to the front of his mind. A time when he had thwarted the security protection attempt made by a rich business mogul with those telltale violet skinwalker eyes. A hundred guards, security gates and cameras couldn't protect the man and in the end, it was his scent that bought him undone.

Without his ability to taste the scents in the air, Hunter was the one at a disadvantage. The stench was so thick in the air, he wasn't sure if he'd be able to smell when anyone else was getting close. He cursed under his breath again leaning his back against the trunk of a tree and sliding down to the ground.

The hybrid had been a mild annoyance over the last several decades but Hunter had always been able to claim his prize so never bothered himself with the matter. He knew little about the hybrid and inwardly chastised himself for not learning more about this strange creature trying to protect the skinwalkers. He knew he was half-vampire, but as for the rest of his heritage, it was a mystery to Hunter.

The hybrid had a vile stench that Hunter had never experienced before. He was stronger than humans and as fast as a vampire, but he was a daywalker. That was the extent of knowledge Hunter possessed regarding the creature. Knowing more would have been helpful right now. The unknown made the hunt less of a challenge and more of a death wish. He couldn't die, the curse made sure of that, but the excruciating pain wasn't worth the risk.

Something was happening tonight and Hunter wasn't leaving until he knew what that was. He leaned back against the base of the tree, watching and waiting for the hybrid to make his move.