The Hunter

Chapter 10

The sun was setting, and I laid there in the middle of the clearing I had found an hour ago. I reveled in how the cool grass felt on my arms and legs. I had stopped in this clearing and shifted back into my human form after I had exhausted myself. I knew I was dirty; my hair was a mess and it looked odd for a naked woman to be laying in the woods alone. I got up to knees and sighed. If only I could keep living like this forever. The worries of the world just melted away, I didn’t have to continue fighting and hating. I could live like this forever, but it was in our genes not to be alone. Not only am I part human, but part wolf. I will always need that companionship. I would go mad, and in the end could not hold my human form. I stood, feeling my hair brush the small of my back.

“Dammed be the creature who wishes for solidarity.” I spoke. I looked up to the darkening sky, taking a large breath in and shifting. It only took me less than an hour to reach the mansion. I had not gone far, so Luna was barely waking up as I grabbed my robe.

“Dude, did you have a fight with a wood fairy?” she asked with a yawn. I chuckled at her question.

“I just needed to run for a while.” I told her. She swung her legs over the bed and stretched.

“What’s got you so upset?” she asked, tilting her head slightly. Owen and Daniel may not have the balls enough to ask me such a question when requesting the time to go for a run, but Luna loved to live rather dangerously. I was glad she was asking after I had time to mull everything over and able to control my reactions.

“I had a strange conversation with Malakai this morning.” I stated and set the clothes I had gathered to wear after my shower. Luna jumped off the bed and gave me a lopsided smile.

“Tell me everything!” she exclaimed and roughly pulling me down to sit beside her on the couch.

“Ok, before your brain goes there, it’s not about the bond.” I spoke. Her smile fell. I gave her brief, but detailed, explanation about our conversation in the library.

“Genevieve, why the actual f**k did you not just accept his apology, or whatever he says that was?” she said, a deep frown forming. I scoffed at her. Was she really asking me thing?

“I can’t just lay down and show my stomach to just any person! f**k the bond, I am not going to trust that man until I’m ready and when I know more about him.” I yelled at her. She gave me toothy smile. I reeled back at her sudden change in emotion.

“You do want to know more about him.” She stated. I know she wasn’t asking me because she had come to that realization before I even did. My eyes grew large. I stuttered over a few words before I went quiet. Luna let out an airy laugh. “Admit it, Gen, you’re interested. Maybe not physically yet, which I can’t understand how you cannot be, or emotionally. You want to know why he’s saying these things.”

“Well yeah! Wouldn’t you want to know more? He is the most confusing person I’ve met.” I said objectively.

“He is confusing to you because he has been the only person in your race to show you kindness.” She said placing her hands on my shoulders. “if I remember correctly, you were just that way with me. Took me forever to break into those reinforced steel walls around your heart. I got you to trust someone who was like that Vampire.”

“That was only because you nagged me until I gave up. I was tired of being harassed.” I said giving her a small smile. She giggled.

“I hope Malakai doesn’t nag you, but I hope you can start to trust someone else for once.” She said. I gave her a pointed look. There was a sharp knock at the door. I opened it and a maid bowed at me.

“I am here to inform you that King Daniel is going to be having dinner in the hall. It will be ready in an hour.” She spoke. Luna groaned, grabbing her phone that she had left on my wireless charger.

“I guess we have to get dressed.” She said and walked out of the room. The maid moved to the side. I gave her a smile.

“Thank you. We will be there.” I said. She walked away. I grabbed the clothes I had set down and jumped into the shower.

***

Before I walked into the dining hall, I heard the voices first. They were loud and rowdy, and they seemed to be enjoying themselves. I took a deep breath before I rounded the corner and walked into the hall. It was an odd feeling to see so many people sitting and smiling. I was always in attendance to serious meetings, so I never fully have become desensitized to such an environment. Luna was already seated at the table and speaking to a petite vampire across from her. There were several dishes laid out on the table and wolves enjoying said meal. The mortals were a bit more reserved, but nonetheless, they didn’t seem tense. Daniel was seated at the end of the table, enjoying a cup of blood. The Alpha was sat next to him, laughing at whatever was just said. I found my spot next to Luna and one of the male fairies.

“Hey, there she is!” Luna explained, throwing a hand over my shoulder. She brought her mouth close to my ear. “If you ever leave me alone for that long ever again, I will feed off of you.”

I laughed at her. The blood she was drinking was spiked with alcohol.

“I had sticks stuck in my hair, it took a while to untangle them.” I said. She laughed and handed me an empty cup. A maid swooped in and filled it with amber liquid. I picked the cup up, smelling the contents. Whiskey.

“Sticks?” the same vampire that Luna was speaking with asked me. I took a rather large sip of my drink.

“I went out for a run earlier.” I said, shrugging my shoulders.

“She’s gotta let the beast out every once in a while.” Luna said. She got a chorus of comments from offended wolves. I guess the Alpha had brought more than the two that were in the meeting. Luna laughed at them.  I served myself some food and was eating while Luna and a few wolves went back and forth with lighthearted insults. I chuckled at few of the comments. I silently marveled at how at ease everyone truly was at this moment I glanced at Daniel, who was having a serious conversation with Malakai. Daniel always seemed to surprise me when he claims that he is striving for peace between the creatures of the night and the mortals. In this moment, he has achieved that.

As the night went on, the fairies had excused themselves to go back home to their realm. A few wolves had left with some vampires, something about seeing the armory. Although I had finished my meal a while ago, I stayed seated next to Luna. She was becoming more and more drunk as she spoke with people around the table. She fit right in when it came time to socialize, something I always envied.

“You can’t possibly tell me that she took down a nest of vampires.” A blonde-haired wolf said. Luna nodded and nudged me. I broke out of my train of thoughts.

“Tell him.” She said, now shaking my shoulders. I laughed at her.

“It wasn’t anything crazy. Just a couple vamps who were not following the rules.” I said dismissively. Luna groaned.

“Don’t diminish your work.” She said and switched seat to the empty one next to my left. She propped her shoulders up. “It was one of her cleanest takedowns. I’m talking about one single bullet straight through the head. She is an insane shot. Not even our best warriors can do that!”

“But you’re a wolf, who don’t you just use that instead of bullets?” He asked. I thought it over for a moment before shrugging.

“I could, but I’d rather not enter the building and make more noise than necessary. It’s an assassination, not a party.” I spoke. The whole room went quiet. The one wolf was gawking at me.

“You didn’t even enter the building?” he asked, his eyes bugging out.

“I think the one mission Luna is speaking about is in Tennessee. I used my Barrett. Took that shot from seven hundred meters away.” I said. He continued to stare at me.

“Gen was one of our best with long range guns.” Raymond interjected. I gave him a small smile.

“And now we have her. No take backs.” Luna said, giving me a hug. Raymond laughed.

“She is free to do what she wants.” He said.

“She is sitting in this room.” I said. Luna rolled her eyes at me.

“You have got to teach me how!” the blonde wolf said.

“There will be a time for that.” Malakai spoke, the authority come out of him. The blonde wolf gave him a lopsided smile. As if we weren’t similar already with our actions, we decided to snap our heads towards Daniel and Malakai.

“What?” we both said at the same time. Daniel stood and came over to sit in Luna’s vacated seat.

“We are planning on joining our people together to take this vampire down. There are still a lot of details we have to smooth out, but we are hoping that we can start something new here.” Daniel said candidly.

“We hope we can pave the way for a united front one day.” Malakai added. Have they both lost their minds? Since our creation, vampires and werewolves have been at war with each other. There is not one story of them working together. It may be fancy talk, but to be able to get that many creatures to cooperate is mind boggling. I spent the rest of the dinner silent. I couldn’t begin to imagine such an idea.