Mating Games: The Huntress

Episode 10

The room she walks us into opens up into a huge banquet type area, with light coming in from a massive sky light. There’s a bar to the left of the room and tables and chairs to the right, placed in front of a huge stage. And directly across from the entrance there’s a huge staircase with three large screens hanging in front of it, they look out of place in such a grand room and I’m assuming that’s where we’ll be viewing the males.

“Let’s get some drinks.” Elsa says and heads to the bar without looking back.

Mia and I glance at each other before following her. Everyone else is already here, and it’s not hard to miss how the room got quieter as we walked in.

When we get to the bar Elsa’s already drinking a beer, and Mia orders two waters for us while I scope out the room. Making sure to catalog where the exits are. Just in case.

My hackles are definitely up and I can feel some of the resentment from the she-wolves. Especially from the one who tried to tear me apart during the race.

I pick up my drink and take a sip, keeping an eye out for all the other girls around me.

“Elsa, who’s the blonde glaring at me? The one with long wavy hair?” I whisper and Elsa’s mouth ticks up as if she might smile, but she doesn’t.

“You mean the one who’s looking at you like she wants to rip your head off?” Mia interjects, and I nod.

“That would be, Celia Spike. She’s from the Blood Moon Pack, and she’s the Alpha‘s daughter.” Elsa whispers back.

“That would explain it then, you embarrassed her and she’s pissed. She bit it pretty hard after she tried to take out.” Mia snorts in amusement.

Elsa nods her head slowly in agreement, just as a tall beautiful girl with shoulder length black hair walks up to us. She has the most striking bluish-grey eyes I’ve ever seen and bangs that frame her face perfectly. She’s smiling warmly and doesn’t give off a treacherous vibe. But only time will tell.

“Yes she did…” the new girl adds “.. Which is why she’s scowling at you right now.”

She offers her hand as introduction.

“It’s nice to meet you, I’m Annabelle Knight. But you can call me Anna.”

“Andressa..” I shake her hand firmly “.. and you can call me Ressa.” I say.

“Ressa? I like that. So, how are you liking the Games so far?” She asks.

“It’s too soon to tell..” I shrug “..hopefully after the males have their Run it will give me a better picture.” I say honestly and Anna smiles widely.

“Yes, I’m sure you’ll get quite an eyeful. There’s no shortage of ego or physical prowess amongst the males.” Anna jokes and Elsa scoffs in agreement.

“Is it bad that I hope Roland hits a tree as hard as Celia did? Might knock him down a peg or two.” She jokes and Anna laughs heartily.

“We can hope, Els. Have you met Lucy or Ivy?” She asks Elsa and we all look over to where she’s pointing to a group of girls standing next to the big screens.

“No, who are they?” Elsa asks.

“The shorty with the long black hair that’s braided back is, Lucy. She’s a Gamma Wolf from the Jade Moon Pack. She came in fifth today, and the girl standing next to her is Ivy, she came in sixth. She’s freaking gorgeous, I have a feeling the guys are gonna fight over her.” Anna comments.

“The one with the icy blue eyes and white blonde hair?” Mia clarifies.

“Yeah, she’s from the Hallow Ridge Pack. Both her and Lucy are half-bloods as well..” she adds as she smiles at Mia and I “..Ivy’s dad was the Lead Warrior for Alpha Asher, but I heard her dad died five years ago during a rogue attack. And she lost her mom in childbirth. I believe the Packs Gamma family adopted her when her dad died.” Anna explains.

They have a lot in common with Mia, and they’re half-bloods just like us. I find myself eager to meet them, it’d be a good idea to get intel on what Pack life is like for them. I have a ton of questions.

Mia tried to tell me about her Pack when she first got recruited in by the Hunters, but Senna shut it down fast. Then she encouraged Mia to forget her old life and embrace her new one. Told her it would make acclimation easier. And it did.

“Excuse me ladies..” I hear Shayauna’s voice, and it pulls everyone’s attention to the Luna. Where she’s standing on a stage against the wall, directly across from us and the bar area “.. the Run is about to begin. Before it does I’d like to congratulate you on an impressive Run of your own. You certainly riled the men up and I’m sure we’re in store for an exciting display of masculinity and competition.”

Some cheers and squeals permeate the room and I don’t miss how Elsa rolls her eyes.

“Lets turn our attention to the screens, ladies. And after this final event of the day you’ll head directly back to the cabin and get ready for the Gala tonight.” Shayauna adds and with that the lights dim and a shade moves across the ceiling to cover the sky light, darkening the room even further.

Everyone moves to stand in the middle of the floor and look up at the screens. When they turn on I look over at Mia and see the dopiest smile I’ve ever seen on her face.

A moment later a formidable line of well built and virile looking men fill the three screens in front of us. Some of the girls clap and fan themselves, and few even whistle. I’m surprised that even I’m affected by the display and I swallow hard in response.

He could be here, one of those wolves could be my Mate.

I feel a hand wrap around mine and more squeals, when I look over at Mia she’s smiling big, dimples and all.

“They’re here..” she whispers “.. I can feel it.”

I don’t say anything, I just smile back and nod in agreement. Then I turn my attention back to the screen for the race.

As I look at all of them I feel a lightness swell inside me. It’s as if my heart isn’t as heavy, like it’s content and ready. I think it’s my Wolf, she’s hyper focused and looking for her Mate.

And when the shot goes off I feel the ripple of it pierce through my whole body.

Then the wolves are off. Their adrenaline intoxicating and their thirst for the chase palpable. With every guttural growl my body heats, my core throbbing in a way it never has.

“Damn. Is it just me, Anna, or has Nyx gotten faster?” Elsa asks.

“It’s not just you, he’s been training pretty hard. Each year he doesn’t find his mate he gets more intense. I hope she’s here this year.” She answers.

“I’m guessing Nyx is the cutie in the lead, the one with the long black hair and back tattoo?” Mia interjects.

“Yeah, that’s him. Nyx is my brother and the future Alpha of the Nightshade Pack. Zeke is the one on his tail, he’s the future Alpha of the Hallow Ridge Pack, and I don’t know who that is in third. But the one behind him is my half-brother Max, and the one running next to him is my brothers Beta, Benji.”

“And my brother, Roland, is the one straggling behind Max and Benji. God, he’s so f*****g pathetic. He never trains, which is why his ass is in sixth place right now.” Elsa spits out. She clearly has issues with her brother.

“Oh f**k!” Elsa exclaims and everyone gasps as Roland leaps through the air with his claws out, aimed for the guy in front of him.

Just as Roland’s about to land on his target the blonde haired guy, who I think is Benji, jumps high and grips onto a branch.

Catapulting him all the way around once before he lets go and kicks his body forward, landing just behind Roland and rolling into a sprint.

“Does that mean he’s disqualified? He tried to take that blonde dude out and failed” I ask and Elsa nods as Anna takes it a step further and explains.

“Yeah, he won’t rank. Which serves him right. Benji and Roland hate each other, my guess is Roland’s ego couldn’t handle a Beta outrunning his ass.” She says as she smirks.

“That beta is sexy as hell, and his sleeves are sick.” Mia adds.

“Don’t even think about it!” A girl behind us screeches. And we all turn to see a tall brunette with piercing green eyes glaring heatedly at Mia.

“He’s mine! And you better keep you half-blood claws off him!” She demands.

“Shut it, Sarah! He’s not yours, and your crazy ass is here under orders. You better hope you find your actual mate this year you psycho. Cause you’re one stupid decision away from being banished!” Anna spits back at the girl and the girl bristles, then growls and storms off.

“Friend of yours?” Mia jokes and Anna just rolls her eyes.

“It’s a long story, she’s a nut job and Benji’s an i***t. I promised I wouldn’t say anymore than that to anyone though.” Anna says as she smiles and shakes her head.

We all look back to the Run.

And I won’t say it out loud, but it surprises me that I can’t keep my eyes off of one guy in particular. I’m not inclined to read too much into it, seeing as how he’s in the lead and pretty much every female here is watching him just as eagerly as I am.

He’s handsome, I can’t deny that. He’s also very formidable looking and has to be over six feet tall with sculpted limbs. Which speaks to his dedication to training, just as Anna said. He’s wearing black running shorts and no shirt, his long hair is pulled back at the top and the bottom half is cut down to a close shave.

He has a strong jaw that’s clean shaven and a pair of striking grey eyes. They’re practically silver as his Wolf brightens Nyx’s eyes.

The guy behind him is a blonde hair blue eyed cutie, looks like the the boy next door type, but he has a silent tenacity in his eyes and in his speed. And he also does absolutely nothing for me.

The guy in third place is rather savage looking, he has a long jagged scar going down the right sided his face. He also has a mouth curling up into a snarl and his muscles are taught and practically vibrating.

And I think he’s about to attack the guy in second place.

Almost as soon as the thought enters my mind I see the male jump off one tree and then another. He fly’s through the air until his claws s***h down his victims back.

“Fuck..” I hear Anna mutter, but like everyone else I can’t look away.

The savage male, the one I’m coining as Scar, rolls into a run and officially takes second place. Three males pass the one who went down before he gets up and starts running again.

Impressive. Considering he’s still filleted and bleeding heavily.

“Is he out of the game? He went down, but he also got back up.” Mia asks.

“He can still rank, and so can the other guy..” Elsa answers “.. since he technically took him down. I don’t know who that asshole is, but he’s taking this way too seriously.”

“Maybe he’s related to the same lovely individual who tried to take me out.” I add.

“Maybe.” Elsa says as she shrugs.

“I don’t know who he is, but he’s definitely an Alpha’s son. He’s too fast..” Anna interjects “.. he’s catching up to my brother.”

Both alpha males are getting close to the clearing beyond the tree line, but Anna’s brother, Nyx, is still in the lead. As they breech the clearing a ferocious snarl rips out of Scar as he leaps into the air, going after Nyx the way he did Zeke.

A lot of gasps happen all at once as Scar flies through the air, and I find myself holding my breath. Scar’s claws come out ready to attack, but just before he pounces on top of him Nyx twists and catapults backward landing on his back and sliding against the ground. When Scar lands on him Nyx’s catches both of his attackers arms and he digs his own claws in and use’s the force of the attack to throw Scar overhead. It’s brilliant. Because his claws were in him it pulled Nyx right back up, and he ripped out a good chunk of flesh from Scars arms as he detached and continued running.

“f**k. I’ve never had a thing for your brother, Anna. But I kinda want to sit in his face right now!” She jokes and Mia busts up and Anna smiles and shakes her head.

I, on the other hand, have a more guttural reaction. A growl tears out of my chest, a pretty loud one, and I can feel my Wolf push forward as my head whips to the side to look at Elsa. Only I find all three girls looking at me with wide eyes. I quickly push the beast back and take a deep breath.

“I-I’m sorry.. I.. I don’t know why I did that.” I admit.

“I have a pretty good idea why.” Mia interjects and Elsa smiles and nods in agreement.

“Holy s**t! That’s f*****g perfect, both the winners of the Run being mates!” She exclaims and Elsa rolls her eyes in response.

“He hasn’t won yet, Cupid!” She teases.

“No, but he’s about to.” Mia adds and we all look back to see Nyx take first place. Followed by Anna’s other brother Max and then Benji. Close behind is Zeke in fourth, which I find very impressive considering his attack during the race.

“We’ll, damn! The Nightshade pack cleaned up. And Nyx is looking fine as ever.” I hear someone coo and a bunch of girls clap and cheer in response. I have to dig my nails into my palm to keep myself from growling again. Christ, is this what I’m deduced to now? Getting territorial and losing control of my beast.

“That was awesome!” Mia says and she giggles as she looks up at the screen, where Benji is grinning big and kissing his guns. Nyx goes to shake Max’s hand, but Max just pushes his brothers hand away and walks away.

“Asshole..” I hear Anna whisper, but she doesn’t look keen on saying anymore than that as she glares at the screen. As more males continue to cross the finish line an unsettling feeling swirls around in my gut. And something clicks in my head, I remember what Elsa said earlier in the car about Nightshade. That was one of the packs she suggested we steer clear of. I need to know why; Nyx is an Alpha, if he’s my mate I won’t only belong to him, but I’ll belong to that pack as well.

What have I gotten myself into?