Chapter 12
“Keep running,” Trixy said but I heard in her voice how she was getting weaker.
“No, you need to eat,”
“I can’t,” I heard the snap of a branch not to far away and felt how every muscle in my body froze. It should come around those trees and the wild berry bushes- they love those berries.
“Why not?” I asked while keeping full focus on the hooves moving closer.
“We can’t shift, it’s the chalice, Hazel. I’m not of any use to you until the Hunt is over.”
I watched the doe step out with the big eyes on alert darting around the clearing to make sure it was safe.
“So even if you eat-”
“I still won’t be able to take over,” she said.
The ears on the doe fluttered and she saw the wild berries. I narrowed in on her chest, saw the beat of her heart, and tasted the bloody meat on my lips as though I had already sunk my teeth into her.
My stomach growled, she turned her head and looked at me- straight into my eyes as though she could my mind- and I knew she could sense that she wasn’t alone. I didn’t have a knife to use on her and if I couldn’t shift and let Trixy go for the kill then this was all futile.
I pressed my hands against the tree and pushed back. I needed to keep running before they caught up but just when I turned to run I heard a scream that filled the air. Birds flew from their trees leaving behind a single feather that glided in the wind until it landed at my feet. A loud howl followed the silence of the girl and I knew that someone had just been claimed and marked.
One girl down.
I hadn’t experienced it myself but I had heard about the pain that accompanied being marked. When an Alpha took his chosen mate and sank his teeth into her, marking her flesh for all eternity and tying them together through a soul string- it’s an unimaginable pain. I once heard from a wanderer, a human, about a form of torture that they used on those who had committed crimes- extracting information or simply because they had done something unforgivable. I could imagine the torture of which he spoke was equivalent to the pain of being marked.
Us wolves had a high tolerance for pain, so I could only imagine how much it had to hurt to be marked if even we cowered at the impact. The pain wasn’t for the fated mates, they would experience euphoric highs. It was for the chosen mates alone when the male sent his venom into our veins.
I shivered at the thought and prayed to the gods that I wouldn’t have to go through it.
The doe behind me she saw me stagger back and we both stopped and stared at each other. She backed up, one step and then two and I stayed put- she jumped up on her hind legs and spun around like in a dance before she took of running into the woods. I watched her disappear between the trees and decided to turn the other way, no need to frighten the poor animal further by running after her.
Running far and fast was my only option so I took one step ready to surge through the woods when I saw the shadow of a beast for a single second before he slammed me into the ground.
No. Shit.
His yellow eyes bored into mine and his lips curled displaying his white teeth, including the canines he so shamelessly let show.
The leaves covered my face and my body brushed against the rough ground when he pulled my ankles, dragging me across the dirt.
I looked around to find something- anything- that could be used as a weapon. I couldn’t be marked if I was not caught.
As though the gods heard my pleads, I saw the phallic shaped rock by the pile of debris to my right. I gasped, my nails dug into the damp ground and I couldn’t turn to see what was happening but I could feel it; his claws pressing into my skin, cutting through my flesh layer by layer.
I reached out, my fingers graced the stone as I saw it passing in my vision and I tossed my body with the little strength I had and grab it as I was being dragged.
1/2
Chapter 12
Trixy pushed through for her last will, and we kicked one time- one hard time- enough to free one foot and feel his claws dragging down until he lost his grip. A low vibration growl rumbled form his chest and I knew he enjoyed that I put up a fight but I didn’t recognize the sound.
Panting and heaving I turned on my back and watched his shadowed face under the branches of the trees.
“Dom.”
He growled, his lip curled exposing his teeth and a dark chuckle rumbled from him.
“Did you think I wanted the one I fucked?” He asked.
He pulled my ankle, leaned down and grabbed my arms. He lifted me into a standing position and his whiskey-covered breath was fanning my face and the bastard was laughing at me. His entire face shifted in amusement.
He leaned in closer and his lips pulled back over his canines, “I prefer mine untouched.” He said in a sneer laced with promise.
The Alpha’s Hunt
