The Hunt (Shifter Origins)

by Harper A. Brooks

  Corbin gave him a solemn nod.

  As Kael lifted his boot from the fallen panther’s wrist, the unnamed guard unwound a piece of rope from his belt, yanked the knife out of the man’s other palm, and bound his hands together.

  Seeing his guards had the prisoner handled, Kael dashed away, toward Cara and Rafé, where the scent-trail of mint still clung to the air. Luckily, the pain in his leg was gone, replaced with a prickling numbness. He didn’t dare look at it, though, afraid of what he might find. As long as it wasn’t slowing him down.

  Kael shoved through the thick brush, his breath coming hard and fast and his pulse thudding against his temples. Chest clenching with worry, he flew through the Bilha Forest with only one thought on his mind. Please, let Cara be alive.

  Chapter Twenty

  A scream ripped from Cara’s lungs. She waited for the final blow of the tree branch in Rafé’s hand, the one that would claim her life, but it never came. Instead, he dragged her through the clover field by the ankle toward the weapons pile, her stomach scraping against every twig and sharp rock on the ground and her fingers grasping for anything to hold on to.

  “Cara, please.” Rafé’s voice was calm, but the same burning anger lingered in his yellow eyes. His grip on her leg was hard enough to bruise. “Not much longer before the Hunt. I promise to make it a run you’ll never forget.”

  His suggestive tone made her shudder. Terrified of what was to come, she kicked her legs out against Rafé’s tight hold. The heel of her free foot connected with his ribs, making him stop short and let out a sputtering cough.

  When his calloused fingers loosened and finally released her, Cara pushed herself up on her elbows and called on her inner panther. Shifting was her only chance of escape. The power of the change prickled at the base of her spine, but when it tried to expand throughout her, every muscle clenched in protest. Spasms racked her body, and a slicing pain pinched her still healing arm. Ringing pierced her eardrums, making her head spin.

  Her vision blurred. Feeling faint, she collapsed, too tired to hold herself up. Her breath jammed in her chest as the realization hit. She couldn’t shift. Once Rafé regained himself, he’d come after her. He’d strike her again, or kill her. This battered, she was too weak to fight in her human form, too slow to run. She needed something to help her—a weapon. She was close enough to the pile of ropes and knives. If she could stand up, make it around Rafé somehow, maybe she could snatch one—anything—to use against him.

  Her thoughts landed on Alina and Ryna. They were still somewhere out there, most likely at the marketplace for the royal ascension ceremony, with Sani watching their every move and waiting for Rafé’s order. Cara pictured her sister’s face, full of terror as Ryna held her close. She’d give anything to be with them right now, in their hut at the end of the river. Anything.

  All it would take was Rafé’s whistle command, and Sani would destroy the only thing she had left—her family.

  Cara pushed herself up onto her shaky elbows again. The muscles under her healing gash pinched and quivered, but she managed to lift herself onto her knees. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw Rafé rising, his narrowed eyes trained on the forest, and his nostrils flaring.

  Her stomach flipped. Had he caught the scents of Felic and Barun? Were they returning with the blowpipe already? There was no way she could beat three Majasha men in a fight. She had to do something now before the opportunity slipped away forever. Drawing on the last bit of strength she had left, she readied herself to leap onto her feet, swing around Rafé, snatch the first thing she could get her hands on, and strike.

  Quick and heavy footsteps vibrated the ground beneath her, stopping her instantly, and a fierce growl ripped from Rafé’s throat.

  Cara’s gaze snapped to the trees. Only a few paces away from her, the brush shook.

  Kael sprinted out of the Bilha Forest, skidding to a halt in the middle of the clearing, his chest heaving. His wide amber eyes found her first, roaming over her fallen frame. “Cara…”

  “Thank Sajra.” The words escaped her lips in a choked sob as every emotion slammed into her at once. Throwing the pipe must have gained enough time for Danil to reach the marketplace and warn Kael. And he had believed the panther, despite the evidence against him.

  Cara blinked back the tears gathering in her eyes. Here Kael was, standing only a few feet away, when she had thought she’d never see him again. But he was alone. Where were his guards?

  Rafé’s sharp whistle punctured the air, freezing every inch of her.

  Her next breath stuck in her chest, her gaze shot back to the forest, bouncing from shadow to shadow between the trees. A nerve-racking second dragged by. Nothing stirred. No Felic and Barun.

  Then it hit her. If Felic and Barun were nowhere to be found, that meant the whistle was meant for the last Majasha man in the group of five—Sani.

  All the air gushed from her lungs as panic spiked. “He has them, Kael!” Cara shouted, frantic. Her entire body shook. “Sani! He has Alina and Ryna!” She rose onto wobbly legs, but the moment her back straightened, rough hands seized her and jerked her backwards. She smacked into Rafé’s chest, and his arm wrapped around her middle, pinning her in place.

  Rafé’s hot breath spilled against her ear. “You’re not leaving me.”

  Kael’s gaze snapped up, locking with Rafé’s, ignited in fury. He trudged toward them, and Cara saw crimson staining his trouser leg. Dried blood matted the long hair curled around his one ear, too. Her stomach clenched with worry. What had happened before he’d come here?

  Something pressed against her throat, stopping all other thoughts. Something cold, metal, and sharp. From the corner of her eye, Cara spotted the sparkling jeweled handle of Kael’s stolen dagger.

  Kael halted.

  “Not another step,” Rafé warned, as he kissed the curved blade closer to Cara’s flesh, causing her to tilt her head back. She held her breath. Any movement from either her or Rafé could kill her.

  Kael ripped off the heavy burgundy and gold robes he wore—Salus’s robes, she realized—and threw them on the ground. His shoulders rose and fell with each intake of breath, and his body trembled with building power. Underneath his sweat-dampened shirt, his muscles tensed and contorted as his tiger climbed to the surface.

  “Let. Go. Of. Her.” He pushed each rumbling word through a clenched jaw, but his feet remained where they were. The veins in his neck bulged against the skin. “Now.”

  “You are no rei of mine!” Rafé snapped. “The days of your tyrant reign are over!”

  Kael snarled, his shoulders hunched over as the change tried to ripple through his limbs. Although he held it back, he appeared larger to Cara, his muscles thicker. His massive size towered over her and Rafé, even with the distance between them. The twitching skin on his face made him look menacing. Inhuman.

  Rafé’s lips brushed Cara’s cheek, and she winced. “I’m sorry, Cara,” he said in a feathery whisper, “but sacrifices sometimes have to be made. You understand.”

  A slew of curses hovered on her tongue, but she bit them back. The knife’s blade pinched her skin, and she could feel a drop of her blood slipping down the curve of her neck.

  “Toss your dagger aside,” Rafé commanded, his voice staying cool despite the growing tension. “I don’t want to hurt her.”

  Kael didn’t even hesitate. His knife thudded in the clovers somewhere to his right, out of reach. “Let her go,” he rumbled, holding out his empty hands to show he bore no more weapons. “You want to stop my family’s rule. Here I am. Face me. Keep her out of this.”

  He shook his head. “Cara’s wearing my colors. She’s chosen me, so she stands by my side during the Hunt.”

  Kael’s lip curled over his teeth. “That’s why you have a knife to her throat?” He took another step forward.

  Rafé pulled Cara tighter against him and let out another whistle. He paused. There was still no motion in the tree line and no Majasha. His body grew rig
id, and she wondered if it was from worry or anger.

  “Save Alina, Kael,” she sputtered. The blade cut into her flesh little by little with every uttered word. “And Ryna—save them. Not me. P-Please…”

  Kael’s glare hardened on Rafé. “Your men have been either arrested or are dead. You’ve lost before you’ve even begun. Stop this now. It’s over.”

  A tremendous weight lifted from Cara immediately, and relief replaced the paralyzing fear, knowing Kael had gotten to Alina and Ryna in time and that they were safe.

  In one swift motion, Rafé released a deafening roar, pulled back the dagger, and shoved Cara onto the ground. When she spun around, Rafé was in his panther form. The beast stood up on his back legs, swiped the air with his enormous paws, and bared his long fangs. Every defined, tense muscle rippled underneath the black fur as he fell onto all fours.

  Kael dropped, too, tearing at the layers of clothing as his body morphed into a giant orange and black-striped tiger. Only having seen him in his animal form once before, Cara had forgotten how massive his tiger side was, standing more than two times the size of Rafé’s panther. Her heartbeat skipped. It was possibly the biggest creature she’d ever seen.

  The two leaped for each other, sharpened claws swatting and jaws snapping. They collided midair, and Kael’s weight sent Rafé backward. As they rolled, Rafé’s teeth sank into the tiger’s shoulder. Kael threw his head back and roared as the panther spit out a chunk of his fur and blood.

  “No!” Cara screamed. The amount of blood spilling from his leg and the new wound on his shoulder was frightening. Too much. He was losing too much.

  The two tumbled across the clearing, foliage snapping and their snarls filling the woods around them. Kael caught Rafé’s face with his talons, scratching him across the eyes and muzzle. The panther hissed and leaped off him before he could swipe at him again.

  They stood on opposite sides of the clearing, facing each other. Fiery-yellow and honey-gold eyes stared each other down, and blood matted their fur. Heads low, they stalked around the circle, each awaiting his opponent’s next move. Cara contemplated intervening, jumping in to give Kael an upper hand, but as the thought came to her, a slicing pain wove up her arm and her temples pounded. Without her panther form, and with her wounds slowing her down, she might hinder Kael in the fight rather than help.

  Kael pounced high into the air, but as if Rafé had calculated his next move, he zigzagged underneath him and rammed his head into his stomach. Kael landed hard on his side a foot in front of her. Eyes closed, he didn’t move other than his chest, which quivered with each drawn in breath.

  Cara’s stomach lurched. “Get up, Kael. Get up!” she shouted. Red stained almost every inch of his orange fur. Fear shot through her. He had risked everything to save her, even after all the hurtful things she’d said to him in the nuna tree. After all the years of hatred built up between their species, he’d still come.

  Reaching deep down for the shifting power, she searched for even a flicker that she could use to change and help Kael in the fight, but came up with only a shaking, empty feeling.

  Rafé circled back to the edge of trees. Even in his panther form, she could see the smug grin lingering underneath. His tongue flicked over his lips in triumph. He was going to kill Kael. Right here. In front of her.

  Quickly, Cara crawled over to Kael and shoved her hands under his massive head. “Please, get up, Kael!” She tried to lift it up, but it was too heavy. Blood coated her palms. I can’t lose you, too. “Get up!”

  Kael took in another gasping breath. His eyes remained closed, and her inner panther whimpered in response. She had to help him. He couldn’t die like this.

  Where was that dagger Rafé had dropped?

  Rafé opened his mouth, fangs extended, and sprinted at them. He leaped into the air, aiming for Kael’s throat.

  Cara whirled around. She spotted the knife by her feet in the clovers. Without another thought, she snatched it and threw herself between Kael and the panther. As claws sank into her chest, thrusting her back, she plunged the curved blade into solid muscle, right in his side.

  The back of her head slammed against the ground, and the sudden smack of weight on top of her crushed her ribs. The pain was instant and paralyzing. Nausea wrenched her gut, and bursts of color exploded behind her eyes. Warm liquid bubbled up her throat, and when she coughed, it leaked out the corner of her mouth. The sharp, metallic taste told her it was blood.

  Rafé groaned but remained deathly still on top of her.

  “Rei Kael!” A storm of footsteps sounded nearby, along with the clamor of voices. Rafé’s heavy but limp panther body was lifted off her in the next instant, and she stared up into the face of a young cheetah guard with sweat-damp blond hair, the same one who had given her the headscarf full of coins on Kael’s orders. “Cara?”

  Ignoring the pounding throughout her skull, she gave him a short nod. More guards came to her side, unfolding a long cloth beside her.

  “Don’t worry. We’ll get you both away from here. It’s going to be all right,” he said.

  Cara turned her head to see Kael, back in his human form, staring at her. Still alive.

  “You saved me. A-Again.” To her surprise, he smiled, and the tension in her body eased.

  Each breath hurt, but she managed to wheeze out a short laugh. “Can we not make this a habit?”

  “Promise.” The word came out in a raspy pant, barely there at all. “I love you, Cara. Be my regis? Run with me?”

  Her heart fluttered. Her, a panther, ruler of all Sajra? It was such an impossible thought, but she loved Kael—so fiercely, she realized, that being without him was something she never wanted to know. And here he was, admitting he loved her, too. He had chosen her to be his mate. It wasn’t absurd to think about anymore. It was real.

  Despite the pain racking her body, Cara smiled. A peaceful hum coursed through her as she began to drift off into unconsciousness. She could feel warm blood soaking from her chest into the Hunt dress.

  “Of course,” she whispered, and her vision blurred. “Of course I will. My rei.”

  Then everything went black.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Cara pulled back the curtain of her family’s hut and stepped out into the empty panther village. With the Hunt about to begin, everyone had moved to the end of the river to send the happy couples off, or to participate in the run with their mate. Used to a busy village center, full of rambunctious children and passing neighbors, it was eerie to see it so quiet.

  A dull ache began at the center of her chest. She couldn’t believe this would be her last time here. As Sajra’s regis, she, Alina, and Ryna had to move into the palace with the tigers. But no matter where she lived, she knew the village would forever be her home, where she had created her memories, where her story began.

  She would make a new home with her grandmother, sister, and Kael at the base of the mountain—a small, broken family no more. Just the thought caused tears to tickle in her eyes.

  Even though their fight with Rafé had been merely hours ago, it felt more like a distant nightmare. Thank Sajra for Ryna’s newest batch of tea, which had managed to speed up the healing of her wounds—as her grandmother had promised it would. The pain from her injuries still lingered, but mostly there was an energetic buzzing racing through her veins, excitement for what was to come that overpowered the rest. Wearing stacks of gold bracelets around her wrists and sparkling gems on her fingers, Cara walked through the panther village, her crimson robes and headdress billowing around her with every quick step. Embroidered flowers lined the trim in shining gold thread, reminding her of the patches of hilisha flowers that grew wild on the riverbank.

  And her mother.

  She glanced through the outstretched canopy at the brilliant twilight sky, painted a fiery pink and yellow, and she smiled. Instead of the familiar sadness that tugged at her heart whenever she thought of her parents, pride filled her chest. Although she wished her m
other and father could be with her now, they were with Sajra and the other sky spirits, looking down at her with admiration. She didn’t know how to explain it, but she could feel it in her soul as the warmth from the setting sun kissed her cheeks. An overwhelming peace.

  When Cara came to the village entrance, she paused. A massive crowd had gathered there, their backs turned, waiting for the ceremonial horn to sound. Kael and the other couples must be on the other side. She spotted Alina and Ryna among in the mix, both wearing new gowns made of fine green silk. Alina stood on her toes for a better view.

  As if sensing her stare, her sister spun around. Her wide eyes landed on Cara, and she waved, grinning. “Cara! Cara!” She jumped up and down, her long braid swinging side to side. Ryna turned around, too, and beamed. Cara’s heart fluttered. It was something she thought she’d never see—her family carefree and happy.

  A man beside them whirled around next. He gasped. “Regis Cara!” He placed a hand over his heart, stepped aside, and bowed his head low.

  Cara paused, her heart thundering as more and more people faced her. Like a wave, the crowd bent low and moved to the side, leaving a path for her to walk through. At the end, she could see the couples at the edge of the Bilha Forest and Kael once again in his father’s burgundy robes, all the blood bathed away, his wounds bandaged. Joy bubbled up inside her. Although he appeared very much the same as the first day she met him, with his dark hair framing his face and curling around his ears, his strong jaw and narrow nose, his heart had changed immensely since then. Even with almost fifty years of animosity built up between their kind, he had still chosen her to be his mate, above all others. Such a love had never been possible for her before, or at least she’d thought so. But now that she had it, she couldn’t imagine her life without Kael, even for a second.