Hunted

by DJ DeSmyter

  “Lily, it’s okay. It’s not Alex,” Peter’s gentle voice said from behind.

  “I know,” I managed to say. “I know.”

  “Why don’t we go back to the house, okay?”

  I nodded and let him help me to my feet. He had dressed and after he scooped me into his arms, I buried my face in his shirt and let his warmth envelop me. Tears soaked his shirt, but he didn’t say anything. He just let me cry.

  “We’ll find them,” he repeated over and over again as he carried me back inside.

  When we got back to the house, Helen was busy working on Amelia’s injuries. The others were dressed, cleaned up, and on the verge of collapsing into sleep. Knowing they had ‘super werewolf’ healing provided me some much-needed comfort.

  “Hey,” Summer said to me as Peter set me down on the couch.

  With the back of my hand I wiped my nose. “Hi,” I said between sniffles. “Are you okay?”

  “I will be,” she answered. “Those hunters were better than I thought.”

  “Than we all thought,” James said.

  “What are we going to do now?” Summer asked, looking to her dad for an answer. I wasn’t sure she expected one, though.

  “We find them. It’s as simple as that,” Helen said. She took us all by surprise with her determination. “With five wolves it shouldn’t be too hard to track the hunters down.”

  “They’re smart, though. It won’t be as easy as you think to find them,” Amelia noted. “I’m sure they’ve already covered up their scents.”

  “I’ll go take a look,” Christian said, rising and moving toward the door.

  Amelia shook her head. “No. Not yet. It’s too risky. Let’s wait a little while.”

  Christian looked to Helen for her opinion and with a nod, she agreed with Amelia. He sat back down.

  “We can’t wait,” I said, concentrating hard on the floor.

  No one said anything, but nothing needed to be said. Finally, James spoke up.

  “I overhead the first hunter yelling at Alex. He told him he’d pay for being the only wolf to have ever escaped him.”

  “So you think they’re alive?” I asked, my tone hopeful.

  James nodded and flashed me a warm smile.

  “But we all escaped the first time,” Summer said, bringing back some of the gloom. “Wouldn’t he want all of us?”

  “Maybe that wasn’t him chasing us,” Peter suggested.

  “What do you mean?” I asked. “Are you saying it was the other hunter?”

  He nodded. “Hunters are smart and I’m sure these two didn’t want us to know they are working together. What if the second hunter was wearing the first’s clothes when they ran us out of the house? They would smell the same then, wouldn’t they?”

  The others nodded in silence, lost deep in thoughts of their own of the news that there was now not one but two hunters after us. Not wanting to sit in the silence, I got up and hid in the kitchen. I tried drowning my worries by drinking a glass of water, but they remained unmoved.

  Helen scared me when she came up beside me. “I’m sorry,” she said with a light laugh. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

  I smiled weakly. “It’s fine. I’m just on edge or something.”

  “It’s going to be okay.”

  “Unless you’re psychic, you don’t know that.” My words were sharp as knives. Sighing, I said, “I think it’d be better if we all stayed together tonight. Could you help them find something to eat if they’re hungry while I set up places for them to sleep?”

  She nodded and rubbed the side of my arm. “Of course.”

  While Helen told everyone the plan and passed out food, I went upstairs and pulled out all the extra blankets and pillows from the linen closet. I had decided I would sleep on the couch in the family room, while Summer and Helen slept in my room. Peter and Amelia were to sleep in Dad’s room and James and Christian would stay in the guest room. The minute I thought about the guest room, I was reminded of its former occupant and I started crying.

  “Lily?” Summer called from the bottom of the stairs. “Do you need any help?” In a flash, she was by my side.

  “I’m okay. Just trying to keep my mind busy.” Rolling my eyes, I smirked. “And failing.”

  “Why don’t you let Helen and I sleep in the family room? You shouldn’t have to give up your room. You have a lot on your mind and should be comfortable.”

  “No, I’ll be fine. The couch is surprisingly comfortable. And besides, you must be as worried for Alex as I am, probably more.”

  “Still, it doesn’t mean I can’t sleep on the couch,” she said with a light smile.

  “You’re not going to let this go, are you?”

  “Nope.”

  I mustered a laugh and finally surrendered.

  42. Alex

  My whole body was wrapped in fire and the pain woke me from my numbing state of unconsciousness. There was only one thing that could burn so badly and make me feel so close to death.

  Silver.

  For the second time in my life, I woke up locked in a cage. I hoped it wasn’t becoming a habit. I couldn’t remember how I got from the woods to the cage or even blacking out.

  The hunter had positioned me so my back was pressed against the bars. I immediately drew away from them, but fire still laced itself around my bullet wounds and my wrists, which were shackled in silver chains trailing outside the cage.

  “How does it feel?” the hunter asked, his voice dark and rough. I recoiled from him as soon as he came into view. For once I was glad I was in a cage.

  “What do you want with me?” I asked, ignoring his question

  “I have killed every werewolf I have ever gone after. The first two were the ones that killed my wife,” he said with a hint of pride. “But you, you got away. You wouldn’t have if it weren’t for that stupid Atwater guy. Why would anyone want to help you and your kind?”

  I stealthily sniffed the air and caught John’s scent. Then I heard him breathing and I calmed down. He sounded close.

  “We’re not all monsters,” I said. “I didn’t kill your wife and neither did my family.”

  The hunter shook his head and pursed his lips. “You’re all nothing but bloodthirsty monsters. Unnatural beasts that shouldn’t be living! I’m doing this whole town a favor, this whole world a favor! How many of the murders on the news are thanks to you?” His voice was drenched in hot anger.

  “How many are thanks to you?”

  Without hesitating, the hunter yanked on the chains and pulled me forward, slamming me right into the cage’s bars. Biting my lip, I stifled my screams. My teeth dug so deep into my lip that I drew blood, but I didn’t care. I didn’t want to give him any more satisfaction.

  “I don’t kill innocent people!” he screamed, spitting on me in the process.

  “What— about— us?” I managed to ask.

  “You’re not human.”

  With that he let go of the chains and I slumped to the floor, I desperately wanted relief from the pain, from the burning sensation consuming every inch of my body. My burns were too severe for me to have any hope of healing quickly and a small part of me wished the hunter would just put me out of my misery. But my misery was a reminder that I was still alive and had a chance of escaping. Escape meant not only freedom, but also seeing my family and Lily again.

  Silence filled the room and I was grateful the hunter had left. His presence was tangibly thick and suffocating, and I wasn’t sure how much longer I could stomach it. It didn’t help that he reeked of blood.

  Despite the pain, I sat up, drew my knees to my chest, and let memories of the fight dance violently through my head. The scene had been so chaotic I didn’t know how my family and Christian had fared. I hoped they were all safe in the comfort of the Atwater’s house unharmed and resting peacefully. Knowing there was another hunter, though, kept my hope small.

  “Are you okay, Alex?” John’s voice asked from somewhere in the room.
<
br />   “I’ve been better,” I said and for the first time since waking up, I peered through the bars and examined the room. It was large and practically empty save for a workbench and a wall housing various tools. On the opposite wall sat another cage that was empty, much to my relief.

  “You?” I asked John, finally finding him in a corner tied to a chair.

  “I could be worse. I could be naked and in a cage,” he said lightly. His attempt at bringing some light to the dark situation was admirable, but ineffective. Still, I forced a chuckle.

  “Do you know if my family got away?” I asked, hoping for some good news. As long as they weren’t dead or trapped like me, I would be happy.

  John sighed. “I don’t know. I’m sorry.” He sighed again and I knew he was thinking about Lily.

  “She’s okay, John,” I said. “She has to be.” Those last few words barely escaped my mouth and I wondered if he even heard them.

  If something had happened to Lily, I would have known, wouldn’t I? Wouldn’t John? Didn’t love build such a strong connection it gave you the innate ability to know if the one person you cared most about were in trouble? I believed it did, so I held on to the belief that Lily was okay. That she was safe and thinking happy thoughts despite my absence. I held onto that and didn’t let go. I just hoped John was holding on, too.

  43. Lily

  Summer thought I would sleep better in my own room, but I didn’t sleep at all. Every second that passed was spent thinking about the hunters and what they were doing to Dad and Alex. The gruesome news reports I heard in the past about the torture techniques used in war flitted back to the front of my mind and unleashed a flood of tears. I didn’t want to be thinking the worst, but my mind seemed to have a mind of its own.

  My body ached to move, so I threw the covers off and slid out of bed, only to begin pacing. If I lost Dad I didn’t know what I would do, where my life would turn next. He was all I had, besides Helen, of course, but I had yet to think of her as family, not in the sense that Dad or the Moreaus were at least. He had raised me, taught me everything I knew. He was more than just a father, though. He was home.

  Alex was home, too, but in a different kind of way. He meant more to me than I ever expected. Even if our relationship didn’t last forever, he would still hold an important place in my life. Without him, my life just wouldn’t be the same. It would feel wrong without him or Dad.

  Empty.

  Q

  “How are you feeling?” Amelia asked the next morning as she wrapped her arm around my shoulders.

  “Fine.” I attempted a light tone. I was making breakfast for everyone and Amelia was helping. It was another lame attempt to keep my mind busy and my thoughts at bay. “You?”

  “The same.” I turned to her and found her grinning. We both knew we were lying. Being a werewolf and having super senses, she probably smelled my lie even before I said it.

  Once the eggs were scrambled, the toast buttered, and the sausage cooked, we all sat down and ate. No one spoke, but small, questioning glances were exchanged, asking the question we all wanted an answer to: What now?

  Finally, Peter spoke, breaking the fragile silence. “The hunters didn’t come back last night. Not even to check out the house.” When Amelia gave him a funny look, he confessed. “I didn’t sleep last night.”

  That makes two of us, I thought.

  “Do we even know what happened to the other one?” Christian asked before shoveling more food in his mouth. Before I knew it he was up getting seconds.

  “No, but he didn’t stick around for much longer after the other one left,” Peter said.

  Helen chimed in. “Do we even know their names?”

  “I wish,” James said. “I’m getting tired of calling them ‘the hunters’.”

  “Killer One’ and ‘Killer Two’ works for me,” said Summer with a shrug.

  An interesting thought crossed my mind. “Are werewolf hunters the reason normal wolves are considered endangered?”

  Helen sat back and thought about it before answering. Even more wrinkles creased her forehead, but disappeared quickly. “I would think they played a role in landing them on the list, but they most likely weren’t the sole reason.”

  “Oh,” was all I managed. I then took a deep breath and exhaled, and wished my troubles left my body with the breath. “What are we going to do? I can’t sit here anymore.”

  Peter met my anxious eyes. “Christian and I will go and try to catch the hunters’ scents. Or John and Alex’s for that matter.”

  “But what if you can’t find them? Their scents are probably already gone. We should have done this last night,” I said, struggling to keep my voice down. The last thing I wanted to do was start an argument. If there was any more tension in the room the whole house would have exploded.

  “What if the hunters had still been around? We wouldn’t have been able to help your father and Alex if we were all dead.” Although Peter’s words were harsh, his tone wasn’t.

  I closed my eyes and held my head in my hands. My hair fell around my face and hid my tears of frustration. “I know. I’m sorry.”

  Suddenly, a hand was on my back moving in small circles, like the person was trying to smooth away every painful emotion inside me. I looked up and met James’ warm smile. I tried flashing him a smile of my own as a thank you, but I couldn’t help wishing it were Alex’s smile I was looking at.

  The sound of chairs sliding back and people rising drew my gaze away from James. Peter and Christian had risen and were heading for the door.

  “Be careful,” I heard Amelia say.

  As soon as they were out the door, the others started getting up and loading their dishes into the dishwasher. Summer went upstairs to shower and James and Amelia went into the family room to watch T.V. This left Helen and I alone in the kitchen. Neither of us had moved. Sadness swam across her eyes and it was then that I realized I had yet to acknowledge her loss.

  “I’m sorry about Brandon,” I finally said.

  Helen’s lips moved to smile, but failed to follow through. “Thank you.”

  “He seemed like a very good guy.” I didn’t know what else to say.

  “He was our youngest,” she murmured.

  “Do you need to call his parents to tell them?”

  She shook her head. “He’s with them now.”

  “Hunters?”

  “No. His mother was human and died of breast cancer. His father died from grief. I’m not sure what is worse: dying like that or dying at the hands of a hunter.”

  “Both are sad,” I said. “I wouldn’t want either.”

  Helen nodded and then looked at me. “Would you like me to tell you about your mother?”

  I sat up with wide eyes. “Yes. Please.”

  The change in topic also changed Helen’s mood. Her smile made an appearance and lingered. “Did your father tell you they met while he was camping with some friends? She pretended to be camping on the other side of the river,” she explained with a laugh. “I can still remember how nervous she was to tell him the truth later. She ended up telling him the same day he planned on proposing!”

  I let out a short breath. “Did he end up proposing?”

  “He apparently went back to his place first. Then an hour later he came back and popped the question.”

  “Wow. I can’t believe he wasn’t more freaked out.”

  “Were you when Alex told you?”

  “He didn’t tell me— he showed me. He did apologize beforehand, though. Some werewolves thought Dad was the hunter and had attacked us,” I added.

  “And Alex immediately jumped in to save you.” Helen said with a knowing glow.

  I nodded. “Yeah. And I was confused at first, but it didn’t take long for me to accept the truth and move on. I think I was more shocked to find out Mom had been a werewolf.”

  “So was I!” Helen exclaimed. “She was the only one in our pack and the others sure were jealous that she picked your father— a
human— instead of one of them. They got over it, though, once they got to know him.”

  “Were you mad that my parents severed their ties with you and the pack?” I wondered if she was mad at me for being the reason.

  “At first I was, but I got over it real fast because I understood and wanted you to be safe, too. Though, I think they could have at least let me send you birthday cards and gifts. Maybe even visit— but then you probably would have asked why you never got to visit me, which would have led to more lies. It was easier to keep us a secret than creating lies.”

  I found comfort in that and I smiled. I wondered how hard it had been for Mom and how many times she had regretted her and Dad’s decision to keep me in the dark. Part of me wondered what my life would have been like had I grown up in the company of werewolves. Mom would probably have still been alive, but would I have met Alex then?

  No, probably not.

  44. Alex

  “He’s coming,” I whispered to John as I heard the hunter’s footsteps. Each step echoed and I assumed he was walking down a hallway, which meant John and I must have been in some sort of building— a house, even. Wherever we were, I wanted to get out and as far away as possible.

  “Have you come to kill us finally?” John asked rather playfully the second the hunter entered the room.

  Without hesitating, the hunter strode over to John and punched him, whipping John’s head to the side.

  “Why are you keeping him here?” I asked. “You want me, not him.”

  The hunter squared his shoulders and narrowed his eyes at me before glancing back at John. The hunter was crazy enough to kill wolves and werewolves, but I wondered if he had enough morality left to spare John.

  With a grunt, the hunter turned toward the door he came through and yelled, “Erik! Get down here!”

  Rushing footsteps sounded and soon enough the second hunter was in the room. “What do you need?” he asked.

  “Watch the wolf. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”