Hunting Faith (The Hunting Series Book 1)

by Tracy Lauren

  “Point is, class is stupid. I spent my whole life trying to change my situation and all it ever did was get me caught up in the unimportant. I’d gladly trade the job I had, the status, the paycheck, and all the fucking mineral springs in Iceland to spend one more afternoon in the bait shop with my grandpa, just selling worms to tourists. I don’t know about the Aragrandani, Rylan, but you’re a good guy and it’s a big galaxy out there. You should find a corner of it that sees you for who you are, not your social status.”

  She looks at me now, her deep green eyes wet but sincere, and somehow I feel like she has shared something with me as vulnerable and precious as she did the night we spent together on Nydor. As a matter of fact, I think this is the sincerest moment I’ve ever shared with another person in my life and I’m stunned into silence.

  Before I can find words adequate for a response, Faith begins walking again. I reach for her arm, wanting to turn her around. I want to look into those eyes again and ask her what kind of man she sees when she looks at me. I want to promise her that I’m going to take her far away from here, where she will never be hunted, imprisoned, or made into a slave ever again. I’ll protect her for as long as she’ll let me. But doubt creeps in. I don’t know what Faith needs right now, but I know I don’t want her to think she owes me anything. So, I let my hand fall and we walk on in silence.

  Chapter 15

  Faith

  Reflecting back on our conversation, I can’t believe I told Rylan all that stuff. I oscillate between feeling relieved and embarrassed over my impromptu sharing session.

  This is the first time I’ve spoken about my life and family since I was abducted. Before now, I haven’t had the chance to, I guess. I was only with the other slaves for a short while before…well, before I left. Since then I’ve been running, taking odd jobs here and there where people will have me, but never building any connections. Never truly talking. Sure, it’s a conversation I’ve had in my head a million times, but there’s something different about saying it to another person. Something healing.

  But there’s another side to that same coin, a side that leaves me feeling weak and vulnerable. It leaves me open to the horrors of the last year or so of my life. It makes me want to cling to Rylan and cry, to tell him about every terrifying moment I endured in solitude.

  It also makes me want to push him away too, because I know what we have isn’t permanent. I remind myself how much he must resent me for stealing his ship and fucking up his life. Even now, I’m still putting him through the wringer. By helping me, he’s doing more than just refusing to play this game. He’s stealing me and running away… I have to imagine that’s going to burn some serious bridges for him.

  Rylan stills and my body tenses along with his. We both stop in our tracks. “Do you smell that?” he asks.

  Smell something? I frown. “Um…no…” I reply skeptically as I turn to continue in the direction we were heading.

  “Just a moment, Faith,” he urges. I peer back at him but keep my pace, not willing to pause for a strange odor. His gaze shoots past me though and a look of shock crosses his features. I spin around just in time to see…I don’t know…a thing rise from the leaves. It must have been sleeping and we stumbled upon it.

  It slowly pulls itself up, stretching as it does. I stare, eyes wide and mouth gaping. The creature is as tall as a deer, but with the body of a wolf and the mane of a lion. It turns to look at us, hackles rising. I stare into an elongated face that vaguely reminds me of a horse…a horse with killer fangs. It lowers its head, body language threatening and defensive.

  I remain frozen in place, not wanting to make any sudden movements. “Rylan?” I ask quietly.

  “Very slowly, I want you to start walking backwards towards me.” His voice is barely above a whisper.

  I nod, but don’t dare say another word. Eyes on the beast, I begin my cautious retreat. I scarcely take a step when a grating noise begins emanating from the beast. “Oh shit,” I whisper. “I think it’s growling at me.”

  Its jaws open and the razor teeth within glint. Saliva drips in long ropes from its mouth. I take more, less hesitant steps back, fighting the urge to break away in a full sprint. But my movements seem to anger the beast and the grating growl intensifies into something more powerful, more threatening.

  Without warning, it makes a leap forward, halving the distance between us and letting out an alien bark that sounds like sheets of metal being shredded.

  “Holy fuck!” I can’t help but scream, flinching away from the monstrous thing.

  “Ayo!” Rylan yells, darting to the side and waving his arms to get the beast’s attention.

  “Rylan, don’t!” I say sharply.

  “Ay, ay, ay!” He continues to garner the attention of the beast despite my protests. Almost instantaneously, his efforts work. The beast shifts, keeping Rylan in its line of sight.

  “Rylan, stop it! You’re making it worse,” I hiss at him, but he ignores me, giving his full attention to the beast. It snarls and gnashes those awful teeth at him. Hooved feet stomp the ground, sending dust and debris floating up in clouds. Then it snaps those powerful jaws.

  “Run! Get out of here!” Rylan shouts at me. He’s waving his arms and backing away. The beast is following.

  Desperately I try to think of something that might help. When I remember my charger, I feel like a fool for not thinking of it immediately. I pull it out and aim for the beast’s back. Squeezing the trigger, a blast of light shoots out and connects.

  The beast yelps and skitters to the side, effortfully trying to keep both Rylan and me within his view. At the same time I retreat, wanting to create more distance between us. Unfortunately, it further separates Rylan and me.

  Still using the charger as defense, I raise my weapon and fire again, this time at the beast’s face. But the second the light flashes from the tip of my weapon, the monster is charging me. I try for another step back, but stumble on its nest only to fall head over feet, crashing into a pile of old bones…some still with rotting meat clinging to them.

  I hear yelling and snarling and am able to push myself up in time to see the beast’s lunge stopped short. Rylan dove after it and has it gripped by the tail.

  The scream I’ve been holding forces its way out as I watch the scene before me in horror. Rylan clings to the tail while the beast whips wildly about, reminding me of a fish on a line.

  I want to raise my weapon again, but I dropped it when I tumbled into the pile of bones. I search, frantically now, praying the Rylan knows what he’s doing. I knock skulls out of the way until I see the small metallic device. “Got it!” I say to myself and raise it to fire again, but to my continued shock and horror, Rylan now has his arms around its thick neck. The pair are locked in a wrestling move, with Rylan trying desperately to avoid the snapping jaws.

  I search for a clear shot…but they twist and jerk so wildly that I have none. Hastily, I get to my feet, grabbing one of the nearby bones before launching it in the direction of the fight. If I can’t cause damage, the least I can do is create a diversion.

  “Hey! Hey you! Over here!” I hurl a skull then something like a femur. Luckily, they connect with the beast and not Rylan, causing the distraction I was hoping for. The beast stomps its hooved feet again and jumps away from the tussle with Rylan. Unfortunately, Rylan and I are still separated by its imposing form.

  “Get out of here!” Rylan shouts. Though his eyes never leave the beast, I know he’s talking to me.

  “I’m not leaving you!” I scream.

  Rylan growls at me in frustration and quickly makes a dive for the femur bone I threw. The beast matches his movements, diving for Rylan, and I yelp in response. Rylan recovers quickly though and swings the bone. It crashes into the beast’s face and fractures into a thousand splinters. Crazed, the beast bites at the air in Rylan’s direction, forcing him to back away.

  I hurriedly reach down for another bone to throw, sifting through the mess of half-rotted meat
and gnawed-on skeletal remains. My hand grazes over something more solid…a rock. I snatch it up. It’s a big beautiful gift from God, about the size of a softball and perfect for throwing. I pull back and heave it at the beast. It lands square against its jaw. The beast brays an ugly, jarring noise as it stumbles to the side.

  Rylan seizes the moment and dives for me. I let out another yelp as he crashes into me. His arms grab me tightly and I feel myself being lifted off the ground. My hair and the speed of our motion blind me for a moment before I can orient myself. The next thing I see is a view of the beast from about three stories above.

  I cling tighter to Rylan when I realize he has ascended the tree with me in tow. “Oh, holy fuck,” I breathe out, wrapping my legs around his waist and locking my arms around his neck. Rylan supports me with one hand and grips a branch with his other, his talons digging in deep.

  Below us the beast makes more of those awful noises and stomps its hooved feet on the ground, looking up at us. We stare at it for a few minutes, catching our breath, before Rylan starts looking for a path through the trees.

  “Hold on tight,” he tells me, his eyes teasing. As if I could hold him any tighter?

  He jumps then, from branch to branch, taking us farther away from the awful nest we stumbled upon. Sometimes we come to a branch that is too far for him to reach. In those cases, he swings us across. For the most part, I have to close my eyes to keep from freaking out. I do look back a few times, though, watching the beast. For a while it trailed us, but it quickly lost its interest the farther we trekked from its nest.

  The day spent in Rylan’s arms moves quickly after that, though the time is spent in silence. Eventually Rylan deems the distance we’ve traveled is safe and descends from the tree. He returns me gingerly to the forest floor.

  “You did not do as I asked,” he says finally, breaking the silence.

  “What are you talking about?” I ask, perplexed.

  “I told you to run and you defied me.”

  “Whatever, Rylan, I couldn’t just leave you,” I say, dismissing him.

  “I told you to, it was our agreement.”

  “Yeah well.” I shrug, checking my pack to make sure nothing was lost. I can feel his eyes on me and I make a point of not looking up.

  “Thank you for your help,” he says, and I still. “I don’t know if I could have taken that thing on without you.”

  “Forget it,” I respond…perhaps a little too harshly. Rylan grabs my arm before I have the chance to turn and walk away. I spin back towards him, only to stare him right in his electric eyes.

  “Next time, though, you will keep your promise,” he warns.

  “Don’t worry about it. I don’t make a habit out of helping people,” I say hotly, jerking my arm away. Reluctantly, he lets me go, if only so we can continue on our journey.

  Though the adrenaline from our fight with the beast is wearing thin, my mind is suddenly going haywire. I’m mentally chastising myself for helping Rylan at all. Sure, he is my ticket off this planet, but I don’t help people. Not anymore at least. Put yourself on the line and you’re the one who’s going to get burned.

  Chapter 16

  Faith

  I’m still lost in thought, angry with myself and trudging through the carpet of leaves when a hand wraps over my mouth. I nearly scream before I realize it’s Rylan. He motions for silence and gives a calculating glance to the forest around us. Stiffening, he stares out into what appears to be nothing but forest before he suddenly grips me closer to his body, keeping one hand over my mouth. Quickly, he pulls me into the hollow of a tree and shields me with his body. The space is tight and there is little room to maneuver and my heart pounds rapidly in my chest.

  Outside there’s nothing but silence.

  I wonder for a brief moment if Rylan is being overly cautious because of our run-in with the beast or if he actually heard something I didn’t. Did that awful creature track us? Is something else lurking out there in the woods? Before I have the chance to truly contemplate the questions swirling through my mind, I suddenly become painfully aware of Rylan’s nearness.

  Goosebumps trail up my body at the feel of his breath teasing the crook of my neck. This certainly is a tight space…

  I shift on my feet only to realize that the front of my body is pressed firmly to Rylan’s hard chest. I suck in a breath, feeling hyper aware of the sensations he’s giving me right now. Looking up at Rylan, I see his eyes are locked on mine. Slowly, he pulls his hand away from my mouth. I don’t dare to speak. His hand grazes my neck and shoulder on the way down and I feel that all-consuming desire to fall into his embrace again.

  I’m silently chiding myself for my own stupidity, when I hear something. It’s the crunch of leaves underfoot—slow, steady, and calculating. My entire body tenses and I peer past Rylan’s bicep to get a partial view of whatever is lurking outside. I release a breath of relief when I see the origin of the sound. It isn’t a hunter. It’s more prey. A human one at that. It isn’t the poor girl who was wearing a costume, no. It’s the other one. The one who looks like she’s seen some shit too.

  Rylan cranes his neck to see outside the hollow. I can tell by the change in his body language when he sees what’s out there. He turns to me eagerly, looking for me to give the okay. Instead I shake my head “no.”

  “It is another of your kind,” he whispers urgently. “A female,” he presses.

  I shake my head “no” again, more firmly this time. He nods once and looks down, no longer meeting my gaze. The sound of the woman walking fades, but we wait a little longer to ensure she has passed us by.

  The second we step out of the tree I can feel Rylan staring at me. Now it’s my turn to refuse eye contact. Out of my peripheral I see Rylan cross his arms over his chest. He’s giving off some seriously irritated vibes and finally I give in. “Just say it,” I tell him, rolling my eyes.

  “Say what?”

  “Whatever it is you feel like you have to say so we can move on.” I’m tired of this conversation and it hasn’t even started yet. Unfortunately, by the sound of Rylan’s tone, we’re just warming up.

  “Why did we not help her?” he questions.

  I rub my forehead. “Seriously? Rylan, we don’t know her,” I reason. “As far as I can tell all the prey came from the prison barge. You get what that means, right? They’re all a bunch of criminals. How can we trust someone like that?”

  Rylan barks out a truncated laugh. “That is a joke?”

  “No, Rylan. It isn’t a joke. We don’t know who she is, what she did, or what she’s capable of,” I assert.

  “Can the same not be said for you?” he counters.

  “That’s not the point.”

  “How is it not the point?” he asks. “What if I had not been here to find you, Faith? Where would you be right now? Dead or headed blindly to the broken ships to the north. That female will die without our help, but she is your people so it is your call to make.”

  “I already made the call.”

  “But can you live with it?” he presses.

  “You’d be surprised with what I can live with,” I tell him and it brings that pitying look back to his eyes. It’s like he can see into the depths of my soul and he’s staring at all my most shameful moments. I can’t stand that look.

  “Tell me why and I’ll let it go,” he says. There is no compromise in his voice.

  “I told you why! She’s probably a criminal. We don’t know if she can be trusted!”

  “I want the real reason.”

  “I can give you a dozen more if that one’s not good enough! We don’t need more people in our group, Rylan. More people mean more room for error.”

  “What are you scared of?”

  “Look, if you’d rather be with her, then by all means, go!”

  At that, he strides up close, grabbing me and forcing my eyes to meet his. “I want to be with you,” he says, his voice a low and dangerous growl. “But I need to know the real reaso
n you won’t help her.”

  “Not everyone wants help, Rylan! You can’t save people who don’t want your help!” I want to scream the words at him, but instead I muffle my outburst with my hands, as I bite back a sob. I’m not crying, I tell myself. And I’m not. I’m too damned angry to cry.

  “Who are we talking about, Faith? Her or you?” He’s not backing down, but he also doesn’t get it.

  I huff out an angry breath and look off into the distance. I’ll tell this story, but I can’t look at him when I do. “The one who owned me…his name was Jesek Lahan. I didn’t just kill him for me. If it was just for me I don’t think I could have done it. I did it for the other 17 women who had been his slaves, who endured rape, his fists, being the butt of his vicious humor for years before I ever showed up. Seventeen women! And not one of them would come with me after I had done it. No, Rylan. They looked at me with horror in their eyes like I was some kind of monster. Do you know who reported me to the authorities? Did it say that in my file?” I push Rylan away from me roughly and he shakes his head.

  He’s silent, offering no assumptions, so I continue. “It was them. His pitiful, loyal slaves. Do you think there weren’t humans among them? I learned the hard way, but I learned. There’s only one person you can help and that’s yourself.”

  “I’m helping you,” he argues, but I can’t bring myself to agree with that. To me, the balance is too uneven… It still feels more like I’m using him.