:: CARON ::

This is a nightmare. I knew it was too soon but Pa was adamant on going for the annual pack hunt. And because he was set on going through with it, I went along with what he wanted. I mean, how bad could it be, right? Foolish of me!

The annual pack hunt is a free-for-all, rough-and-tumble where your position and status within the pack is disregarded. The hunter could easily become the hunted in the course of a few seconds during the hunt. It all boils down to instinct, on what you’re willing to do in order to survive.

I forgot how coarse and bloodthirsty some of the hunters could be even before the actual run. Pa and I have been training with the pack warriors and running with the pack hunters but the atmosphere then is nothing compared to what we’re experiencing now.

I could feel waves of anger and hostility aimed our way without filter or restraint. Since we stepped on the training grounds I’ve heard all manners of threats and insults, designed to reel us in for a fight. Most are just baiting us, trying to see if we’d bite the lure. They’re trying to gauge our strength, to know if they should stay clear of us or not. My father has been acting blind and deaf to the taunts and catcalls and since I haven’t been on a hunt for years, for now, I’m following his lead.

Pa sees the annual pack hunt as a perfect opportunity to declare to the pack that our family is still one of the most prominent within Sandalius. We would not hide or cower regardless of the circumstances. What my sister did was indeed a shame but we were not party to it. 

But Catriona is one of our own and this is our way of allowing those who have a grudge against our family to step forward. We’re giving them the perfect opportunity to let out their anger, to expend the negative energy so we could all move on.

I think we probably bit off more than we could chew and honestly, I think we’d be lucky if we manage to get out of this hunt whole. But my opinion is neither here nor there. It’s time to stand our ground and clear the shadow that’s been casted over our family and the pack.

“I heard you were back,” I froze at the sound of a familiar voice not far behind me.

I slowly turned and mentally cursed. Of all the days to be confronted with an unwanted past it had to be today. Damn! I’ve been lucky so far but it seems my luck has finally ran out.

“Delaney.” I nodded stiffly in greeting, frantically thinking of a way to make him go away.

Delaney Munroe and I share a past. One night, that’s all. An experience I’d rather not repeat and frankly, I don’t even remember most of it. It was a misstep brought on by tons of drink that fogged my mind and clouded my judgment. It’s no excuse, I know. But to be brutally honest, if I weren’t blind drunk back then I wouldn’t have spent the night with Delaney.

I’d rather forget the unfortunate episode ever happened but Delaney wouldn’t let me. I’ve been very clear and frank once I had my wits about me but I don't think Delaney got the message I was trying to convey.

I heard he’s been away and just recently returned. I was hoping to postpone this awkward meeting for as long as possible and to be perfectly honest, I’d rather not see him again. But that’s impossible seeing as we belong to the same pack.

“It’s been years, Caron. Are you sure you’re ready for the hunt?” Delaney asked, eyeing me like a piece of juicy meat he’d like to nibble on. I had to restrain myself from smacking the dirty look off his face. “I could provide some assistance, help keep the others away. You know, keep you safe…”

I’d rather he stay clear off me after all we did agree to bury and never talk about whatever happened between us ever again. I’m more than willing to not come near him but you can’t avoid someone who purposely seeks you out.

I don’t know what Delaney is after. Frankly, I don’t fucking care. We’d have to talk, he and I, eventually. But it won’t be today. Right now, I don’t want him near my father. And I don’t want him anywhere near me.

“We’d be fine, Del.” I answered. I don’t intend to let this conversation last longer than it should. The sooner he walks away, the better I’d be. “Thanks for the offer but we’d make do.”

Delaney stared at me. I know he wanted to say something more to convince me but I averted my eyes, purposely ignoring him. I’m being rude but Delaney Munroe is one of those people who will not get the point unless you spell it for them, perfect and direct, word for word.

If I allow him to help me, allow his presence and interference to sway the others into keeping their distance from me and Pa, Delaney would think that it’s an open invitation for other things. And I don’t want that sort of misunderstanding, especially not between us.

“There will come a time when you’d be begging for my favors and I would not be making it easy for you, Caron.” He snarled. “You’ve been making me dance to your tune for far too long. Soon you’d be crying for me to take you.”

Those words raised my hackles. “I never asked you to dance to anything, Del, and I never will. Trust me when I say I would never beg you!” I glared at him. His little bitch fit is attracting more unwanted attention. “I’ve been very clear and frank about our relationship or lack thereof. Now leave me alone and stop embarrassing yourself!”

I moved to turn my back on him but paused when I heard him mumble, “Son of a bitch…”

I growled and stepped forward to plow my fist on his arrogant face but I noticed his eyes are no longer focused on me. His posture has changed and the very air around him crackled with hostility. 

The hairs on the back of my neck stood. This is the first time I’ve seen Delaney with this sort of insane dark look. To be honest, Delaney looked kind of unhinged. It was almost frightening. Whoever he set his sights on would have his blood spilt today.

I followed his menacing gaze and my heart stopped when it landed on Arrick.

It’s not a secret that Delaney hates Arrick just because he’s Arrick Colson. Add the fact that he’s also the alpha of a powerful pack, a position that he longingly covets, Delaney thinks Arrick stole everything that should have belonged to him.

Delaney’s side of the family once held the title of alpha. That was until the time of his great grandfather who didn’t produce any sons. By law, the beta, or his firstborn son, would succeed as alpha. But Arrick’s great grandfather thought it unfair to take over the pack without allowing the Munroes, the family who married into the previous alpha’s family, to defend it.

Arrick’s grandfather and Delaney’s grandfather dueled for the position of alpha and Arrick’s grandfather emerged victorious by a huge margin. Since then, the title of alpha of the Sandalius pack has been passed through the sons of the Colson family.

It has been three generations and the Colson family have proven themselves to be wise, strong and dependable leaders. But Delaney and some members from his branch of the family are still sore from the loss. They view Arrick’s family as no more than stewards to the position they originally own.

But by right and challenge, Arrick’s family has earned and won the alpha position. If anyone wants to contest their right to rule the pack then they are free to do so.

Delaney challenged Arrick during his coming of age ceremony and lost, quite badly. After that, Delaney did everything to undermine Arrick’s authority. Pulling tricks here and there. He’d been very sneaky about his approach before but lately I heard Delaney has been more forthcoming and vocal.

To make matters worse, Delaney has been gathering sympathizers after the incident with Catriona. He’s capitalizing on Catriona’s callous actions to blacken Arrick’s reputation and deem him unfit to be alpha. The pack understands that Arrick has more than proven himself as the alpha of the Sandalius pack. But some, who’ve been dissatisfied with Catriona when she was ruling beside Arrick as luna, were swayed by Delaney’s poisonous tongue.

“Leave it alone, Del!” I hissed, blocking his path towards Arrick but he just walked past me and continued on his way without looking back. “Goddamn it!”

I moved to follow but Pa grabbed my arm and pulled me back. “He can take care of himself, son.” He said, referring to Arrick. His knowing gaze fixed on mine.

I watched as Delaney stalked Arrick and sighed dejectedly, knowing there’s nothing I could do to stop the confrontation. I reluctantly nodded my assent to Pa and we resumed our positions by the edge of the crowd.

I wonder what my father knows, if he somehow guessed or found out about my true feelings for Arrick. But I’ve been very careful. I tried very hard not to let anything show in how I act whenever Arrick is around. And if by some stroke of bad luck Pa realized something, I wonder how he feels about it. It’s one thing to have a gay son and another to have a gay son in love with your ex-son-in-law and alpha.

I was wrenched away from my thoughts by a prickling feel of intense bloodlust directed at me. This feeling isn’t the same as the others who just wanted to see me squirm, eat dirt or possibly spew some blood. This is a pure, intense desire to see me dead.

Scenting real danger the others moved further away, isolating Pa and I. I scanned the faces around us searching for the person who intended to kill me. But with so many wolves and so many emotions filling the air, I can’t properly tune my senses to just one mark.

“Don’t show them that it’s getting to you,” Eoin whispered as he stepped beside me glaring adorably at the wolf closest to us. He’s really not built for terrorizing and intimidating others. “If they sense even the slightest hint of panic, they’d pounce without second thoughts.”

“He’s right, son. Keep your guard up but don’t show them you’re intimidated.” Pa chimed in. “What you’re feeling is not just from one wolf but a whole lot of them. Be prepared, once the horn is blown aim for the trees. Everyone will head for the clearing about a mile to the south. The first kill is usually sighted there. If we can manage to get there before everyone else does we could survive this without having to fight our way out.”

I was a bit skeptical. The plan is too crude with no regard for unprecedented occurrences. It wouldn’t be as easy as it sounds. Even if we manage to take the first kill there’s no guarantee that the others would leave us alone until the hunt is through. But instead of voicing my thoughts, I nodded and shook my body of all the tension building up inside me. I focused my attention on only one goal, protecting Pa.

Eoin was yanked to the side by a very angry looking Darach. From the way they’re staring each other down I think, Darach doesn’t want Eoin to join this year’s pack hunt.

I don’t see why he’s so worried though. Eoin might not be as good as Darach when it comes to fighting but he could hold his own. Eoin may look fragile and feminine but he is the fastest runner in the pack. He could outrun anyone and if danger lurks, Eoin knows better than to fight a battle he cannot win. It’s a fact Arrick and I drilled into his head while we were training him back in the day.

Eoin is smart and he’s not going to do anything stupid to get himself hurt. Arrick would have pulled him out of the hunt if he thinks Eoin would not be able to handle it.

I scented Arrick close to where we stood but I chose to ignore his presence. I need all my senses focused and ready. If I look at him I’d remember what he told me, the last time we talked, and that would destroy my concentration. And losing focus right now could mean death, not just for me but for Pa as well.

Snarls and growls filled the air. Some of the hunters already shifted to their wolf forms and are now howling in anticipation of the hunt. The horn was finally raised and blown and everyone started running.

Pa moved and ran ahead dodging wolves left and right. Eoin and I flanked his sides while Darach and Arrick ran at our rears, keeping all three of us in their line of sight.

I was momentarily confused when I felt Arrick move a few paces behind me. He was running like he’s guarding my back. I thought he wanted nothing to do with me? He said so, in very clear terms, that we should limit our interaction with one another. Why is he sticking close to me now?

I suddenly felt a well-aimed slap on the back of my head. I stumbled from the impact, more from surprise than from the force of the hit. I turned to see Arrick glaring daggers at me.

“Focus, goddamn it!” He hissed angrily and I just scowled at him.

How the hell did he know?

I mentally shook myself and continued running after Pa. Arrick moved back a few paces to resume guarding our backs.

Pa phased once we’re halfway through our destination and we all followed suit. We skidded to a halt by the clearing and watched in anticipation as the first prey was sighted.

A huge male wapiti, standing almost nine feet tall, was hounded to the clearing. With the mating season ongoing, the bull is more aggressive than usual. It’s antlers reach to about four feet, its body is majestically built with pure meat and muscle. The bull is clearly in its prime and taking it down would be a challenge. It injured about three hunters since it’s been sighted and the fighting has ensued from the first drop of blood.

Pa moved slowly, deliberately across the clearing heading towards the rampaging animal. But once the other wolves sighted and caught our scent on the clearing, they turned their attention from the wapiti to us.

One mud colored wolf charged with two others. I immediately sprang forward and knocked the lead wolf out of Pa’s way. Arrick and Darach engaged the other two.

It was a slow and torturous process but we managed to get close enough to the wapiti to try our hands on it. Eoin and Pa would work on how to kill it. Arrick, Darach and I are more suited to fighting so we’d be guarding them while they’re working. The bull is exhausted, if we manage to hold off for a bit longer, before striking in for the kill, it would be over in a few minutes.

A piercing howl echoed through the clearing and eight wolves advanced towards our position. With my current condition I could manage two at the same time and I have complete faith that three for each is not that much of a challenge for Arrick and Darach. So eight wolves, at once, suited us just fine.

Fighting while trying to defend is not an easy task. Our movements are limited to a certain sphere and the opposition is determined to draw us away from Pa and Eoin. Their aim is to prevent the first kill, to keep us fighting until we grow tired. They have the advantage in numbers but we have the advantage in skill and strength.

I sneaked a quick look at how Pa and Eoin are progressing with the bull. They manage to deal deep wounds but nothing fatal that could fell it. And now that it’s wounded, the wapiti is acting more crazed and savage. But it’s been fighting so long, it’s only a matter of time before it begins to tire out.

I noticed that the other fighters had stopped and everyone retreated to the tree line to give us the open space. They were content to watch our progress, eager to see what will happen next.

It took some smart maneuvering but Darach, Arrick and I managed to take on eight wolves without fatally injuring them. Four more came to replace the eight and I cursed in my head noticing they were all warrior class wolves. Apparently, the other eight were just preamble to the real fight. They wanted to deplete our energy before getting down to the main battle and they succeeded.

Two circled around me, isolating me from the others and no matter what Darach or Arrick did to shake off the others they were engaged with, they couldn’t come close. It was obvious, they were set on keeping Arrick and Darach away from me. And I belatedly realized, I was the main target.

Pa noticed what was happening and was about to move to help me but I growled at him to stay back and concentrate on killing the bull. No one would help us until the first kill is felled and the sooner the wapiti is down, the safer we would all be.

Arrick and Darach gave up trying to get to me and focused on fighting the wolves in front of them. The other two just circled around me, trying to find a weak spot, a blind that they could exploit.

My hackles rise at the realization that they thought I was the weakest link amongst the group. They isolated me from the others because they thought they could easily bring me down. I growled in anticipation as my claws dug on the earth beneath my paws. I bared my teeth and crouched low waiting for the first strike to come.

I may have lived in the city for years and haven’t hunted for a long time. But even when I was there, living an inactive life, there are some things that you don’t forget. The body remembers by instinct and I’ve been a good fighter all my life. If they think I’ll go down easily then they’re sorely mistaken.

I snarled viciously taunting them to make a move.

The first strike came and I easily evaded it, blocking another attack in succession. I twisted my body and clamped my jaws on the other wolf’s hind leg and dragged it before flinging it away from the fray. I had a few seconds before that one recovered but it was enough to engage the other wolf into a one on one fight.

We swiped and snarled at each other until I managed to bite its forepaw. It tried to counter by aiming for my neck but I pulled and locked my jaws harder, earning a piercing howl as I broke the leg and shook my head, dislodging the bone off its socket. I let go of the wolf and it slumped on the dirt covered ground whimpering.

The other wolf recovered from the earlier assault and launched itself on my back. It locked its jaws on the back of my neck. I could feel it’s teeth sinking into my flesh, breaking the skin, but not deep enough to get a good hold. 

I quickly turned and rammed my back to a tree, successfully dislodging the wolf on my back. We circled each other, scratching and biting. It managed to get in more bites and scratches on my body than I anticipated.

But for some unknown reason, it grew impatient and I finally found the opening I was waiting for. I charged and bit down on its shoulder taking care not to hit the artery that was just a few centimeters off from where my jaws were currently locked.

The taste of blood in my mouth was, in a sense, invigorating. I clamped harder, drawing more blood before throwing it off from me for the second time. Fresh blood was still trickling from my mouth when I looked to see what’s happening to the others.

My father and Eoin managed to fell wapiti and gained the first kill. Pa was dealing it with another deadly blow, just to be sure, when I noticed a shadow flash from the tree line, heading straight for Arrick, who was unsuspectingly standing, unguarded, and howling with the invigorated crowd.

My body moved without thought nor care for the consequences. Once I sighted the dark ash colored wolf I lost all sense and reason. There wasn’t enough time to warn Arrick of the attack. The wolf lunged in the air, aiming for his throat, and I was just in time to move in front of him and take the full brunt of the attack.

Sharp canines sank deep into my skin and I could feel it touch an artery as the three of us fell and rolled in the ground. Feral snarls and vicious growls filled the air as another brawl commenced. Someone dislodged the wolf from my neck but I was too wounded to move or stand up.

The last thing I saw before I lost consciousness was Arrick’s handsome face hovering above mine. His steel blue eyes, full of pain and fear, were focused on my glazed ones. Arrick was opening and closing his mouth, like he was talking to me. But all I could hear was the deafening sound ringing in my ears.

I managed to lift my hand to his face and smiled. I wanted to tell him I was fine but I was too weak to talk. After that, everything became silent and I was engulfed in darkness.