Chapter 2
[Anna]
I wince as I tend to my wound. Her claws are sharp, cutting through my leather vest and my enhanced skin. The wolf beast was far more than I had expected. Wolf for sure, but also somewhat human. The way she constantly stood on her hind legs to avoid or get leverage caught me off guard. And her eyes… There was a lot of sapient intelligence behind those bright yellow eyes. In the past I would have called it a human intelligence, but seeing how similar the demons are has changed that for me.
I apply a healing ointment, and bind the wound with some cloth. I let myself lean against the tree as I stare at the crescent moon. She is a hunter, like me. Powerful and uncontested. If I had to guess, she isn’t going to let me go. I’ll try to leave anyway, but if she pursues again I may have to hunt back. I can’t help the grin that stretches across my face. If she insists on hunting me, I may have to get serious and hunt back.
*****
I awaken at the base of the tree when the sun rises. Stretching briefly, I put my shirt and cloak back on before making for the nearby stream. If she’s going to track me, I need to do everything I can to throw her off. Move with the wind, hide my tracks, and use water to muddy my scent.
Speaking of mud, I make sure to coat myself with it. My clothes and skin are caked in the thick slimy goop, which is much less unpleasant than I had been expecting. It was almost pleasant actually, which might be my Gift affecting me. After all, what is more wild than being coated in mud and shifting through the forest, avoiding an apex predator?
Hunting the predator and asserting my own dominance.
I shake my head, attempting to dislodge the intrusive thought. Something about my gift is screaming at the beast. I can’t shake the feeling that there is some sort of connection there. One that I need to explore before I can leave.
I catch myself backtracking, which sends a cold chill down my spine. I hadn’t even noticed. I bite my lip, turning to leave the forest again. It’s probably a day or two’s walk to leave, longer if I try to stealth my way through it all. I don’t know how long the beast will need to heal, but my instincts are telling me not long enough.
I chew my cheeks as I stalk, covering my tracks and doubling back to further disturb the trail. When night finally comes, I curl up in a tall tree and eat some of my remaining rations. I don’t have many, which means I’ll need to hunt again. It also means fire, unless I’m willing to eat raw meat. I’m not that desperate yet, so I’ll hold off on hunting until I’m sure the beast won’t follow me.
Sleep doesn’t come easily, and nearly every snap of a twig wakes me. Being prey is not fun.
[Beast]
My wounds have healed, or most of them anyway. I spent the entire day resting, as recovering my strength was my highest priority. Thankfully, I’m now healed enough to hunt. I’ll avoid the human for now, as she put up a fight even when I was healed. No, I’ll wait one more day before hunting her.
I slip through the forest, remaining in my smooth form. Human form? I think I used to be human, although this form is different from the other humans I’ve seen. They don’t have ears like mine, nor do they have a tail. I can’t imagine how they even balance without a tail, but they seem to manage.
My claws and sharp teeth are also unique, but I always thought it was because I am a hunter, and they were prey. Now I’m less sure. Maybe all humans are prey, except for the few strong enough to hunt.
The human from last night strolls into my mind. Is she a hunter? Or is she prey? I can barely wait to find out. The only thing stopping me from chasing her now is the lingering pain from where her blades cut into me.
I catch a scent on the wind, and with a snarl I’m off. Rushing through the underbrush, my toes grip the leaves and detritus collecting on the forest floor. I propel myself forward, and see my prey.
It’s a male deer, with tall antlers proud and defiant. It seems to lack a mate, which makes it the perfect prey. With a burst of speed and rage, I fling my body at it. I can feel fur sprouting from my limbs, my claws and teeth elongating. I snap my teeth around the buck’s neck, my snout giving me the leverage to crush it between my jaws.
The hunt was quick, and easy. There was no challenge, but my need for food never changes. Especially with my wounds. Healing takes more energy. So does transforming into my beast form, which I’ve also been doing more of. Between the last group of humans and this new human, I’ve been hunting and fighting a lot.
I drag my kill back into my cave, feeling my form recede as I enter. I make myself comfortable, before digging into the flesh before me. Teeth tear and rend as the warmth of a fresh kill rejuvenates my body. I can’t help but let out a pleased rumble as I consume the buck, each mouthful of meat further strengthening me.
I barely notice when my stomach is full, nor does my mind realize it when I curl up to sleep. I wake again to see the waxing moon high in the sky. It’s approximately a half moon now. Gazing up at it, I can feel the strength coursing within me. As the moon grows full, my power amplifies. Is it enough to fight the human?
I grin as my form shifts. Her scent is faint, and the trail muddled, but that only fans the excitement burning within me. The hunt is on, and today I will win.
[Anna]
I jerk awake to the sound of howling. The beast is after me. Two days. That’s how long it took her to heal. Several major wounds, and she healed them all in two days. I crouch low in my hidey hole. I found a hollow under a tree, and decided to curl up here rather than amongst the foliage of a tree.
Now, trapped underground, I’m regretting my decision. My choices at this junction are simple: Either I leave the hole, potentially exposing myself to the beast, or I stay here and hope she doesn’t find me.
Even without logic telling me that staying in the hole is a bad move, my instincts are screaming at me to leave and hunt. I can feel my blood boiling as I slink out of the burrow, my very flesh thrumming with uncontained excitement.
I string my bow, dashing off into the night in the direction of the beast. I trust in my ability to hide my tracks, but I’m not going to hide away. No, I’m going to ambush her while she follows one of my decoy trails.
A grin stretches across my face as I fly through the forest. Silent as a ghost, fast as the wind, and fierce as a gale. My Gift hums with pleasure as I give into the instincts I’ve spent the last two days suppressing. This is what I’m meant to do. I’m not prey, I am a hunter.
And I will Hunt.
The truth of that word burns itself into my mind, and with it the truth of myself: I am the apex predator. I am the one who hunts, and I will not suffer competition. I will hunt the beast, and once it is subdued, I will find the one who twisted my mind and hunt her down-
I blink, stopping in my tracks. Twisted my mind? Who twisted my mind? When did that happen?
Before I can trace that thought back to its source, I hear the beast ahead of me. I’ve lost my advantage due to my momentary distraction, but it doesn’t matter. I am the hunter.
I draw back my bow, my Gift enhanced eyes piercing through the moonlit night. The breeze shifts, and my scent is pushed towards the beast. All at once her course shifts towards me, and I feel my worry and confusion slip away as I bare my teeth.
I see the gleam of her eyes as she dashes through the woods with a primal grace. With a twang of string, my arrow flies, connecting with her shoulder. A yelp of pain cuts through the night, but she doesn’t stop.
Discarding my bow, I draw my twin blades and dodge her first attack. With a swing and a roll, I achieve another glancing blow. I twirl to capitalize on my successes, only to be smashed against a tree by her tail. Even with the wind knocked out of me, I have the presence of mind to throw myself at the ground.
The beast snarls as her claws shred the tree above me, her open maw inches away from me. I stab upwards with a blade, narrowly missing as she leaps back. Leaping to my feet, I press my advantage, twirling my swords with practiced precision. A couple more knicks, and suddenly I’m on the back foot again as she catches my blade with her claws, disarming me and tossing it aside.
I can’t help but laugh with sheer joy as we fight. This brutal and violent dance sings to my soul, and I couldn’t ask for a more wonderful partner. Blow after blow is traded, neither managing any significant wounds. The pale moon illuminates her form, tall, powerful, and beautiful in a primal way. Her eyes sparkle with a joy that matches my own.
Again we clash, but this time I come out on top. I let her teeth catch my off hand, only to stab her in the stomach with my remaining blade. Her eyes widen as she releases me and stumbles backwards. Panting and bleeding, I watch as she turns tail and limps back through the woods, turning to give me a vicious gaze as she does so.
I could swear there was more to her gaze, but my body collapses before I can work it out. I barely have the energy to rip up my shirt and use it to bandage my arm, applying what little healing ointment I have left.
I settle against a tree, thinking the fight over in my mind. It was a good fight, and I want more. I want to face the beast again. She felt stronger tonight. Maybe she’ll be stronger next time as well.
My body throbs with energy, pain, and… pleasure. I don’t know why, but this hunt has me feeling like I’ve never felt before. Even when I was listening to Cammi and hearing her words burrow into my mind, the pleasure I’ve gained from this hunt is far greater.
I halt my thoughts and roaming hand. Cammi. Her words did something to me. Something clicked during the hunt, and I can tell now. It made me want her. More than I already wanted her, anyway. When I left the party, I told myself it was because of the men. But it wasn’t, was it?
It was because of Cammi. My Gift could tell something was wrong, and it wanted me to escape. Back into the woods where I am at my strongest. No, not the woods. The Hunt. I am strongest while hunting. My Gift is not The Wilds; It is The Hunt.
“I am the Huntress, and I will not be prey!” I shout into the wind, a powerful sense of being settling over me. I will hunt this beast, for she is my prey and needs to learn her place. Once I have done this, I will find Cammi, and I will teach her that I am the apex predator, and I will suffer none to hunt my mind or body.
My hands wander again as I fantasize about hunting down both the Beast and the Silver Tongue. I let them roam, enjoying the way my post fight adrenaline amplifies my pleasure.
With each stroke and plunge of my fingers, another wave of energy pushes through me. I can feel the chains tied around my mind shattering, and I can feel my prey. I know where they are, and I know where to find them. The beast is in her cave, likely licking her wounds. Cammi is at the demon fortress, and knowing her power, she likely has an army.
As my climax courses through me, I feel another bond. This one weak, and it leads back to the beast. I don’t know what it means, and I lack the energy to explore it further before sleep finally claims me.
