Hunt

Chapter 24: Solidifying Rumors

Weeks seem to pass like water through my fingers, days blending together until I could barely remember what day it was half the time. My only bearing of the passage of time was being at school and my occasional outing with Reyna. We ended up making our relationship official on our second dinner date, and we now we try to spend most of our free time together. It's a welcome change of pace than my other 'free time' activity. Less stress and risk of dying horribly.

I occasionally found myself trapped in the wolf's spell. However, it had been happening less and less frequently as the weeks passed. Each time it reminded me of the promise I made with Sam before his passing. An ever present tingle in the back of my mind. "Kill them all..." I felt like I was getting closer to that point every day now, slowly narrowing down on the final objective of dealing with the Silverlock pack for good.

The nights where I don't get the luxury of sleep are spent out in the woods, taking shifts with the other hunters to keep an eye on high risk areas. As much as hunting is dealing with the pests themselves, a vast majority is spent with your face in the mud being pelted by cold rain. Waiting. Bored out of your mind just begging for something to happen to break up the boredom. But despite the boredom it's a vitally important part of the job. How else would we track the pack movements? Figure out the best places to intercept them should this standoff heat up to actual fighting.

Nick and I had been pulled alternating shifts, watching the area around where my meeting with the she-wolf had taken place. Occasionally we would spot members of her pack out patrolling the area, but the vast majority of the time was just calm spring nights. However, one wet night in particular wasn't nearly as calm as I wanted it to be...

"Of all days to pick the short straw..." I mumble, laying prone in a mud puddle. Up to my chin in freezing cold dirty water, I could barely make out the silhouette of the playground in the park through the spitting rain. It had been pouring all evening with no indication of letting up and the longer I lay in the mud the more I begin to wonder if I would end up drowning out here.

It's around close to midnight when something shifts in the woods, causing enough commotion to be audible over the loud drone of the rainfall. Footfalls, lots of them, easy to be confused with the rain itself. Through the trees burst around seven large beasts, from the sound they were making I could tell they were in a rush. Barks and yips reach my ears as they come screaming to a halt in the clear field on the far side of the playground. For a second I wonder if a pack of coyotes just came flying out of the underbrush, but I could hear the rumblings of speech. Very much not coyotes. I realize quickly that I would have to get much closer if I wanted to make any of what they were saying.

Slowly pulling myself from my submerged hiding spot I slowly begin to army crawl towards the beasts, taking extra care to stay out of sight and in the shadows. But I would have to cross an open stretch of ground to get within earshot. A thought passes through my head as I slink down into the next water filled divot. Well if the she-wolf has any credibility I may not have to fight if I'm spotted out here...

I make sure my pistol is still in its holster. Just in case. Something tells me I shouldn't place any faith in the words of a beast.

The collective surveillance between a good number of hunters over the last couple weeks had helped show that she may have been telling the truth about her fathers intentions. There had been zero incidents, even as the full moon draws ever closer. But as I continue to creep forward I get the feeling that something isn't quite right here. These wolves were on edge, angry. Something big must've happened inside the pack, that or they were beginning their attack.

"...cant believe... bullshit..!" I begin to hear over the roar of the rain. The group of wolves were just beginning to get within earshot, the 'leader' of the group was growling with raised hackles. He was visibly angry even through the murky darkness. A pure white wolf who I had almost mistaken for the she-wolf I had been in contact with before, "Who does he think he is?!" It was male. Definitely not her.

"We should've never let him get so soft! We can't even save ourselves from humans!" Another barks.

This group didn't seem to be a patrol, too disorganized and loud. This was something different all together. Suddenly the water I found myself submerged in was a lot more comfortable, but I was still unable to make everything out. I force myself to begin to creep closer.

"...what of her? She'd never agree with us! Too weak, a pacifist! She can't even bring her mate into the pack, too afraid to even tell him the truth!" The leader growls, beginning to pace in a circle. "Lycans can never co-exist with humans! We need to hunt, to have a strong pack! How else can we save our dwindling numbers?!"

Growls and barks of affirmation spring up from the others. They must've been talking about her, the Alpha's daughter. I knew she had been tasked with finding a replacement for her father, but these wolves seemed to be insinuating a coup. They talked like they're trying to go a more traditional route for werewolves. From what I had managed to piece together, something similar happened with the Bravepelt pack a year ago, right before things got very bloody for everyone involved.

I begin to back up, creeping back towards the tree line not wanting to push my luck. I was getting close to spitting distance from these wolves, and they seemed more than happy to get blood under their claws. Besides, I think I got more than enough to report back with. Scooting back my boot catches on a rock, pulling it free from the mud and causing it to spin sideways. The scraping causing enough sound to hush up the conversation ahead of me.

"Did you hear that..?" One poses the question, the rest immediately begin spreading out. As if to search the area. I freeze, my heart stopping cold. Moments turn to minutes, the leader taking a quick last glance around the dark clearing, eyes passing towards the area I'm laying in. Flattened as much as I can against the mud. Tension building as my hand grips the pistol on my hip.

The leader barks and the rest of the group tear off into the woods. Leaving only him and me in the playground. "You listening hunter? I can't smell you, but I know you're out here somewhere." The wolf calls out to the darkness, "Your constant spying has been a thorn in our sides since we first relocated here. My father is weak, wants to get along and play nice. That's over." He growls loudly, barking one last time my general direction before following after the others.

I don't wait the couple of minutes to make sure if  the coast is clear or not, as soon as he breaks the tree line I push myself up, slipping on the slick mud. "Shit!" I grunt as I catch myself, trying to shake the thick dirt off my jacket before sprinting out of the playground.

This is bad! I want to scream as I peel out into the neighborhood. Water whipping off of me and pelting me in the face as I sprint down the road. I had to get to Paul's. He should be home tonight, not out patrolling. I had to let someone know.

"Paul!" I shout as I round the bend down his driveway. "We got a problem!" I pound on the door.

There was no light in the house, but the door clicks open, stopping at the security chain. "Kyle?" Paul's gruff voice answers from the other side. "The hell you doing here at this hour?"

"Splinter group from the silverlocks! Planning a coup to overthrow current leadership!" I interrupt. "Bravepelt all over again!"

I was speaking so fast I had forgotten to breath. In the moment it takes to inhale Paul closes the door, unlocks it, opens it again and sucker punches me in the gut. The air I had just inhaled is forced back out, forcefully. The blow has me sputtering to the ground as I cough, groaning on the porch.

"Calm down Kyle! Gather your thoughts and talk normally!" Paul scolds. This was his signature move, to knock the wind out of someone. It stops them from talking and makes them take the time to collect themselves. It's really a pain in the ass, but it really does works.

Sucking air I push myself up slowly. "Dammit Paul. What the hell!"

A hand clamps down on my shoulder, "Okay kid. Come in, take your jacket off. But don't sit on anything, you're filthy. Tell me everything you know."