Hunt

Chapter 66: Midnight Light

<<Testing, testing. One, two. Can everyone hear me?>> Vince's voice crackles over my earpiece radio.

We all go through the process of verifying our communications and our equipment. Taking care to verify everything was working before we got into the thick of it.

"Alright, everyone's coming through loud and clear. We all set? Let's get this done and be back home before sunup." I say before I click my radio off to conserve battery life.

It was the night right before the full moon and the tension between us hunters and the pack had been building up to this very night. We've spent the last couple of nights racking our brains on how we were gonna pull this massive stunt off. Now, gathered on a warm and humid summer evening, we are finally putting our assassination plans into action. As we come into a tight huddle to cover the mission plan one last time I wipe the sweat from my eyes. This was going to be one hell of an uncomfortable evening. If not the werewolves we were expecting to be fighting it would be the humidity. Nothing quite like fighting for your life when the air feels as thick as soup...

"Has there been any news from our four legged friends on the inside?" Natasha asks as we're about to break formation.

I shake my head. "No, nothing. I don't like how quiet it's been, but I we don't have the time to wait any longer."

After learning about our decision to go after her father, Reyna decided to leave the fighting to us. However, still wanting to be useful, she spent the time up until now working to be useful from the inside. Gathering information on who would side with her father once everything kicks off as well as monitoring his position. Letting us know his movements and if things were looking good or not. She had determined that Walker and Nyx were trustworthy in this time and not aligned with her father. They had been assisting her on the surveillance. But we haven't heard from any of them for a couple days now. To say I was worried would be an understatement. They could've been caught, and I don't know what David would do to them in that situation. I worry that it could be the worst case scenario.

"Alright, well let's hope that no news is good news. We'll start the search in the obvious places. See if he's sleeping in his bed..." Paul grumbles as we all nod in unison. Splitting up into our preassigned pairs of two. "Comms channel 4. Let's keep it silent unless absolutely necessary." Paul instructs as I click my radio back on.

Everyone else follows suit and clicks their radios on, flipping quickly to channel 4. Julie gives me a thumbs up and we both nod to the others. Splitting off from the others as we set off down our preassigned patrol route.

Julie and I chose to work together as a pair this mission. Since our fight she's been more confident, more level headed. We had grown more comfortable working together after the scouting mission and I felt quite confident in our abilities to work well as a team. We had been tasked with taking the longer route to the neighborhood through the forest, taking a path that follows the stream that runs through the forest behind Reyna's neighborhood. The same stream that Marcus attacked me in. Compared to the paths the others were taking it felt like we were being punished for something. But since Julie and I were the most inexperienced of the group we'd be better to sit back and away from the front line. We were given the task of catching anything or anyone trying to escape and slip through the holes left open by the others. I knew deep down that we were given this route because I was the one with the most to lose if we fail here. Paul was shielding me in his own way and I wasn't gonna complain. Better for me to stay as far away from David as I could right now. I couldn't afford to let him get his teeth into me.

Creeping up the stream all I could focus on was my sister beside me and the gurgling of the water that was slowly creeping into my boots. The calm and humid air tonight was just as eerie as it always is when out on a hunt. Anything could happen at anytime and with little to no warning. The quiet forest could come roaring to life in a heartbeat. We were easily at the bottom of the food chain out here, and knowing what our mission was really cemented that feeling deep in my gut. However, as we slowly creep upstream the hot and heavy air remains calm and ever stagnant. Nothing moved in the dark except for the two of us, as if the very forest was holding its breath.