Oath of the Hunter

6 - Not So Welcoming

As the hours wear on, my patience stretches thin. Given Matteo is driving and Kay has called shotgun, I'm in the back with Rowan and Lachlan. The silver lining — pun intended — is that I've got a window seat and Kay is within reaching distance if I need to take them hostage through knife point and demand to swap.

Though, given they've taken control of the aux, I may have to take matters into my own hands sooner rather than later. There's only so many times I can listen to the same ten songs before something inside of me snaps.

Outside, the world is bathed in shadows as the sun seeks refuge behind clouds. The woods are washed out and grey, shaking branched fists at the sky with rustling leaves demanding a little light. Their whispers fall on deaf ears.

I've stretched out as much as I can, every position uncomfortable after so long cooped up, and try my hardest to keep my thoughts locked on the problem at hand— namely, Matteo's old pack and their hunter situation. The Ferreus hunters can wait.

"Can you tell me about them? The pack?" I ask Matteo, leaning forwards a little which only succeeds in pressing me further against Rowan. Given he leans a little into me in response, I'd say he doesn't mind the contact.

"What do you want to know?" He messes with a dial on the dash and the music falls into a whisper, mercifully.

"Their numbers, hierarchy, routines, fighting style— that sort of thing. Are they the type to fight hunters head-on or hide and wait them out?" How these wolves react to threats will determine the approach of the hunters— if they're any good, that is.

"Oh, they're definitely a head-on, all-guns-blazing kind of pack," Matteo tells me. I see his brows pinch in the rear-view mirror. "Darius, he... he doesn't take kindly to intruders. Hunters took his brother from him when they were young— he's going to give them all he's got, which means the whole pack will, too."

I hum, considering this, and he continues.

"Darius is the alpha and his fated — the luna — is Imogen. They have a daughter, Grace, and she's next in line. Klaus is the beta; Milo is the gamma. There were over sixty members back when I lived with them, with a rotating patrol of wolves constantly watching the borders— who knows what's happened to that system since. I... I don't think Darius would've called for help if he could avoid it, so whatever it is they're doing, it's not working."

"What are you thinking?" Kay asks, turning in their seat a little to regard me over their shoulder. They wiggle their brows in dramatic intrigue.

"I'm thinking the hunters must've been watching and planning for a while. If they've figured out the pack's defences, they'll know how to exploit them. They must be good at what they do, or else Darius wouldn't have asked for help." I pull a face, reconsidering. "Then again, if they were good hunters, then Darius wouldn't be able to ask for help. It's like they're toying with him."

"Is that normal?" Lachlan wonders aloud.

"For some, I guess. Some hunters see this as a sport— something to enjoy. Others see it as a job— a duty. Either way, they're not going to give up easily."

Unwillingly, a flicker of Myles, of Orion and Liliana, stirs in my head. They'd race for fights with vigour, all too eager to kill and feel their markings spread. They'd take out one pack and rush back to the map room to prepare for the next one.

And then, because the mere thought of them puts cracks in my defence, my thoughts slip towards Esme. I've been trying hard to keep her out of my head because every time I think of her smile, her laugh, her incessant jibes at me to do better, I summon a cavernous hole of despair and guilt in my chest.