My head is pounding when I wake up in an old, dilapidated cabin. The last thing I remember is being dragged away by the wolf hunters. I realize that my hands are bound with silver, rendering me helpless as I try to sit up on the old sofa, and that my bullet-proof vest is gone. Ever so slightly, I lift my head and look around the room. I look around the room, noting a door in front of me and a broken window to my left. Then I close my eyes, not wanting the hunters to know I'm awake yet. As if Ruhn can feel that I'm awake, he immediately mindlinks with me.
"Kenna, are you okay? Did they hurt you?" Ruhn asks. This mindlink feels different, his voice and emotions feeling hazy, like he's far away– which he is.
"I'm not hurt, but my head is killing me. I'm bound with silver," I answer quickly.
"We were attacked after they took you, so we couldn't follow the hunters to their location," Ruhn says with an angry growl. "We found what looked like a compound, but it was empty. Clearly, it was meant as a diversion. What can you tell me about your location?"
I slowly look around the dirty room. "This place looks more like a shack than a compound. It's at least two stories. Exits at the front and back, and there are at least eight hunters in here."
"Do you know what floor you're on?"
"I'm in a corner on the main floor, I think," I answer. "Everyone thinks I'm still knocked out, so they're not paying attention to me."
"Good," Ruhn says. "The longer they think you're asleep, the better. I'll be there soon. Now that we're connected through our mindlink again, my wolf senses are pulling me toward you."
I inhale deeply, trying to open my own senses as much as I can, hoping it will help Ruhn find me.
"Have you seen your uncle?" Ruhn asks suddenly.
"Not yet," I answer. "But as soon as I do, I'm going to kill him for this. Have you contacted the rest of the pack?"
"I told them you were captured, but I'm convinced someone is working with the wolf hunters," Ruhn replies. "So I told the pack we would attack first thing in the morning. The wolf hunters won't be expecting me, Jelene, and Manteo to sneak in there tonight."
"Which means you need to find me before sunrise," I realize, taking a peek out the window to see the moon still high in the sky. I bristle, closing my eyes tightly when I hear heavy boots enter the room and the wolf hunters quiet down.
"Kenna?" Ruhn calls out. "Kenna?"
"Someone's coming."
Ruhn tries to say more, but I block him out, focusing on trying to gain some information.
"Tate, when is the boss coming?" A male voice calls out.
"When he gets here," another male voice replies.
I recognize the voice of the wolf hunter as the one who captured me in the woods. Then, I open my eyes slightly and notice a tiny, frail woman bringing the men food. They're rude to her. One even trips her. She falls to the ground and the food scatters everywhere.
"Hey!" The wolf hunter– Tate– yells. "I don't like wasting food. You can tease the maid after she's served us."
Tate, who seems to be the ladder, turns back to the other hunter. "Did you kill the other wolves?"
"No," the man replies with a shake of his head. "After we captured the Luna, the Alpha went on a rampage, killing everyone in sight."
That brings a smile to my lips.
"We called in our reinforcements and pushed them back down the passage they came," the man finishes.
"How many casualties?" Tate asks, his voice angry.
"We lost thirty-five tonight," the man replies quietly.
"And we'll lose more when they come for their Luna," Tate mutters under his breath, and I hear the sound of his heavy footsteps leaving the room. "We got some information..."
His voice disappears away with the wolf hunter, now muffled by the wall, and I mindlink with Ruhn. "It sounds like they're making plans, but they're too far away to hear. If I get closer, I might be able to hear where they are patrolling now."
"If we knew that, it could help us sneak in to help you," Ruhn agrees. "But I don't want you to put yourself in any more danger."
"I'm already here. Might as well get all the information that I can."
"But you're bound in silver," Ruhn points out. "How will you move?"
"I think I have the strength to roll over."
There's a long pause, and I can internally feel Ruhn's conflict. "Ruhn, if I can hear something that will help you get me out of here, it's worth a try."
"You're right," Ruhn nods. "Any information you can gather will help us. How far away are they? Can you safely move closer without anyone seeing you?"
I turn my head slowly and hear Tate across the hall talking to a few wolf hunters. Their muffled voice barely reach my ears.
"They're in the hall. I can easily move closer without anyone noticing."
"Then I suggest you do it," Ruhn says. "Anything that will get you out of here sooner will help."
Quietly rolling onto my side, I slowly swing my legs over the edge of the sofa and wobbly get to my feet, hesitantly taking a step toward the hallway. I only make it two steps when the frail maid from before steps into the room and kneels down to pick up the food. I freeze just as she locks eyes with me while picking up a piece of bread.
No, no, no, no, no!
"The wolf!" The young woman yells, darting back in fear. "She's awake!"
Tate and the wolf hunters rush into the room, coming to a halt before me with evil grins.
"I'm so glad to see you on your feet," Tate says with a crack of his knuckles. "I've got some questions for you."
I try to fight when they pick me up and take me down into a dark basement, but the silver makes me weak, and I can't do much to defend myself.
"You don't have to do this," I say as they pull on my arms, forcing me down the stairs to the basement. "We cam make a truce between us so that no other humans or wolves will have to die. You have to know Vargr is going to turn on you. He turned against his own family!"
"Just like you would turn on me if I made a deal with you," Tate replies with a scoff. "You're going to die here tonight."
Tate shoves me forward and two wolf hunters grab me, wrapping my wrists and ankles with silver cuffs attached to the wall. Then the two hunters leave, leaving me alone with Tate.
The basement is dark, minus a candle Tate has lit on a small table. From that small light alone, I can see blood stains and claw marks on the old stone floor, and silver chains are hung from the ceiling and walls.
"I'm going to get every last bit of information out of you," Tate says menacingly as he takes a few steps closer to me. "Then I'm going to cut off your head and mount it on our border. That way, all of your demon friends will know that they will suffer the same fate."
The silver cuffs are stronger than the other silver restraints, and I struggle to keep my eyes open as it takes all my energy just to hold myself up. My head falls back against the cold, stone wall as the silver depletes my strength slowly and painfully. The only thing keeping me awake is the intense burning pain from the silver wrapped around my wrists.
"Oh, we had those cuffs made special for you wolves," Tate says, taking note of my pain. "It's the highest-grade silver in the world, paired with a few other metals. We had fun experimenting with it on other wolves we caught from your pack a few months ago."
My inner wolf snarls, and I wish with everything that I had the strength to fight. Then I feel Ruhn mindlink. "Kenna, what happened? I can feel your pain."
"They've... they've taken me to the dungeon," I say slowly, the words hard to form, even in my mind. "They want to... to question me."
"Dammit!" Ruhn growls. "I'm going to kill them when I reach you. Try to stall as long as you can. We see smoke in the distance, so we're close. Just hold on a little longer. Please. Hold on for me, Ken–"
A silver blade trails across my cheek, pulling me away from the mindlink.
"So... Luna," Tate says slowly, teasingly.
"How... do you know I'm the Luna?" I ask, my words sounding slurred.
Tate slaps me across the face... hard. "I'll be the one asking the questions."
My inner wolf growls, straining against the silver confines.
"Now," Tate continues, "why have you wolves been killing our women?"
"What?" I ask. "We... we haven't been killing... anyone."
"Over the past two months, five women from our town have been found with bite marks and their throats ripped out," Tate says angrily.
"As far as I know," I say groggily, trying my best to form a clear sentence, "no one from... our pack killed a human. We... we only kill humans who trespass... on our land. We don't go... go looking for them."
Tate glares at me, and then he nods, moving onto the next question. "When is the Chief planning to attack us?"
The Chief told Ruhn that we were going to attack next week.
"I... have no idea," I lie. "He... he had only shared that with Ruhn... and Ruhn hasn't told me... anything."
Tate reaches out and grabs my chin, squeezing it hard. It would hurt, if not for the overwhelming burning of my flesh from the silver bonds. "Liar. I saw how hard your Alpha fought when we captured you. I'm sure you could get him to tell you anything."
I cry out in pain when he draws out his knife and slices a deep cut across my forearm. Normally, I'd heal quickly, but the silver on my wrists and ankles prevents my wolf abilities from helping me, and I'm relieved when I hear Ruhn's voice in my head.
"Kenna, we've got the location in our sights, but we're swarmed by hunters," Ruhn says quickly.
"They want... to know when the Chief will attack," I manage to say through the pain.
"I know you're hurting," Ruhn says, his voice laced with emotion, "but you can't give them that information. It will ruin our element of surprise, especially now that we know where their compound is."
"I won't.... I won't say anything... but please hurry, Ruhn." My voice is weak when I say his name, and I can feel his anger in my bones.
"I promise, I'll reach you soon. Just stay strong for as long as you can, okay? I love you, Kenna."
"I—" I'm pulled out of the mindlink when Tate grabs my hair roughly and forces me to look at
him.
"So, Luna, are you going to tell me your attack plans?"
"I... I don't know any attack plans," I insist weakly. "I swear."
Tate slices the knife across my stomach, and I yell out in pain. "Stop! I... I don't know! I don't
know!"
Tate brings the knife close to me again, but just then, the wolf hunter who was talking to Tate earlier rushes down the stairs. "We've got movement on the perimeter. You need to get up here."
With a smirk, Tate takes a step back. "We'll continue this after I kill your Alpha."
They lock me in a cell on the far back wall that I didn't see, due to the light, and bind my hands with silver before leaving. When the basement door shuts behind them, I immediately mindlink with Ruhn. "I'm in a cell in the dungeon."
"We're inside the gates of the compound. It's surrounded, but I'm trying to sneak in. You seem stronger. I can feel it."
"They chained me with silver only on my wrists, so I'm not as weak, but he cut me, Ruhn– their leader. On my arm and across my stomach pretty deep."
I hear Ruhn's angry crowl and he curses. "I'm going to fucking kill them all."
"The leader said he was on his way to kill you," I add. "They were headed to the perimeter."
"Perfect," Ruhn says. "That's exactly where I want them. We killed a few wolf hunters to create
a diversion and draw them away from you."
"Your plan worked," I say, trying not to get too excited. "I'm all alone now."
"Are you still bleeding?" Ruhn asks.
"Not too bad," I answer, looking at my arm and down at my stomach. "The cut on my arm is
deeper, but I can't heal with the silver wrapped around me."
Ruhn lets out a growl that turns into a groan. "I wish it were me, Kenna. I would do anything in my power to switch places with you."
Suddenly, the human woman who was upstairs serving the men sneaks down into my cell with
a plate of food.
"I am so, so sorry," the young woman stutters. "I didn't realize they were going to hurt you like this, but I had never been so close to a wolf before, and I was just so scared–"
"Who are you?" I say sharply, rising to my feet and taking a step closer to her.
The young woman eyes me warily, keeping her distance. "My name is Drita." She sets the food
on the ground and takes a step back. I turn my head away, looking at the wall.
"You need to eat," Drita says.
"I'd rather you release this silver from my wrists," I say.
"I can't do that," Drita says with a firm shake of her head. "You'd kill me the first chance you get."
"No," I say with a shake of my head. "It's not you I'm after."
"We've had multiple humans killed by wolves," Drita continues. "I don't want to be one of them."
"I can assure you, I won't kill you if you decide to release me. You brought me food. Besides, I think you want to escape just as much as I do."
The woman peers at me in contemplation.
"But if you think a wolf killed so many of your people, why did you let Vargr be your leader?"
I ask.
The woman looks around as if afraid to speak, then leans in– still a safe distance away– and whispers, "We hate Vargr, but everyone is too afraid to go against him in a fight." Then she picks up the fork with a piece of chicken and moves it toward my mouth. "You need to eat and keep your strength."
Hesitantly, I take a bite of the chicken, just as Drita hears a noise and jerkily looks over her shoulder. Then she lets out a sigh of relief when no one comes.
"They don't know you're down here bringing me food, do they?" I ask.
"No," Drita shakes her head. "But it wouldn't be right to let you starve to death."
I take a moment to look at the woman as she picks up another piece of the chicken. She's small and frail, probably due to lack of food, and her blonde hair is dirty, her blue eyes dull and a bruise across her left.
"I know how brutal they can be," Drita continues, "which is why you need to eat."
I take another bite of the chicken, and then slump back down against the wall. Drita sighs and puts the fork down, crossing her legs as she sits on the floor on the other side of the bars.
"Can you take the silver off of me, please?" I ask slowly. "I promise I won't hurt you." I look into her eyes, trying to prove my honesty. Drita's eyes turn sad as she looks at where my hands are bound behind my back.
"I wish I could let you go, but I can't. They would kill me in an instant."
"I could help you, too," I insist. "If you help me, I wouldn't just leave you here to die."
Drita looks down at the ground, conflicted. I decide to change tactics, trying to earn her trust. "My name is Kenna."
"The hunters say you're the leader of the wolves," Drita says, looking up at me with interest.
"I lead along with my husband," I reply with a nod.
"That means you have power in your pack?" Drita asks, raising a brow. "People listen to you?"
"Yes," I nod. "They do."
Drita takes my words in, and I can tell she's considering how we can help each other. "We've heard stories about wolves' super-strength."
"That's true," I nod. "Wolves are much stronger than humans. We also have heightened sight, hearing, and smell."
I look at the purple bruise on Drita's left eye. "It doesn't look like you're treated well here."
Drita nods and her eyes shine with unshed tears. "I tried to resist coming here and was punished. Once humans began dying, the hunters came into our villages and forced us to fight. Anyone who resisted was killed."
"Has anyone considered that the increase in human deaths was to get more people to fight for the wolf hunters?" I ask curiously.
Drita's eyes fill with fear. "There have been whispers, but no one would dare say it out loud."
"And they say that we're demons," I add. "We would never kill one of our own for refusing to fight."
Drita looks into my eyes, and I can tell she's wondering if she can trust what I'm saying.
"So you're being kept here against your will?" I ask.
"Yes," she nods. "Many of us are. I don't even care about revenge against Tate and them anymore. I just want peace."
"Us wolves want the same thing," I say with a small smile. "There are some who are holding onto the past, but a lot of wolves want to move forward without you as enemies."
"I think a lot of humans would be open to peace talks," Drita nods slowly, "but they'll want revenge for the dead women."
"Then get this silver off of me, please," I say, gesturing to my back. "Helping me is the only way you can help yourself."
Drita hesitates, looking behind her to make sure no hunters are coming down the stairs. "I'll help you if you promise to take me with you and offer me protection."
"I do," I say with a nod. "I swear on my life."
I let out a sigh of relief when Drita grabs a set of keys from a hook on the wall, unlocks the cell door, and gently unlocks my cuffs. My knees are wobbly when I stand, and Drita offers me her shoulder for support.
"You're quite a bit stronger than all the other wolves after we've had silver on them," Drita says as I let go of her and roll out my aching shoulders, looking down at my wrists, red and burned. Suddenly, we both jump when we hear gunfire upstairs.
"Ruhn is here," I gasp, looking back at Drita. "We need to help him."
"Come on," Drita says, grabbing my arm and leading me through the basement until we reach the bottom of the stairs. Both of us freeze when the door swings open and heavy footsteps quickly descend. Drita darts behind a far wall and I move in front of her, ready to strike anything that comes at us.
"Kenna!" Ruhn roars, running right past me into the room, looking around frantically. "Where are you?"
"Ruhn!" I exclaim, rushing forward. He turns around, crossing the room to meet me in two quick strides and enveloping me in his arms. I bring my arms up around his neck and crash my lips onto him, feeling his strength moving through me. He holds me close for a moment, resting his head atop of mine before pulling back.
"I'm so damn glad you're okay. But now we need to move. I killed most of the hunters in the living room, but more were coming, so we're going to have to fight our way out of here."
He grabs my hand and moves to head back up the basement stairs, but Drita quickly stops him.
"No, not that way. There's a secret passage out of here."
Ruhn stops and stares Drita down, as if just realizing that she's been here. She winces under his hard gaze, but to her credit, she stands her ground.
"How do you know this?" Ruhn asks.
"I was here when they were covering it up," Drita replies.
"And why would you help us?"
"Because Kenna offered me her protection," Drita says, looking to me for confirmation. Ruhn looks down at me, and I nod, letting him know that she's telling the truth. Then he looks back at Drita with a small smile.
"Thank you for helping my wife, but I'm going to get us out of here my way."
Drita lets out a small sigh, but nods. "Fine. I can respect that you want to protect her."
I look between the two of them as they come to some sort of silent truce, and then Ruhn leads the way upstairs. He keeps Drita and I behind him as he opens the door and we follow him into the living room where I had been kept before, and we quickly make our way to the back door. Ruhn grabs my hand as we run across the side of the house and into the forest just as four wolf hunters jump in our path.
"I've got them, Kenna," Ruhn says quickly. "You and Drita don't have any weapons."
I nod and keep Drita close as Ruhn grabs his gun from his waist and shoots the four hunters. Manteo and Jelene are waiting for me and Ruhn when I get to the entrance of the passage to get back to our land. Manteo and Jelene both glare at Drita, ready to kill her.
"Who the hell is this?" Manteo demands, eyeing Drita suspiciously.
"This is Drita," I say quickly. "She's on our side. She helped me escape the wolf hunters."
"I don't care what she did," Manteo says, narrowing his eyes. "She's a human."
Suddenly a gunshot rings out and Drita falls to the ground, a scream escaping her lips. I drop down beside her in horror as blood starts to seep through her shirt from a bullet wound to her stomach.
"No!" I exclaim, looking around for any signs of the attacker. Anger clenches in my stomach and when I turn and see Vargr, my old Alpha– my father– standing one-hundred feet away from me with a gun pointed at Drita. He locks eyes with me, and then turns the gun and points it at me.
"Kenna, look out!"
YOU ARE READING
Hunting Midnight
Hombres LoboKenna's true identity has always been kept a secret. No one can know sho she truly is, or she would face the consequences of her evil stepmother. As the five wolf packs are becoming frequently attacked, Kenna is forced to marry her mortal enemy- the...
