Under A Latent Moon (A Werewolf Tale)

Chapter 10

Will

Will was a rogue hunter. A killer.

He'd come to accept that fact pretty well over the years, but at first it had been hard. How do you justify that killing another creature is okay? That stopping a heart, the intake of breath, and cutting the once thoughtful mind of a being is necessary?

But then he had been put into action, had seen the feral, out-of-their-right-mind wolves, and most of all, seen the damage that could happen if they weren't taken care of.

He'd witnessed that damage firsthand when his best friend had been killed.

After the horror and grief and disbelief of the attack passed, Will had gone back into training with a determination and strength others couldn't believe. He'd begun to work hard—even going as far as doing extra work outs at night on his own—and slowly sculpted a section of his mind dedicated to making sure that another attack like this one would never happen again.

He owed it to Mathias.

His parents didn't understand—they still didn't. Terry and Shawna Grey couldn't believe that their son would be so willing to throw himself into danger. Didn't he care about how they would feel? Didn't they see that this job could easily land him into a wooden box in a hole in the ground?

He'd almost let them talk him out of it too. The begging, the negotiating, the pleading, it started to be too much and right before he completed his third level training, he'd considered dropping the entire idea all together.

Then he thought of Harley.

If he'd been old enough, strong enough, he imagined himself defending his best friend's family. It wasn't his most rational thought, he knew, but it made him feel better to think that he would've done something if he could have. Since that wasn't an option, he'd joined up as a rogue hunter with the hopes he could help save other families and packs from the same fate.

He wasn't the only rogue hunter in the area, but oftentimes he got called on by other packs to assist with any potential situations. He didn't mind—it was his job after all. Except he'd be lying if he said he didn't feel frustrated at the somewhat constant traveling.

For a younger wolf, Will had acquired quite a bit of a record—one that almost shined. It had taken a lot of work, and a few scars, but he's made himself known around these parts.

He owed it all to Abe, his trainer, who was the best rogue hunter and enforcer this side of the world had ever seen. After he'd passed his level three general training here at the pack, he'd gone down south near Mississippi to study with Abe.

Which was also another reason he didn't have the best relationship with his parents. They couldn't understand why he had to leave pack to train and why it was so important he trained under Abe.

Yet Will knew—if he wanted to be the best, then he had to study under the best.

Of course, being a great rogue hunter still involved paperwork. Packs liked to keep records, not only of happenings, but also of the wolves under their care. Anytime Will went out and did a job he had to follow up with a report.

God, he hated reports.

The Little River pack had given him a month to send in a report on the feral wolf he'd taken out on their territory. It was a generous amount of time, considering the feral wasn't a wolf from their pack.