The Half-Blood (BOOK 1 OF THE HIDDEN KINGDOMS SERIE)

The Hunt

 I ran as fast as I could. At any moment, the horn would sound a second time. Through my peripheral vision, I realized that the rest of the females were separating from each other. Maeve was running alongside me.

With every step we took, the forest awaited us with open arms, eagerly waiting for us to fall into the traps that it held. The density of its green blanket obscured the surface. The sun was still out, but here, running into the heart of the forest, it was as if the shadows were coming to life. I couldn't help but shiver at one point. Not when it felt as if the shadows themselves were watching over us. A thought I dismissed immediately. There were more important things to worry about.

The second horn whistled.

The Hunt has just begun.

I watched Maeve, making sure she was still by my side when the first scent of one of them reached me. How could they be so quick? The howl of one of them filled the air, a sign that one of them had smelled the scent of one of the females. I didn't know precisely how fast we were running. I couldn't think clearly. A blow to my side caught me by surprise, causing me to stagger and fall sideways against one of the trees.

I immediately stood up on all fours. The wolf in front of me growled maliciously, waiting to pounce on me. I knew its first move was to lunge at my neck and grab it, a sign of dominance that would never happen if it wasn't for the last second when I dodged its bite. He was strong... I just wanted to get rid of him. We kept fighting: he for the power to tame me and me to run away. In a struggle with our teeth and claws, I fell backward, and at that moment, he took the opportunity to grab me by the neck, and when I thought I had lost, my sister's voice made me look for her. I felt nothing. I didn't feel any grip.

The scumbag's teeth were gone.

"Sorry it took me so long, but I got mine, too." When I looked at Maeve again, I saw a wolf cub rubbing up against her legs. "Let's go."

We kept running for a few more long minutes. We had to stop to look at the map and keep going. We came to a narrow rocky gorge where a small waterfall ran down. I commanded Nealie to let me free.

"I think this place will be suitable for us to rest for a while. Maybe we can hide here and let time pass a little bit?" Maeve suggested.

"We can't stay here that long, any of them will smell us at some point, and it will be harder to escape. They will be on to us." With a sigh, I looked around us. We couldn't stay long in this part of the forest. It was not strategic. And there were only two ways out.

We couldn't risk being cornered. Maeve took out the map from her little bag.

"Look, we have to cross this valley here to get to this river. I guess it's about eight miles from where we are now to the river, and then we have to go a little more than a mile to get to this strait."

"Shit, that's pretty far away," I said, feeling exhausted already.

We lie on the soil. I rested my bareback on one of the enormous stones covered with mold. The rays of sunlight still did not reach the ground. The massive stone walls prevented the natural heat of the day from entering the narrow space where we were sheltering ourselves.

"Someone got us into this game of beasts," Maeve began to say. Her green eyes focused on the water running on the ground.

"The question is why?"

"Who would be the target, you or me?" Maeve furrowed her brow, adjusting her position at the same time. "My ass is sore from sitting here."

I scoffed at her last comment. "Maybe it's you they want. But I don't know why I get the feeling it's me."