Chapter Nineteen: The Hunter

Boone can’t blame Zephron for wanting to rip his brother’s head off. He had just shot her, after all. And he knows his brother all too well, his only thoughts were what he could do with her pelt. He was the only one of the family who got his kicks from skinning the werewolves and using their fur for blankets, shoes, coats, whatever they needed, to keep warm.

Boone had always found it disgusting and disrespectful to the magnificent creatures. Now that he knows that wolves aren’t the enemy, they had thought them to be, he felt sick to his stomach. He has never used anything his brother has made, but he had never stopped him either.

Zephron let go of the hunter’s throat and backed off him, still growling.

Tucker sat up and felt his throat. There were no puncture marks. He scurried for his rifle, but the other wolf was too fast.

The wolf picked up the rifle with his large mouth and with a shake of his head, pulled it away from Tucker. He then walked over to Boone and laid the rifle at Boone’s feet, then walked over to his Alpha and whimpered, as he headbutted her side. Boone bent down and picked up the rifle.

“Go find Raye.” Sammy whispered with a faint cry.

“No.” Monty said with a shake of his large head.

“Please Monty. She needs you.” Sammy said as she looked at him.

“So, do you.”

She shook her massive head. “Boone will help me, now go.”

With a whimper, Monty took off in search of their lost wolf.

“They’re getting away!” Tucker hollered as he got to his feet.

“Stay where you are.” Boone said as he held the rifle at his brother.

Tucker looked at his youngest brother with a frown. “You dare point a rifle at me? Your brother?”

“You shot her when I asked you not to.” Boone said with a growl.

“What has gotten into you, Brother? We kill them, we don’t coddle them.”

“That was before I found out that they’re not all bad. Our family has always only cared that they were different, no one stopped to see what made them so different.” Boone said as he cocked the rifle when his brother took a step towards him.

“Boone, what are you talking about? They’re beasts. If we don’t kill them, they will kill us. You saw how it attacked me.”

“You shot her! You threatened her pack! Of course, she attacked you. But did you not notice she didn’t tear your head off? She didn’t even puncture your skin.” Boone said as he looked at his brother’s neck.

“What are you, team werewolf now?” Tucker asked as he stared at his brother. Their parents had let him stay on his own, for too long.

“She and her pack are pure werewolves, Tucker. They don’t kill.” Boone said as he glanced at Zephron, who was watching them intently, making sure Tucker didn’t hurt her mate. He smiled at the thought of his own werewolf bodyguard.

“You like her.” Tucker said as he spit on the ground.

“I love her.” Boone admitted.

“God Boone, you disgust me.”

“You’re the one who has always disgusted me. You don’t care about anything. You are always looking for the perfect pelts, to make your stupid blankets.”

“It gets cold when you’re out hunting the beasts, so sue me for wanting to keep my family warm.” Tucker said with a growl.

“I have always seen how you look at the wolves, you see their fur, you don’t see them.” Boone accused. “You never see the fear in their eyes, or hear their pain, as you cut into them…” Boone stopped talking as he closed his eyes. How many times has his brother sliced them open for their pelts, when they were still alive?

“They’re creatures who don’t deserve to live among humans…”

“Ever think that we don’t deserve to live among them!?” Boone hollered. “After all, they were here first!”

Boone has done a lot of research since he fell in love with a Werewolf Alpha. And had found that the wolves were here, long before normal humans, and Hunters like him were born to keep the peace, not destroy a race. But the humans had gotten jealous of the wolves and other supernatural beings and started hunting them.

“You are not my brother.” Tucker said with a growl.

“I am sorry you feel that way.” Boone said with a frown.

“You betrayed your family.” Tucker said as he spit towards Boone.

“We all betrayed ourselves, long ago.” Boone said with a sigh.

“Whatever, Boone, I hope you’re happy with your pack of werewolves because I promise you, I will be back, and I’ll have backup next time.” Tucker said as he started to back away.

“I really wish you wouldn’t.” Boone said with a frown.

“You scared for your little whore there?” Tucker asked with a laugh.

Sammy growled at the word whore.

“No, I’m afraid for my family. You don’t know what you’re getting yourself into here.”

Tucker laughed. “Don’t worry about us, little brother, it seems you have chosen your side.” He said, then turned and ran through the woods.

Sammy went to follow, and Boone put out a hand. “Let him go.”

Sammy turned to her mate with a whimper, then collapsed to the ground.

“Sammy.” Boone cried out as he ran to the large wolf.

The wolf transformed as Boone knelt beside her.

“Boone.” Sammy said with a cry as she placed her hand to her shoulder.

“It’s okay. The silver won’t hurt an Alpha, just sting like hell.” Boone said as he set the rifle on the ground and lifted her onto his lap.

“It burns.” She cried against his shoulder.

“It’s okay, I have you.” He whispered as he rocked her.

They heard the howls from her pack and sighed. They were both alright and headed back to them.

“I’m sorry.” Sammy said with a cry.

“For what?” He asked as he looked down at her.

“For almost ripping your brother’s head off. Zephron was so pissed, I didn’t have much control over her.”

Boone smiled. “She was hurting.”

Sammy nodded as Zephron howled in her head.

“I’m sorry my brother shot you.” He said as he rocked her.

She sighed. “Crazy family you have there, Zimmer.”

He laughed softly. “Yeah, tell me about it.”

“I’m glad you didn’t turn out like them.” She said with a sigh.

“You and me both.” He said as he kissed the top of her head.

Monty and Raye rejoined them and whimpered as their noses butted their Alpha.

“I’ll be okay.” Sammy said as she rubbed their fur. “I promise.”

Both wolves tilted their heads back and howled. Sammy sighed as she leaned against Boone. The rest of the full moon, Sammy spent healing, while her wolves played silently beside them. Silver may not kill her, but it slowed down her healing. The burning had stopped, and the wound was almost fully closed. She looked up at her mate with a smile. He had given up his family for her. They were a true pack.

For what is an Alpha without a pack?

~*~

Sammy sat in homeroom class, staring at the wall. She and her pack hadn’t gotten much sleep last night, and they all looked like they had been dragged through hell and back. That hadn’t been the way she had hoped to meet her mate’s family.

Sammy sighed as she tried to listen to the teacher. She couldn’t hear anything the woman was saying. Memories of last night kept replaying in her mind. She had almost torn the head off Boone’s brother.

“Miss Prescott.”

Sammy shook her head and looked at the teacher. When had they gotten into math class?

“Can you please solve this?” The teacher asked as she held a piece of chalk out to her.

Sammy took a deep breath as she took the chalk and walked up to the chalkboard. Her teachers were always trying to stump her. Sammy cleared her mind and solved the math problem, then turned to the teacher. Her teacher actually had a smug look on her face.

“That is wrong, Miss Prescott.”

Sammy’s eyebrows furrowed. She knows her answer is correct, maybe the question was wrong.

Sammy turned back to the chalkboard and looked at it.

She heard the teacher give her the correct answer and heard several kids snickering. Sammy studied the problem. Her answer to this problem is correct, the question is all wrong. She wrote the correct question beside it, then turned to the teacher.

“My answer was correct; the question was wrong. If you were looking for the answer to match your question, your problem should have read like this.” Sammy said as she pointed to the correct version of the problem, she had laid out. “Then you would get the answer you wanted.” She said as she showed the teacher the answer under her problem.

The teacher studied the board then looked at Sammy. “You may take your seat now.”

Sammy smiled as she set the chalk in the tray and went back to her seat.

“What was that?” Raye asked as she leaned towards Sammy.

“That is a true Alpha.” Monty said with a laugh. “You’ve always been too smart, why are you here?” Monty asked as he eyed his Alpha.

“Because I like to look at boys.” Sammy answered honestly.

Boone turned in his seat to look at her, then looked over at Monty and Raye. Raye laughed, understanding what she was saying.

“All girl schools suck.” Raye said with a nod, not that she’s ever been to one.

The bell rang, and they headed to their last class. As they walked, they talked about what they were going to do tonight. It was the full moon and Raye was going to be transforming for the second time, but this time, with the full power of the moon.

“I think as long as you stay with her, it won’t be so bad.” Monty said with a nod to his Alpha.

Raye smelled something strange in the air. It was new, yet familiar, and it smelled…good.

“Excuse me.” She said as she headed for the doors.

“What is she doing?” Sammy asked as she watched her friend leave the school.

“Is she sniffing the air?” Boone asked as he watched Raye leave.

Sammy and Monty looked at each other than sniffed the air.

“Crap.” Sammy said with a growl as she chased after Raye.

“Bastard.” Monty grunted as he followed Sammy.

“Okay, can you two tell me what’s going on?” Boone asked as he caught up to them.

“The werewolf, he’s here.” Sammy said as she sniffed the air again.

“What werewolf?” Boone asked as he turned in a circle to watch for anyone to jump out at them.

“The one who turned Raye.” Monty said as he sniffed the air again.

“Shit.” Boone grumbled as he followed them through the quad, sniffing the air for the werewolf’s scent.

~*~

Raye stopped when she saw a man standing by a wall, watching her.

“You’re prettier than I remembered.” He said as he pushed off the wall.

“What are you?” Raye asked as she backed away.

“I’m happy to see you survived the venom. You don’t know how many girls were too weak. And you survived your first transformation.” He said as he looked her up and down.

“It was you.” Raye said as she covered her mouth with both hands.

The man moved to her so fast, Raye couldn’t have escaped if she had wanted to.

“You can call me, Master.” He said as he lifted her off her feet and tossed her over his shoulder. “We must be going; your friends have caught my scent.”

“I’m not going anywhere with you.” Raye said as she pounded on his back.

“You don’t get it, do you? I turned you, so that makes you mine. Don’t worry, I don’t have any others right now. Hunters came to my place last night and killed them all. I barely got away. But now I have you.”

“No!” Raye screamed as he carried her away.

“Raye!” Sammy hollered when they saw the man carrying her.

“Sammy!” Raye called out as she looked up and saw her friends, her pack, chasing after them.

“Looks like it’s time for us to disappear.” The man said as he opened a sewer grate and tossed her into it, then jumped down and covered the grate back.

“Let me go.” Raye said as she stumbled to her feet.

“Shh.” He said as he placed a finger to his lips.

“I will not! Sammy! Down here!” She started screaming and the man covered her mouth with his hand.

“I didn’t want to have to do this.” He said with a sigh.

She cried out as his hand came down on the back of her neck, knocking her out.

He lifted her into his arm and found his way through the sewers.