Alpha's Hunt

17. Dance in the rain

"Don't you ever get tired of working?" I ask, pulling my knees to my chest

"No." Luke says, not taking his eyes off the little notebook he was writing on. How the hell can he see in such dim light?

"Why is this hunt so important to you?" I ask softly

Luke stops writing, I sense the tension in the air, held by silence like delicate glass. Luke puts back his notebook and pen.

"Why is leaving the pack so important to you?" he asks me

"Well," I avert my eyes, looking at the falling rain "I don't necessarily want to leave the pack. I just want... respect, freedom. If that means leaving, so be it."

"Similarly," Luke says "I want peace."

"Winning will give you peace?"

"Yes."

I open my mouth to ask how so? But then close it. all of us have our own reasons and whatever his reason maybe, I'll respect his drive.

In the falling rain, under a tree that didn't provide much shelter, in the dead of the night, I feel a little window open in my heart. Maybe Luke and I aren't so different after all. We're both working for things in ways that might seem strange to others, but make sense to us.

I stand up from my place, aware of Luke's gaze on me. I grin at him and offer him a hand.

"Come dance in the rain with me."

Luke looks at my hand, as if I've laid the moon out on my palm. Then he looks at my face, his own unreadable.

"No way in hell am I doing that."

With a shrug, I withdraw my hand. I leave the shelter of the tree and a gasp escapes my mouth when rain falls on me like a bucket of ice water. As a werewolf, though our senses are heightened, so is our resilience. No rain has given me goosebumps ever before.

I look over my shoulder at Luke "It's a golden chance."

"I'm good," he says plainly

I turn around and start walking backwards with my face at him "Oh come on, it's fu—

Words evaporate on my tongue as my own squeal interrupts me. My feet slip on the muddy ground and I fall face first in a ditch.

Not a moment later, I hear a booming laughter. Sudden, unexpectedly cackling. I wipe the mud off my face, my wide eyes on the unbelievable sight in front of me. Luke Winters, the most monotonous, stern person alive is laughing.

"You're such an asshole," I say despite my smile

"That was gold," Luke says, his laughter coming to an end

I take a fist full of mud and throw it at him, my aim is apparently amazing because it catches him straight in the face.

A laugh bubbles past my lips as I stare at his stunned face, mud dripping from it in ugly bits. Luke wipes his face, his features hard as stone before he storms towards me.

"Luke, back off," I hurriedly stand up and take a step back, a ridiculous grin on my face

"Why?" He asks "I thought you wanted me to come enjoy the weather."

He lungs for me, I step away just in time, another laugh escapes me. Not even a moment later, a warm hand grabs my arm and pulls me back. Luke's other arm wraps around me, holding me prisoner.

"You really can't be a hunter," He says

"You know how the game ends, Hazel." Luke says, his own eyes dead serious  "Now I'm going to kill you."

My eyes widen and I stare at his dead serious face, lost for words.

Then his lips twitch upward.

"You asshole!" I punch him hard across the chest but Luke simply lets me go

"You really thought I'd kill you?" He says nonchalantly as he goes back to the tree

"Well, No, but," I hear a small chuckle and glare at his back

We both sat down in our previous spots but I glare at Luke again. He pats my head, the action so sudden and strange my expression falters.

"You're too paranoid for your own good," he says with a shake of his head. When he meets my eyes again, I see something other than a storm of thoughts, something like... acceptance? His next words prove me right.

"But you're alright, Hazel."

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Sneak peek:

Luke's POV

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