His Nala

Chapter Two

It would be easier to die in the flames of wild forest fire than to even imagine being a part of hunting season when the Lycans were included.

They weren't feared for no reason. They were... Mystical, morbid, strange, extremely powerful, and wiser than any werewolf I came across. They were the oldest species in the world, so old we weren't even sure if they were made by the Moon Goddess or if the Moon Goddess was their child. Their kind could survive through anything. Even a hunting season created by themselves.

And to find out that the majority of members included in the Lycans' hunting season were criminals convicted to death sentences wasn't doing in my favor.

I was the youngest of them all, barely made it to my twenty-fifth birthday this February, the chubbiest which meant I couldn't run for as long as they could, and definitely was among a few females that got into the hunting season.

Some of the females were optimistic – thinking some Lycan would pick them as their Mates. Except, never in my existence have I ever heard of a Lycan having a Mate.

Mates were for werewolves, humans, vampires, fairies, unicorns, and other non-existent creatures, but not for Lycans.

The hunting season was so much different than any I've ever heard of.

The land was mapped to be a huge labyrinth made of the thickest stones I've ever seen – which only made me more nervous because if they could lift such a big stone, they could crush my Beast out of me literally. The thick forest that was throughout the labyrinth couldn't be used as a hiding spot since the spring didn't start yet, and I could smell so much blood coming through the entrance from the labyrinth I wanted to vomit.

My mother was in tears ever since Arthur announced what kind of hunting season was this year, and my father wanted to talk to me but I was very good at avoiding people.

I was so good at avoiding everything in my life, that if I was so good at finding my Mate I wouldn't be at the hunting season.

''You're going to be alright,'' Naomi spoke, standing by my side, being the only family member I had decided to bring with me.

She couldn't know that. Everyone in the pack knew I was going to die – although they didn't say that out loud, I could see that in their eyes when I would pass by them. Even males that were teasing me before didn't even look at me for the last few days before the hunting. They knew they would be talking to a dead person.

I nodded to her reassurance, not moving my gaze from the entrance.

The thick stones were from both sides, some stained with blood that smelled like humans', and others dirty with mud. The darkness that was coming from within the labyrinth was so dark I couldn't see past seven feet from entering it.

My Beast was trying to keep herself down. She knew her shoulders would fit past through the thin path.

I began reading the rules on the entrance as if that would calm me down.

ONE CAN COME IN.

TWO CAN'T WALK TOGETHER.

THREE WON'T LAST LONG.

FOUR WILL BE EASIER TO HUNT.

FIVE ARE SECTIONS.

SIX ARE SAVE SPOTS.

SEVEN ARE THE MOST DANGEROUS PARTS.

EIGHT WILL HOURS LAST.

NINE LYCANS WILL COMPETE.

TEN SURELY WON'T SURVIVE.

I counted all of the members of the hunting. There were eighteen of us. Which meant at least half of us will die by being hunted by nine Lycans for eight hours in a tight space. All I could pray is to find one of six save spots and hide there for those hours.

''Stick to a lake.'' Naomi gave me a piece of advice. ''And don't change, your smell is easy to track.''

People have always said I had a unique scent whenever I'd Change, so I wasn't foolish enough to even try to let my Beast take full control – neither was my Beast.

She wanted us to survive. To be among the rare ones. Even though we weren't truly ready to fight a Lycan, she believed in us.

A male dressed all in black, with slick black hair, walked to the entrance and faced us. His face was cold, his scent even chillier in my nostrils, and the power he was sending through my Beast's bond made him officially the first person my Beast was afraid of.

Lycan. I simply knew he was Lycan.

I tried comforting myself by embracing myself around my belly.

''Listen up, pups!'' He already had our attention. ''There has been a changed plan. Ten Lycans will be hunting, one of them being the Lord.''

Everyone gasped, and I stayed silent.

I knew what that meant, I wasn't an idiot.

While we called our Pack leaders by Greek letters, they called their main Lycans by titles.

The King and the Queen were the ones who are mainly in the power of all their Packs, something that we didn't have, and something that made them much more powerful since they weren't even trying to kill each other for territory as we did.

The Princes and Princesses were the King's and Queen's children. To my knowledge, there were only three Princes, all worse than another, and power powerful than I could even imagine.

And then there were Lords and Ladies, the ones who lead their Packs, the ones who couldn't even be seen among normal folks. The ones who were capable of killing a dozen of werewolves by one move.

''Oh, my Goddess...'' Naomi squeezed my forearm and pulled me into an embrace. All I could do is pray I'll ever again feel another being's touch.

I heard some of the females crying, the optimism they had long gone.

If a Lord needed a mate, he would have found her outside the hunting season. He was probably coming for blood, for something to play with for the next eight hours.

I just hoped he didn't come to play with my bones as a toothpick.