The Selected

Once Upon a Time

Two Years Ago

Three years after joining the Ravage Pack, two years after killing Michael, and I still felt like I was living on a high. That high only felt better as I zipped through the woods in wolf form, taking in every little detail as I ran my patrol round of pack territory. 

It was cold out, the first snow of December had decided to stick to the ground, so my paws were cold and wet as I ran, but my movement and fur kept me warm for the most part. It didn't bother me anyway, though, not when the snow adorned the forest so well and made it look so pretty. As opposed to everyone else, I loved running patrol, because it gave me a break from training pack members and gave me the opportunity to see nature's beauty. 

I let out a wolfish snort, knowing that if Conrad heard those thoughts he'd laugh himself hoarse and tell me to stop being so frilly, but then I'd ultimately win that argument by reminding him that he's always the one who wants to watch sappy romance movies. 

Once I'd circled back and completed my patrol round and found nothing out of the ordinary, I shifted next to my bag of clothes hanging in the tree and quickly pulled on my coat and shoes. While being a werewolf might keep me warm, it isn't a cure all and I definitely still need my winter coat in the snow. 

I was ready to head back towards the pack house and get some lunch when the smell hit me; human, and yet different. It was a scent I'd never smelled before and before I could fully process it, I was slammed into from behind. 

Reacting quickly thanks to years of training, I was able to fling my attacker off of me and jump to my feet, finding the attacking man to do the same. 

He had short, cropped blond hair and muddy brown eyes, a beard slightly grown out as if he hasn't had access to a razor in a while. More noticeable were the three scars running across the side of his face--claws. His clothes were a bit dirty, as well as his face and neck, but I could make out a tattoo of two arrows crossing over each other on his neck. Most startling about him, though, aside from the wicked long silver knife in his hands, was the wild look in his eyes. 

"Hello doggie," He cooed like a mad man. 

I growled at him, at the fact that there was a goddamn hunter on my pack lands, "You're dead, hunter." 

His eyes glimmered with anticipation and I lunged forward, aware of his knife and ready to knock it out of his hand when he moved with inhuman speed out of my way. I sniffed instead of gaping, and I could smell he was human... ish. There was just something slightly off about his scent that I couldn't place. 

This time he charged forward, slicing with a deadly arc of his blade. I barely managed to step back and block it with my forearm, which he slashed across. I hissed and stumbled back as blood seeped from the wound, skin burning from the silver blade. Yeah, humans definitely are not that fast or strong. 

He came at me again, but I was ready this time and managed to knock him to the side, kicking his back and sending him careening into a tree. Only, he didn't smash headfirst into the tree as I had hoped. He caught himself and whirled to me with a wicked grin on his face, that manic look still in his eyes now accentuated. 

The sound of paws on snow reached my ears and I smothered my smile of excitement and relief that help was coming so we could take down this bastard, but the hunter's eyes flicked behind me as if he, too, could hear them. 

And as the wolf behind me neared, the hunter grinned, "I'll see you later." 

He sent the knife flying, but not at me, at the wolf behind me. I heard a yelp and saw that it had hit the wolf in the shoulder, but it wasn't fatal. I spun back around to find that the hunter had vanished and I swore lowly. 

Go after him or help the wolf? 

As if hearing my thoughts, the wolf shifted back to human form and I realized it was Sebastian, my friend since we had both joined the pack during the same Selection cycle. He groaned and cradled his shoulder as blood poured from it, the knife dislodging during his shift. 

Rushing to him, I placed pressure on his wound and mind-linked for medical assistance before reassuring him that he'd be fine. They arrived minutes later and carried him on a stretcher to the hospital wing of the pack house while I headed straight for Conrad's office.

 Not bothering to knock, I walked in and ignored his irritated glare, which faded as he took in my blood on my arm and Sebastian's blood covering my hands and clothes, "What the hell happened?" 

"There was a hunter," I explained, "the bastard got away. He was fast as hell, Connie, way faster than any human has any right to be. He didn't smell completely human, either, and he had this weird tattoo on his neck of two arrows crossing." 

Conrad paled at the description of the hunter and I rose a brow at him, "Do you know something about this?" 

He didn't answer, just walked to his cabinets along the wall and began sorting through files in there. I stared at his back in surprise. He never kept things from me, no matter what it was, he always told me everything, but now he chooses not to talk? 

"Connie, what is it?" Nothing. "Seriously, you need to tell me now." No response. "You're freaking me the fuck out, now answer me!" 

"Here!" He finally roared, thrusting the file he'd just pulled out into my hands. "They're an extremist group of hunters. They're basically a supernatural breed on their own, designed to hunt and kill supernatural creatures. They won't stop until every last one of us is dead." 

I didn't let the information shake me and barely glanced at the file as I said, "But he fled, he didn't kill me." 

Conrad swallowed, glanced at the gash on my arm nervously, before looking back into my eyes, "Then you've been marked, Addie."