The Hunter and The Prey

If I can't have you, you can't have her or Anyone!

Stephens POV

On the way back to my house, I thought back to when Bryan had been sent to me. My brother, the alpha, Max, from the Wisconsin pack, had sent him to me when he was about 16. Max had said to me on the phone, "His father was killed by another pack and he's angry all the time, trouble making. I can't get through to him. You have more patience than I do, and you're my last hope. If you can't get through to him, I'm going to have to ban him from the pack. I don't want to do that."

Bryan had been just a pup the last time I saw him. Now, I barely recognized him with his long raven hair, gold skull in his ear lobe, torn jeans and his Death Angel Tee shirt. His face looked bored, and he had headphones on his ears as he exited the bus. The Lycan scent told me it was him as there were no other Lycans on the bus.

"Hey, Bry!" I raised my hand in greeting.

His eyes darted right towards me as he meandered in my direction. Reluctantly, he removed his headphones. "Stephen?"

"Yes, you've grown up, Bryan."

He rolled his eyes. "You don't have to pretend. I know I'm here to get my ass kicked and get sent back with my tale behind between my legs."

Ignoring the disrespect for the moment, I put my arm around his neck leading him to my truck. "So why is Max so angry with you? He must be pretty fed up to send you here?"

"Yeah, I got kicked out of school, and the last straw was that I set fire to some old house. It was empty, but anyway there's a whole list of stuff." He got in the truck, sitting with his arms folded.

I started up the truck having a deep sigh. "So why are you doing all this stuff?"

"They blame me for my dad's death. My dad had gone to defend me to another pack. One of their girls accused me of raping her." His lips twisted.

I frowned and looked at him hard. "Did you?"

"Of course not!"

I knew he was lying and that his pack must know about it. His scent had made a distinct change at that last statement. When a person is deceitful, their odor has a subtle change that Lycans can detect. His father probably overlooked it, not wanting to believe something like that from his son. Once the father had stood up for him, the pack had to protect and defend that lie which had been the reason the father had died. Bryan's actions had made them enemies with Max's pack. I was surprised he hadn't already been banned, and I knew this was his last shot. I wished that Max had been honest with me. I gave him a sharp glare.

"You don't believe me," he accused as I pulled into my driveway.

Smirking at him, "I can smell your deceit. It's no wonder no one in your pack trusts or likes you. Why did you do this? You might as well be honest with me."

"Okay! She was a slut, a cock tease! Every time we went out, she was so hot for it and was all over me, but as soon as I started to get hot and heavy she'd pull back and make some excuse. She did this several times, and I just couldn't take it anymore. So, I took her." His shoulders slumped down some, and I could tell he was telling the truth this time. Maybe there was some hope for him.

"Okay, Bryan. You start with a clean slate here. Nobody will know anything about this here, except me. Maybe you can even join my pack if you don't want to go back home. But you need to behave yourself. That doesn't mean you have to be perfect, but if you break our laws, I will be forced to take action and inform Max as well. Do you understand? This is a second chance for you."

Slowly, Bryan nodded, and there were tears in his eyes. "Thanks, Stephen. I'll change. I promise."

As the days went by, Bryan did seem to be different. He followed me around like a lost puppy dog. I didn't mind his company. It had been a while since I had a kid in the house. We spent some time fishing or playing some pool at the local bar in town. He was too young to drink, but his being there was okay since he was with me. In the evenings, I liked to change and go on the hunt. Bryan would come along, and we'd make a game of it. The winner got to pick a TV show for the night. I sent emails to Max about his behavior. Max didn't seem convinced though.