Hunted [ Completed ]

ONE [Riley]

Two weeks before the Moonbinding.

The door clicked loudly behind me, the sleek black car speeding off before I had time to look back. Standard practice. Drop the stray and get away before anything else can go wrong.

I don't blame them at all; self-preservation is our first nature.

Wind cuts through the pines as the driver pulls away, gravel kicking up behind it. No goodbye, no glance back—just a black spot in the distance. Within seconds I am alone, hovering on the border of what is to be my new home.

My tenth home in my short eighteen years.

I grit my teeth through the sharp pang of rejection and square my shoulders. The strap cuts into my shoulder, supporting a small bag containing everything I own. I never stayed long enough to get comfortable and accumulate my own things.

The scent hits before I can step forward. Pine sap, iron and something sharp with dominance that makes me want to step backwards—but I don't, instead taking a step forwards.

If being around multiple packs has taught me one thing, it's that fear will get you eaten up alive.

I don't let out a breath as a dark figure steps out among the tree line; their hands dug deeply into their pockets. They are large with firm shoulders and a sharp jawline—but not the owner of the scent who had made me hesitate just seconds prior.

So, they were hovering then, testing me to see how I react. I don't blame them either, a stray is not usual for our kind.

I clear my throat loudly, pointedly, and take a step towards the stranger.

His hair is a muddy russet colour, and his eyes narrow as I continue to approach him—sizing me up, calculating the threat I pose. Which, if I am doing it correctly, should be little to none.

Blend in, don't be a threat, survive.

"Riley Ashbourne?" His voice is deep and void of any emotion.

I nod once, sharply but he does not give me the pleasure of an introduction.

"You're early," he states simply, looking behind me as if he expects more to emerge.

"Traffic was light," I joke dryly, he and I both well aware that there is no traffic all the way out here, deep in the forest. They had dropped me off hours before my expected time, as if they couldn't wait to be rid of me. They likely thought they'd hit a luck when another pack offered to take me in.

He doesn't react but steps sideways, holding a tanned hand out in front of him, gesturing for me to head down the stone path in front of him. Unsurprisingly he won't allow his back to me and I step forward, keeping my head dipped low in compliance.

The breeze carries the harsh scent past my face again and I lift my head to scan the trees around me. My escort steps close behind me, likely watching my every move as the trees begin to thin out ahead of us. If he notices the scent, he doesn't let on and his footsteps stop short behind me.

"Here," he instructs, making me stop and look at him. Up a small, winding dirt path is a small cabin. "This is yours for the time being."

I frown, looking back over my shoulder in the way we had been heading. There are no other cabins in sight.

"I am here alone?" I ask, shifting the strap up higher on my shoulder.

He nods once.

"You don't want to keep an eye on me?" I probe further, stepping onto the path towards the wooden structure.