The Hunt is On

No More Need To Run

Exactly one day and four hours later, Titan and I were running side by side through the forest as fast as we could. My wrist was buzzing and blinking red again and for the final time. I wasn't surprised to see other people running in the same direction around us, but nobody was paying attention to anyone else.
We all wanted to finally get out of this Arena we had been stuck in for two whole weeks. I had never had a longer fourteen days in my whole nineteen years.

I was a few steps behind Titan, working to keep up with his long, fast strides. My legs were considerably shorter then his, so he had an advantage. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Aileen and Gage, Aileen slowing down long enough to wave at me. I shot a smile her way. Behind them was Ember, who was running next to Caia, someone I hadn't seen in a long time.
"Look Titan, that's Aileen and Caia!" My words were rushed, trying not to waste air on speaking. He turned his head in their direction, then moved quickly to avoid running into a tree. "Who's next to Aileen?" He asked, confused. I smiled.
"That's Gage, her mate."
"She has a mate? Since when?"
"Since yesterday."

Our pace hadn't slowed as we could now see the huge field we had first gathered at to enter the Arena through the trees. My wrist was still buzzing and flashing small red dots, and it was starting to get annoying. I didn't see any boundaries lining the trees like before so we didn't slow as we neared them, we just ran through the trees and into the grassy field.
I heard Ember cheer and I turned to see her hugging Caia, who apparently hadn't found her mate either. Caia saw me next to Titan and motioned between us with a frown on her face. I nodded and smiled and after a while so did she, turning to shove Ember and point at us. Ember nodded and waved at me, motioning me over.
"I'll be right back, I'm going to talk to Ember and Caia." I told Titan. He nodded, searching for someone as well. "I need to find Val, have you seen him?"
I shook my head. "Not since yesterday." Titan frowned and muttered something incoherent before turning and touching my arm. I looked at him and he kissed me again, making me blush. It didn't catch me by surprise quite so much this time, but at least I was able to kiss him back.
He smiled and pulled away, gently pushing me towards my friends. I went, jogging over to Ember who was laughing.

"Aww, you two are cute together."
"Shut up." I muttered. Caia laughed with Ember then reached out for a hug. I hugged her, glad to see her after the long time.
"What's going on with you, Caia?"
She told me what had happened to her throughout The Hunt, nothing much had occurred that was worth mentioning, she said. But she did mention the one time she had accidentally walked in on two mates marking each other, and she was pretty sure it was leading to something more then that. She told me she thought she was scarred for life, which I found hysterical.
After about fifteen minutes, apparently every werewolf was accounted for, and Alpha Alexander walked to the front of the crowd and raised his hand for silence. We quieted immediately.

"Welcome back, werewolves!" He greeted us with a smile that was very mutual but for different reasons.
"I trust that everyone had a wonderful experience over the past two weeks, and I can see some of you have found your mates!"
People cheered at this, and I had to join in with Aileen. Alpha Alexander smiled.
"We will shortly return you back to your hotels so you can gather your things. Different packs are leaving separately, so make sure you check with your Alpha so you don't miss you plane! Mates will have the chance to talk with each other and, if desired, you will have the option of going home with your mate."
The thought of that wasn't new to me, I had thought about it before. It wasn't a big problem for me to move in with Titan, our packs lived only a few hours away. Aileen was excited at this and Gage smiled at her and took her hand. But Alpha Alexander wasn't finished yet.
"Females! I am aware that all of you still have the device in your arms that we out there before this event started. If you come this way, you will get them removed and you will be able to leave with your pack."
He motioned us over to the left where, like before, people stood waiting to take our arms and extract our devices. The procedure didn't hurt as much as when we got our devices, but Aileen still had a hard time letting the women take her arm.