The Alpha's Hunter

Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Hailey

I honestly have no clue why I even agreed to talk to him after school. It was just that the look he gave me, the desperate look that made me feel like I was the only thing that mattered to him-- it got to me. And suddenly I found myself craving it. I pursed my lips. How could a werewolf, an Alpha at that, be making me feel like this? I was losing it, that's what it is. I was becoming completely certifiable. My having any feelings for Chase was just wrong. 

But, then, why did it feel so right? 

I jumped as the final bell rang, snapping me back into reality. Rushing out of the room, I sped to my locker and gathered everything that I needed. Closing it, I turned to leave but jumped and let out a squeal when I found Chase standing right there. 

He placed a sheepish grin on his face, "So, you ready?" 

Averting my eyes from his, I nodded and followed him out of the building. We walked past the parking lot and, as he promised, we were taking a walk around. We had been walking aimlessly for five minutes and had just turned down a path through the woods when he finally spoke, "So, uh, do you-- do you have any questions?" 

"A lot, actually," I mumbled and I noticed how his steps became slightly more upbeat. I wouldn't look at him, only at the ground ahead of us. 

"What are your questions then?" He questioned once again. 

Halting, it took him a couple steps to realize I had stopped and he turned around, facing me. Bringing my head up, my eyes locked with his and I could see the pleading in his eyes. Swallowing a lump in my throat, perhaps even my pride, I brought myself to ask him a question, "How?" 

He furrowed his brows, "How what?" 

"How is all of this even possible? Werewolves, I mean, those are things I read about in story books," I trailed off, making sure that the word werewolf rolled off my tongue unnaturally, and not like I had known about them for years and have hunted them down for nearly just as long. 

"Well," he started, "the Werewolf, also known as the Lycanthrope, originated from Europe. Specifically, Lycaon, the King of Arcadia. It was said that he doubted Zeus and his abilities, and so he threw a feast for the God, but fed him human meat to test his omniscience. Zeus, infuriated with the trick, blasted the kingdom with lightning bolts, but not before casting a spell upon Lycaon and his sons that turned them into wolves. Over time, Lycaon and his sons learned how to shift back and forth between their human and wolf forms. So they became known as shapeshifters, and they were the first Lycanthropes." 

I had heard that myth before, and it may be true, but it seemed ridiculous. Zeus? Seriously? Instead, though, I played dumb, "But isn't that just a myth?" 

Chase shook his head, "For as long as our people can remember, that's the truth. That's how lycanthropes came to be." 

"Okay," I trailed off, but started back up again, "So what about that whole full moon thing? Do you really, uh, shift, I guess, uncontrollably and attack everything in sight?" 

Of course, I already knew the answer to this. 

He chuckled, "No, we aren't savages. The full moon makes us stronger, yes, but we don't go crazy and blood-thirsty or anything. We have a special link to the moon, though, seeing as though Selene, the Greek moon goddess was the one who taught Lycaon and his sons to shift. She took pity on them, you see, and she always had it out to one-up Zeus." 

"Wow, okay," I nodded slowly, digesting the information. "Is there, like a hierarchy to, uh, werewolves, like in the movies?" 

Chase nodded, "Yeah. We have Alphas, the male leader of the pack, Lunas who is the female leader of the pack, Betas are the second in command, Gamma is third in command and the majority of he pack are known as Deltas, although the weakest members of the pack are referred to as Omegas." 

"So, lots of Greek involved in this," I noted and he laughed, nodding in agreement. "So, what are you?" 

He looked me in the eyes, and I could see it then, "I'm the Alpha." 

I swallowed, "So you're the big bad wolf of the, uh, pack, was it?" 

Chase frowned, "I won't lie to you. My pack is the biggest and the baddest, but we're not bad people, Hailey. We do what we must to survive and that's it. No more, no less. I don't want you to see me-- see us-- as monsters. Because, yes we have claws and fangs and turn into giant wolves, but we have control and restraint. We have systems that work. The pack is like one big family and we always protect each other. Always. We're not savages, Hailey, we were born into this life. And we're okay with that. So I really hope you're okay with it, too." 

"It's a lot to take in," I muttered, sitting down at the base of a large tree. 

He took a deep breath and exhaled loudly, sitting down next to me as well, "There's something else you should know about us." 

"What?" I asked. 

He looked away and out at the woods, "Us werewolves, we're misunderstood. Whenever a human sees us, their first instinct is to run away and hide because we're big and scary. And some don't just hide, but they fight back. We're hunted creatures, and right now we're having a bit of a hunter issue." 

"Seriously?" I asked and he looked at me. "Werewolves and werewolf hunters? I feel like I'm in an episode of Teen Wolf!" 

Chase rolled his eyes, "That show is so inaccurate it hurts." 

"What kind of hunters?" I questioned. 

He sighed, "Honestly, just one. But she's the best Hunter in the nations. They even have a nickname for her. She's been killing so many of my pack members and I can't even catch a whiff of her scent." 

Pride swelled inside of me, but I kept it hidden and asked another question, "What's her nickname? What do they call her?" 

His eyes darkened as they should when a werewolf gets angry and he looked straight ahead, a hatred I hadn't known possible emitting from him. With a rumble to his voice, he growled out the name that made me smirk on the inside, "Artemis." 

~

a/n: so yeah, it's been about four or five months since I've updated but I finally know where I'm going with this, so hopefully my updating schedule gets better lol. :) happy new year!!!