The Alpha, My Salvation

The Hunt

~The Hunt~

Maria grinned in triumph as the guard toppled to the ground, a pained groan leaving his lips as he writhed in the wet grass. She had remained undefeated all morning but not unscathed, pain flowered over the parts of her body where the guards had managed to hit her. 

"You've improved greatly. You're ready." Her Father spoke behind her, his hands folded behind his back as he watched the scene before him with a heavy gaze. Maria had changed a great deal in the last couple of months. Her once soft edges that were unaccustomed to the force of real work had hardened, muscle now rippling beneath her skin. Bruises still littered her skin but many were old,  a yellow and brown colour as they faded back into flesh.  

"Ready? For what?" Maria uttered nervously, was he going to pull out swords? That would hurt a lot more than a stick.

"We're going a hunt tonight. You're going to come with us." the middle aged man snapped looking down at his daughter, an emotion similar to pride flickering behind his eyes.

"Tonight?" Maria spluttered her confidence dissipating, replaced by a crushing wave of anxiety. Her Father said nothing, simply raised his eyebrows before turning on his heel and leaving her alone, panic thrumming through her veins. 

Maria took in a deep breath as she notched the arrow, but she wasn't focusing on the target, instead she listened to the thrum of guards moving around the house, they were grateful they no longer had to sneak about in the middle of the night because their boss kept everything a secret from his daughter. She released the string and the arrow sunk into the human shaped target made of straw and mesh. She watched the black feathers glint in the sunlight, the arrow had hit home, embedding itself right where a heart would lie in a living person. It growing late, she still hadn't a chance to sneak inside and call Dimitri, warn him. Dimitri had no idea what was coming and all Maria could do was prepare to kill one of her friends. She knew this was more than a hunt. It was an initiation. If she didn't fulfill her duty her Father would become suspicious, if they found any wolves, Maria would be forced to kill them.

"Maria! Hurry up!" Maria's panic grew as she heard her Father downstairs. Night had fallen. They were about to leave and she couldn't find her phone anywhere. It was gone. She rummaged through the draws of her desk one more time praying for the flash of glass that was her phone but there was none. There were three car loads of armed hunters in her front yard and Dimitri didn't even know they were coming.

Maria zipped up her black jacket and pulled the hood over her braided hair. She headed downstairs, taking them two at a time, her black combat boots thudding heavily as she did so.

"What took you so long" her Father snapped gripping her upper arm painfully. 

"I - uh. Wanted to wear this."  Maria said pulling the necklace out from under her clothes presenting the obsidian arrow head to her Father, an heirloom that supposedly came from the heart of the first lycanthrope killed by a member of her family. "For luck." 

She watched as his eyes softened momentarily "you won't need it." he said patting her shoulder before striding out of the building. Maria sighed and followed him out, her eyes rising to glowing full moon hanging in the sky. Sending a silent prayer to Dimitri she got into the back of the SUV and just like that the convoy was off. Ready for the hunt.

Maria treaded lightly over the thick tree roots. All those years walking through the forest and not once had she dared to venture this deep. The moon sent rays of silver light through gaps in the canopy overhead, giving Maria enough light to know that tree roots had knitted together on the forest floor. Maria gripped her bow tightly in her hand as she navigated through the trees, her Father and guards close behind her. Only five of them had entered the forest, the other two vehicles circled  them through the clearer parts of the forest, ready to trap the first wolf they found.