The Alpha's Hunter

Chapter 44

Chapter 44

Chase

I've never ran as fast as I was right now, frantically trying to locate my mate. I could sense her and smell her, but it was like she was everywhere and nowhere all at the same time.

It was devastating.

Letting out a growl of frustration, I slowed to a saunter, trying to get any read on her at all. Finally, I heard it, that heavenly chime of her voice calling-- only, she was screaming.

"No!" I could hear her yell. She sounded frantic. She was still fair, and her yell sounded as though it was a whisper, but that only motivated me. It motivated me to push, to keep running to her. To Hailey.

Scenarios were running through my head, and not the good kinds. The kinds where I wondered if I would get there too late, if she would be on the ground by the time I got there, and it would be another moment to mark in the books when I was just too late to save someone I love.

Pushing harder, I whipped through the greens and browns of the woods. My four legs worked in unison to propel myself forward as quickly as possible.

I was closer now, she was just feet away and my heart began pounding in my chest even harder. I couldn't even tell if it was because of me or her, but panic began spreading through my body. I could hear the voices of two other men. I was pretty sure one of them belonged to the guy she had sparred with in her yard the one day, but I couldn't be certain.

Bursting through the clearing, I arrived just as a gun went off, and I toppled to the ground, right in front of Hailey, who looked at me with wide eyes.

For one of the first times, she looked genuinely scared.

My face contorted into one of agony as I registered the pain I was experiencing. My legs ached, my body feeling heavy after all of the silver I had taken in from the hunters' weapons. But most of all, I felt the pain of a silver bullet that had just embedded itself in my lung, right beside my heart.

I shifted back to my human form, lying on my stomach as I groaned in pain, not worried about my nudity. Looking away from Hailey, I was confused at the sight before me.

David, Hailey's "uncle" laid on the ground, a bullet-sized hole through the side of his head, while the Chief stood facing off with Joel, the guy from Hailey's backyard.

She let out a slight cry, but the two men paid no attention to her as they stood facing each other with their guns trained on one another, their arms and bodies generally tight and displaying the tension of the situation.

Hailey came up next to me, cupping my cheek in her hand, "Are you okay?"

Giving her a meek smile, I coughed, some blood coming up with hit, "Just peachy."

She gave a light laugh through the tears that were starting to spill over and she stroked my cheek, "I'm not gonna lie, Chase; you look like shit."

I laughed, but immediately regretted it as the pain shot through my entire body, the bullet shifting. I was familiar with pain, but this seemed to reach a whole other level. Closing my eyes for a few moments, I knew what was coming. The big, bad, unavoidable and inevitable end.

Death.

"Hailey, get away from that thing!" The Chief yelled out at her.

Without flinching or even looking up, she shook her head and continued to stroked my cheek with her thumb, and god I never wanted her to stop.

But then that asshole pulled out another gun and trained it on her, "I said get away!"

She let out a sob then stood up, putting all of her weight on her left side. I growled a little at the sight of a rather large hole going straight through her thigh. I could see the remainder of the arrow that had done the damage on the ground next to her. And across the way laid a dead wolf, an arrow through its head.

"You don't control me anymore," She said in a murderous voice. Picking up her own bow from the ground, she loaded an arrow-- her last one-- and aimed it at the Chief. "You might be the man who brought me into this world, but that does not make you my father. My father never would've left me without either of my parents."

"You had David!" He exclaimed, exasperated.

Hailey shook her head, "No. I didn't want David, didn't even need him. I needed my fucking parents! But you made sure that would never happen, didn't you?"

"Hailey, honey--" He started, but was cut off by Joel.

"Oh, enough! I'm sick of listening to your bullshit, man," He spat. "You were so hellbent on killing every werewolf ever, you never stopped to think about whether it's them or us who deserve to die! And guess what? It's not them. They're all good, decent people. Look at that poor son of a bitch, who just took a fucking bullet in the chest for Hailey! If it wasn't for him and his kind, your daughter would be dead, just like David here."

"No," He said, in denial as he shook his head, and his hands began to follow suit, "They all have to pay for what they are."

"You make me sick," Hailey stated, any happiness and light that I had always seen in her face gone. She was void and null of any emotion at this point. "You want to pass your judgement onto every werewolf in existence, well I'll pass my judgement onto you. You deserve to die, and no one else."

With those final words, she released the arrow and I could hear it make its mark.

Within seconds of the sound of his body hitting the ground, she spun around and emptied her stomach onto the grass, falling to her knees and allowing the sobs to consume her.

Reaching out, I grazed her hand with mine and she turned to face me. Her eyes were red, matching the crimson color that stained her hands and clothes. She sniffled then wiped her eyes with the backs of her hands, dragging herself over to me, "You're okay, right? You're going to be fine, this is nothing, right?"

I couldn't tell her that in all honesty I was cold, and the pain was disappearing. Because I knew that meant I was almost there-- almost at the doors of death.

She wiped her nose on her sleeve, and her voice cracked as she spoke, "Cha-ase?"

Smiling sadly, I looked up into her eyes, if only for the last time, "I love you, Hailey."

Nodding, her lip quivered as she squeezed my hand tightly, sobbing. My eyes grew heavy and I finally gave in on closing them, but I stayed conscious long enough to hear it, to hear her final words to me.

"I love you, too Chase. More than you know."

~

A/N: shit... sorry? But I think I just killed David, the Chief/Hailey's dad AND maybe even Chase all in one chapter?

QOTC: what the heckaroo is going to happen now?