Wild Hunt

~ Chapter Two ~

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~ Chapter Two ~

"...(wolves) do not use their energies in friendship with one another, for they do not know what friendship is. If they are united, it is by a common bond of desire to attack the world."

Haniel Long

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It was almost four o'clock in the afternoon by the time I slipped through the barbed wire fence and back into the school grounds. It felt like a heavy weight suddenly bore down upon my shoulders and my head slumped instinctively. It was like a bird trudging solemnly back into its cage. I glared at my prison. 

The boarding school was built ages ago, and had a long history of taking in young girls from 'proper' packs and turning them into prey 'worth chasing'. It was made up of four interconnected manors, each made of Castlemaine stone with steep tiled roofs greying with mold. Wisps of smoke billowed from the chimneys as girls lit the dining room fireplaces.

I slipped between the old buildings with ease, knowing all the windows to duck under and all the walkways to avoid. The Headmistress, Mrs. Larentia Raoul would have me expelled directly if she ever found out about my secret meetings with Faolan, and no doubt my father would make Faolan regret his attentions. He could. Faolan was the Alpha in line for the Tala pack, a pack of lower ranks and at the mercy of my father, who held a primary position in the high council.

The fresh pine scented dirt filled my nostrils a I trod leisurely to my dormitory. The old boarding school seemed empty of life as everyone busied themselves in preparation. I sighed as I dreaded my mothers' inevitable arrival. Trudging up the stairs I admired the stained glass door of the Luna dormitory. It was a beautiful depiction of a full moon peering down through the shadows of the trees. I shivered. I had always loved and hated that image. It made me nervous and excited for the next hunt. It was a fight between myself and my Stag.

All the dormitories were divided by ranks. The first year deers stayed in House Omega, the second year deers in House Zeta, the third year stags in House Delta and the senior stags and Golden Stag in House Luna. It was a hierarchy. The further up the hierarchy you were, the more desirable you became. Already I could hear the nervous chatter of the juniors. I swallowed. Often half of them never made it, they were too weak.

I swung open the door and silently made my way down the mahogany hall. The yellow light from the old glass chandelier barely illuminated the empty hallway. Marble mantlepieces stared at me blankly and the thick scarlet carpet muffled my footsteps. For a moment I stood at the bottom of the grand staircase and focused on controlling my breathing and more importantly, my Stag. Closing my eyes I listened to my heart, our heart. 

Focus. Return to my side. I am in control now. 

With my Stag yielding to my demands I crept towards the stairs. The girls were competitive when it grew close to full moon. Naturally, part of them wanted to get caught by the strongest, the fastest and the most superior wolves. In their attempts to gain the most attention from all their possible mates, many many friendships formed before the hunt were abandoned. As the Golden Stag, I was hated the most. 

"Maeve, where have you been?" a sickly sweet voice murmured from the doorway to her room. A shiver ran up my spine and I closed my eyes for a second. My Stag sniffed in disdain. I turned on my heels to see Lydia's cat like figure leaning in the door way, her hip jutted out and fingers drumming against her bare skin. She was only wearing her underwear.