Chapter 9: Hunters.

HARDIN.

After the game on Friday, I never made it back to the locker room.

I made sure Leah got into her car safely before following that scent. I knew that scent. Even though three years had passed, I could never forget it. I could never forget that face too.

So seeing her in the stands after the game, my heart dropped.

But before I could take a second look, she had vanished again, leaving me to trail after her as I walked down the tunnel in search of her.

The Veronica I knew always loved the chase.

We had only made eye contact for a second but her face was unmistakable. I stormed out of the arena before catching her scent again and my pulse quickened. My senses were heightened. Like a mix of cedar and lavender, I knew it was her, and she was drifting away. I picked up my pace and drew away from the crowds.

The next few seconds were a blur, one moment I was standing underneath the fluorescent arena lights and the next I was tearing through the parking lot in search of her. Every leap I took pulled me closer like a moth to a flame.

Her poisonous scent entrapped my wolf and it led me into the forest.

The deeper I ventured through the towering pines, the quieter the world became. The cheers from the game became distant in no time and I was swallowed by the rusting leaves of the Ashwood forest. The winds picked up, swirling around me before I came to a halt.

She was here.

Even though I couldn't see her, I could feel her.

"Come out," I growled but the forest returned only an echo. Silence settled between the trees until I heard a slight movement. My wolf sprang up, on alert and my eyes flashed a dangerous gold. Her scent surrounded me as she walked out from the shadows.

Her dark red hair spilled over her shoulders as she moved with her usual sultry gait. Her eyes were silver, almost the same color as the moon and a smirk crawled to the corner of her lips. She was breathing heavily and so was I, my chest rising and falling like hers.

We circled one another and for a moment, neither of us spoke.

"You've changed," That is until she broke the silence.

"It's been three years, that's the first thing you say to me?" I asked smugly. Veronica scoffed. My eyes fell on her.

"I can say the same." She was different, although not so much. She kept her red hair and her usual signature smirk was still the same. But there was something about her that was different. Her strides were confident, her eyes were darker.

Maybe that's what being a rogue does to one.

"I suppose we both had to." Veronica smiled.

It had been three years since I last saw her so the memories flooded back quickly. But I shook them out of my head. There was only one thing I needed to know in that moment.

"Start talking. Why are you here?" I folded my arms across my chest. Her gaze drifted past me toward the town lights glittering in the distance.

"I heard you scored three goals."

"Veronica." I called her name cautiously and her smile disappeared.

"What? I missed Ashwood." She lied again. I could always see through her lies.

"I don't believe you." I told her plainly before she rolled her eyes.

"You shouldn't." Her answer only irritated me more. When she halted, I took a step forward and my senses squared in on her.

"Why are you back, Veronica?" I narrowed my eyes.

"You know that can't work on another wolf." She said. "But I can always tell when you're lying," I replied. She almost chuckled.

"You'd be surprised how much has changed in three years." She said before looking up at me as if deciding how much truth I deserved then she shut her eyes. The next time they opened, the silver had melted away with a red ring appearing around her pupils.

She growled as her bones cracked into place.

"She's challenging you." My own wolf stirred immediately like old times. The air between us was familiar, electric even.

"I know," I muttered under my breath, watching Veronica slip out of her leather jacket and then she shifted. Her transformation lasted seconds, it was clear how much she'd grown as a wolf. How much stronger and in control of it she was now.

But it wasn't that way three years ago.

She stood before me as the dark fur burst through her flesh and her bones cracked into place then her red eyes were fixated on me.

"So we're doing this," I exhaled sharply, my wolf had already clawed halfway to the surface. Heat ripped through every muscle in my body and pain followed. But the familiar kind.

My bones splintered and reformed as the world lurched around me. In a few seconds, my senses had exploded. I crouched low, with my hands stuck to the forest floor. My fingers were now claws and a fur darker than hers spread across my body.

I rose to my limbs as the human world disappeared around us. Veronica watched me for a long second before turning and sprinting into the trees and I chased after her. Each stride I took brought back old memories of when we used to do this before she disappeared three years ago.

One day, the girl I loved was just gone and after I had spent so long searching for her, I finally gave up and never gave my heart to another. I looked ahead—but now she was back.

After racing through the forest, our claws digging into the earth and the winds flowing through our fur, we finally came to a halt and Veronica shifted back first.

I followed immediately after, my senses refreshed and sharper.

Then she leaned over to a hollow log of wood where I'd always hidden spare clothes in the forest for whenever I shifted. She wore one of my shirts before tossing me another.

"You remember the spot?" I scoffed.

She buttoned the shirt and rolled her eyes, the hem falling just above her thighs. "I remember a lot of things," Veronica replied. I turned around and put on my pants, even though I could tell she was staring like she always did.

"I can't remember the last time I shifted," I muttered. When I turned around, she was already looking at me. "I could tell, that's why I figured a little challenge wouldn't hurt." She replied.

"Especially after an intense game."

I nodded.

"You know I watched you today, it's insane how far you've come on the ice..." She started but in that moment, I drew my eyes away. I was tired of her pretending like the last three years didn't happen.

"Why are you really here, Veronica?" I asked and this time there was a deadpan look in my eyes before she sighed. "I'm not here alone." She finally replied and I pushed a hard lump down my throat.

"The Pack?" I knew exactly what she meant and the second she nodded, I threw a look over my shoulders, expecting them to jump out of the trees. "They're not here here but they're close." Veronica said and I felt my pulse quicken.

"Even Alpha Blake?" I growled.

My wolf was suddenly uneasy beneath my skin at the mention of his name, the man who had turned me. Veronica too.

"Yes." Her eyes darkened. I ran my hands through my moist hair and let out a sigh.

"Why?" I questioned.

"Why are you guys here?" It had been three years and whatever reason she was about to give, I knew it wasn't about to be good. Anything that brought the Alpha back to this town, was never good. Because Ashwood was never a town for just wolves.

In fact, they'd fled three years ago and I had lived my life ever since then in secret and alone. So news like this was like a punch to the gut but there was a look of uncertainty deep in Veronica's eyes.

"Because Ashwood isn't safe anymore." She inched closer to me. I arched my brows.

"Safe from what?" I asked.

There was a piercing silence that followed my voice and the second she parted her lips, a twig snapped somewhere behind us. Her head whipped toward the darkness and every muscle in her body went rigid. Her nostrils flared as if trying to sniff out the danger.

But before she could say another word, a silver bullet tore through the tree beside me and Veronica grabbed me towards her.

"Move!" She shouted. Another shot rang out and then another.

She grabbed my hands as the forest soon erupted in chaos and dark figures emerged from behind the trees with flashlights and guns. I threw my head over my shoulders as Veronica yanked me downhill.

"Hunters." My wolf snarled the second I scented the wolfsbane. They knew we were here.

"Damn it," Veronica cursed, pulling me to hide behind a tree as the flashlights drew closer. I growled beneath my breath but she squeezed my hands, pressing her finger against her lips.

"Not here." She was breathing heavily.

A particular hunter drew closer to us, his feet creaking against the twigs and his flashlight moving recklessly around. I could sniff him and I could get him alone. He was right behind us but Veronica urged that we be as quiet as possible until he left.

When he did however, I looked in his direction and it was Sheriff Bennett with a rifle in his hands. A rifle with silver wolfsbane bullets.

"He's one of them," I heaved with terror in my eyes.

He was just at the hockey game and he was Hazel's father. Leah's best friend, Hazel Bennett.

I turned to Veronica and figured she wouldn't know who half these people were. We made our way quietly down the hills until we got to a cabin that used to be our hideout.

When we were finally away from the hunters, I heaved a sigh.

"I tried to warn you." Veronica muttered. "Hunters?" I echoed. "They're back in Ashwood."

"But why?"

"If they're the reason you came back, who have they been hunting?" I believed Veronica, mostly. But I could tell she was still hiding something.

For the longest time, I thought I was the only werewolf in Ashwood.

It didn't make any sense.

"They killed one of us, Hardin. Scarlet...her body was found in the river with a silver bullet through her back. It was like they were sending us a message and you know how Blake is with messages."

"So he wants to defeat the hunters?" I asked. She scoffed lightly. "Defeat is a mild way to put it but yes, he's here for revenge and he brought us all back together." Veronica said.

"That's why I'm here. He sent me to find you and bring you to him." My jaw tightened and the words settled heavily between Veronica and I.

She extended her hand.

"You have to come with me, Hardin." I stared at it, several thoughts running through my head. Leah was the most important one. And my family in Ashwood. Hockey. Essentially my whole life I had built here over the last three years.

Following Veronica would mean giving all of it up.

"No." I shook my head and even though her hand remained between us, there was a flash of disappointment in her eyes.

"You really have changed." She muttered. Now, her eyes were dark and empty. Her humanity was gone.

"I can say the same." I said again. This time, with a daunting realization. Three years had passed. This wasn't the Veronica I knew back then. Like deja vu, she repeated the words she'd said earlier but this time they meant something much different.

"I suppose we both had to."