1. The Hunt

Earis

I could smell him. The bloody wolf. Even with his desperate attempt to cloak his reek. The same hound that had been sneaking around my college dorm for days. 

There was no need to call for backup—he was heading straight for my traps. Finally a kill worth my name. 

He wasn't just another Omega—I could tell by the way he moved. I flicked the Fae's bracelet, and heat surged under my skin as it boosted my speed to match his. 

I let loose the first arrow aiming for his hind legs to force him off balance and blind him to the traps. 

He hopped over it exactly as I anticipated and landed firmly on the iron trap covered in snow. Then came the snap of bone as the trap he landed on locked him in place. 

He growled angrily at me, his dark fur rose as he bared his teeth. But it was already done. It seemed almost as easy as an Omega. 

I laced the next arrow with wolfsbane and aimed straight for his heart. But the moment I let it loose he was gone. Vanished into the snow like a shimmer of ice. 

My heart skipped a beat. 

Before I could pull the next arrow I heard a snap of bone behind me. I hauled over sending the next arrow but I missed. 

My breath caught when I saw him — shifted, but not as hideous as the usual Omegas.

His emerald green eyes weren’t full of beastly rage — they scanned me like he wanted to strip me bare. Before I could pull another arrow he was gone. Just like before. No blurs or sounds of movement. 

“Just where I wanted you, little hunter.” A cold, deep voice whispered in my left ear sending shivers down my spine. 

I turned but there was no one. How is he so fast? 

Heat swirled within me as I tried to catch my breath. This confirms it. He is a Lycan and I'll be dead if I make a single mistake. 

“Calm yourself, little hunter. If I wanted your life, I would have taken it. But I crave something sweeter than your death,” the voice spoke again.

I couldn't breathe. My hands trembled as I tightened my grip on the arrow ready to let loose the moment I saw even a blur.

Something touched my shoulder and my head turned instinctively. I knew the tap was a trick but before I could pull myself together I felt my body in the air and the arrow tip over leaving me unarmed as my body fell softly into a heap of snow. 

Before I could catch his movement he pulled off the Fae's bracelet and my body slammed against a tree. 

I felt his hot breath on my neck as he pinned my hands above my head and his feet locked my boot in place. 

And just like the dog he was he sniffed me, hard. Like he wanted to suck the soul out of my body. 

My jaw tightened as irritation clawed at my skin. 

“Bloody hound!” I growled as I squirmed under his grip. 

“I've waited too long for you, Earis Lockwood,” he grinned as his tongue grazed my cheeks, slow, wet, and hard like he was trying to taste my sweat and fear. 

A different jolt of electricity struck me at the mention of my name. 

But before I could even let the thought in, a sharp pain surged through my neck sending heat across my body and a loud scream reverberated off my throat before I could hold it back. 

He fucking bit me!

His grip on my hands loosened as he sank his fangs deeper into my neck. I slid my right hand off and pulled my hairpin—two sharp metal rods shaped like chopsticks, letting my hair loose as I shoved them hard into his neck. 

He didn't flinch or acknowledge the pain. He just took a step back, blood drooling from the pin in his neck. 

“Now, you can't escape me, Little hunter.” He smirked and in a blur, he was gone. 

My knees buckled as I grabbed my neck applying pressure on the bite mark as it surged with heat. 

My blood tainted the snow as my vision blurred. 

“Earis! Earis!” Cassian's voice echoed through the ringing in my head. But the only sound I could hear was that of my thundering heartbeat. 

I rose to my feet refusing to let anyone see me weak. 

I ripped my shirt. Then tied it to the bite on my neck which felt like larva on my skin. 

I grabbed my crossbow, then staggered out of the woods in the direction of my car. 

I slammed the door shut the moment I got in. My hands trembled as I pulled the rear view mirror in place and I could see the blood already soaked on the cloth around my neck. 

I pulled the knife from the side of the driver's seat, then chugged the remaining bottle of alcohol I found in the passenger seat. Sweat pooled down my face as the bite on my neck flared hotter.

I took a deep breath trying to stop my hands from trembling. Then I pulled off the cloth on my neck ready to cut the bite off. 

The knife in my hands slipped off the second I laid eyes on what was on my neck. 

The bite was gone.

But something else was there.

A mark—black, jagged, curled on my neck. A symbol branded into me like a goddamn tattoo, and it was sizzling hot. 

My breath caught in my lungs as my hands trembled. I was having a fucking panic attack. 

What the fuck did he do to me?! I need to get away from here! 

I twisted the key, turning the car on. I couldn't wait for Cassian or Vanya I had come hunting with, I wouldn't dare let them see. I just drove like my life depended on it. 

With every breath I took the mark surged with even more heat. I pushed the gear harder driving at full speed. 

I hadn't gotten to a mile when something hopped in front of the car and I ran over it. 

My feet pressed hard on the brake and I ran out of the car. A loud ring tore through my head as I saw the body I had just run over. 

A young lady. Pale skin, red hair. Her eyes were wide open and her body twisted like a paper doll from the impact of the car.

What the fuck is happening? My knees buckled to the ground as I tried to catch my breath. 

Did I just kill someone? What the fuck did he make me do?!