Chapter 5: Hunters and the Hunted

“She fell through a hunter's trap? They're not even supposed to be here!” Rosie’s voice was full of panic.

“I know, I’ll do something about it; just let me take care of her,” Thane’s voice makes me open my eyes to a room with baby blue walls and a bright ass light.

“Ouch, that hurts; turn it off,” I moan, putting my hand in front of my eyes.

“Evette,” Thane’s voice was full of relief; he sat on the edge of my bed, “How does your ankle feel? You fell pretty hard.”

I look to my ankle under the sheet; as I pull it back, I notice a terrible bruise on my ankle, and when I try to move it, it shoots pain up my leg, “Oh no, nope. I’m not moving.”

Thane gives me a warm smile, “You can leave, Rosie, thank you.”

“My pleasure! Just yell if you need me; I’ll be out here,” She leaves, shutting the door.

It was silent for a bit before one of us spoke up, “You fell in a hunter’s trap. They probably found out there were werewolves here.”

“Hunters?” I ask.

“Yeah, these Hunters kill supernatural creatures; it’s like their life’s mission,” Thane gazes down at my hand and swallows, “I’m sorry I yelled at you. I feel like a jackass-” I chuckle, interrupting him,” Cause you are one,” I said playfully, smiling at him.

I then noticed the new scars on Thane’s arms, he wasn’t wearing a shirt either, and his abdomen was wrapped in bandages, “What happened?” I ask.

Thane looks down, “Oh, this? I jumped in after you; I guess the Hunter put Wolf’s Bane thorns in his trap, tore me up while I climbed out with you.”

My eyes widened, and I felt a slight flutter in my chest, “You saved me?”

“Yeah,” He chuckles, “Why the hell wouldn’t I?”

I wrap my arms around myself, “Thane, this mate bond thing, It confused me. I mean, I don’t know you at all. How could we be prophesied to be together?”

The corner of Thane's lips curve, “I know, this is all-new to you but, this has been going on for centuries. The Goddess Selene chooses our mates. She knows our hearts and what we need.”

Since I had him alone, I was going to take advantage of asking him about his brother, “What happened to you guys? You and your brother?”

He sighs, “I knew you were gonna bring that up sooner or later,” he sighs heavily, “Believe it or not, Atticus and I used to be very close when we were younger,” he then rubs his neck, “And just to let you know, you aren’t our first mate….”

“What? Really? I thought this was a one-time deal?”

“Sometimes, but I guess the Goddess still has hope for us,” He smiles meekly. I stay silent, waiting for him to continue. 

“My brother and I were born on a Red Moon; our midwife witch prophesied we would share a mate and become the strongest pack in the domain. If we stayed together as a trio, but that didn’t happen. My brother was going through a violent phase; he would go on killing sprees when his wolf started kicking,” Thane must have seen my eyes widen because he explains further.

“When your wolf awakens, one of two things can happen. One, you could endure the urges of wanting to tare shit apart or, you can’t fight it at all. One night we found my brother drenched in blood, cradling our previous mate, Khione, in his arms,” Thane’s voice becomes strained, “He kept saying he was sorry, over and over again. Finally, when the neighboring back found out, we had to banish him. And now he’s become the Leader of Rogues and a real pain in my ass.”

“You hold a grudge against him, don’t you,” I look at Thane, feeling an ache in my chest. Thane’s brow furrow, “Yes. But he’s still my brother. No matter how much I hate him for what he did.”

There was something off about this story if Mate bonds were as strong as everyone is saying they are, there was no way Atticus could have killed his mate. But he wasn’t that way when he nuzzled my back with his nose. He even backed off for me.

“Are you afraid he’s going to kill me as well?” I ask, remembering how protective he had been when I had got in between them.

Thane looks down, sorrow heavy in his eyes, “He’s done it before….”

Hearing him talk about this was the first time I saw real emotion from him, instead of his sterile front, “Thank you for saving me,” I subconsciously reach for his arm with the bandage, “Does it hurt-”

Thane takes a sharp inhale and I flinch, “Oh! I’m sorry!” Then I see his smirk and pressing his lips together.

I leer at him. “I can pinch with my toes, and that shit will hurt,” I found myself smiling. 

He chuckles, “Your ankle is sprained-AH!”

I pinched him with my other foot, and he jumped up, rubbing his asscheek, “What the hell?!” He chuckles

 “You forgot I have another set of toes,” I wiggle them under the sheets.

“Who the hell pinches with their toes and not their fingers!” He shouts while chuckling.

I wiggle my eyebrows, “Me.”

Thane looks to my foot then I see a gleam in his eye, “Hm,” he sits on the edge of my bed again, “Good thing I know a kryptonite for pinching toes….”

I squint at him, suspicious of what he was trying to pull, but before I know it, he’s tickling my foot.

“AH! No! No, Stop it!” 

 I couldn't stop laughing, damn it, I hated how ticklish I was on my feet.

Suddenly the door burst open, “Hey!” Rosie’s hands sit on her hips, “ There is no tickle play allowed in my quarters! Stop harassing my patient Thane!”

Thane and I look at each other then start busting up laughing, “Alright, that's it,” Rosie goes to Thane and pinches his ear leading him out of the room, “Hey! What the hell is up with women and pinching!?”

I hear him say as Rosie leads him out into the hall. Maybe, this would be so bad after all…

As I start to fall asleep, a splintering headache pounds in my skull, “Ugh,” I groan, “Oh no, not again,” this was the start of another nightmare.