Chapter 27(The Hunt)

Chapter 27(The Hunt)
Roman pov

The morning came slow and gray. Light crept across the windows. I had not slept the whole night. For some reason, my mind wouldn't just find peace.

The mating was done. It went the way duty always goes…plain, cold, and finished. I hope she gets pregnant, and this time around, the baby stays. I really do not have the time for this again.

I need an heir really fast, or I may be forced to matry someone else…someone from this pack. As I pulled my shirt over my head, my mind drifted to Elena…She didn't change at all, still as young and beautiful as I once remembered. Still soft-spoken and gentle. I took a deep breath, who knows why she is back…or is this the goddess giving me a sign? No, I shook my head violently, it can't be. Our chapter is closed and never to be reopened.

Today is the autumn hunt, and I need to clear my mind and focus. This hunt isn't just for competition or to catch the biggest meat. Rather, it is an ancient tradition….a test of strength and perseverance…a reminder of who we are…we are wolves…we are hunters...we are kings of the forest. And I am Roman. I am Alpha, and I must show them.

By midday the courtyard woke like a beating heart. Warriors stretched. Some sharpened blades even though we would not use them. The air smelled of leather and wet dirt. Elders stood at the sides. Immediately I stepped in, their eyes followed me as every head bowed.

Stephen, my beta, rushed in front of me and bowed. “The forest is ready, Alpha. Scouts cleared the path, and there are plenty games.”
“Good,” I said. My voice cut through air.

I stood at the center of the stage, “Today we don't just hunt for food and for spirit, we remember who we are, we remember the blood inside us, and we give in.”

The pack answered with a deep cheer, it was low, and wild. It rolled through the stones and fed the wolf inside me.

We moved from the walls into the woods. The air smelled of pine and cold water. Leaves cracked under our boots. A hawk cried far above. My wolf inside me woke up and kicked, eager to run. The forest called to the predator in my blood.

At the edge of a wide clearing, I turned and faced them. “Shift, scattered and find your hunt.” I ordered.

The change burned like fire. Bones began to crack, muscles stretched, skin tore and healed. My breath turned hot. Fur pushed out, black as night. The world sharpened until every sound cut like a blade. Every heart, every breath, every small scent…clear and sharp.

I stood on four paws now. My wolf, huge, dark, and strong. My eyes glowed deep red. Around me the pack shifted one by one. Their wolves lowered their heads as my power rolled over them like a storm. They all scattered to direct directions. Joshua didn't join the hunt, I ordered him to watch over the pack house.
I threw back my head and howled. The sound ripped the air, and the pack answered with a thunder.

The hunt began, we began to run, looking for animals to hunt. The forest opened wide for us. Trees flew past in long brown and green lines. The earth beat under my paws. I leapt over fallen logs, claws cutting deep into the soil. The scent of deer rose warm and bright.l, and my heart raced with the hunt.

My wolf kept running, it felt free, happy and at peace. Something jumped in the stream, and the water splashed over me, it was cold and sharp. I leapt after it, with my red eyes fixed on the kill. I could already taste the blood on my tongue.

As my wolf ran after it, I heard a sharp sound in the air….Whoosh! A hiss like a snake cut through the trees, and my body knew before my mind, that there was danger. I twisted in the air, and my bones cracked.

Before I could get myself together, another sound pierced through the air…Thunk! And a silver arrow hit a tree beside me. The shaft shook from the force.

My eyes widened at the silver arrow. My paws slammed the ground, and my claws dug deep into the ground. The smell of the arrow burned my nose, sharp and bitter. If this arrow had touched me, it would have burned through fur and bone, and just like that, it would have killed me.

A savage snarl ripped from my throat, and I spun,my ears flat, and eyes cutting through the trees. The forest that had been alive a breath ago now it lay quiet and heavy.

As my eyes searched the forest, looking for who fired the arrow, my eyes caught a shadow that stood between two dark trunks.
For a heartbeat the world froze, then light slid through the leaves and touched his face. Zach. I screamed. You again.

That can't be.. I'm not suppose to be seeing him, I made sure I drank enough before this hunt…What is happening.

He stared at me, and smiled. He lifted his bow and strung another arrow. It flew past my head, and I dodged hard. The bark exploded beside me. By the time my paws found the ground, he was gone.

A growl rolled out of me, low and deep. The forest shivered at the sound of it. The pack burst into the clearing, their eyes wide, and their fur standing.

“Alpha!” Stephen’s voice came. “What happened?...We heard your growl.”

My eyes moved from one wolf to the next. “Someone or something tried to shoot me, with a silver arrow.

Fear flickered through all the wolves. They spread out fast, with their noses down, trying to find the person or thing. But they couldn't find anything.

Stephen padded close. His gray wolf eyes narrowed. He sniffed the arrow still stuck in the tree. “Silver. But who would dare…”
I couldn't open my mouth to say that the person I saw was Zach…They will just think I'm crazy even with the evidence everywhere.

The forest stayed silent. Only the arrow quivered, cold and bright. “The hunt is over,” I ordered. “Let's go.”

There was something more to this…How can Zach…a ghost hold a bow…something doesn't add up.