Lily came awake to the sound of laughter. She had fallen asleep snuggled up with Damien again. It happened that way a lot. If anything he seemed to crave her closeness now. Things had grown ever more intense between them but they hadn’t gone the whole way yet. She wasn’t sure what she was waiting for but she was just happy right now. She was happier than she had ever been, basking in the fact that she finally had a real family around her, and that she had a man who seemed to be in love with her.
Her cabin had become the new pack house and Damien had basically moved in with her. She sat up in bed and yawned. Some of the pack was visiting and Damien had gotten up to greet them. He was still cold and distant with his pack, but she saw now how deeply he cared for them. She was pulling on jeans and t-shirt when two loud rifle shots rent the air. She paused and looked around, dread filling her heart.
Her fears were confirmed when a moment later the little boy who’d been laughing started screaming. Lily grabbed her father’s rifle and ran down the stairs to see the little boy sitting by the body of his mother. She’d been shot in the head. If the bullet was silver not even a werewolf could recover from that. The woman was gone. Standing in front of them was Klaus. She picked up the boy and rocked him as he cried. The smell of the alpha on her served to calm him.
“Klaus where is Damien?”
“He went to find the ones who shot.”
“Hunters?”
“We can only imagine. One of the new guards let your father make a phone call. I was on my way here to tell you and Damien when the shots rang out. Layla is dead?”
“Yes. If they were friends of my father then they would have used silver bullets. It was a head shot.
“That’s the third female we have lost to hunters.”
“So you think they are targeting the women?”
“Our women keep us happy, and they give us our children. Killing them off would destabilize us.” Just then Damien showed up.
“Get away from the goddamn window.” He growled at her.
“Damien, what the...” He came towards her and pushed her and the boy into a corner, cursing when he saw the boy’s mother. “Klaus, take the boy, and Layla’s body and get them to their family. There are five other females dead. We need to get them all to safety, and then we need to meet and defend our territory.” Klaus nodded and did as asked. Damien waited until they closed the door before he joined her in the corner, lips crashing onto hers. She melted into him as he ran his hands down her sides. At first, she wasn’t sure what was happening. And then she realized he was making sure she was okay.
She framed his face in her hands kissed him gently.
“Damien, I’m here. I’m fine. Tell me what I can do.” He rested his forehead against hers.
“We are going to my cabin where it is safe. You are staying in my bed with me, and you will go nowhere without me.” She nodded.
“Okay. I won’t.”
“I expected a fight.”
“Normally I would give you one. But this is obviously too serious for all of that.” He pulled gently on her ponytail and kissed her. She smiled. “I’ll just pack some things up first.”
“No. I will have someone else do it. You come with me now.”
“What about my father?”
“What about him?”
“Maybe I could get him to tell me something.”
“Lily no.” He growled.
“Why? It could help.” He caressed her cheek. “Very well.” They went to her truck with him watching everything. They got into the truck and drove into town. It wasn’t really a town per se it was more like a really small village, and it was all werewolves. In the horizon, she could see the outskirts of the Grey Childe village and the castle that overlooked it. That was where the vampires lived. She shuddered, and then they walked into the jail. Her father sat in the only cell. He looked so diminished from when she had last seen him. He had a huge beard and looked every inch the mountain man. He didn’t even register her presence at first. When he did he looked shocked.
“Lil?” She winced. She hated it when he called her that.
“Hey, dad.”
“I never thought you would visit.”
“You would have been right, except that the hunters you called are here.” He smirked at her, setting off a rage in the pit of her stomach.
“Good.”
“You know, they are killing innocent women with babies who have never done anything wrong?”
“They aren’t innocent. They are abominations like you.”
“So what number am I on the hit list?”
“Last of course. I want you to see the path you have chosen burn around you.”
“Why do you hate me so much? I’m your daughter.”
“You’re an abomination. Being my daughter doesn’t matter.”
“Did you ever love me?”
“Before I knew.”
“I’m the same person I was before you knew. The only thing that changed is you knew.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“You know, I wonder how it’s going to feel for you when you die alone in this cell, with no one to care. We are going to beat these hunters, and when we do I will never come to see you again. I will never speak to you again. I will let you rot in here. And when the day of your death comes, and you finally look back and see that all your life has been one mass of useless hatred and you tell them you want to see your daughter before you die. You will die alone. Because I won’t come to you.” The old man just glared at her.
“So how many are there dad. Two?” His eyes flickered and she knew she had her answer.
“I’m not telling you.”
“Fine, rot.” She walked out of the building and got in the car with Damien.
“Anything?” He asked.
“There are two.” Damien nodded. She had read through her father’s journals. When a hunter falls, another comes to replace him. If that hunter fails two come. If they fail its four, and so on. Her father had been jailed. The hunter that had shot Damien had been killed, and now there were two. He drove to the forest and then he led her to his cabin. When they went inside she saw that he’d fixed it up from the time he’d gone all wolf on her. She hopped up onto the counter and smiled at him. “So what should we do while we wait?” She bit her lip and he smiled at her.
“Always so playful.”
“Only with you.”
“Only with me.” He growled possessively. She grinned and kissed him gently.
“Are you okay?”
“My pack is in danger.”
“It’s not your fault.”
“I know.”
“That’s not what you’re telling yourself.”
“I know.” She smiled.
“Look, you need to stop blaming yourself. You aren’t the reason these people hate what’s different from them. You can’t stop them from hating what they hate.” He kissed her and she kissed him back.
“You’re going to drive me insane in here.”
“And you think it won’t be that way for me? If you ever doubt it do your alpha magic and test the pack bond.” He smirked at her.
“I do, often.”
“Oh?” She giggled.
“Yes.”
“Hmmm. Were you testing them last night?”
“No. What were you thinking last night.”
“Nothing.” She said nonchalantly, winking at him. He smiled and poked her where she was most ticklish in her side. She was laughing and smiling when another shot rang out and hit him in the shoulder. He growled and ripped it out with his claws. Then he was out and hunting. She did as he would have wanted and stayed hidden, out of eyesight of any window. When he came back he was covered in blood. Some was obviously his own. Some was obviously not.
“Did you kill him?”
“Yes.” He walked up to the counter and she stood up, immediately preparing a rag to wash him off with. He let her care for him a little while before he stopped her and took off his shirt.
“Was the other Hunter with him?”
“No.” At least there is only one more, but we need to find him before he can call in any others.”
“Are you leaving now?”
“yes.” He shifted to wolf form and then he was off, howling, Very soon she heard answering howls all throughout the woods. She stayed in the cabin worrying. She knew that leaving the cabin would probably only cause more problems for everyone and she really didn’t want a bullet to the brain or anywhere else for that matter. Besides, there really wasn’t anything she could do to help.
Four hours had gone by when she heard a child’s voice. It was a little kid. She looked out the window from the side so she wouldn’t be seen. It was the little boy from earlier. He was naked, obviously having just shifted from wolf form. He was calling for his mother and her heart just about broke. It wasn’t safe for him to be in the woods. She glanced over the trees and the surrounding woods and didn’t see anyone. She went outside and he started to run towards her. He was in her arms when she saw Damien and three other wolves running into the clearing. They were not running casually which could only mean they were still hunting. That could only mean the other Hunter was nearby.
She picked up the child and started for the cabin as fast as she could possibly go. But almost inevitably, a shot rang out. A split second later a searing pain ripped through her abdomen. She dropped to the ground like a sack of potatoes, the pain was so intense she couldn’t move.
“Get into the cabin!” She yelled at the boy. She was grateful as she began to lose consciousness that he listened to her and got into the cabin a split second before another bullet, narrowly missed him, digging into the doorframe. Then everything went black.
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