The Hunting
Chapter 4

The sun rose slowly over the treeline, small rays peeking through the leaves.

Kia squinted, trying hard to keep the sun out of her eyes, she placed her hand in front of her face and looked over at Layana. She was still sleeping soundly, soft snores escaping her mouth. Kia gave a chuckle and shook her head.

"Wake up Lay. We need to get moving." she said.

"Ugh... You said we were staying here." Lay moaned, pulling her jacket down over her face.

Kia laughed, "We are. But we need to set some traps, gather food, water, mask our scents better...." she looked over to where Lay had started snoring again.

"LAY!" she playfully yelled, shoving her a bit. She must have pushed harder than she thought because Layana stumbled backwards and almost went flying out of the tree. Kia grabbed onto her legs, she hung there, upside down shrieking.

"Hold.. still..." Kia said between laughs.

"This isn't funny Ki!" Lay snapped.

"Yes... Yes it is." Kia said before erupting in laughter again.

She helped her upright again and they sat side by side watching the woods, calming their laughter.

"It's good to hear you laugh." Lay said after a long silence, giving Kia a sideways glance.

Kia shrugged. "I am my father's daughter."

"Definitely." Lay said laughing. "Alright, let's go do what you want to do." she said, swinging her legs over the tree trunk to climb down.

Kia followed her down and then started walking to the water stream.

"Let's get the water first. We'll need to purify it." she said.

Layana followed blindly, never having really been interested in these types of things, she had no clue what to do.

They gathered a few bottles full of water and set back to their little hideout to get the purifier into the water.

"Next?" Lay asked.

"Traps. Both for food and... men. " Kia said smirking.

"Kia, you know I don't really agree with you right?" Lay asked.

"About what? We'll need to set snares for food because we can't risk shifting to hunt, what's there not to agree about?" Kia said.

"I'm not talking about the snares Ki." Lay said, taking a deep breath. "I mean about setting traps for the males. I don't care what you think, if my mate happens to find me, I'm going with him."

Kia growled and spun around to face Lay. "Over my dead body." For a moment her eyes flashed black and then turned their normal green. She sighed, "Let's just deal with it when we get there, okay?" she asked, offering a rare smile.

Lay just gave her a small nod.

After setting several snares and other traps, throughout which Kia had to explain the process to Lay and show her how it's done, they moved on to camouflage. Kia build a leaf screen up in the tree that would hide them from unwanted eyes and helped Lay cover her scent better, she also found some wild flowers nearby that she scattered around the tree to mask the lingering scent in the air a bit, so that it would seem more faded.

One of the snares caught a rabbit and Kia decided to cook it now before the males get in because once they're inside, there won't be time for cooking, not just because they'll be hiding, but also because it would be completely idiotic to light a fire and let them all know exactly where you were. After the rabit was cooked, she wrapped most of it up in a foil like substance that she found in one of the backpacks, securing it inside the bag to keep it out of the heat.

"Here" she said, handing Lay some meat.

"I'm not really hungry." Lay said.

"I know Lay, just try and eat this okay?" she said placing the meat in her hands.

They ate in silence as Kia sat there staring out over the woods, she didn't know what time it was, but judging by the heat it had to be well into the afternoon, the males would be allowed in soon and her anxiety was skyrocketing.

"It's going to be fine Ki. You'll see soon we'll both be out of here safely." Lay said reassuringly.

"Not soon enough." Kia grumbled just as a horn went off in the distance. The horn was followed by howls that made the hair on Kia's arms stand on end. She shivered involuntarily.

"It's starting." Lay whispered behind her and she could hear the hope in her voice. It made Kia mad, but as usual she didn't say anything.

Snap

Both girls turned their heads to the side, someone was moving towards them.

"They can't possibly be here yet?" Layana said, giving Kia a confused stare.

Kia sniffed the air. "Not males." she said, growling softly.

Out of the treeline a group of females emerged. They were all following a tall brunette that looked older than the rest. She must be one of the females that has made it through the Huntings before.

"No need for growling, little one." the woman said, looking up into the tree where the girls sat. Kia knew she couldn't see them, because they were behind a blanket of leaves, but she knew they were up there nonetheless. "Why don't you girls come down and chat with me a bit?" she asked.

Layana gave Kia a scared look and Kia held up her hand in reassurance. She stuffed a few knives into her belt and signaled for Layana to follow her.

"Stay close." she whispered to her.

"Oh, pretty." the woman said as she eyed Layana, she looked over at Kia and smiled. "You too."

"What do you want?" Kia asked the woman, feeling very uneasy about the situation.

"We don't want anything. We're here more for what you might need from us." she said, eying Layana.

"We don't need anything from you." Kia snapped, stepping in front of Lay more.

The woman laughed. "What, you're going to protect yourself?" she asked.

"Yes." Kia snapped.

The woman's eyes turned a darker shade of their normal blue and she stopped smiling. She stepped closer and Kia moved back a few steps, pushing Lay backwards with her. The woman shook her head.

"Do you know who I am?" she asked.

"You're one of the survivors." Kia said plainly, keeping a close eye on all the girls behind the woman.

They were all young, and pretty. Kia felt that was odd, since she saw a lot of the girls that were participating this year, and about half of them are not particularly pretty girls, yet this whole group seemed to be. And why does she keep looking at Layana like that?

She's gathering sacrifices. Kia though, the whole thing coming together in her head, so that's how she's survived the Hunting for so long.

"That I am yes, my name is Julia." the woman said, as she inched closer.

"I don't care who you are, stay away from my sister." Kia threatened, her eyes turning black.

"What?" Lay asked behind her.

"She's working with them Lay. See how every girl that is with her is exceptionally pretty. She's after all the best looking girls so she can hand them over to the males so they'd leave her alone. That's how she's been surviving this long!" Kia rambled out, grabbing onto Layana tightly." That's why she wants you, Lay."

The girls behind Julia became uneasy, shifting around nervously, not knowing who to believe right now.

Julia started laughing."Hmmm pretty and smart, that's a rare combination." she said glaring at Kia.

The girls behind her started screaming one by one and running off in different directions, trying to get away as fast as possible.

"No matter, she's worth all of them." Julia said, zoning in on Layana.

"Stay behind me Lay." Kia commanded, never taking her eyes off of Julia.

Julia half-shifted, allowing her claws and fangs to elongate. Her eyes turned pitch black and she snarled.

"Want her?" Kia mocked, "then come and get her."

Kia pushed Layana backwards hard as she lept forward to meet Julia's attack. The two women rolled around on the ground, clawing, biting, scratching and punching at each other. Each fighting for a different goal. Kia - to keep her sister safe, Julia- to keep herself safe.

Finally Julia let out a high pitched yelp as she slumped backwards onto the ground, her head lulling to the side. Slowly a large red pool started forming all around her as Kia scrambled backwards toward Lay. Both girls stared at Julia, laying there with a knife sticking out of her chest, eyes staring lifelessly at them.

"Let's go" Kia snapped, pushing Lay to climb up into the tree.

----

A few hours have passed since the males entered the woods, so far its been quiet but every now and then you could hear someone growl in the distance, or hear a scream coming and going. Kia did her best to block out the noise, she was shaking and every little snapping twig or flutter of wings sent her into attack mode.

Just as she was about to calm down she heard a shuffling sound and saw a flash of fur. The wolf stopped a few feet from the tree they were in and lifted his head up in the air. He sniffed around for a while before he turned his head to look directly at Kia, she gasped even knowing that he couldn't see her.

"Mate" came a low growling whisper from behind her.

Oh no. Was all Kia could think before Lay lurched forward. Kia grabbed her just in time, but unfortunately she lost her balance and they both went tumbling down out of the tree. They landed on the ground in a heap, Layana landing ontop of her, she gasped, trying hard to breathe again.

A low growl came from their left, Kia jumped up and shoved Lay behind her. She had to hold onto her sister tightly because she wanted to be with her mate.

"No Lay!" Kia pleaded. She looked over at the wolf that was eying her closely now. She mustered up all of her strength. "Shift." she commanded, but the wolf just stared at her, tilting his head sideways. After a few seconds of him just standing there she finally heard the cracking sounds of the shift.

"Is there a particular reason why you're keeping my mate from me?" the stranger asked.

"She's my sister. I'm just trying to protect her." Kia spat.

The man eyed her and then looked behind her at Layana. He shook his head and laughed.

"Sisters huh?" he asked with a cocky smile.

"Twins." she snapped back. That took him aback for a moment. His eyes grew serious and he gave them both a long look again.

"Only two wolves I know of that look like you... You're from the Riverdale pack, aren't you?" he asked.

"Yes." Kia replied, shortly.

The man smiled. "I know your father, you have nothing to fear from me. I actually value my life..." he joked.

Layana pushed Kia aside, stepping closer slowly, taking in the man before her.

He wasn't bad looking, strong built, tall with dark curly hair and chocolate colored eyes. His skin was a deep tan, probably from being in the sun a lot. Kia guessed he must be from Crescent Sky, since they're located in a warmer region of the lands.

Kia watched in silence as the two of them stared at each other, both too mesmerized to say anything. The man stepped closer.

"My name is Mathias. Delta of the Crescent Sky pack." he said.

"Layana, Beta-born of Riverdale." Lay politely introduced herself. Always the lady. Kia thought.

Mathias took her hand in his and a low growl escaped his lips. His eyes went from black to brown as he leaned forward to kiss Lay. Kia turned around, giving them some privacy.

"That's gross." Niri commented.

"Yeah..." Kia replied.

All the happiness was gone in a second as Kia heard her sister scream. As she turned around a blur of black went past her face and then Mathias was gone. Layana was standing there screaming, covered in blood, as Kia walked closer she saw Mathias' body on the ground a few feet away. Kia instinctively grabbed Lay and pushed her behind her, but she resisted, running over to her mate.

"He's gone Lay.. We have to go." Kia urged but her sister wouldn't move.

When Kia looked around again she spotted the Black wolf that attacked Mathias.

"Layana!" Kia said urgently but she didn't hear her, she was too busy mourning.

The unknown wolf stepped out of the bushes, head hanging low and fangs barred. He kept eying Layana so Kia knew he was here for her. No wonder really, Lay was breathtaking. A prize for any male. But something about this wolf was off, his whole aura made Kia's skin crawl.

He made a move to go closer to Layana.

"Don't you dare.." Kia warned, making the wolf halt for a second. Then he just shook out his fur and kept moving towards Lay. Instincts took over and Kia shifted into her wolf. Niri took over immediately, ready to protect her sister. She crouched down low, growling and snapping at the newcomer.

He simply looked at her, almost with amusement. Niri attacked first, going in low for his neck. He sidestepped her and slam into her side, throwing her off balance. She quickly regained herself just in time to move away from his jaws closing down over her hind leg. He grazed her skin and she let out a small yip.

Layana stalked over, putting her finger in the black wolf's face.

"YOU KILLED HIM!" she yelled, shaking in anger.

"Back off Lay, I've got this." Kia mindlinked her but she blocked her out.

The black wolf didn't like the disrespect she was showing him, he growled loudly, his ears dropping back. He was pissed off alright, but so was Layana. Her grief was blinding her and she was placing herself in a very dangerous position.

The wolf lurched forward, Niri jumped in to push Layana out of the way but she was a few seconds too late. The black wolf jumped onto Layana who was still in human form and began tearing her apart, right there in front of Kia. Niri stumbled when the scent of blood hit her nose, the sight was like something out of a horror movie. She was frozen, unable to move, unable to do anything.

"NIRI DO SOMETHING!" Kia screamed at her wolf.

Niri jumped forward and landed on top of the black wolf. She bit at his face, clawing and scratching him all over. He threw her off and gave her a bloody, wolf smile before moving in for the attack. Kia was expecting that so she dropped down onto her stomach and the wolf went flying over her. At the last second she extended her claws and sliced into the wolf's stomach. He stumbled down behind her, blood streaming out of his wounds. Niri walked closer and closed her jaws down around his neck, he struggled and scratched, desperately trying to throw her off but she just kept applying pressure until she heard a satisfactory snap and the wolf went limp.

She shifted back, dropping to the floor, naked and covered in blood and scratches. Her whole body was shaking, her heart ached and it felt like she couldn't breathe. A part of her was missing and she didn't know if she was strong enough to go on without it, without her sister. The wolf in front of her made her angry all over again, off to her side a glips of silver caught her eyes, she grabbed the knife that got thrown out of the way when she shifted and started stabbing away at the dead wolf blindly. Each stab fueled her rage more and more, blood was splattered all over her but she just get going until her arm felt numb.

Slowly Kia started moving towards Layana, barely able to stand. There was hardly anything left of her once beautiful sister. She was torn to pieces, left bloody and lifeless only a few feet away from her mate. Her pale blue eyes stared at Kia, mocking her. They seemed to yell out, You promised you'd protect me, Kia.

Kia closed Lay's eyes before she picked her up carefully and carried her broken body over to Mathias. Tears streaming down her face. She placed the bodies next to each other, almost intertwined and started looking around for rocks to cover them with. After a couple of hours the bodies were covered in a tomb of rocks and Kia sunk down on her knees next to it. She stared at the rocks for a long time, tears blurring her vision. Niri was howling in her mind, grieving her own sister.

"I'm sorry I couldn't keep you safe." Kia whispered, anger and regret eating her up.

The sun was slowly coming up by the time Kia stopped crying, her whole world felt broken and empty. She looked up at the sky and let out an earth shattering scream. Not caring who heard her.

-----

"Maybe we should go and join the other parents?" Elaina suggested.

"No, I wouldn't be able to focus being that close to them." Clayton argued.

They were both anxious, nervously counting down the hours until their daughters could come home. The males were let into the woods earlier that day and ever since the pair of them had been pacing up and down, praying to the Goddess for support.

"I just need to know they're okay..." Elaina said.

"We won't know until...." Clayton started but he was cut short when a stabbing pain traveled through his chest. From the look on his mate's face he knew she felt that too, which could only mean one thing. A family bond was severed.

"No..." Elaina gasped, clutching onto the nearby table for support. "No... No.... No..." she kept saying.

Clayton walked over to her and took her into his arms. The moment her head hit his chest she broke down crying, sobbing into him. Clayton felt his heart breaking, a single tear rolling down his face, but he remained strong for his mate.

A few moments later there was a knock at the door, he walked Elaina over to the couch and sat her down to go answer the door.

"Alpha" he said, bowing his head as he stepped aside to let him inside.

"I felt a bond breaking and I need...." he started saying before he met Eliana's eyes. He turned to Clayton. "It's not here, is it?" he asked.

"No, it's one of ours." Clay replied dryly.

The Alpha nodded his head, he didn't even think of the girls in the Hunting, he was sure it was here on the pack grounds.

"I'm sorry for your loss Clayton." the Alpha said, laying a hand on Clay's shoulder.

"Thank you Alpha." he said.

The Alpha left again and he felt himself losing control, his wolf wanted blood but he knew that blood was already split. Whichever sister was left, and he had a sinking feeling it was Kia, would have torn the killer apart by now.

"Oh my dear, sweet Layana." he whispered, leaning against the doorframe. He stood there staring at the ceiling until it was pitch black outside. His mate had fallen asleep, exhausted from her grief. He picked her up gently, carrying her to their bedroom and laid her down in bed.

As he got in next to her she stirred and whimpered in her sleep.

"Shh my love." he soothed, smoothing down her hair as he laid her head on his chest. "Everything will be alright."

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