The Hunters Ch. 01

Hi all, this is my first time writing in so I hope you all enjoy the story. Don't forget to comment and rate!

***

Anya watched the crowd grow restless outside the bar called Pandora's. The bar was legion for its upbeat music and fantastic cocktails but had a stringent entrance policy. They don't just admit any Tom, Dick or Harry. But that was just what she had read up from research.

Anya's eyes scanned the crowd once more from her SUV parked indiscriminately on the opposite lane. Looking at her watch, she smiled and decided it was time for her hunt to begin.

She was dressed to kill. Her thigh- high boots hugged her slender legs snugly and left very little skin visible beneath her leather micro-mini skirt. Her top consisted of a sheer lace babydoll that could barely contain her 36D breasts.

To any other woman, dressing like this was a signal for a definite come on. But for Anya, it was a matter of blending in. She hadn't joined the queue like everyone else, but had stridden over towards the bouncer and was immediately given a heads up to enter. He would soon forget she had even entered; she had made sure of that.

Once she was inside, Anya's face turned somber.

There was too much scent for her to focus. A quick glance assured her that no one had noticed her... yet. Wanting to buy herself more time, she went over to the bar and ordered a drink.

With her back turned from the crowd, she closed her eyes and feigned a headache. But what she was actually doing was focusing; drawing out the one scent she was supposed to follow and blocking out the rest.

"Here's your drink Ma'am" the bartender said, shaking her out of her concentration. But Anya had gotten a whiff of her prey in sight. She paid for her drink then left it there, untouched and headed towards the washroom.

She stood outside the door and tried to see how many other women were inside. There were at least ten of them. Anya didn't like what she was about to do but she knew it had to be done.

Stepping inside, it took her less than five seconds to get all the women out- even the ones in the cubicles. They all left, muttering about something they've forgotten.

Anya locked the washroom entrance and waited for her prey to come out of her cubicle. She knew that the woman would have noticed the sudden quietness, so it didn't shock her to find the woman had already shifted into her wolf form when she came out of the cubicle.

Anya had to suppress her chuckle at the confused look on the wolf's face. The bitch was sniffing the air wildly but they both knew that there was no scent in the air.

For a moment, Anya saw a brief flicker of fear in the wolf's eyes before she came close and in a blink of an eye, severed the wolf's head with a blade she had kept tucked in her boots.

Suddenly, the door broke open and in pounced another wolf. Anya was caught off guard for a moment and was almost pinned down on the floor, if not for her lightning quick reflexes.

Fuck! She had not considered the issue that this woman's mate might have been around. Anya started into the wolf's eyes, planning her escape.

The male wolf stared hard at Anya, a deep growl in his throat. The moment he began to sniff her scent, he had the same confused look on him as the woman had. Anya took that second of confusion to escape. She regretted that she would have to inform her elders of the mistake she had made.

She would have killed the second wolf too, but that would have been against her orders.

The orders were to kill the female, known as Lycia. Anya was never told why exactly each time she was given an assignment; except that the target was dangerous and would threaten the existence of mankind.

***

Logan had carried Lycia's body out of the washroom. In death, her body had shifted back into her human form and she felt weightless in his arms. His other pack members had tried their best to shield him from the gaze of the crowd, giving him the chance to exit quietly to his parked car.

Logan told himself that he would not cry; tears were for the weak, his father had always said. The drive back home felt longer than usual and it was also accompanied by loss, loneliness and anger.

When he entered the compound parameters, he immediately shifted and gave a loud mournful howl. It was soon reciprocated by another howl, and another, and another.

Within minutes, his Alpha wolves had arrived, accompanied by the Betas, the shock and pain in their eyes apparent.

The female Alpha had turned away from the carcass lying in front of Logan. Logan could not look into her eyes; her sadness tore at his heart even more than a million different punishment his male Alpha had given him. His eyes remained downcast as the male Alpha spoke.

"Bring her back to our house. We will give her a proper burial... and then we will talk."

"Yes, Alpha..." Logan said softly.

The burial of an Alpha was always considered sacred in the pack. Being an Alpha pup, Lycia was given the sending off that she deserved, only that Logan had not expected it to be so soon.

The wolves had all gathered around her and were giving out one howl after another; a ritual that would only end at daybreak. Logan himself had led in the mourning ritual. His pain for Lycia's loss was articulated in his sorrowful cry that night.

The pair of Alphas were the only ones that remained silent. They had lain side by side with their dead daughter, their heads down on the ground between their paws.

Till dawn, the pack stayed that way; their howling only stopped when the male Alpha had gotten up and started to dig the earth where he had lain earlier as the site for the burial. He had done it by himself and when he was done, he gave a final bow of submission for his pup. She would forever be his pup even after centuries had passed.

As the sunlight brightened the sky, the Alpha male shifted back into his human form and motioned for Logan and his top ranking Betas to enter his home.

As the commanding male Alpha, Leon had to be strong even though he had buried his daughter only moments ago. He had always thought that he would die first but not before seeing his only daughter bear her own pups. The thought cinched his heart but he had to put that aside for now.

"Tell me, Logan, what happened," he said gruffly, the fatigue in his voice apparent.

"She was attacked in the washroom, by a woman," said Logan.

"Was this woman a Vampire, Logan?"

"No... she was not...In fact, she smelled funny. I can't put a finger to it... but she was mostly... human."

"And this... human... left the scene unharmed?"

"I... I was too confused with her scent to have done anything, Alpha. By the time I got to the bathroom, Lycia was already dead. I was too shocked," he confessed guiltily.

The moment Leon's big hands struck him across the face, Logan knew he had that coming. The sharp sting of the Alpha's big hands was going to be felt for a few days.

"Leon... The two of them were in that bathroom for five minutes max... and it took Logan less than that to notice that Lycia was missing. Whoever that woman was, she was faster, stronger and more skilled," said Caden, one of the elder Betas.

"Find this woman. But don't kill her. We do not know who she is, what clan she may be from or what her associations are. She could verily be a Vampire who has advance skills to suppress her scent and we do not want to wage a war without knowing more details. Find her, bring her here... and we will tear her apart if need be. Is that clear?"

"Yes Alpha!" they said in unison before leaving the house one at a time. Only Logan stayed back.

He looked at Leon and knew that it had been a tough call on his Alpha. Revenge would have dictated that the woman be killed without question... but Leon had thought of his pack's safety first. If there was one thing Leon had taught him, it was that no one lived in this world alone; everyone is a part of an interconnected web and it wouldn't be wise to act without considerations.

Leon looked at Logan; opened up his hands and they hugged fiercely as tears threatened to fall from their eyes.

"Father..." Logan said, his voice croaking with the sudden urge to cry.

"What are you not telling me, son?" Leon finally said.

"That woman... she is my mate..." said Logan, finally looking up into his father's eyes.

***

Anya was pissed. She should have killed that damn wolf... now he's gonna complicate things.

She had abandoned her rented SUV and was currently zipping up the jacket of her riding gear. She had chosen to abandon the flimsy lace top and boots. If those wolves had begun sniffing her out, if that was even possible, then they would find that her trail ended in the motel parking lot a few blocks from the bar.

After checking that her equipment was all packed, she slung her bag pack over her, slid on her full-face helmet over her dark brown hair and sped off on her Ducati 749.

The bike could never move as fast as she could, even at its highest speed, she mused. But still, it brought her great pleasure to let something else do the work of speed and movement, especially when she knew the wolves would never catch up with her; Ducati or not.

For now, she needed to go home. The Elders would want a report on the assignment.

She continued riding upstate, until she could smell the change in air temperature and humidity as she entered the mountainous and forested areas. Her Ducati sped on, noiselessly and in a few minutes, she entered the 45acres of land, known as home.

As she approached the main house, she sensed that she was being followed. Giving a low laugh, she gave her wrist a little twist and pumped up the acceleration to full speed.

When she finally stopped, she took off her helmet, waited a second and said,

"Aurora, you'll never beat me, slowpoke."

"Yeah, you bet your ass I can!" said Aurora who had materialized from nowhere and was now pinning Anya onto the grass.

"Girls, girls!" said a low guttural voice. The two women looked up.

"Daddy!" they said in unison. Richard Redfield beamed as his daughters. Pulling them to their feet, he gestured them to come in.

Anya was not surprised to find that the table was already set for three. Her father had gone out of his way to welcome them home, as always, with his home cooked food.

He was getting old, she noted. His hair had greyed considerably since the last she saw him but his stamina was still good. She was sure that he still did his five mile run every morning without fail.

"Sit, sit... tell Daddy everything that he needs to know..." he said, gesturing them to the seats opposite him.

"So, how was your trip to London, Aurora?" he asked, as they tucked into their dinner.

"Oh, it was boring! I hate recon assignments!"she replied, tossing her brown hair behind her shoulder.

Richard gave a laugh. Aurora was always a feisty one, while Anya.... His eyes turned to his other daughter and considered her quietly. She wouldn't volunteer information willingly, especially not when her stomach wasn't full yet. Two identical daughters, but totally different personalities, he mused.

"Tell me about it then," he said instead. Even as he listened to her lament about her trip, he had watched from the corner of his eyes, his other daughter who was eating in silence.

"Anya... are you listening to me?" asked Aurora. It was only then that Anya looked up and nodded her head. Richard gave himself a mental chuckle.

"What was that for?" Anya asked defensively.

"Your weakness has always been your sister..."

"I do not have a weakness," she said matter-of-factly. Aurora turned to her sister and gave her a pained look.

"What are you looking at, slowpoke?" she said as she jabbed her finger at Aurora's arm.

Richard smiled as he watched his girls laughing, teasing each other.

When dinner was over, he instructed Aurora to go to bed first, indirectly signaling her for privacy.

He sat at his lounging chair at the porch, overlooking the mountains and waited for Anya to see him. He didn't need to instruct her; he knew she would come on her own. She had a strange habit of seeking him out like that, away from her sister; to seek his undivided affections.

"Daddy?"

"I'm here..." he replied.

"Daddy... I think I'm in trouble."

Richard raised his eyebrow enquiringly; his grey eyes searching the darkness for her. It didn't surprise him when he felt her head resting on his thigh a few seconds later. Stroking her hair, he kept silent, allowing her to speak first.

"You know that last assignment?"

"Mmmhmm..."

"I killed the Alpha bitch as instructed... but... I think her mate caught me before I had the chance to leave," she said, pausing to gauge his reaction.

"Continue..." he merely said.

"My orders were not to kill anyone other than the target. But I fear that the Alpha's mate might become a liability should he set his pack on a hunt for me. What should I do, Daddy?"

Richard remained silent for a moment thinking about what Anya had just said. There were many times when he had done such a mistake; back when he was a prime hunter, but it never involved a target's mate. Werewolves were possessive about their mates, he knew that and they would never rest until they had their revenge, even if they had to wait years to find the culprit.

"Anya... I have no answer for you now, my child... but I will seek an immediate meeting with the other Elders."

Richard told his daughter to get some rest while he prepared for the impromptu meeting. Although he was an Elder now, having retired from being a hunter for a few decades now, he was still considered a junior in the ranks of the Elders.

He could only hope that whatever verdict they came up with, it would not hurt Anya.

Alone in his study, Richard pulled up the sleeve of his shirt, exposing a marking on the underside of his forearm that looked like a dagger piercing a full moon. He traced the marking with his finger slowly, then repeated it again with an extended nail from his fingers; drawing blood.

"What is the matter, Richard?" a plethora of voices exploded in his head.

"There have been some complications with the MacFarlane assignment. I request an immediate meeting with utmost urgency."

"Did the chosen hunter fail the mission?" asked one of them.

"No, she did not."

"Very well then... we shall convene."

An hour later, as promised, the Elders were gathered in Richard's study, all seven of them, including himself.

"Anya was caught by the female Alpha's mate before she had the chance to escape. How could she not have been told about this?" he asked.

"We have no knowledge of this... mate, that you mentioned," replied one of the Elders.

"Perhaps it happened recently," said another.

"We should not have made such a mistake," admitted the first Elder. He was the oldest of the Elders and carried most weight in all their decisions. He contemplated his suggestion for a minute then spoke, "We will send a recon to find out what the MacFarlane clan has decided before we make our decision."

"You already know what they will do!" protested Richard. "They are probably out there right now, trying their best to sniff out Anya's scent!"

"Quiet Richard..." said another Elder. "Your kind has no scent and the MacFarlane's can try to track her down forever to no avail. Unless you want to consider sending Anya to wipe out their entire pack..." he added with a sneer.

"Hmm... as dangerous as that sounds... I don't think that's a bad idea. Very well then... we shall take away the recon mission. Anya will be assigned to take down the remaining Alphas in the MacFarlane pack. It should not be a difficult task. Once the Alphas are taken out, the pack will fall apart and simply regroup and join the other packs," said the oldest Elder.

"No... please..."

"My decision is final, Richard... and the other Elders stand by my decision as well," he said as a concluding remark.

Richard looked around him and feeling defeated, bowed his head in acceptance. Anya will have to do her task; no failure is accepted.

***