The Hunters Ch. 04

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Secrets Unfold; Will Anya save her sister?
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Part 4 of the 8 part series

Updated 09/22/2022
Created 09/28/2010
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NB: Sorry this took a bit longer to post! It's quite content laden so it took me awhile to write. I know some of you have been asking me what a Hunter is... so I have given more info in this chapter to aid your understanding. Thank you all for the comments and suggestions. I did take them into consideration and I hope you all like this chapter!

***

Anya had been at the MacFarlane compound for almost three days now. She knew that her sister and father would be getting worried about her. But she had a job to do and it was getting harder by the day. She was held captive in her room; always someone standing watch outside her door and below her window. The only times she was able to go out was to the toilet and to eat downstairs with Lilith.

She had not seen Logan at all for the past two days. In fact, he had not come to her room at all since the other night and she was washed with mixed feelings of relief and longing. She longed to feel his hands on her again, even when she chided herself for wanting him so much.

Trying to put her thoughts aside, Anya began to plan her escape. She was a powerful Hunter; the best the organization has. How difficult could it be to fool a bunch of Beta wolves guarding her room? After that, she was going to take down the main Alpha. That would be enough, she hoped. She would try to reason with the Order and ask them to send reinforcements if they seek to continue with the mission. She was aware that killing the Alpha male would shatter the whole pack; Lilith would probably never forgive her for it and Logan... would he still consider her as his mate?

Mate. Everyone on the compound knew she was Logan's mate. They accorded her with such deference that she herself was starting to accept the fact that they were mates. Anya sighed. Was this longing for Logan a sign of weakness? Did the Order fail in their breeding project?

She had been taught since young that when the organization first bred their kind known as Hunters, they had made sure that only the most powerful genes and strengths were incorporated. The Hunters did not need to feed on blood like the Vampires, nor do they need to seek a mate like Werewolves. They were immune to attacks from both species but because they were engineered hybrids, it meant that they could not inflict mortal damage to either species. As such, they had been trained in the art of stealth and surprise attacks aided by their genes that ensured they possessed no scent because of their lack of pheromones. Pheromones were the key essential ingredient responsible for triggering a response specific only to one's mate.

But didn't she produce a scent after having sex the other day? And how could Logan know that she was his mate when he could not smell her before? Anya felt a small headache building in her mind. She could heal it away but somehow she liked its' lingering feeling. It made her feel almost human... and not some superhuman prototype that she truly was.

Anya was enjoying her headache so much that she forgot about her initial plans to escape. It was then that Lilith barged into her room, sounding frantic.

"Anya! Anya! Oh please help me..." she cried. Anya snapped from her headache and immediately focused on the blue eyed woman in front of her.

"What's wrong Lilith?"

"Oh, it's terrible... it's terrible!" she cried, coming closer towards Anya and resting her head on her shoulders.

"You've got to tell me what's wrong Lilith or I can't help you..." Anya said patiently.

"It's Leon... He's been missing since that night you came here... He didn't tell me where he went or left a message for anyone. Logan went to look for him but neither he nor Leon has been back since. I'm worried Anya. The other wolves are getting uneasy and restless."

"Have any of the Betas been dispatched to search for them?"

"Yes, I've sent four of them this morning on a search. But my instincts tell me that something is really wrong Anya. Oh Anya... I'm really sorry to ask you this... but... is there anyone else hiding in our compound that you did not mention? Is there someone who might want to hurt my Leon?" she asked between sobs.

Anya was at a loss. She couldn't bring herself to say that she had intended to kill Leon and possibly Lilith and Logan as well. But at the same time, she was aware that the Order would sometimes send another recon and, or rescue Hunter if they felt that the mission had been compromised.

"I'll tell you what Lilith... I need you to trust me to get out of this house so that I can have a better sense if there has been any chase or killings done nearby."

Lilith looked into Anya's eyes and said,

"I trust you..."

Anya closed her eyes and for the first time felt her heart breaking for this woman.

Lilith stood at the door as Anya was let out of the house. Anya's first instinct was to run but somehow she felt tied to this family of wolves in ways she could not explain. Instead, she looked around, sensing the movements in the trees and straining her ears to listen for the breath and heartbeats around her.

"Where did the Betas lose track of the scent?" she asked.

"It's about 20miles from here. I'll get the car."

Lilith was a terrific hell driver, Anya mused. Maybe she'll ask if she'd like to have a race with her someday. They reached the location in under fifteen minutes and when Anya got out, she immediately scanned the area.

Nothing seemed out of place; but to a trained eye, one would be able to spot the small broken twigs on the ground; a lack of vehicle tracks and most important of all, hardly any scent of an intruder.

Anya followed the broken twigs down a barely visible trodden path that lead towards a small creek. She made sure that she was walking slowly to allow Lilith to follow her. The Alpha was already in her wolf form when she caught up beside Anya.

"Do you see this?" she pointed to some prints in the soil. "This one looks deeper than the other beside it. I am guessing that one of them must have been carrying the other or something heavy before jumping into the water."

"Can you tell if Leon was injured? I don't smell blood," said Lilith. Although Anya had not mentioned the identity from the other footprint, Lilith understood that it belonged to one of her kind for there was only Leon's scent left in the air.

"No he's not. I don't smell blood either but the water could have washed any wound clean without leaving any traces too. Your Betas weren't able to get far either because the water will obscure the scent considerably. Furthermore, this creek leads out towards the sea doesn't it?"

Lilith looked at Anya and nodded.

"Do you want to follow me, Lilith?" she asked. The wolf did not answer but was already jumping on the rocks in the creek in the direction of the sea. Anya smiled and followed suit. Just for accompanionment sake, Anya took on her wolf form as well, much to the surprise and delight of Lilith, who had stopped to turn and look.

Anya had taken the form of a white wolf with a coat that literally shone under the moonlight. Lilith stood transfixed.

"You are very beautiful, my child... You don't know how happy it makes me, knowing that my son has mated. Oh, my heart feels much lighter now. Thank you..." she said, as they continued their way. Anya couldn't even begin to explain her circumstances. The lesser Lilith knew the better.

However, it made her tingle slightly with pleasure at the thought that Lilith approved of her mating with Logan. The thought of his name made her smile, before it turned into a frown remembering that he was missing.

The two female wolves continued down the creek, aware that the water was getting deeper now and there were fewer rocks to step on.

"The trail ends here... I'm sure you can tell that his scent is gone."

"What does that mean, Anya?"

Anya paused for a moment and tried to think.

"It is possible that he was loaded onto a sort of boat. The water here is deep enough for a small boat to maneuver fairly well. He was caged... no... hidden in the galleys...where the scent of food would indefinitely mask his. I'm sorry Lilith, there is no use heading upstream now."

"But I will still send the Betas to check it out, to be safe."

"You do that. For now, we need to get back."

Once they were back in the compound, Anya found herself giving orders to the Beta wolves on possible locations to search. Lilith had gone inside, possibly mulling over the information she had just learnt from her search with Anya earlier.

When she entered the kitchen, Lilith was slouched over a cup of tea.

"They're tearing my family apart... first Lycia, now Leon and Logan. But that's not the worst part. Whoever's doing this knows that removing the Alphas would break up the pack. That's a political motive and I'm trying my best not to vent all my anger on you."

Anya kept silent at the gravity of Lilith's words. This woman was deserving of her Alpha status, she noted. She was perceptive, intelligent and a natural born analyst.

"Lilith..."

"I know what you're going to say. I'm going to let you."

"Why?"

"Because I need to trust that you'd get my son back at least, if you can't get my mate back. Leon's nobody to you but your instincts will ensure that you fight all out to retrieve Logan."

Anya sighed and placed her palm on Lilith's.

"Lilith... you've been most kind to me. But I am not the person you think I am. I am a vicious, cold hearted killer. Those are my instincts."

"No they are not. In time you will see that I am right... You'd better go now my child. I hope that we will see each other soon," she said pulling Anya for a fierce hug.

Anya had taken one of the cars loaned to her and sped off towards home. Leaving the compound didn't give her the sense of freedom she'd thought she'd feel but instead, she felt more lost and unsure of where her loyalty pointed to.

***

Richard was tired. His head was full of worry for his daughters. Connor had given a week for his daughters to return- dead or alive, before he would arrange for a meeting to pass an ultimatum.

Even as he closed his eyes, he faintly heard the revving of a car engine coming up his driveway. His frown eased a little as a smile danced upon his face slightly. He waited a heartbeat before opening the main door and saw Anya striding towards him.

"Anya..." he whispered. His eyes were threatening to flow with tears of relief and happiness at seeing that his daughter was safe.

"Daddy... I'm sorry," she said, coming closer to give him a fierce embrace. They stayed that way for a minute before she stiffened.

"Where's Aurora, Daddy?"

"She's not back yet..."

"What?" she replied in surprise. Aurora's mission was a simple assassination. It should not take more than a day.

"Elder Connor suspects that the target has her hostage. He might have already killed her so he sent another Hunter to look for her," said Richard softly. He could see Anya's pupils dilating into thin slits of red.

It angered her that she had not sensed anything regarding her sister's whereabouts of if she was in danger. She had been so absorbed by her conflicting feelings about the MacFarlanes that she had forgotten about her sister. It was an unsaid rule between them that if one was on a mission, the other would always keep the other in mind to ensure that she was safe.

"I want to meet the Elders at the headquarters."

"Oh Anya...you failed?" asked Richard, with a quiver in his voice.

"I suspect they might have one of my targets captured. Yes I have failed but the Order has failed to inform me of their change of plans too. I am going to use that as leverage to try and find Aurora."

"Connor will be most displeased. No... please don't go Anya. You need to go back and finish your job."

"Aurora was ordered to assassinate a high profiled Vampire and she has been unsuccessful so far. I have to do something Daddy... or Aurora will be terminated. I will face the consequences of my failure myself... but I cannot bear to have either of you punished."

Richard was about to stop her for the second time but she had managed to kiss his cheeks goodbye and was out of the door in a blink of an eye. A minute later, he heard the sounds of her Ducati rearing to life.

Sighing to himself, he decided it was best if he went to the headquarters too. Anya could get hot headed at times and she might incur Connor's wrath beyond what was necessary and get herself killed. No matter what Connor had said, he was the girls' father and he would do anything to protect them.

***

"Do you have authorization to go up Ma'am?" asked the common level vampire guard at the front desk.

Anya didn't even look at him but had walked right through the security door, ignoring both the alarms and the poor guard's cries. He was of not interest to her at this moment and she had no time to be cordial. Connor would be aware of her presence by now but it didn't dampen her verve.

She got out on the twenty fourth storey and marched towards the Elders' private chambers to take the private lift up. The secretary at the door did not get a chance to say anything for Anya was already through the door before she could even protest. However, she was stopped at the lift entrance by two Hunters; refusing to let her through.

"Please senior Anya, we do not wish to fight you... but your actions have made the Order deem you a threat and we have to stop you."

"Mira, Elton... if you don't get the hell out of my way, you're gonna get seriously hurt."

"We're really sorry Anya..."

Anya gave a sigh and took a step forward and continuously walked towards the lift, avoiding all their attacks. They were still young Hunters, she noted. More senior Hunters could read their opponents' movement even before it was executed, thus allowing them to evade an attack. Once in the lift, she gave a laugh. If Connor seriously wanted to hurt her, he would have sent a much senior ranked Hunter instead of two rookies.

When the lift door opened, Anya was prepared to face at least a few more Hunters before she could actually speak to Connor. However, it surprised her to see her father standing there with his arms crossed while Connor and another Elder known as Hedva were seated behind him, with a chessboard between them.

"Anya... you are a stubborn child..."

"I'm sorry Daddy... this has to be done."

"Richard... let the child speak for herself. She has come a long way up. I'm sure she has much to say."

"Elders," said Anya, bowing respectfully to all three Elders in front of her. "Before I lay out my proposal, may I be given the permission to ask a question?"

Her question caused Connor to explode in laughter.

"Why... you are a strange child indeed. You barge into my chambers and now you're being polite? Yes, yes... just ask away..."

"Has there been a recent capture of Alpha males authorized by this Order?"

Elder Hedva got up from her chair and walked towards Anya with a curious expression on her face.

"And why would a little girl want to know about this?" she asked.

"I will take your avoidance as a yes then," Anya said. Hedva gave a snort but kept silent.

"It seems that you have captured my target without informing me first of a change in plans. That in itself is a violation of our code. But seeing that you have captured my prime target, I assume that he is of no interest to you dead. As such, this mission has been compromised."

"Anya, Anya..." said Connor with an elaborate sigh. "I must say that I am displeased with your failure but you know what? I am feeling generous right now since I have Hedva here in a checkmate in two moves."

Connor watched Anya's face for a response but found none and was pleased.

"The capture of this Alpha would be pivotal to the creation of our new batch of Hunters. Hedva here will agree with me on this since she's heading the team of researchers." He looked intently at her for a moment before continuing. "The first Alpha- Lycia had proved to be a complete failure. The embryos we harvested from her proved to constantly produce multiples; twins, triplets and so on. The Order is not willing to breed any more twins such as you because we still do not know the extent of our success."

"I... I am an experiment?" Anya asked with shock.

"Well... you could say that. You were the last batch to be breed within the uterus of a host female. We are hoping to develop a prototype that does not need a female host to develop. That's where our new Alpha male comes in handy."

"What have you done to him you sick bastard!"

"My, my... aren't we defensive... I'm surprised you have a heart, Anya..." he laughed.

"Please Connor... I think you have told her enough. Please let her have her say now..." said Richard. He could see how hurt his daughter was feeling from the knowledge that she had learnt and it angered him so much knowing that he could do nothing to stop it.

"Oh please... Look Anya... Richard over there was the first successful prototype that was bred here in this very organization; Egg from an Alpha female and sperm from a Pureblood male. It is the same for you and your sister. Our only mistake was that we had no idea that the egg could have divided in half while in the host's womb. It was a lab error and we wanted to terminate you at twenty-two weeks but Richard was against it. He said he'd raise you both and be responsible for you. Isn't that right Richard?"

"Please... Connor... you're hurting her..." pleaded Richard. He was now standing between Anya and Connor.

"Richard? You continuously surprise me. Get out of my sight or I will not have mercy on this child."

"Leave him alone!" snapped Anya. "I came here because I want a trade."

"What?" asked Connor in surprise.

"I will retrieve my sister and complete her assignment in exchange for the Alpha's return to his pack. I will personally erase his memories of all knowledge about this facility."

"And why would I agree to this?"

"Because you don't know for sure whether your twin 'experiment' has truly succeeded or failed. Terminating us without confirming your hypothesis might prove to be a liability for you in the future."

"Mmm... you are quite something Anya..." he said, looking at her intently. "You see... usually after we take samples of eggs and sperm from our subjects, we let them go and then we send orders to have them terminated. I am afraid I am not able to let this Alpha male of yours free."

"Why?"

"Haven't you been paying attention child?! All Hunters have been bred using Alpha female eggs and Pureblood male sperm. But Hedva here has found something interesting. If we were to use Alpha male sperm with Pureblood female eggs, we create a new prototype of Hunters that do not need a female host to develop. That's a lot of cost savings. And so... I regret to say that I cannot release your Alpha male at this moment. However... I will let you retrieve your sister and carry out her assassination on her behalf. Her target has become a necessary threat for us all anyway."

Anya was feeling sick. She didn't trust herself to speak anymore after hearing what Connor had said. She couldn't believe her father kept this from them all these years. He told her that her mother had died at childbirth and he'd erase all memories of her because it was too painful for him to remember. She had believed him.

Anya knew it was time to leave. She simply bowed and turned to leave the room. She saw that her father was following her into the lift but she didn't dare to turn and face him lest she burst into tears.

However, alone in the lift, she gravitated towards Richard and buried her head at his chest and wept her heart out.

***

Logan was furious. He had followed his father's scent all the way to the creek. The scent was still strong when he got there so he knew that Leon had been there at least an hour before he got there. He kept close to the shadows and was shocked when he saw a man carrying Leon on his back. He had hopped on the rocks protruding from the water with such ease as if he was carrying a feather on his back.

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