The Hunted

Chapter Two

As soon as the Daemon Hunters saw me they each let out a garbled hiss. I recoiled and swayed, Ben's hand gripping my arm tighter as Grant placed his shoulder in front of mine and assessed the threat.

"Too many," he declared, taking a few steps backwards and urging Ben and I to do the same. "Try the back window."

Ben swore as he nearly fell on the blood and alcohol on the floor but didn't pause. He planted one hand firm on my waist as he half lifted me through the motel room to the broken window in the back.

"I'll go first," Ben said as he handed me over to Grant. I watched as he tucked himself through the window, the broken edges of the window pane catching on his hoodie and nicking his skin. Ben crouched on the sloping roof and proceeded cautiously to the edge.

"Your turn, witch," Grant rumbled. I nodded and felt the world tilt. I swallowed the feeling though, determined to get through this. Grant swore as his fingers touched my upper arm, feeling the makeshift shirt-bandage—it was soaked through. His pale eyes met mine. "You're going to be the death of me."

I grimaced as I reached for the window, trying to coordinate my body but failing. My limbs weren't cooperating any more. All of my movements were slow and heavy and clumsy. Grant was patient but I could feel the tension rolling off of him. There was a threat approaching and I was moving as though I was hammered.

"Come on, Morda," Grant urged as he looked over his shoulder. "You need to get through this window." He barked for Ben as his hands held onto my back—trying to guide me through. I blinked as the trees ahead slanted and shifted. The window itself was starting to melt in my vision.

"Don't bother," I heard Ben say, "they've started to come around this side."

A growl of frustration and then I was yanked backwards through the windowpane. I whimpered as my arm roared in pain and Grant swore when the bleeding started to drip down my hand again.

"She needs stitches," he growled.

"I know," Ben agreed, "but this isn't the best time for performing a medical procedure."

"She's going to pass out any second," Grant argued, "look around you at the amount of blood she's lost." I started to feel heat bloom in my chest, growing hotter with each heartbeat.

Ben shook his head. "Are you going to stitch her up while you fight off those things?"

The heat was started to sink past my lungs, my ribs, my stomach. Grant was furious as he lifted the bandage on my arm. "She's not healing at all." He directed his next question at me. "What's the point of being half werewolf if you get none of the perks?"

Ben was starting to lose his composure as he paced. "We just need to get to the car."

"I'll have to shift and fight," Grant rumbled, "meaning you'll have to drive."

A moment of silence.

"I can do that," Ben said, voice shaking.

Grant swore. "If you she dies because you flip the car I will be pissed as all hell, mutt."

The heat was beginning to crest over my shoulders. Ben tried to sound more confident. "I'm not going to flip the car," he shot back, "this is the only chance we have anyways." Grant mumbled something under his breath and threw Ben the keys.

I felt the heat flare as it reached my broken skin. I cried out as it seared me, cauterizing the wounds as I bucked around. I was too far gone to hear Ben and Grant's voices—I could only feel their panic.

I came back slowly, rising to the surface as though I was pushing myself up through water. I heard Grant's voice. "—not completely useless then, witch."

Ben came next. "Morda? Can you hear me."

I forced out a garbled yes. I might not have been bleeding but I was still disorientated. The world rushed up to meet me as I was pulled upwards and then heaved into Ben's arms. He held my weight well, moving forward with ease.

I watched Grant as he walked ahead of us, the pale skin of his hands stained red from my blood. My head lolled and I tried to catch it but it fell over Ben's arm, giving me a canted angle of the area.

Grant shifted on the balcony, exploding into a whirl of white fur and fangs. He didn't hesitate as he launched himself over the railing and jumped down a flight to land in the parking lot.

I called out to him but my voice was lost as Ben took off in a run towards the stairs. The night's sky whirled above me and I struggled to hold onto anything. I heard deep growls and snaps along with guttural hisses and cries.

Ben moved quickly, trying his best to keep my head braced. I caught a glimpse of Grant as he lunged towards a Daemon Hunter. He was fearsome and deadly, his white fur catching the moonlight and making him appear godlike.

"Quick," Ben urged himself as he ran.

A few Daemon Hunters turned to us and hissed, their decaying faces narrowing as they saw me. "Witch," one of them grunted, blood flying from his lips. Ben growled and set me on my feet. I swayed and grabbed a hold of his shoulders as I tried to swallow my nausea.

Ben tucked me behind him and crouched, one hand still holding my wrist tightly. The three hunters approached slowly, their hoods hiding their eyes and casting gruesome shadows over the rest of their faces.

Ben lunged and tackled one of the Hunters knocking down another as they fell. I watched in horror as the three of them twisted on the floor. I was unable to follow the blows and the longer I tried to watch the more I was beginning to lose my sense of balance.

The third Daemon Hunter paid no attention to his brethren, instead he stalked towards me. Gravestone teeth gleamed at me as he pulled back his horrid lips in a sneer. I could feel the hatred radiating off of him, could feel the bloodlust.

I took a rapid step back and swayed dangerously. The world was starting to pitch at a wrong angle and my head was now thumping hard. I held my hand out and waited for fire, waited for anger to ignite my powers. I could save us all. I just need to burn.

"Morda!" I heard Ben shout.

I opened my eyes and found the Daemon Hunter standing right in front of me. His hood had titled back far enough for me to see his eyes. They were terrifying. Bright yellow and rimmed with a deep, rusty red. His pupil bled into his iris and the edge of his eyes were horribly scarred as if it had tried to claw them out.

"Witch," it hissed again. I felt black blood hit my face.

I threw my hand out and struck the Hunter in the chest. My entire body went cold. I folded in on myself as whatever fire had settled into my chest was extinguished. The creature stalked forward again and placed its grey hand on my throat.

Cold swept over and through me until the tips of my fingers were a deep purple. My breathing accelerated, my heartbeat hastened, my mind raced as my body went into panic mode. I was dying. I could feel it.

A streak of white obstructed my vision and then the Daemon Hunter was gone. Grant had intercepted, tackling the hunter and then pinning it with his massive jaws. The Daemon Hunter let out a gruesome howl as Grant ripped it apart, throwing grey chunks of skin all over the parking lot.

I had no time to react before Ben had grabbed me and was pulling me across the parking lot, fighting off the Hunters with one arm as he struggled to reach the Jeep. I tried to focus my energy, tried to rekindle the fire in my chest. I only needed a spark to create a flame.

"Fuck," Ben panted as he tugged me along. I felt a hand to my back and was yanked to the ground by a Hunter. I heard Ben's curse as he was surrounded but couldn't stop to worry as a Hunter slithered over my body. Rank breath fanned over my face and as I flailed, landing attacks but finding no reaction in the lifeless body of the Hunter.

"Wicked Witch," the thing hissed, it's throat tearing itself apart to form the words. I felt its nails bite into my skin and tried to scream. I couldn't and that pent up energy created the spark I needed.

Energy burst from me as my body's temperature skyrocketed. Fire burnt through my veins as it pushed its way from my heart to my fingertips. The Daemon Hunter on top of me screamed as I pushed fire into its skin, lighting up the dull grey as the flames transferred.

It rolled off of me and seized in pain. I pushed myself up and watching sickeningly as the creature's skin began to peel from its bones as fire engulfed it completely. Its shrieks and screams would haunt me for a long time.

Ben was still fighting off his attackers when I turned. I threw my hand out and a line of fire followed, separating Ben from the Daemon Hunters. Ben turned wild-eyed to me, his black hair a mess and his face pinched with panic. His tawny eyes threw my flames back at me as he held my gaze.

Without a word, he took my hand and we continued running for the Jeep—my power resurgence helping to clear my head and focus my body. Ben fumbled with the keys and swore before getting the doors unlocked and helping me inside.

I turned and looked out the window and Ben revved the engine, looking for Grant. The wall of flames had doubled in size and I watched as multiple Hunters caught blaze. Ben was frantically looking over the car's controls, trying to piece together what little he knew in order to get it going.

I laid my hand flat against the window as Ben swore. I squinted, catching a blur of white and then gasping as I watched Grant launch himself through the wall of fire. He skidded and rolled on the other side, his white fur singed in places. He stood slowly and shook his massive head, his tail swishing low to the ground as he recovered. A shriek of a Hunter had him on his feet again, running towards us. He shifted midstride just as Ben got the car into gear and launched us forward.

Grant sprinted in his human form as Ben drove forward, tires squealing against the pavement. "Wait!" I screamed, eyes stuck on Grant as he ran. Two Hunters had made it past the flames and were in pursuit.

"I don't—" Ben said as he fumbled for the brake.

I was thrown against the dashboard and then thrown back into my seat and Ben came to a screeching halt that span the back portion of the car. "Fuck," Grant swore as he threw himself onto the backseat and yanked the door closed behind him. "GO!"

Ben fumbled again for the gas pedal, peeking underneath the wheel to find it. "Fuck—okay—fuck—sorry."

We all jumped at the sound of a body hitting the car as a Hunter threw himself against my door, pressing his decaying face to my window as he glared and snarled. The Jeep squealed as we took off down the lonely country road, Ben climbing to forty then sixty then eighty miles per hour.

Grant was shaking with anger. "Were you planning on leaving me, mutt?"

Ben swerved out of his lane and I clutched my seatbelt. "What? No."

Grant growled. "Those things were insane—they sure as fuck didn't feel pain." I cringed as a horn blared. "Goddess! Will you slow down?"

Ben's hands were tight on the steering wheel, his entire body rigid and his eyes bright. "I got it, I got it." Slowly, he was able to unwind and ease his foot off of the gas. Grant told him where the wipers were as he reached into the trunk and grabbed a pair of pants from his backpack.

I was starting to wilt. Whatever rush I had gotten from the return of my fire was starting to ebb away as my head became light and packed with cotton. I was having trouble keeping my eyes open and kept waking up to find miles gone by.

I felt someone shaking my knee and jumped. Ben was looking at me with a concerned expression, driving with one hand resting on the wheel. He was more comfortable now. "Morda? Are you okay?"

I waved him off and winced. The skin around my upper arm was tight and tense. "Fine."

"Stop here," Grant ordered from the backseat. I opened my eyes again, realizing for the first time that it was early morning—the sky crisp and pastel. Ben nodded and came to a jerky stop before turning slowly into the parking lot of a diner.

Ben shut the car off and got out, hurrying in the rain to get to the diner. I felt Grant's hand on my shoulder as soon as Ben was gone and turned to see him. I was shocked to find a long gash down the centre of his chest. He grimaced.

"I'm fine."

"You're hurt," I translated.

He shrugged and pushed himself forward. "How are you feeling? How is your arm?"

"It's fine."

"It hurts," he said.

I shrugged and a ghost of a smile appeared on his face before he leaned forward and rest his chin on the back of my chair. I reached up with my good arm and stroked the side of his face, his hair, his neck.

"I'm sorry that didn't go smoother," Grant apologized needlessly.

I brushed it off. "You did the best you could—we all did."

Grant's eyes narrowed. "It might've gone easier if wonder-mutt could shift."

I gave him a dry look. "It would've went easier if I had complete access to my magic."

Grant sighed and leaned back in his seat, closing his eyes and swallowing heavily. I felt guilty for the first time. I was the reason his brow was furrowed. I was the reason his skin was ashen. I was the reason his chest was wounded. I had dragged him into this. I had involved him in my problems.

The driver's door opened and closed as Ben returned with a greasy brown paper bag. He handed me a water bottle and instructed me to chug it. My body was desperate for the hydration as I gulped the water down.

Grant took a BLT begrudgingly from Ben, thanking him as grumpily as he could. Ben handed me a breakfast sandwich as well, urging me to take it slow. I smiled and complied, taking small bites and sipping at a carton of orange juice. Already the sustenance was starting to improve my health.

We stowed the rest of the food away for lunch and Ben took off driving again, Grant requesting time to heal in the backseat. I slept for most of the morning, catching up on the lost hours from the night before and trying to not only heal my body but replenish my fire.

"We're coming up to Malheur National Forest," Ben rumbled as we drove, waking me from the twilight sleep I had been in. I rubbed at my eyes and pushed myself upwards. I looked around and saw only more green, more desolate buildings, more stretches of empty space.

It was still raining but it wasn't as intense this far from Roseburg. Ben played with the radio and then with a sigh he shut it off completely. We had lost all the preprogrammed stations. Grant was snoring softly in the backseat, his body shutting down completely so he could heal.

"I felt useless back there," Ben rumbled, low enough that I wondered if he had truly wanted me to hear it.

I took his hand across the console. "You helped me get out of there—you did more than enough." I watched his jaw tighten—watched his eyes sort of glaze over. I knew it was hard for him to have Grant here as a constant reminder of what he couldn't offer me.

"The man who bit me had promised to make me a superhero," Ben said quietly, "I was a kid, tired of being moved from home to home, I wanted to be strong and independent. He found me when I had run away from an abusive foster father—he often beat me if he thought I looked at him the wrong way. The bite offered me freedom and power."

"Ben," I whispered, squeezing his hand and tears pinched my throat.

To my surprise, I saw tears gather in his eyes. "I think the guy was just alone—I think he just wanted to meet someone like him. Anyways—I agreed and he bit me but the curse compelled him to leave immediately. I was left in agony. That first change tore me apart..."

My throat was closed.

"I didn't get the superpowers I was promised," Ben said, "I didn't get to be a hero. Instead I was this ugly creature—I was alone and afraid and I didn't have control over myself. The first few months after I was bitten, my body was constantly changing. Sometimes I would be stuck in partial changes for days."

I closed my eyes and fought revulsion. I was repulsed by the idea of another being damning Ben to that life, preying on his insecurities in that way. I was repulsed knowing that he went through it alone and hated himself for it.

Ben swallowed tightly. "I had thought my life before the change was as bad as it could get. I had no idea what that man was offering me, had no idea how everything would fall apart after it. I had no idea that I was inheriting a curse presented as a blessing—no idea that my independence would mean isolation."

"A pack found you," I reminded him, "what happened?"

Ben grimaced. "They found me, yes. A lookout found me on the outskirts of their territory and brought me before the Alpha. Not sure why they decided to keep me, maybe they were short an omega." My eyes fell to the Omega symbol that was burned into his upper arm, it was just visible underneath the sleeve of his t-shirt.

"And then I met Maria and she saw me shift. They killed her and I ran. A few months later I found Will, Fitz and Oak and you pretty well know the rest."

"Ben," I said, nearly choking on his name. I didn't know how to articulate my condolences, my sorrow for what his life had been.

He smiled and brought my hand to his mouth, kissing it gently before giving it a squeeze. "It's over now, Morda. I just wanted you to know. I want you to know everything about me, every dark place." He saw the look on my face and smiled. "Don't feel too sorry for me. Sadness, desolation, tragedy—it's all woven into who I am." I knew from the lore of the sons that this was all he'd ever really know.

"Do you wish you could go back?" I asked.

Ben shrugged. "I used to think about it all the time. I used to wonder what would happen if I had said no. Maybe I would've been beat to death by a foster father, maybe I would have made it out of the system a cold person, maybe I would have gotten into a college across the country and found some sort of success and happiness." Ben drew in a long breath. "I have a feeling though, that no matter what I had said to that man, he would have bit me anyways."

"I wonder what you would have been like," I mused.

Ben chuckled. "I would've went into ecology I think—maybe something environmental. I'd be pretty boring I'd imagine, tied up in animal conservation and water sampling."

I laughed. "I can picture you in chest-waders, stomping around some marsh collection samples."

There was a little spark in Ben's golden eyes. "Would've been nice."

I frowned. "You could still do that," I told him, "after all of this is done you could apply to school and study and work."

Ben shook his head, that light going out in an instant. "Not possible."

"Why not?"

"I couldn't stay in one town long enough to get through a degree," Ben argued.

I shrugged. "Online schooling—you could travel so long as you had a laptop and wifi."

"I don't have a high school transcript, I only made it to the middle of Ninth Grade."

Again, I didn't see this as a problem. "Take your high school courses first then, get your degree and then apply. It's not like time is an issue for you. The job would be perfect, you could travel all over the country."

Ben shook his head. "No, Morda."

"But why not?"

"What if I changed somewhere? What if I missed a deadline because I was too amped pre-shift to focus on work. Besides, I couldn't spend my life moving around the country because to be with you means putting down roots—that's how your powers work and soon you'll have responsibilities for your Clan."

We were both quiet. I didn't say anything. I couldn't force Ben to see the truth at this moment. He had been vulnerable with me and to remind him that he would never be able to forms roots alongside me would have been incredibly cruel.

"That kind of life isn't meant for me..." Ben murmured, tawny eyes hardening to a solid amber. He nodded slightly, the stubble on his jaw starting to cover the bruising that still remained. "It's impossible for people like me."

I wanted to console him. To assure him that he could strive for any life he chose. I kept my mouth shut because the truth was I didn't know his limits—physical or emotional. Even Ben could find a way to lead a normal life, it would take effort and that in itself would affect the normalcy of it.

Thankfully, my mind wandered away from the subject so I could leave it alone—for now.

"Damn it," I grunted, "all of my Aunt's crystals are back at the motel."

Ben's mouth pulled up in a timid smile. "I grabbed your backpack on our way out. It's in the back." I leaned forward and kissed his cheek before giving his hand a quick squeeze.

"My absolute hero," I gushed. Ben blushed as I spun around, stopping dead in my tracks when I noticed Grant's pale eyes on me. He raised an eyebrow in amusement, finding my pale face and nervous stomach humorous.

"If he took Hero do I get Knight in Shining Armour?" Grant asked playfully. I could sense the hurt that cut through his voice. "I'd take Saviour too," he added with a wink. He dropped his voice lower as he reached behind him and grabbed my bag. "Are you alright?"

I nodded. "Feeling better after food and sleep."

I set my bag on my lap and began rifling through it as the boys grumbled a greeting to one another and then promptly started a disagreement over the radio station and Ben's driving and the color of the sky.

I found the crystals at the bottom of my bag and pulled them out. I debated wearing a few of them and I was about to tuck them all away before I remembered with vivid clarity the face of the Hunter and the feeling of the creature's body over mine.

I strapped the bloodstone to my upper arm.

The skin underneath it was still sore and puckered. I inspected it for as long as I could before my stomach flipped. The pain was ebbing quickly but the aesthetics were gruesome. I did not recommend healing multiple deep wounds through cauterization produced by uncontrollable inner fire.

"—you think because you've driven for a few hours on a straight road that you're ready for NASCAR, mutt?" Grant taunted from the backseat. The wound on his chest was healing smoothly, the entire gash was now scabbed over.

"All I said is that it isn't that hard."

Something caught my attention in my side mirror and I slouched to get a better look. There was a car following rather close to us, the windows tinted so deeply that I couldn't even see the outline of the driver.

Grant's voice was all bite. "You don't know the first thing about—"

I narrowed my eyes as we turned and the car behind us did too. I forced my gaze out the front windshield, trying to convince myself to ignore whatever paranoia was lingering in the back of my brain.

"I already apologized about almost leaving you at the motel—"

"Sure," Grant scoffed. "You seemed a little too eager to leave behind your competition."

I glared at him through the rear-view mirror and he sent me a sheepish smile. I caught the car in the reflection and wriggled in my seat again. My eyes kept finding the headlights in the mirrors. The skin along the back of my neck and spine was pebbled.

"Malheur National Park," Ben announced as we passed by a huge sign. Mountains rose up on either side of us, giving way to deep valleys and forest as far as you could see. The highway went down to single lane and when I looked over my shoulder, the car following us was gone.

The sky darkened as the sun slipped behind the clouds. Rain picked up steadily and a thick fog started to furl over the sides of the road. I peeked out of my window, looking over the bridge we were on and finding the fog in a thick layer over the tops of the trees below us.

"I'll take over soon," Grant said with a grunt as he stretched. His fingers inspected the wound along his chest. "I'm almost healed."

I felt heat rise in my chest and sat up and away from the back of my seat. My fingers were clenched on the handle of my door, my chest straining against the seatbelt. Something wasn't right.

I looked to the forest again and saw the outline of a stag. I swore and Ben turned to look at me, losing concentration for one moment. I heard Grant yell and then I screamed as I turned back around, seeing what was ahead.

In the middle of the road stood at least twenty Daemon Hunters. They stood side by side, their shoulders touching as they formed a complete wall across the entire highway. Ben swore and on instinct, yanked the steering wheel all the way to the side.

The car screeched underneath us, tires straining to find purchase on the slick road. Ben tried to gain control but the car hit a large puddle and hydroplaned. He panicked and turned the wheel the other way, sending us teetering before the car groaned and flipped.

My entire window imploded as the airbags deployed and the metal frame shrieked. My seatbelt held me so tightly to my chair that I felt the material bite into my skin. I cried out as we rolled again, the engine exploding as the hood of the car folded in and a tire flew from the front of the vehicle.

I heard my own screaming as though I were standing a mile away. I watched the side of my head collide with the metal frame of the car as it was crushed into my body. I tasted blood as my nose spewed from the initial break from the collision with the airbag.

The car finally came to a stop and I winced as cold rain hit my face through the shattered window. I was disconnected from my body—whatever agony I experiencing didn't touch me. I tried to move and found my limbs unresponsive. I blinked but my vision wouldn't focus and the rain was starting to pelt down harder.

"Grant?" I called out roughly, "Ben?"

I didn't hear their voices.

I only heard the Daemon Hunters as they hissed.