A Hunter's Keep - #1 of "The Hunter's Series"

Lizzy’s POV

I looked over at Derik and noticed a mark on his collarbone. It somehow shocked me, to see that he had a mate. I hadn’t seen anyone clinging to him like glue. I looked around, seeing if there was someone I missed, but there was no one.

“Hmm,” I muttered. That’s strange and yet I felt somehow relieved. I could really use some advice and if there was a Luna, she could help me. But I also felt kinda glad. Perhaps she was dead… Great! I’d been living with werewolves for less than a week and I was already turning into a psychopath; just like the monsters my dad warned me about…

“What?” Derik asked, sensing that I’d been spacing out.

“Where’s your mate? The Luna?” I asked trying to rid myself of the guilt that gnawed at my consciousness.

“What makes you think there is one?” he asked his eyes darkening.

“The mark on your neck,” I answered as a matter of fact-ly, pointing to the mark. “Doesn’t it hurt? Being bitten?”

Automatically his hand reached up to his mark, a sad smirk replacing the dark look.

“No,” he said, shaking his head. Smiling. “It’s actually very enjoyable.”

“What?” I exclaimed, just as Sif made one of her famous banshee cries. “Yeah, I’m with Sif. No one is supposed to be bitten and enjoy it!”

“The bite it more than just a bite,” he explained, like he had to explain something plain to a child. “It’s a claim.”

“You’re someone’s property?”

Somehow a dog on a leash popped up in my head. I grinned.

“No,” he frowned, wetting his lips, like he was trying to find the right words. “It’s… A fulfillment.”

“Could you be more cryptic?” I asked sarcastically, trying not to get my eyes poked out by Sif, who’d taken an interest in my face.

“For a werewolf to claim his or her mate, is like completing your soul,” he explained, when I got Sif away from my face and laying back on the blanket, playing with his neckless. He picked up one end, and started playing with her, while I just sat there, enjoying the sound of his deep voice. “Soulmate! In the literal meaning of the word. We fulfill each other and the feeling of finally being whole, is---,” He smiled, as if the memory was replaying in his mind. “Enjoyable.”

So much love and care. It made my heart clench. Never once in my life had anyone looked at me like that. And in that instant, I wished for nothing else, then having someone look at me like that one day…

“It’s more than just becoming one in flesh and blood, it’s our one and only chance at happiness, peace and even love.”

“Wow,” I muttered, when he was finished, a smile creping across my face. “That’s intense.”

I let my mind wonder back to what my dad had told me about mates. This wasn’t anything close to that, but I did finally understand, why capturing a mated wolf was such a dangerous job. The other mate would always come find them…

“No wonder you go through hell for your mates.”

“What?” Derik said absentmindedly, but not enough, that I wasn’t a 100% sure that he’d definitely heard every word.

“Nothing,” I quickly answered. Too quickly. And Derik noticed. I panicked and went on a rant: “Just thinking out loud. So, where is the Luna?”

“She’s gone.”

I looked up. The hurt and anger in his eyes were enough to make me fear for my life.

“Oh, I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to…” I apparently couldn’t stop this rant: “I just thought she might know a thing or two about what the hell I’m supposed to feed Sif when she’s old enough…”

“It’s ok,” he said, trying to real in the anger that was radiating off him. But only partly succeeded. Not until Sif pulled his hand, did he finally take a deep breath and calmed down.

“She disappeared 6 months ago.”

“Disappeared?” I echoed, my heart sinking to the bottom of my stomach.

“Hunters.”

It wasn’t a word or a question. It was a statement…

“I suspect so,” Derik confirmed, looking at me, his eyes holding a suspicus look. “You know about them?”

My heart sank and I felt sick. Someone from this pack had been taken. Which meant that they were here!

“Yeah,” I said, quickly looking away. “I know about them.”

I suddenly felt nervous and scared. Were they looking? Did Dad know? Were they making preparations? Finally my jumbled brain jumped back to something Derik said: 6 months! She’d been taken 6 months ago, which meant that…

“For a human you know a little about everything,” Derik simply stated, eyeing me. I avoided his gaze. Afraid that he’d be able to read my thoughts… “Feel like telling me more about yourself?”

“It doesn’t matter,” I answered shaking my head. “I’m not that person anymore; and I’m never going to be again.”

I wasn’t going to be weak and manipulated. I wasn’t going to lie to myself, I wasn’t going to push myself aside for the sake of others. I wasn’t going to be a naïve little girl anymore.

“You know,” he continued, while I violated the grass. “We’re trying to find Sif’s family…”

“What? NO!”

I screamed the words before I even realized, who I was yelling at. I didn’t know who they were, but I knew sure as hell, that her pack wasn’t safe anymore. If they’d managed to capture a she-wolf from a pack, the pack was marked. And Sif was already more than one month old, which meant that preparations for taking it down were done. Or close to being so. The pack was a target. If it was even there yet…

“Lizzy, you have to understand…!”

“No, I don’t!” I cut him off, grabbing Sif and getting up. Holding her in my arms, calmed me a little, but I still felt like I needed to protect her from… Everything! Panic was quickly making its way up my spine.

“Sif is safe here!”

“A werewolf needs to be with their packs…”, Derik continued sternly and followed me to his feet. At his full height, he towered over me, casting a long shadow over us.

“Promise me!” I cut him off one more time, crying out of desperation. “No matter what! She doesn’t leave this pack!”

Shocked, Derik just stood there, looking at me.

“Promise me!”

“Ok!” Derik finally said, sounding almost desperate. “I promise!”

“And werewolves don’t go back on their promises?”

I wanted reassurance.

“Almost never,” he replied. “Especially so for an alpha.”

I released a breath I didn’t know I was holding.

“Thanks,” I muttered, looking down at Sif, who was cuddling under my chin. She was getting tired. Good, then at least it meant that she felt safe.

“Why is she safe here but not with anybody else?” Derik asked, concern dripping off his voice.

“I just know she is,” I muttered, caressing her soft hair. I’d do anything to keep her safe. Even suffer the wrath of an angry alpha…

“Lizzy,” he frowned, but his voice remained gentle and friendly. “I can’t protect her if I don’t know everything.”

My heart skipped a beat. That was true. But if I told him, he’d also know, what I was. I was scared about how he’d react if he knew, I was once part of the enemy. But wasn’t Sif’s safety more important? I didn’t need to debate that…

I’d just opened my mouth to tell him, when it happened. His eyes graced over and he let out a low growl. I jumped up, not really knowing, what I’d done wrong. A second later, Kevin and Jack were by my side and somehow, I felt safer having them here.

“Am I in trouble?” I asked, jumping back to the safety of my guards.

“Rogues,” Derik answered like it was supposed to mean something. He then turned to Kevin and Jack. “Get them back inside!”

A second later I was back inside our bedroom. I was given a short explanation that rogues were like bad werewolves, but they weren’t going to get to us. Kevin promised; Alpha Derik wouldn’t let them get anywhere near the pack house. Knowing what Derik had said, I felt safe after listening to him.

The sun went down and after another change and feeding Sif, I crawled into the bed and like every other night here, I fell asleep instantly.