The Hunters Mate

His Pov

The sun was standing high in the sky signaling that it was noon, a cold breeze blew through the open training field. The early summer had finally arrived, in the forest surrounding the mountain birds could be seen building their nest and signing to find their mate. The training field was placed on the outskirts of the town near the forest to it led a gravel path in to the town, next to the training field stood a huge old building. The huge old building was used by The Hunter Council to hold meetings and train young as old Hunters to fight and kill magical creatures. The building was made out of stone and almost looked like a small castle, the windows were framed in dark brown wood. In the center at the front was a big old oak door and next to it stood a guard, well more like sat down with a chair and a table and behind him on either side of the door two medium sized windows stood slightly ajar letting in air to the old building.

Hunter looked up at the large old building as he walked along the path, a puff of air came out in front of him as he sighed. The loose gravel under his feet crunched as he walked and calm gust of wind rustled the high grass, the wind was cold but as soon as it had stopped the sun hit his face giving some warmth. He never liked the cold and could not understand why they had to build the town in this location, he sighed and continued walking pulling his shoulders up and shoving his hands in to his pockets.

It always spelled trouble meeting with the council, he wished they could just send him a letter instead but NO they had to meet him in person. But who could blame them for wanting to see one of the most promising young hunter’s, he came from a fine line of strong coldblooded hunters. His family was one of the 5 big family’s that started the hunt for these beings. Not only that he was also the youngest hunter to finish training at the age of 12, where most don’t graduate until they are at least 16-18 years old. He kicked at one of the slightly larger rocks and sent it flying as some dark feelings hit him. Looking out over the fields his eyes lands landed on the training field, kids running around and laughing they looked to be around 6-8 years old. The games they were playing weren’t exactly games but training, well for the kids it was just fun and games for now until they grew older. Standing tall among the kids was an older hunter supervising them, a small smile lingered on his lips as he watched over them amused over the energy. As he looked at the smiling old hunter he remembered when he was young and as carefree and got the same smile when he played with the other children.

A lot of the other young hunters along with some of the older ones disliked him and called him names such as stuck up, but he never paid them no mind it’s not his fault they aren’t working harder to graduate or get hard missions. And it’s not his fault that he comes from a famous family, he didn’t pay them no mind and worked hard to uphold his family’s name.

He walked up the stone steps and the guard at the big old oak door nodded at him and opened it, the sound of an old door opening and the hot air that hit his face made him shiver a bit. He stepped inside and the door closed behind him, he walked down the long black carpet in the grand room to the throne like chairs where the five old men and women of the council sat. For being so warm inside of the old building it sure was decorated cold, black, grey, white and a splash of red was the only color on the paintings and furniture’s that decorated the room. Many would say red is warm but for Hunters it was the color of death and killing and that makes it cold to them, even the council wore black robes. Black is the color that signals that they are hunters that and the mask and weapons they carry.

Hunter knelt down on one knee and placed his right fist one his heart in front of the small steps leading up to the chairs the council was sitting on.

“We have called you here today to give you a special mission, all the info you need is written in the letter.” one of the council woman gestured to one of the servants holding a silver tray, on it was a letter with a black seal. The servant stepped forward and Hunter reached for the letter and put it in his chest pocket, the servant stepped back and the council waited for him to leave the room. When the servant left the room one of the council men looked at Hunter.

“You will understand the secrecy of this mission as soon you have read the letter, for now we cannot speak of it out loud. Please be careful Hunter, this is really important.” Hunter looked up at them with a slight question in his eyes but he shook it off and bowed his head down. The council stood up and left the room leaving Hunter by himself, he stood up and headed for the front door and opened it. The chilly air and the warm rays of the sun hit him making him shiver and squint his eyes, he walked down the stairs down to the gravel path and followed it in to town.

The town looked like any other forgotten town, few stores and technology. It was hard to allow the outside world to be let in, their community was well hidden in the mountains and the only time the outside world and them got in contact was when you left for a mission. Most missions were sent by hunters living outside patrolling and keeping track of creatures, and if one strayed or broke a rule the hunters would be sent to take them out.

Hunter could see his family’s house and speed up, he didn’t want to be out here during this time of day. To many people would want to stop and talk to him and he wasn’t a people person, he reached the gate to the family’s house, well more like mansion.

He opened the gate and then closed it behind him, he walked down the stone path and walked up the doors reaching for the door handle. Before he could reach it the door flung opened and a woman in her late forties greeted him with a motherly hug.

“I saw you coming up from the gate and hurried down to greet you!” she smiled sweetly at him and he could not help but to give a small smile back and hugging her.

“You should be careful mother, you could fall and get hurt and then what would I do by myself.” He let go of her and escorted her back inside the house.

“Well I am happy, I found a girl. And before you start its TIME for you to get married and give me grandchildren.” Hunter froze, he knew that he needed to carry on his family’s name but not now he wasn’t ready. He let go of his mother and started to head for his room, his mother crossed her arms and said with a cold stern voice only a mother could do to her kids when they were in trouble.

“Hunter Wolfrick Stones, stop right there!!” Hunter flinched, it was rare that his mother used his full name. She knew that he hated his name I mean being named Hunter when he was born to be a hunter, and lets not even speak of the middle name and who came up with that ridiculous last name. His mother chose the first name because she loved it, the rest was passed down from his father and his father before that and so on. He thought of his two older sister who were lucky to get normal names. He turned around and looked at his mother

“I’m busy, I’ve got a mission that I need to leave for right away and I don’t know when I will be back”

“What!?! This is crazy, you just got back from another mission they could at least let you get a few days of!”

“Well maybe they knew what you were up to and saved me from it by sending me out again” Hunter headed towards his room again leaving his mother fumbling for words.

An hour later he had finished packing and everything else he needed to do before he left. He picked up his backpack and walked out of his room out to the hallway, in his hand he held three small packages. One for his mother and the other two for his two sisters, it was a pair of earrings identical to each other he was never good at gifts but from what older men had told him in the human store women loved jewelry. He looked at the wrapping’s while he headed for the front door, he stopped in his tracks when he saw that his sisters and mother was standing there waiting for him. Slowly with careful steps he walked towards them and handed them their present hoping to ease their anger, unluckily for him it didn’t work.

“Hunter please stay mother is worried sick for you” Lisa took her baby brothers hand and squeezed it.

“Sorry I can’t, this mission is different otherwise I would have rejected it. I can’t disclose any more information I’m sorry” He squeezed her hand back and let go of it and he gave each of them a light kiss on the cheek and left. The three women stood there in the open doorway looking at his back as he walked down the front path and then disappeared out of sight.

2 days later

To get down from the mountain where the Hunters town is located you must hike for about two days in the forest when you get out an old large building that stands alongside the dirt road, it was not something you would notice. But that’s where the town keeps their vehicles since they can’t take them up the mountain. The building resembled a big old barn painted in a brown color to give it a more hidden look, it was not really necessary since the land was privately own and a few meters/yards away was a house where a couple who was hunters stayed to guard the surrounding area from any nosy trespassers.

Hunter opened the garage door and walked inside, he headed for a gray cover in the back corner and pulled it off. Under it stood his Kawasaki Ninja H2 dark navy, he let his hand follow the curve of this beauty. He pushed the bike outside and closed the door, he started to push the bike towards the house and pulled out the support stick and walked up to the house. The stairs were made out of wood and made small creaking sounds as he walked up them on to the front porch, he reached out his hand and gave the door a knock and stepped back. A few moments later he could see movement behind the door and then it opened revealing a young woman in her mid 20s, she had a pair of blue jeans and a pink hoddie on and her long black hair tied in a ponytail. She looked at him and then a smile grew on her face.

“Hunter! Back so soon I see, guess your mom was at you again about the marriage thing huh?” she took his arm and dragged him inside before he had any chance of answering her or move.

“Babe, come down Hunter is here!” she yelled up the stairs as she dragged him in to the living room. Heavy footsteps could be heard running upstairs and then down the stairs, and in ran a young man with the biggest smile on his face. His hair was red and messy and it looked like he was still in his pj’s , the man rushed forward and engulfed Hunter in a big hug. He stepped back and placed his hands on Hunters shoulders and looked at him up and down, it had only been a few days since they last saw one and other.

“Man, you stink! You need a shower my friend” he patted him on the arm and removed his hands.

“Yeah, that’s what I am here for. I can’t stay long I’ve got a mission!” Hunter smiled back at his friends’ words. He sat down his bag on the couch and took of his jacket, the couple looked at each other and then at him.

“Wow that was fast, you just came back from one and now you have to go again. I just wished you could come here to hang out every once in a while” his friend looked disappointed.

“Now now, he has a job to do” his girlfriend took his hand in hers and gave him a kiss on the cheek and continued “Take of your clothes and I will have them cleaned until you get back, I will cook us some lunch before you leave” she let go of her boyfriend’s hand and walked out of the living room to go to the kitchen across the hall.

“Next time bud!” Hunter placed a hand on his friend’s shoulder and patted him before he picked up his bag and headed out the hall and down past the stairs to the bathroom. The bathroom was your average size, a toilet, shower and sink and the basic necessities you needed to use it. He closed the door and locked it, opening the small window next to the shower to let the steam out as he turned on the water. He closed the shower door and walked up to the basket where he stopped and started to take of his clothes, the basket was one of those old woven one. The bathroom was in a light blue color with small picture frames of seashells, sand and the ocean. The tile floor was cold luckily there was a bathroom carpet one could stand on, it was soft and dark blue. Not wanting to take too long he threw his clothes in the basket and jumped in to the shower, the warm water ran across his body as he stood under the head. He could hear his friend out in the kitchen talking and laughing while they cooked, he reached for the bottles and squeezed out some shampoo and started to massage it in to his hair. He then followed with conditioner and some soap and then rinsed it off, turning of the water he opened the shower door and stepped out in to the cooler air and grabbed a towel. He dried of his body and hair and then reached for his bag that he had placed next to the basket and opened it, he took out his hunter clothes and some clean underwear and put it on. The clothes looked like your average military clothes, a pair of half baggy pants with a shirt and a jacket. The only difference being it was full black and was designed to carry and hide weapons, he closed the bag and picked it up. It was too soon to put on all the gear so he left the guns, hip holster and knifes in the bag it was better to put it on when he was at the designated location. Opening the door, the smell of food wafted in the air and his mouth started to water he walked to the kitchen and peaked in. There on the table was three sets of plates with food on them, pasta with meatloaf and some cheese sprinkled on it. He entered the kitchen and sat his bag down on the floor, grabbing the back of a chair he pulled it out and sat down.

“Dig in, you should eat while it is hot!” she ushered the men to start eating and neither of them hesitated and grabbed the silverware and started to dig in.

He flung one leg over the seat and grabbed his helmet, turning back to his friends standing on the porch.

“Thanks for the food” he put his helmet on and straightened the bike out and fixed his bag and gun case on his back.

He turned the keys in the ignition and it purred to life, he kicked away the support stick and put in a gear and turned the gas handle and speeded of.

The couple on the porch waved after him as he drove of leaving a small dust cloud after him, they stood there until they no longer could see him and then went back inside.

It would take him a day to reach his destination so he kicked in a higher gear and stayed on the backroads to avoid the cops.

1 day later

The forest was dark the moon shone through in different spots giving some light, the forest was calm only the nightly activities of night animals could be heard.

Crickets playing their song and the wind blowing through the dark forest, close by you could hear the sound of a river. It was a chilly night and the sky was clear, if the tree he sat in wasn’t so dense you would have a clear view of the stars.

Hunter had stationed himself high up in a tree, he had been sitting there since 3 hours back. The cold air didn’t bother him since it wasn’t even close to the coldness up in the mountains, the day had been pleasantly warm and he had liked it.

An owl made a hoot and flew off past him deeper in to the forest, Hunter looked at it as it flew of and then turned back to the small lake that was glistening in the moonlight. He stood up to stretch his sore muscles when a snap of a twig made him hunker down on the branch he stood on, a large dark brown wolf stepped out under him and walked towards the lake.

The wolf hadn’t picked up his scent or his movement which gave him the upper hand, he readied his riffle at the wolf waiting for the right moment to pull the trigger. The wolf stopped and lifted his nose in to the air and sniffed, Hunter took this opportunity to shoot. The wolf fell to the ground and transformed back in to half naked man in his early thirties. Hunter jumped down from his hiding spot and walked over to the man’s body, he bent down to check that he was really dead. A low growl resonated behind him, he jumped up and spun around looking for the source. It had been a trap and he just stepped into it; how could this be possible there was supposed to only be one!

At this close range and no clear sight his riffle would be useless, instead he took out his handgun and knife. Raising his gun and holding his other hand with the knife in it for support he started to scan the area, straining his eyes he looked around him trying to find the source of the sound. In the dark he could see a pair of red eyes being reflected by the light of the moon and out steps a large grey brown wolf snarling and snapping at him, Hunter started to back of he had a feeling that that wolf wasn’t alone and he was at a disadvantage.

The big wolf looked at him snarling drool dripped from it’s mouth down on to the ground, it took a few steps forward slowly stalking towards him. It was trying to circle him and push him in a different direction, most likely towards more of its pack. Hunter placed his back against the lake this way they would have a harder time getting to him and if necessary, he could jump in and swim hopefully away. They continued to stare at one and other when a howl filled the sky, the wolf perked up listening but Hunter didn’t let it out of sight it could be a trick to get his attention. The thunder of paws hitting the ground could be heard heading towards them, bushes rustling and some twigs snapping and then another howl.

The big wolfs attention snapped back to him and it started to advanced, he got ready just as it was about to pounce him. The rustling of bushes and leaves got closer and just as the wolf got ready to pounce at him two wolfs tumbled out in to the clearing, they froze as the two wolfs fought. The one wolf was smaller and black manage to bite the slightly larger brown wolf in its right hindleg, it squealed and backed off limping back to the bigger wolf with its tail behind its legs. Then out of the darkness more wolfs stepped out, Hunter looked between the black one and the rest. It was clear this she-wolf wasn’t one of them, he took a step back and that made the she-wolf turn her head around and look at him. Their eyes meet and he stopped, there was something about her eyes that made him rethink his idea of leaving her to deal with them alone. Her pack was probably not far behind but he couldn’t just leave her here, he nodded and hoped she understood that he would help her and hoped for her to do the same. She turned around taking a fighting stance, he walked closer to her getting himself ready to fight.

Without any warning the big wolf suddenly lunged at the she-wolf snapping at her, she manages to get out of the way and Hunter went to kick him. A small crack came from the wolfs chest, this only made the wolf angry. It turned its attention to him trying to bite him, he took a few steps back and stopped at the waters edge. For a split second he turned his attention to the she-wolf to see if she was fine, and that was all it took for the wolf to jump him. It jumped on to him making him fall back and land in the shallow water, the wolf was still on top of him lunging for his throat. With a quick motion he put his left arm in front of him, the pain of flesh being ripped and bone breaking shoot through his body making him grunt. He raised his other arm to point the gun at the wolf but before he could take the shoot the wolf was pushed of him, the black she-wolf had managed to get away from the other three wolfs to help him. She growled as the other wolf stood up shaking its body to get rid of the water, it lowered itself and gave a menacing growl showing its sharp teeth. The click of a gun loading made it snap its head towards Hunter but it was already too late, the big wolfs body fell down making a splashing sound as it hit the water. The three other wolfs just stood there and when he turned the riffle to them, they snapped out of it and took off, he lowered his weapon since there was no point in trying to take a shoot at them. They were too fast and had the darkness to their advantage, his arm was starting to feel numb so he would most likely miss so he sat the riffle down on the ground next to him where he stood crouched.

He then remembered the she-wolf and turned around looking for her only to find a young girl in black shorts and white crop-top with cute little buttons on it. She looked beautiful as she stood there on the water’s edge, the moonlight shone down on to them making it look like a scene out of a movie. A breeze blew her dark blond hair and a whisper she let out carried to his ear. ”Mate”