Hunting the Alpha- Forbidden Mate

Calina

If I’d have known that by the end of the day, I’d be making out passionately with my mortal enemy, then perhaps I would have added a little bit of vodka to my coffee. Scratch that, I would have gotten myself an entire bottle of vodka to indulge myself in instead. But alas my soon-to-be eventful day began as it always did, with the familiar bitter sting of betrayal and the scent of coffee. And as I stood across from the man I once loved and now hated, and the woman I once hated and now hated more, I couldn’t help but feel the need to spit, not out of rudeness or malice, but to rid myself of my raging hatred which clumped up at the back of my throat. There was an art to my hatred. It was a subtle pain in the chest as they leaned into one another and kissed, and then the sudden urge to poke my eyes out with the fork in front of me as he caressed her cheek while his lips were on hers− something he once did with me.

“You know we can go somewhere else in the morning for coffee, Calina? I’ve said many times that the coffee here isn’t even good,” said my highly annoyed, partner-in-crime, Louis. His hatred for my ex almost matched mine and so seeing him here put him in a less-than-pleasant mood too.

“It’s the principle of it, Louis. This place… it’s the last thing I have to remember my dad by. You know how he always used to bring me here when I was younger. I refuse to let it be tainted by the rotting stench of the romance between Mason and Jenna. They can go and burn in hell for all I care,” I said with a sense of malice in my voice.

Louis fell silent and grabbed his coffee from the counter. He understood, he almost always did. But he also knew how painful it was for me to see Jenna and Mason, all for a cup of coffee in memory of my dead father. Then again, I was such a sucker for pain, which was why my line of work fit me perfectly. Besides being tormented by my ex, the other torture I subjected myself to daily was something of a niche occupation. I hunted werewolves. Now, if you’d have told me a few years ago that I’d be running after people who could sprout fur from their skin and run around on all-fours, I’d have asked you what you were smoking and whether or not you needed medical attention. But all it took was a near-death experience with a giant rabid wolf and the very generic “family history” talk for me to be sold into all of this supernatural madness. I suppose this was where it all began for me. The days and nights training to outrun, outsmart and outwolf a wolf had brought me to Louis, Mason and rather unfortunately to Jenna too.

“You still have training today?” Louis asked as he sipped on his coffee while we exited the coffee shop and walked along the pavement of the quiet street. This town wasn’t full of morning people and so I revelled in its quiet, sunny mornings. It was perhaps my favourite part of the day, minus Jenna and Mason, of course.

“I have training every day. Besides, it’s the only way I get to avoid being at home,” I said.

“If you hate your stepfather that much, then why don’t you just move out.”

I didn’t hate my stepfather. Quite the opposite. He was a good, kind-hearted man and although his almost-always pragmatic personality conflicted with my idealistic views on life, I loved him dearly and even looked up to him. The Lykane Hunting Society, more commonly known as LHS was divided up into districts, according to the head families which oversaw werewolf hunting activities within each town. This made it easier to maintain control and order over not only the werewolves which resided in the various districts, but over hunters themselves. My stepfather just so happened to be the last descendant of the head family that oversaw our district and as such, he was chosen to be the district’s leader. It came with much responsibility and a pristine reputation which was not allowed to be tainted. And so, when his stepdaughter, just so happened to disobey one of the key laws of the LHS, disappointed could not even come close to describing how he felt towards my behaviour. But that wasn’t the only thing keeping me away from home. It was no secret that my family wasn’t a wealthy one and although my stepfather held a position of leadership, it came with a meagre salary with most of the money in the LHS going towards the high bounties.

“I don’t hate him… it’s just that I haven’t been able to bring in enough money this month for the family.”

“About that…”

Immediately I brightened up in anticipation. “You have an idea of how to get me out of financial ruin?”

Louis tugged at his curly hair nervously and smiled. “Don’t go looking all hopeful. It might be nothing…”

“You have a new bounty for me, don’t you?” I asked curiously. Judging by his behaviour, he had clear symptoms of “New Bounty Syndrome” which infected professional Information Gatherers like Louis.

“Well, technically it’s an old bounty. But if you bring him in, I can guarantee that your rank will change from Rookie bounty hunter to Apex Predator bounty hunter.”

Within our society we had specific job divisions: Information gatherers, Surveyors, Peace Makers, Weaponry Creators, the Leadership Board, Werewolf rehabilitators and then finally, the most dangerous and most profitable of the job divisions, my job division, Bounty Hunters. Within each job division, we had specific rankings. Currently, Louis’s ranking in the information gathering division was at “Intermediate informant” which was five rankings away from the highest ranking- “Head information gatherer”. Before I’d dropped all the way down to “Rookie” my ranking was at “Lethal” which was a good two rankings away from being “Apex Predator”- the highest rank for bounty hunters which afforded them more bounty opportunities which meant a much larger amount of money jingling around in their pockets. And so, if Louis had a bounty worthy of me to increase my ranking all the way to “Apex Predator” it must have been someone highly wanted and from my knowledge- which was technically my loyal Information Gatherer’s knowledge- only one Alpha could be that desired amongst us bounty hunters. The notorious and highly illusive, Alpha Vander. He was a constant and coveted prize amongst the growing rise in low-bounty rogues we’d been having on the bounty board.

“Now I’ve done my research and I’m 99.91% sure that I’ve finally managed to pinpoint Alpha Vander’s exact location. However, it’s a once-off thing and I’m 100% sure that I’m the only one in information that knows about it,” Louis said as his dark eyes gazed at me excitedly through the tight dark curls which hung in his face.

I chuckled and placed my arm around his shoulder. “See I knew I was making the right decision when I chose my best friend to become my Information Gatherer.”

Louis laughed sarcastically and shrugged my arm off of him. “Well, it wouldn’t have been the right decision if you end up dead. This guy has had a bounty on his head even before he became an Alpha. What’s worse is that every single hunter that’s gone after him has ended up dead. I suggest going with so-”

“Don’t you dare finish that sentence. You know that apart from you, I work alone.”

It was my policy not to drag anyone else through the shit I got myself into. I wasn’t particularly cautious. The riskier the bounty, the better. I had, however, had my eyes on Alpha Vander for a while as well. But until now, he wasn’t a risk even I was willing to take. He was so unknown to us that no one in the LHS even knew what he looked like, let alone how to find him. But I was just desperate enough, and quite frankly, crazy enough to go after him this time around. After all, what was the worst that could happen?

“He should be arriving in the next few minutes. Remember, stay focussed. No matter what happens tonight, remember why you’re here,” Louis said sternly into the earpiece I was wearing. I was hiding in the back alleyway of “The Bread Basket”, a very fancy restaurant a little distance away from Maverly, the town I resided in.

“You know I do have a mom already, so you don’t have to go around worrying about me like she does. Besides, I’m one of the best werewolf hunters in this district.”

Louis snickered before making me perform yet another− and hopefully the last− rollcall of all of the items needed for my mission. A gun with silver bullets laced with wolfsbane, concentrated wolfsbane drops, wolfbane spray (it was like pepper spray, only for wolves) and handcuffs- also laced with wolfsbane. In one of my pockets, I’d left a small dagger, the blade soaked in wolfsbane, and in the other pocket I placed a syringe filled with a sedative in case I needed to subdue anyone. Underneath my waitress uniform, I’d strung up some rope around my body which I could pull out with a quick tug if, and when needed.

“I have everything Lou. Stop stressing. This is going to go nice and smoothly, just like it always does.”

I heard him scoff on the other end of the line. “It never goes nice and smoothly with you. Just try not to break any rules today. I’ll be with you every step of the way.”

I found some solace in the fact that Louis was in my ear. Although I never would have admitted it, I was quite nervous. This was possibly my last chance at redemption, and I could not afford to waste it.

I took in a deep breath, filling my lungs with as much air as I possibly could, exhaled slowly and then headed to the door in the side of the brick wall clearly labelled, “Staff only!”

I was immediately greeted with the heavenly scent of food cooking and the crashing and clanging of ceramic dishes.

“Mr Vander will be here any moment! I need the entrées plated… You!” I froze immediately and gazed up the moment I heard his sickeningly familiar voice. And the moment I met his set of deceptive blue eyes I felt a nauseating hatred lurch right through my body. Standing before me, donned in his dapper head chef uniform was none other than satan incarnate himself− Mason.