VESPER

 

Penn stayed true to his word. Megan and the others were able to get to the Omegas. Despite the long journey, none of them were injured when they arrived back at the sleuth camp.

Rudy was by my side when I returned down from the mountain. I explained the situation to Kai and he agreed that this was for the best. I could end all of this without any lives being lost. If I were to fall against Penn, it wouldn’t mean the entire forest would succumb to the hunters. It only meant that there would be a war between the inhabitants and Penn’s men.

But my main concern out of everybody that could have been involved was Rudy himself. He was concerned for my safety. There was no way he could even lie about it.

He was the only one who mattered to me now. He was the reason I was doing all of this.

As I sat in my cabin, I rested next to the fireplace with my eyes closed. I breathed softly and steadied my heart. It would have leaped out of my chest if I didn’t.

I could feel Rudy’s presence next to me. He remained quiet this entire time.

I didn’t know how much time had passed when he finally spoke.

“I think it’s almost nightfall,” he said.

“I believe it is.”

I slowly opened my eyes and turned to him. He stared back at me, a look on his face more solemn than I’d ever seen.

“Do you know where to go?” he asked.

“Penn is a hunter. It won’t take much effort for him to find me.”

“Right…”

Rudy put his head down.

“…I can’t tell you not to do this. Even though I wish you and I could just run away so we could be together with our child, I know we can’t do that. I just want you to know, that no matter what happens out there…”

He turned his head back up. His green eyes were glazed over with the flames reflecting off of them.

“I love you.”

I leaned forward and kissed him on the lips, whispering into his mouth.

“I love you…”

I stood up straight and slowly walked toward the exit. Just before I left my cabin, I stopped in my tracks.

“I’ll come back,” I said. “Be ready.”

“I’ll never stop waiting for you.”

I didn’t look at him as I stepped out of my cabin.

The sky was dark. Even the stars didn’t seem to shine as bright as they did once before. But the moon was still full, so there was enough for me to see my surroundings.

The small forest clearing was empty except for my cabin. I was surrounded by nothing but the darkness between the trees.

My deep breath came out like steam from my mouth. The snow was on the horizon. But it wouldn’t arrive before this was all over.

I stood in front of my cabin, waiting for something to happen. Suddenly, I heard a rustling from the brush off to the side. I turned my head and saw Penn emerge.

He looked the same as he always did. That sinister stare and a half-smirk on his lips. He was fully-clothed like always, knives dangling along his belt.

“Where are the others?” I asked.

“Don’t worry. They won’t intervene.”

Penn took a step forward

“This is between you and me. If I lose, they’ll most likely return to Dirge and live the ordinary lives their ancestors chose for them.”

“Is that so bad? To live like men? Dirge is a civilization. You can be a part of it.”

I knew there was no point in trying to reason with him but I did it anyway. Penn responded as I expected, shaking his head.

“I’m a hunter,” he said. “I’ve always been a hunter. I refuse to live like that.”

I sighed a deep breath and nodded.

“Are you ready?” I asked.

He reached for one of the knives on his waist and held it up.

“Go on, bear. Go.”

“Let’s see if you’re truly the predator you claim to be.”

I shifted into a bear and roared at him. He grinned at me in response.

I immediately ran into the forest and got lost among the trees. It was dark but I caught a glimpse of him slowly moving forward.

He wanted a hunt. I was going to give him one.

I rushed through the trees, weaving my way in and out of the brush. I’d lived here all my life, so I knew them better than anything else.

I stopped and leaned up against a tree when I was sure I couldn’t be found. Just in front of me was the end of the forest with the river rushing right next to it.

I closed my eyes and listened for any footsteps that might be approaching. I could sense a man like Penn. The smell of the city was so strong on him, it was more than noticeable in the forest.

“Now… Where have you gone, bear?”

I heard his voice. To the right of me, his footsteps approaching me became more obvious.

“I know you’re here… Just where are you—”

Before he could do anything, I moved away from the tree and attacked him. I swiped him across the face and sent him reeling into the brush in pain. Before I could pounce on him, he threw his knife at me to defend himself. I moved out of the way but not quickly enough. It grazed me on the arm.

I roared from the pain and backed away.

“You’re a bear,” he said as he got back up to his feet. “But even bears can be hunted.”

I rushed back into the woods and tried to get as much space as I could from him. I put my hand to my arm. A small trickle of blood wet my palm.

“Come on, bear… Is that any way to fight? Constantly hiding?”

“I’m only hiding for your sake,” I shouted. “Come to my voice and I will end this quickly.”

He was still stalking me. He moved through the trees. The sound of the brush grew louder and louder.

Now.

I spun away from the tree and pounced on top of him. Two more swipes across his face drew more blood. Even in the darkness, I could still see his sinister stare.

I roared as I continued to try and pin him down.

“Submit!” I urged him.

“Never!”

A sudden stinging pain in my arm made me yelp. I was so distracted by my own fervor that I failed to hold his arm down. A knife dug into my skin and made the blood trickle down even more.

I got off of him and raced through the trees, back toward the end of the forest where the river was. I got out of the darkness so I could use the moonlight above me. I looked down and saw the blood continuing to trickle out of my arm from my wound.

“He bleeds…”

I spun around and saw Penn continuing to stalk me. His face was bloodied and bruised. He walked with a limp. But he still had a sadistic smile on his face as he moved toward me.

“Come on, bear. Make this interesting.”

He put his mask over his mouth and reached for another knife. He threw it at me and I ducked out of the way. I roared as I charged at him.

I had to get him before he pulled another blade out on me. I moved faster than I ever had in my life.

Just as he pulled his weapon from his waist, I got on top of him. He slashed me across the chest but not deep enough to stop me. I swiped my claws across his face again.

“Get off me!”

He revealed his arm and the knife he held in his hand. I rolled away from him just as he tried to slice me.

I was growing tired. The blood was continuing to drain from my arm. But I was still in better shape than the battered and bloodied man in front of me.

“You will never defeat me,” I said. “I am not your prey. Not even if you had every weapon in all of Dirge.”

“Perhaps not. But I am a hunter. It still beats in my heart. I will show you what it means to be a true predator.”

He removed the knives from his belt and dropped them to the ground. I watched as he removed all of his clothing and tossed it to the side. The last thing he took off was the mask that now barely covered his face.

He stood in front of me, his body bare and his arms out at his sides.

Suddenly, he shifted into a wolf.

Black and gray fur covered him. He was significantly larger than most of the wolves I’d seen before. His stare was more intimidating than it had ever been. Yellow eyes stared at me menacingly. Fangs dripped with saliva as he bared them at me.

“I will defeat you!” he shouted. “You are prey!”

I gathered myself and sighed a deep breath.

“Then come, wolf. Show me you are the hunter you claim to be.”

He howled up toward the moon loud enough for the entire forest to hear. I roared at him then charged forward. He responded by racing toward me.

He was big but not bigger than a bear. I knew that I would need only one good swipe to take him down. Just before we collided, I raised my hand up to take him down. But he ducked out of the way.

He moved quickly. I turned around and was greeted by a vicious bite on the arm. I roared in pain and knocked him off of me.

The searing sting of fangs digging into me was like nothing else.

“How does it feel?” Penn said. “Not so nice when someone bites you.”

I roared at him and chased back after him. I swiped at him with all of my strength, trying to knock him senseless.

But the wolf was too agile. He ducked out of the way of every swing, responding with a violent swipe of his own.

A single cut wasn’t enough to stop me. But they were beginning to add up. All of the blood underneath my fur was making it more tiresome for me to move.

I stood on all fours and tried to regain my senses.

Penn circled me, his stare as menacing as ever.

“It’s done,” he said. “I am the Alpha of the Timberlands. I am the predator and everybody else is my prey.”

“Even if you beat me, you will never succeed. Everybody will rise and fight you. You will only start a war in the Timberlands.”

“Good! I intend on hunting everything and everybody here. This area is my domain. And I’m starting with you.”

He slowly backed up to get ready and lunge at me like all wolves did.

I closed my eyes. When I did, everything went blank.

It was all gone. My cabin. The trees. The rivers. The lakes. The sleuth.

Everything except for Rudy.

The handsome man I vowed to protect.

I wouldn’t let him down. I would return to him. I wouldn’t let someone like Penn end this.

“It’s over, bear.”

His howl interrupted my thoughts.

I opened my eyes just in time to see him lunging at me. With my last ounce of strength, I reached up with both of my paws and caught him in the air. I used his momentum, and as hard as I could, I slammed his head down into the dirt.

He let out a whimper when his head collided with the ground. I got on top of the wolf and pinned him down. His eyes rolled back in his head and I swiped my paws across his face.

The wolf remained defiant. He struggled to break free underneath me but I could feel him beginning to weaken. He and I both knew there was no way out of this.

“Submit,” I said. “It’s over.”

“No… I will not submit… It’s not over.”

“Then you will meet certain death.”

I held him by his throat. I looked into his eyes. The menacing stare was gone. All that remained was a blank look that told me he knew he’d lost.

“I don’t wish to kill you,” I said.

“You must.”

“Give up. Give up being a hunter. Let the Timberlands live in peace.”

“If I’m forced to live an ordinary life, then I’m already dead.”

He shook his head at me.

“Kill me, bear. Let me die with my pride.”

I held him in place.

“Kill me!” he shouted. “Kill me now or I vow I will come for the others! I am a hunter! Let me die like my ancestors who hunted before me.”

I knew that he was serious. I didn’t have any other choice.

I raised my paw up into the air.

“It’s the only way, bear. I can’t give up being a predator. You know it.”

I sighed a deep breath and shook my head.

“No.”

I released him from my grip and stood up straight. I looked down at the defeated hunter as he fell unconscious.

I sighed a deep breath and shifted back into a man. The sound of something in the brush next to me made me jerk my head.

I turned and watched as the other hunters emerged from the darkness. They all locked their eyes on me before turning their attention to Penn.

“Why would you not kill him?” one man asked.

I looked at Penn and knew the answer immediately.

“The lives we all had in the past are gone. We are no longer predators and prey. Whether we live in Dirge or in the Timberlands, the only way to live is in peace. More than anything, he is a man. I will not kill a man to make a point I don’t agree with.”

The hunters all looked at one another. I wasn’t sure what they were thinking but if they were going to attack me, I was ready.

“Perhaps it is time to ignore the desires in our hearts,” the man said. “We can live as ordinary men in Dirge.”

“You can live in Dirge or the Timberlands. But the time of predators and prey are over.”

“You may be right, bear.”

The men all started removing their belts with the knives that lined them. They dropped the knives on the ground before me.

A few of the men moved toward Penn and picked him up from the ground. They disappeared into the darkness of the trees.

One man remained behind.

“You have nothing more to fear, Alpha,” he said. “We no longer wish to hunt in the Timberlands.”

He left with his brethren back into the forest.

I closed my eyes and sighed a deep breath of relief.

All I wanted now was to see Rudy. I could finally tell him that it was over.