The Rogue Hunter

Chapter Five: Cowards

      Do I want to risk execution on the spot by taking down as many of them as I can? No, I can't risk it. I crouch low to the ground and jump. My hands latch onto a branch and I feel a incredible pain in my right leg. I let out an involuntary yelp as my hands slip from the branch.
      I fall a long ways and land on my feet for only a second before my leg gives out. I bring my hand to my calf and see blood coloring it. My glare falls upon the Alpha who is holding a gun. He shot me! I watch his eyes widen in shock and realize my hood has fallen back.
      "Its... you..." The alpha says. He tries to reach out to me, but I stumble up and back away. "Did the Rogue Hunter make you do this?" He asks in pity. It makes my lip twitch.
      "You haven't figured it out? I am the Rogue Hunter." I inform him. I watch his eyes widen along with his packs.
      "We are going to have a bad ass Luna." A blonde man next to the alpha comments. I glare at him, I will not be a Luna. I do not have a mate. And the alpha shot me!
      "Well, good luck finding her." I growl at them. My leg is bleeding, I am surrounded by a pack, and a man is trying to convince me that he is my mate. And to top it off, I got no useful information from the rogue.
      "I already have." The alpha insists.
      "It sure as hell isn't me. Look some where else." I snarl at him. I glance to the left and see a gap in the men, I run for it. I leave the werewolves gathered around rogue bodies behind. My leg screams at me to stop, but I block the pain. The alpha yells at me to stop, I obviously refuse.
      A heavy body collides with mine, sending us rolling onto the forest floor. I claw at them with my finger nails and try to kick, holding back a scream when my leg protests. The sparks tell me it is the alpha but that does not stop my fight.
      "First I have to shoot you, now I have to tackle you?" He asks.
      "Seems to be the only way you can keep a girl." I retort, fighting till he pins my arms to my side. Then I just snarl at him.
      "Very witty." He remarks sarcastically as he pulls me to my feet. The alpha keeps my arms secured to my sides as he holds me against my will to him. And he keeps my feet off the ground so I have nothing to kick off of. I am not a child! How dare he treat me like one!
      "Looks like you caught the Rogue Hunter twice, Alpha." The blonde haired guy from before states. I snarl at him. He shot me, that should not count as catching. The man sends me a smile like I am not a famous killer, a smile one might give a regular girl.
      "Let me go!" I growl deep in my throat and I try to wiggle out of his grip.
      "How bout no." The alpha male replies. All the sudden I feel a sting in my neck and I fall asleep. Cowards.

●●●●●
Axel
●●●●●

      I hear fighting going on not far from where we are. Everyone looks in that direction. We are all thinking the same thing, the Rogue Hunter. I don't even have to give the order, once I start running, they follow.
      The scuffling gets louder. Rogues. The smell confirms it. My lips form a silent snarl, he took my mate from me. All the sudden it goes relatively silent. I almost halt for a half second. By the sounds and the smells, that was a large bunch of rogues to go quiet. Noise comes back, only faint whispers carried by the wind.
      "Rogues! Stop!" I yell to them, trying to speed up. We are not far away but I can't make out what they are saying yet.
      "You are crazy!" A man shouts. Almost there.
      "Please! Please! Don't kill me!" The same voice pleads, a snap following shortly. I see the clearing up ahead and mind link my men to surround the person.
      "Stop where you are!" Jax orders the Rogue Hunter. I stare in shock at the bodies covering the ground. His hands drip with blood. "Remove your hood and drop the bag."
      He doesn't move, not a single muscle twitches. I take the time to observe him, he is not tall for a werewolf, he can definitely be called short. The Rouge Hunter is very slim, lacking the normal build for a male. His hood covers his face, I see the slight shift of his head. He's watching us.
      "Remove your hood." I demand in my alpha tone. There is no way a rogue can ignore a command directly from an alpha. Rogue Hunter bends his knees, his blood covered fingers touching the dirt. He jumps. I pull out the small hand gun I carry and aim for his leg when he grabs a branch. I have no idea what this thing is, no normal werewolf could have jumped that high.
      Rogue Hunter lets out a surprisingly high pitched yelp when the bullet hits his leg. He drops and tries to land on his feet but one leg gives out. The hood falls back and I see long red hair, she glares up at me as she puts a hand to her leg. I just shot my mate.
      "Its... you..." I say as I try to reach a hand out to her. She stands up and stumbles a few feet back, still glaring. "Did the Rogue Hunter make you do this?" I ask her, trying to make my voice calm and soothing. Her lips twitch as if she was about to smile.
      "You haven't figured it out? I am the Rogue Hunter." She tells me. I stand there shocked. She? My mate?
      "We are going to have a bad ass Luna." Jax comments. She directs her glare to him and pulls her lips back in a silent snarl.
      "Well, good luck finding her." She growls at me. Anger is clear on her face. She is denying being my mate?
      "I already have." I stubbornly inform her. Not taking my eyes off her. She stops looking around and narrows her eyes on me.
      "It sure as hell isn't me. Look some where else." She snarls. Her eyes dart left and before I can react, she's running. Goddammit! I take off after her, yelling at her to stop. I sigh and lunge to the side, taking her down with me.
      My mate claws at me and attempts to kick me. I see her face change to a look of unbearable pain but she quickly turns it to anger. The sparks coming from where I touch her make me want to just hold her.
      "First I have to shoot you, now I have to tackle you?" I ask.
      "Seems to be the only way you can keep a girl." She retorts. I pin her dangerous hands to her side which makes her snarl at me.
      "Very witty." I respond sarcastically. I pull her up making sure to keep her arms down and hold her back to me. I realize how tiny she is compared to me, her feet aren't touching the ground and she is as light as a feather. My heart starts doing funny things with her so close. The only thing keeping me from enjoying this is that she is obviously angry and that I'm doing this to keep her from running.
      "Looks like you caught the Rogue Hunter twice, Alpha." Jax remarks, amusement clear in his voice. The girl in my arms starts to snarl at him which he responds to with a smile.
      "Let me go!" My mate demands. Does she not feel the pull at all? How can she still want to leave? I stomp down the overwhelming sadness.
      "How bout no." I reply. Then she goes limp against me. I look down and see a dart sticking out of her neck. I let out an angry growl. "Who drugged her?" I ask.
      "I am sorry, Axel, I saw no other way of getting her back home without casualties." Brek informs me. I know he is right but the anger stays. I don't like my mate being so defenseless. I move her to a more comfortable position. Keeping her head against my chest. She is so childlike. So young. Like she was the other day when she tricked us.
      I try to enjoy the trip home. I know that when she wakes she won't let me anywhere near her. Do I really believe this young woman is the all terrifying Rouge Hunter? I don't know. I don't want her to be. I don't want to believe this innocent looking girl has killed way over a hundred rogues. That she basically rules the rogues with terror. How could she? She is delicate, fragile. She is the one the council wants? I look up and realize we have returned home. Houses are scattered about and the mansion looms ahead. I let my men return home, only my beta and gamma come with me. None of us say a word when I lay my mate down in my room, then make sure she can't escape.
      "You should probably de-arm her." Brek suggests. I nod. I feel really bad about touching her while she's asleep but I can't put my pack in danger. Blade after blade after blade. There is a pile on foot of the bed of all the weapons I found on her.
      "How the hell does she carry those around? All that must way as much as her!" Jax exclaim, Brek silently nods in agreement. I also wonder that, her jacket seemed to have an endless supply of blades and her pant pockets full of sharp dangerous things as well. I put them in a box and then hand them to Brek to handle, I don't think Jax should be allowed sharp objects. I motion to the guys to leave the room, me following them into the hall and to the study. Plopping down in my chair, I sigh as Brek takes a seat and Jax loudly falls into another.
      "What are you going to do, Axel? The Council wants the Rogue Hunter, and she admitted she was him.... her. The Rogue Hunter." Jax points out. I tiredly rub my face. I don't know what I am going to do. I can't hand my mate over to be executed, but if I don't, the Council will not be happy.
      "She might not be the Rogue Hunter. She might be a copy cat." Brek suggests.
      "You mean, copy wolf." Jax corrects, laughing at his own little joke. Brek and I shake my head at him. That man is a child. I want to believe Brek but somehow I know she wasn't lying. She is the Rogue Hunter and she is my mate. The one I am destined to be with. The one I have spent four years looking for.

Word count: 1,888
Date Published: 7/18/16
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