Escaping the Monster's Embrace

The Hunt

I crossed my legs extremely tight trying not to move in my seat afraid I'd piss myself. Stupid Mutts had a toilet on the bus but it was for their purpose only.

The bus finally came to a halt in its parking space making me jump up from my seat. Pushing people back into their seats I made it to the top of the bus. I rushed out the open doors banging into someone, glancing upwards I seen the narky bitch that was in charge of the bus snarling down at me.

"Do you know where the bathrooms are?" I grumbled out keeping my eyes downwards.

"Follow the sign's you pathetic piece of shit!" She growled out pointing toward a sign behind her.

I began trudging along not caring who I bumped into, my fist tightened as her words rattled around my head. "Stupid Bitch." I mumbled pushing the door open to one of the stalls quickly relieving myself.

Leaving the toilet stalls I headed near the registration office. The atmosphere was a mixture of dread and excitement, there were girls huddle together giggles and small squeals of anticipation echoing around the room from them. Then there were the people that had it all written on their face. I don't want to be here.

Finally getting to the start of the line I seen a girl no older then fourteen sitting in a chair that dwarfed her tiny frame.

"Your number please?" She asked timidly. Answering her she looked up at me making my stomach drop. Her wide blue eyes were dull and not a shred of an emotion crossed through them, she seemed lifeless just a visible ghost trapped in a body. My jaw tightened as did my fist when I saw the nasty scar on her neck, it must have been only a few weeks old as the skin was still red. How could anyone possibly believe it was okay to break a young child until they were nothing?

I would rather die then become a submissive shell for the bastards to control. It was not a
life worth living. They would have to cage me and crush my soul before I would obey without a fight, and in most of the Taken cases that was exactly what they did.

After signing a form she handed me a sheet of paper, "Thank you," I called over my shoulder. I searched the page and found my hut number, and what gate I'd be running from. Heading to the dingy cabin that would hold sixteen girls I cringed remembering the state of the huts I had been assigned to the previous years. I sighed seeing the identical cabins staring at me my eyes flickered from each door until they landed on 0706, the cabin I'd be staying in.

Mustering up some confidence I strolled up the creaky stairs across the porch and opened the door to see a bunch of women surrounding two women dressed in the uniform the guards wore.

"-now as we were saying you should get some rest before the Hunt begins the more energy you have the quicker you can run and trust me your mate will get excited over that." One of the beast women cackled.

Pushing past the crowd I began walking up the loose worn down stairs glancing into each room before finding a bed without anything on it. Plopping down on the bed I turned on my side away from the door trying to catch some sleep. Giggles filled the room as two girls came in. Grinding my teeth together I tried to calm down hoping that they'd both just get in their beds and sleep.

Gasps, squeals and a big booming laughter made me sit up angrily turning to look in their direction. "Could you be a bit considerate of other people trying to sleep here and shut the fuck up!!" I snapped . Turning back around I could hear them settle in their beds silence surrounding the room. Taking a deep relaxing breath I let fatigue win and drifted off to sleep.

The loud shrill of the alarm woke me up. The screeching hurt my ears, as I rolled out of the bed. Sluggishly I strolled down the stairs the noise following me. Opening the creaky door I left the house walking towards the gate I'd be leaving from, Gate sixteen. The loud noise still rang around me as people began to gather.

The guards sorted us in lines checking what we wore as the line moved along we were handed rucksacks full of water and three bars that was made from god knows what. All I can remember about them was that they tasted like shit. Pushing through the security check point I made it out into the field the towering gates surrounded the whole area stretching on for miles.

A voice called out from the intercom loud enough for all to hear. "The first alarm will start when the clock hits nine o'clock. The gates will be opened now but no one is to move until the alarm rings, that's your cue to start running. Good luck to all of you, try staying safe for your mates sake." The automated female voice made me roll my eyes.

After what felt like hours but was merely minutes the first alarm rang. When the women in front of me started to move I quickly shot off over taking them. Instead of running straight I banked off to the right once I was in the fringes of the woods. I wasn't an idiot like the rest of the human woman I was running with, they were heading straight towards the male beasts. Whereas I was running towards the male humans. Where the chance's of me being found would hopefully be slim.

As I was running it was gradually starting to darken. Seeing what looked like wet mud I gathered clumps off it in my hands rubbing it all over me in hopes of masking my scent. While it was still a bit bright out I found a sturdy tree to climb. Just as I was starting to drag myself up the first few tree branches the second alarm rang followed by thousands off howls. The Beasts had been let loose making me panic, I kept on climbing until the branches became too frail to support my weight.

Once I was secure and was sure I wouldn't fall I took the sorry excuse of a blanket out of the small bag, feeling the chill in the air. Closing my eyes I prayed hard that I'd be fortunate and not become a taken.

It was now pitch black out and I was surrounded by moans, screams and howls. Three noises that disturbed me to the core. A wolf had been frustratingly walking around in a loop below me not straying afar. Their growls and snarls must have been from not being able to find or smell their mate.

After a while of whimpers and searching the area they gave up leaving making me sigh in relief.

The third alarm sounded out when it was nearer to dusk, signaling that the hunt was over until next year. Returning to the gate I had left at the guards barked out orders for us to get into groups that showed which pack we belonged to. The groups were escorted to the busses where the Alpha and his other high ranking pack members accompanied him. The Alpha had to check each "pack member" to make sure everyone was safe and uninjured.

I was the last person in the line waiting to board the bus at least twenty five other girls standing in front of me. The Alpha was a tall man towering over the women surrounding the area, his companion was merely only a few inches shorter then him. He was probably another high ranking wolf escorting the Alpha.

The slightly shorter one seemed agitated and tense with how he stood. His eyes glanced around everyone until they landed on me. He had beautifully haunting eyes but they belonged to a beast I was crazy to think they're beautiful. He didn't break eye contact with me but I began to feel uncomfortable. He took a few steps towards me whispering a word that crushed my heart and the beginning of my world slowly diminishing.

"Mate" he whispered in a trance like state.