A/N: Alright, here's chapter one of my new story, Hunter! Hope you enjoy, please REVIEW!

"This is an outrage!" My voice seethed. I was livid, I'll be the first to admit.

My grandmother's voice, however, was stone hard and ice cold, as compared to my burning rage. "You were not granted a choice, Isabella."

I quivered. "I know what you're trying to do, you old crone! Simply because I refuse to take a mate, you think to replace me with my brother? Hope something out there will be my match, and I'll be out of the way? Well you're out of luck there. Milo is only twelve, not even close to coming of age, and even then we both know he's a hopeless Hunter. He won't even pass his Trial."

"You will not speak of your blessed family that way! I forbid it!"

"Forbid this, you hag!" I brandished my middle finger inches from her face. "You want me gone? Very well. I leave of my own free will, but when the Xerabii attack and your leader is neigh on powerless, don't expect me to come save your sorry asses." The Xerabii, a smaller Clan to the south, had been trying to amass enough strength to take over our land and tribe for years. It was only a matter of time.

I stormed from the pavilion, magic surging about me in an enraged scarlet aura. My Tribe lounged outside, on old tree trunks or sitting simply on the ground. Rafael, the oldest second only to me, as well as my second in command, was first to his feet. "Well?" He asked, anxious.

I looked around to see the same expression reflected on the others faces as well. All five of them, just as anxious as the first. "It started out bad, and quickly became worse. The crone has sent us on what she thinks is a suicide mission, to take out a coven of vampires and a pack of shape-shifters. In response, I have formally abdicated my position as first in line for the Askari throne."

I expected the gasps, even outrage. Not this quiet silence. It roared in my ears.

"Well?" I asked, frustrated beyond words.

"It was to be expected." Holly said. She was a short girl with flaming red hair with black streaks running through it and blazing turquoise eyes.

"When do we leave?" Archer asked, standing behind Holly, determined. His raven hair gleamed indigo in the firelight.

"What?" I asked, taken aback. "No, absolutely not! You are all well-to-do, heroes in the eyes of the Clan. I will not allow you to throw your future away."

"We wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you. We'd still be milksops, rejects with no cause or purpose. You had faith in us, now we're repaying the favor." Archer's twin sister, Aria said, voice strong. As opposed to his raven hair, her's was the color of gleaming moonlight.

"Our allegiance is not to Haebus, it's to you." Birch, the last of my Tribe, said with conviction.

I was, understandably, thunderstruck. "Well... well then, I don't see why we're wasting so much time. Gather your things, quickly. We leave tonight."

"Already taken care of." Rafael gestured to six heaped piles of supplies.

"You even brought my gear? But... how-"

"You're not very hard to predict. A person would have to be blind not to have seen this coming." Holly answered, smiling. "Especially when we've known you for as long as we have."

I grinned and whistled. From over the tree tops, a glowing orb soared, blurred with speed, until it came to rest at my side, taking on the form of a wolf. Kind of. The aura was green as a general color, but silvery and slightly translucent, and hovered a foot or two off of the ground. The head, chest, and front paws were clearly defined, but the rest dabbled off into a ghostly trail. He was Loki, my Spirit Companion. Loki opened his mouth and spoke.

"Are we leaving then?" His voice was warm, like summer oak, and had a slight Irish accent.

"We are."

"About time!" He whirled around, plunging into the forest, clearly expecting us to follow. I still loved watching him run, even after all this time, how his front legs ran like the rest of him followed.

Me and my Tribe were hot on his heels until we came to a clearing where the others Companions waited. Rafael went to greet the spirit of a Stag, named Tem; Holly met a red fox, named Renia; Archer met a dog, some kind of hound and rottweiler mix, named Beto; Aria met a Mountain Lion, named Tekio; and Birch met a bear named Iargo.

"Alright guys, let's move out."

They nodded and in a cloud of sudden fog, each guide became more and more substantial, growing until each mount, species unimportant, was large enough for each to ride. They were quite real now, back legs and all, as well as decorated in war paint. Loki's white fur was in places covered in red and black dots, stripes, and zig zags. I looked around to find everyone else comfortable seated and ready to run. So run we did. Our clan, at that time, had been situated somewhere within the wilds of Canada. Our destination was Forks, Washington. Not that I had ever been there before or even heard of the place before now, I trusted Loki to find the way. He always did. The ride, while quicker than driving, or even flying, was still long and boring, so I figure this would be a good time to tell you a bit about myself.

My name is Isabella Marie Ravensage. I am a Hunter. No, not the kind that gets decked out in camo, sprays themselves with urine, and sits in a tree stand for endless hours. I'm the supernatural Hunter. The magic wielders, the shamans, the bounty hunters and supernatural wardens. We are a closely knit group, our entire species, whether we've met or not. Our Clans are usually isolated from the rest of the world, but if there's trouble, we'll hear it and we'll deal with the problem. Simple as that. Or, maybe, not so simple. In our Clans, there can be tens of families, even hundreds. The elder of every Noble Family, that is those with the strongest blood, the strongest powers, lead a tribe, along with those of the Clan who do the best in training. These are members of their age group within the clan that don't qualify to lead. Now me... me, I'm somewhat of an enigma.

My family, the Ravensages, have lead the Askari Clan since it was founded over a thousand years ago. I was in line for the throne, except... well... I don't want it. Normally, when an heir comes of age, at twenty-one, they are to choose a mate. As soon as the female in the pair bond, me in this case, becomes pregnant and births yet another heir, they take over the leadership of the entire Clan. I never wanted that. At all. So to say I was a bit of a rebel would be... well, the understatement of the century. They had to put up with it though because I was, am, and always will be the best damn Hunter our entire race has ever seen. We don't understand it, where my power comes from, how I got it, or how I'm meant to use it, but that doesn't really matter to me.

My Tribe, all of them, were disowned by their families because they couldn't learn as fast as their other children. In our society, the weak are left to die. Only the strong are allowed to flourish. In my opinion, that's bull shit. I helped the Orphans, as we call them, learn and train. I was a hard task master, none will dispute that, but the results were more than worth it. For two years that they were hidden in the woods, presumed dead of course, but when they come back and out shot, fought, and killed some of our finest warriors, my elders had no choice but to grant my request that they become my Tribe. And they've hated me ever since, just because an Heir's tribe is supposed to be of strongest blood, and they weren't. I went against their stupid customs, and suddenly I became their biggest enemy. Just because I wanted change. I guess we all win now.

I never hid from my elders how much I hated them, and their way of living. Strong versus the weak. Powerful versus the fragile. I believed that everyone has the chance for greatness and denying them of that was hurting the entire Clan, not strengthening it. But I couldn't leave, not then. Because there was one thing the Clan had that I needed, and that was the Hunt. They were the one's with the name. If people had problems, they went to the Askari Elders, not their malcontent heir. If I left... I wouldn't have known what to do with my life. Now though, that didn't matter. I was going to Forks, to take out these Vampires and Shape-shifters, then we were going vigilante. Do things our way for once.

Now there's one more thing I should mention about us Hunters... We're deadly in more ways than you could possibly imagine. We each wield magic, more or less depending on the person. I can start fires with the snap of my fingers, I can part seas with a wave of my hands. I can speak with any animal that crosses my path, I can worm into the mind of any human. We all can. Also, we age a bit differently than regular humans. Our brains are fully developed by age five, but the speed at which we can learn doesn't slow until age twenty, at which the process of aging itself slows to a near halt. For the first nineteen years of our life, we learn everything from how to brew deadly poisons and miracle potions, to learning how to use any weapon, even a tooth pick, and turn it into a Reaper's tool. At age twenty, well, our body seems to freeze. We may be stuck as a twenty year old for two, three centuries. Even after then, it's one or two centuries until we reach old age and die. Only problem is, our line of work isn't exactly danger-free. To make it to age three hundred is considered quite a feat.

Me? I'm only seventeen. I still have a little over three years before I become pseudo-immortal. The youngest in my Tribe are the twins, Archer and Aria, who are seventeen (just barely), but we're all considered warriors or the top level. The politically correct termination would be Falcons which means we have proven ourselves to be the best of the best, that we've been certified to hunt, track, and kills basically any creature on the face of the earth, and that we're trained and ready for battle against any creature on the face of the earth.

Now we were actually going to be able to use it.

We stopped for breakfast about three hours later, when we were three fourths of the way there. Feeling somewhat nostalgic, I set to gathering firewood the old fashioned way, with my hands. Bringing it back, I pulled out a flint and steel from the leather pack I wore over my shoulder. I had made it myself, from the skin of my first bear. A few strokes later an ember was burning and soon grew into a warm fire. A grin spread across my features as I asked, "Who's up for a little competition?"

My Tribe had previously been lounging about, either sharpening weapons, practicing magic or archery, or just cloud gazing but at the sound of my words they all jumped to their feet. "Yeah?" Holly asked, hand already on her bow.

"Whoever can kill the biggest rabbit in half an hour gets to choose their target when we get to Forks." Normally, I assigned them based on strategy, now they had the choice. I could see the energy shiver through them. "Oh, and slings only." I grinned even broader.

Eyes alight with the challenge, I dismissed them and they scattered. I too melted into the woods. I was already in my hunting gear, soft soled dark brown leather boots that came to my knee, tough leather leggings that clung to my skin, a white linen shirt that fell to my wrists, and a leather chest guard made of hardened leather and fitted to my form. It laced up the front and had buckles where I could strap in my quiver. I wore the amulet of my Clan, the northern star made of yellow topaz, and a midnight blue sapphire set in the center, looking somewhat like a compass rose, around my neck. I may have renounced my family, but my Clan had raised me and fed me and trained me, and that I would always respect.

I had two knives at my waist, one iron, one silver, rawhide cords hanging from my belt which served multiple purposes, from setting snares to restraining more... human-like prey, and a small satchel of medicines. In one hand I held ten small, perfectly round river pebbles and in the other was my worn leather sling. My senses, my magic, was extended out into the forest. I slowed my breathing and even my heart rate until it felt as if my very soul had seeped into the forest around me. I ranged out my mind's eye, seeing yet not seeing, hearing yet not hear, searching for any trace of life. I found countless small rodents, an old owl in his hollow, a several rabbits but all were too small to be worth my while. I searched farther yet, pushing the boundaries of my magic.

Finally, a big buck of a rabbit, nestled under a broad frond of fern, half asleep, caught my mind's eye. He was big alright, bigger than any I had seen as of yet. He'd probably weigh out around ten or fifteen pounds. Enough meat to hold me over for a day or so. I began my approach. It was slow going, to be sure, watching for every twig, pausing every time a bird chirped, fearing one would set off an alarm. It must have been fifteen minutes before I was in range, though I had only gone maybe one hundred yards. Despite that I was no more than twenty feet from my prey, I could not see him. I silently loaded my sling, took a deep breath, and-

"Psst!" I hissed, loud, and the rabbit popped it's head out of cover, ready to flee.

Whack!

My pebble hit the mark. Laughing with relief, it was only then that I noticed the adrenaline within my veins. I jogged up to gather my prey, whistling at his hefty weight. This was going to be quite the meal. I wasn't long getting back to camp, though I did pause to converse with a red fox. She had had a late litter of pups and was afraid they wouldn't be strong enough by the time winter came around. Summer pups rarely were. She asked if I had any meat to spare, and I was quick about dispatching a nearby smaller rabbit for her and her pups. She thanked me profusely and disappeared into the bushes.

That was something I wouldn't have been able to do back home. The elders were very strict about respecting the laws of nature, but that was bull. One rabbit and two extra foxes wasn't going to make a lick of difference. Back at camp, I saw that I was second to last to arrive, but Holly was quick on my heels.

"Alright, hold 'em up!" I said, brandishing my catch proudly.

Rafael glared at his rabbit, as if it offended him. I could understand why, the thing was pitiful. To his dismay, none of us could hold in our giggles and he was quick to defend himself. "I had just found the glade I wanted to hunt, I had a rabbit in my sights bigger than any of yours, wouldn't ya know it an owl sweeps in a plucks him up, carries 'im off!"

"Oh, sure." Holly said, eyes bright. She showed us her rabbit, a fine she-creature, and we showed our appreciation. Archer's and Aria's were smaller than Holly's, but not by much, whereas Birch's was bigger, though not by much. My rabbit, I'm proud to say, topped them all.

"You know, it's hardly fair, having to hunt against a Legend." Rafael grumbled.

"You shouldn't eat sour grapes, Raf." I joked, teasing. "Your face might get stuck in that grimace."

He blushed and stormed off, unsheathing his knife and starting to skin and gut his dinner. I laughed and did the same with mine. What might had been a full meal for two normal humans wasn't completely filling for just one Hunter. Our gifts meant that we burned energy faster than normal and needed a lot more sustenance. Also, we could live entirely off of meat, because, as the legends went, we were three fourths predator to begin with. I didn't know if it was true or not, but I did know that whenever we ate meat, our canine teeth grew quite a bit, and even our molars sharpened. Once my rabbit was skinned and ready to cook (most of us preferred cooked meat, even though it wouldn't hurt us to eat it raw) I put it on a spit and sat before the flames, watching as it popped and sizzled.

"So Bells, what are we gonna do once we take care of this problem in Forks?" Aria asked, cocking her head to the side, taking a bite out of her rabbit's haunch.

I shrugged, removing my dinner from it's place over the fire. "Dunno." I pulled a tin cup I had resting at the edge of the fire away. In it, where there used to be a steeping spring of hickory bark, there was now a dried out sheath of bark and a dark residue. This woodland salt I scraped out and sprinkled over the meat, giving it a bit more flavor. "I haven't thought much about. I guess just do what we do best."

Birch smiled, his corn silk hair tinted orange in the fire light. "I like the sound of that. We officially nomads, then?"

"I s'pose so. Unless of course, you want to go back?" I asked them, one eye brow raised.

"Hell no we don't!" Rafael said, grimacing in disgust. "No offense Bells, but your Elder's made life with the Askari a living hell. I know things weren't always that bad, but until they right themselves again, I have no intention of return."

I nodded and grinned, not feeling the need to speak.

It was an hour or two before dawn, when we planned to start moving again, that I found myself staring up at the sky. Loki and I had wandered around, scouting the area, and ended up finding a wide meadow. The stars were brilliant out here and soon enough we were sprawled out on our backs, disturbed expressions on our faces.

"What do you think it means?" I asked, trying to push down the niggling fear that grew in my gut.

"Not sure. Venus parallel to Jupiter, and the angle it has to Mars... Plus, see there? It's been traveling through Taurus so far this year."

I grimaced. "That's no good. It has to mean something else."

"Bella, you're in denial. Mars in Taurus was the sign you were born under, and the Ruling Planet and the Goddess of Love in alignment with it?"

"Why on earth would I be such a big deal to the universe? That's insane."

"Do you really believe those words, or did they come out on their own?" Loki asked, voice dry.

I fidgeted.

"The stars have brought word to every major event that's happened since your birth. Your birth itself, for one. Your first training. Your first kill. Your first Hunt. Now, your first love. You should be happy for the warning."

"I don't want to love, though! It's nothing but a hassle!" I burst out.

Loki only chuckled. "You only say that because you never have. And, you're the smallest bit afraid. Before you try to deny it, please remember that I am in fact a part of you. I would know."

I sighed. "So what if I am?"

"Well, why?"

"Why am I afraid? Simple. There's nothing on this planet that can take me out, at least nothing I've come across yet. Because I don't let them. Love is no different from a Banshee or a rabid bear, it's just another beast that wants to get close enough to kill me. Except it's a thousand times more dangerous than even a Drake, because I would let it."

Loki sighed. "Quite the contrary, if that's your attitude, I think some love in your life would do you a world of good. You need to learn how to trust, pup."

"Don't pup me. And I trust! I would trust my Tribe with my life!"

"Yes, you would. You would trust them with your body. Skin can be healed easily. A broken bone doesn't hurt nearly as bad as a broken heart and heals much quicker."

I scoffed darkly. "Well said. That doesn't change my opinion however."

"Hopefully, time will."

We dropped into silence then, each considering the others words and each equally disturbed.

We arrived in Forks before noon the next day, but we had scented the Vampires since nine or ten o' clock. They ranged far out, that I could see, probably so they could prey upon unsuspecting hunters and hikers. We did a scan of the area, grid pattern standard, but found none other than humans and animals. With the town less than two miles off, we switched into more acceptable human clothing, A.K.A hoodies and jeans, converse too. We took to the roads, walking in on them, with the cover story that our families were primitive camping, but we needed a healthy dose of society.

If my memory served, it was Tuesday so the humans would likely be in school. "I've got an idea. Let's lounge around the school until they dismiss for lunch. A town like this can't have more than one school, maybe the Shape shifters will be hanging around."

"Solid, let's do it." Rafael said from where he lounged at my side.

I muttered a short incantation that would put a glamour over us, a spell that mortals couldn't see through, made us look invisible. Granted, we could do invisibility spells, but they take a lot more energy and if we were gonna be fighting today, I wanted to conserve as much of that as I could. The only downsides of this was that if we bumped into anyone they would notice us, and our reflections could be seen as well.

It wasn't hard to find the school, the town itself couldn't have had more than twenty streets. We had timed it just right; as soon as we stepped foot onto the school grounds the bell rang, and students began to pour out the doors. I dropped my Glamour, signaling Holly and Aria to do the same. They flanked me, a knowing glint in their eyes and coy smiles on their lips. We lounged against a brick fence that enclosed the parking lot, waiting for our prey to approach. And approach he did, in the form of a teenage boy, around our age, with blond hair and baby blue eyes. Like a shark drawn to blood, the second he walked out of the school doors his eyes seemed to lock onto us, and a noticeable swagger came into his steps.

"Hey, girls. Don't think I've seen you around this one horse town before. You lost?"

I let out my most appealing giggle, feeling my ego swell as it had a visible effect. "Hey yourself. You're half right, we are new to the area, but we're not lost. I was wondering if you could answer some questions for me, if you have the time?" Cue pout... cue erection. Mission accomplished.

"Sure thing. I'm your man. Name's Mike Newton by the way. Whatcha wanna know?" He leaned over the brick fence, getting closer to us while simultaneously hiding his pitched tent.

"Oh this and that." I knew he fished for my name, but I wasn't sure if I wanted to give that information out. Besides, I only knew a small amount about the shape-shifters, so I tried to frame it into an inconspicuous question. "We've been hearing that there's a Native American Reservation around these parts?"

"Oh yeah! You mean La Push? Great surfing there, and the people are nice for the most part. Unless you're looking for a party spot, that is. Bonfires are cool, but the Rez has it's own little police force nowadays. Some local boys don't let minors hang with alcohol or dope. You need any of that, I can hook you up." He winked. Winked. Idiot. His information was good though, it sounded just like what we were looking for.

"I'll keep that in mind." I flashed him a smile. "So what's it like around here? Our parents travel a lot, we don't get to settle much in one place for too long. What's it like in a small town?"

Mike grinned. "Boring as hell. Nothing ever happens here. Everyone knows everyone. We never get any new faces around here. Well, I guess I can't say that exactly. A year ago we got one new family, and I guess their weird enough to make up for it."

"Oh?" I asked, trying to sound intrigued. Humans liked to gossip, right?

"Yeah, The Cullens. All adopted by the local doctor. They keep to themselves, exclusively. All pale, all freaking gorgeous. All have weird yellow eyes, but those are contacts of course. Still, they act like a cult." He scoffed.

I on the other hand found his information rather interesting. Pale? Beautiful? Odd colored eyes? Not red of course, but it was still something. And they attended the school here... how odd. "That is odd. Well, thanks for talking with us, Mike! We better get back before our parents miss us."

He looked disappointed. "Oh, yeah sure. See ya, ladies."

We walked away, ducking into an alley a ways away so we could recast our Glamour. The boys were waiting for us, grinning from ear to ear. "Well done, girls! We heard the whole thing. Sounds like we've found our quarry." Birch said, lounging against an old air conditioner.

"We still need to do some investigation. I'll admit, if these Cullens are our Vampires, I want to learn as much about them as we can. There are too many unknowns for me to feel comfortable. Yellow eyes? And the one that sounds like the patriarch, a doctor? Surrounded by all that blood? For what purpose?"

Rafael sighed. "I agree. This whole situation reeks of... well, it's just out of sorts. I don't like it one bit. But what do we do?"

"We need to find out where the Vampires live. It can't be too far if they're trying to keep up a human appearance. Let's wait it out here until the day's over, and we can follow them."

My Tribe nodded, settling down into more comfortable positions.

A/N: Well, what did you think? Is it any good? Worthy of being continued? Or should I trash it? Let me know!