I'm back! For today at least. Turns out that my paper that I thought was due this last Wed. is now due this Mon., along with a big research proposal... ah well, at least it's mostly done and the proposal is almost done, give or take a citation or two. Anyway! I hope you like the chapter! It was fun to write, and review if you want!

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Chapter 11: The Hunt

"I don't like this," Inara huffed as she stood out in the middle of a cleared woodland. She stood, hands above her head, eyes darting around the tree line searching for any movement. She was tied to a thick wooden post that must have been an original sacrificing spot in the past, evident by some claw marks around the pole, but now it would be used for another purpose. Inara's nose crinkled, the smell of death was around her, and even though she knew Van Helsing and the others were ready with their weapons, she felt uneasy.

According to accounts, and Gabriel's tracking ability, the werewolf passed through this glade often. They came to realize that there were two werewolves, both male. It cause the plan the alter just a bit. The blood and carcass of a deer laid a few feet to the side of Inara. She was the bait, and even though she was the one that changed the original plan, she wasn't liking it.

"How are you holding up?" Gabriel's voice crackled over an earplug, causing Inara to jump.

"Jesus...yeah, I'm fine. I don't see anything."

"Well keep your eyes peeled, it's just about sundown," Gabriel advised.

"How is it on your end?"

"They're getting a little antsy, nothing too bad though."

"Make sure they're ready to bail me out. I don't want to..." Inara stopped, swearing she saw something out of the corner of her eye, but when she turned her head to see what it was, something rushed at her from the tree line in front of her. The ten foot tall werewolf bounded after her, causing Inara to freeze only for a second. She pulled herself up onto the top of that narrow pole, hearing the werewolf growl in anger. There was a howl from her left as a smaller, seven foot werewolf appeared and ran to the pole. Inara leapt to a rope above her head.

Gabriel hated this plan. He hated the unnecessary risk, knowing full well how powerful and fast werewolves were. When Inara had stopped talking, he knew something was up and immediately had the men rise and get ready. He didn't expect both to charge the post, thinking the smaller would go for the deer. "Pull!" he screamed, and a team of ten men ran away from the glade with a thick rope. Gabriel watched as Inara was pulled into the tree above her, waiting till she passed the point...

"Fire!" he yelled and the tree line erupted in gunfire. There was a howl of pain and the smaller werewolf fell to the ground dead. The larger werewolf had leapt out of the line of fire just as it had erupted and was now in the tree with Inara.

"Inara!" The woman didn't need Gabriel's exclamation at the moment. She quickly moved through the tree, the snarling beast behind her. Fumbling for her Beretta she could hear the men running for the tree, but she could also feel the creature's breath. She was running out of tree.

"Don't shoot!" Gabriel yelled as the men leveled their weapons at the tree. The tree still had all of it's leaves, it would make aiming impossible, and raised the likelihood of them missing and hitting Inara.

"Just let them shoot!" Inara screamed back, watching as the werewolf approached her, branches snapping under the weight. She crept out onto a branch, feeling it starting to bend and crackle under her weight.

"Don't!"

"Gabriel! God damnit!" Inara screamed at him. She had her Beretta in her hand, leveling it at the creature as she had one arm wrapped around that branch. The werewolf growled, taking a step onto her branch. The entire thing shook and trembled under it's weight, causing Inara to falter. She didn't even notice she had her eyes closed until she opened them, expecting the werewolf to be at her, she instead saw the thing snarling at her in anger. Inara was confused, until she realized she wasn't alone. In front of her, standing on the branch with the best of balance, was a man dressed from head to toe in black. He was glaring at the werewolf coldly, blue eyes chilling the monster to a halt. His skin was pale, and he had dark, short curly brown hair. She looked down through the foliage, unable to see anyone below her, but at the sound of a growl she looked up to see the werewolf retreating and quickly descending the tree and bounding off. There was the echo of gunfire as it fled, and Inara looked up to see that man now turning to look at her.

"You!" she gasped, moving farther out on that branch.

"Inara...come to me..." he sounded like a phantom, hand out stretched to her.

"Inara!" she looked down to see Van Helsing climbing to find her. When she looked back to the spot, the vampire was gone. Gabriel climbed to that branch, holding his hand out. "Come on. Are you okay?"

"Yeah...yeah I'm fine..." she answered quickly, putting her Beretta back into it's holster before crawling over to him.

"What happened?" Gabriel asked as they started to climb down.

"I have no idea," Inara said, sounding as confused as Gabriel.

Once safely on the ground, the two walked over to the body of the smaller werewolf. It had been a scrawny teenage boy. There were two bullet holes, one in the stomach and one in the lung, and the boy looked pitiful and afraid.

"In the name of the father, the son and holy spirit," Gabriel whispered, crossing himself as Inara removed her jacket and put it over the boy to make him look a little more decent. She crossed herself, standing to the side as one of the men rushed over to them.

"That's my son!" the man dropped to his knees, a sob escaping his lips as he held his son. Rollin... oh Rollin... my son." The man held the body close to his chest, and Gabriel lowered the brim of his hat.

"I'm sorry for your loss," Inara whispered softly.

"What do you care!? This is your job!"

"Jacob! Rollin would have killed any of us. This was the only way," shot another man.

"He was sick! He couldn't help it!"

"There is no cure for the werewolf curse Jacob, you know that. This was the only way." Gabriel turned on his heels, walking back towards the village. Inara watched him with a sigh before looking at Jacob.

"I'm sorry for your loss, and even though it is my job I don't take the loss of life easily." She looked at the other men. "Thank you for your help. If we need you again, we'll call for you. Go back to your homes." With that the knight turned and followed Gabriel back to Visceria.

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Yep, this was a long chapter, but it was fun to write. You'll know when I enjoy writing something because it will be really long and full of detail. Anyway, I hope you had as much fun as I did! Review if you want! I'll see you for sure next week