Chapter 12: Hunter
Embry POV
There wasn't a lot that could take me by surprise anymore. After shifting, fighting vampires, and becoming engaged to a Witch, I was sure there wasn't anything new out there for me. And really, I could use a timeout from all the weird and paranormal that was happening. Maybe that's why, for once, I was looking forward to going to school.
After all the training, we were doing in preparation for the possible upcoming brawl, it was nice to get away from it all. Neveah laughed when I hurried her to get ready for class, saying that she was sure hell had frozen over if I was excited for school. It wasn't the learning that I was looking forward to, it was the chance to do something so mind-numbingly boring that excited me. I didn't have to think about what move to make next, or try to keep track of any ridiculous schedules. I just had to show up, and that was it.
"You know, if you chewed with your mouth closed you might get farther with Leah," Neveah gave Jacob a nasty look as he stuffed pizza into his mouth. Rolling her eyes, Neveah gathered up her bag, "I'm gonna go paint before class starts. Don't let the Neanderthal eat all your food."
"See you later baby," I pulled on Neveah's arm and she bent to give me a quick peck, "Don't worry, eventually he'll choke on something."
As if on que, Jacob choked and flipped Neveah off as she laughed and walked away. "You two are so cruel man," J took a sip of water and wiped at his watering eyes. Brady and the others laughed at him, which caused Jacob to throw food. It was all so immature. But all so fun.
Lunch was the only time the school going pack members got to see each other all at once. Our teachers had learned long ago not to allow us in the same classes. If Neveah wasn't in my art class, I wouldn't have any of my good friends. Sure, we all still had that rep at school making us "kings". But having people TRYING to be your friend because of popularity wasn't the same. The Pack was an inseparable force, and no matter how hard someone tried, they would never make it into the group. Of course, if someone phased we would allow them in with open arms. But turning into a huge dog was a big requirement for being part of our gang.
"Hey have you seen those new transfer kids?" Paul sat his tray down and started ripping into his burrito.
"The ones from that military school?" Brady wiped at the pizza sauce on his shirt, "I think two of them are in my bio class."
"Yeah, I have one in gym, they're pretty cool," Paul nodded, "I said they could hang with us if they needed anything."
We all blanked and stared at him. Paul was not someone who would volunteer to help anyone. Hell, we were like brothers to him and we barely got anything out of him.
"And why would you offer that?" Jacob stared at him suspiciously.
Shrugging, Paul took a bite, "I dunno, we just vibed."
Vibed?!
"Alright, who the hell are you and what did you do with our asshole?!" Seth grabbed Paul in a headlock as Jacob narrowed his eyes at him.
"Knock it off dipshit," Paul threw Seth off him and went back to eating.
"We're seriously supposed to buy into this 'vibing' with a stranger?" Brady raised an eyebrow, "were you high when you met this guy?"
"No, he wasn't," I turned in my seat to stare at the new voice interrupting our conversation, "Liam Falcon. I'm the one who "vibed" with him."
Adding air quotes around the word, Liam smiled and sat down in the seat Paul offered. He looked average, standing out from the rest of the res kids. Blonde hair, tanned skin, and green eyes. The last person I had seen that looked like that had been in California, one of the rare vacations that Sam had taken us on. He was almost as big as the rest of the pack, but there was nothing off about him. And by off, I meant nothing that screamed 'LOOK AT ME I'M A SUPERNATURAL FREAK!'
The second in Liam's little group was Kai Nguyen. Supposedly his parents had migrated from Korea and had sent him to military school to get some discipline. He was smaller than Liam, slimmer maybe is the better word to use. He wore his ink black hair slicked back and was dressed in a black button down.
Carter Santiago was from Arizona, after getting in trouble, trouble that he supposedly couldn't tell people about, he was sent to military school in a trade for jail time. He spoke loudly, and insulted his friends in Spanish, which went over their heads. His hair was shaved short to his scalp, a skull was tattooed on one of his brown hands.
"What was the school called you said?" Jacob asked, he was still giving them a weird look, and I couldn't help but feel as though he was thinking something was going on.
"Port Angeles Military Academy. If you go past the grocery store and that run-down gas station we were down that same road," Liam answered, smiling at Jacob.
Jacob nodded, accepting the answer. Everyone knew about that Military Academy, we all knew too that it was more for delinquents that anything else.
I tried pushing away the way Jacob was questioning these guys, and focused on the conversation. Overall, it seemed like these were pretty stand up guys, and having new blood was a nice change. They joined in on our jokes and could keep up with the shit that we gave each other.
"So we got a place off the old road and were going to throw a party tonight, kinda introduce ourselves to people if you guys wanted to come. You can invite whoever you want," Kai offered.
"I'm down," Paul smiled, "You guys?"
"Maybe," I answered.
"Come on, bring Veah with you," Paul threw his elbow into my ribs and I punched him in the shoulder.
"You got a girl?" Kai asked.
"He's got a wifey," Seth teased,
Liam and his friends gave me a funny look.
"I'm not his wife stupid," I felt relieved as Neveah ducked under my arm to get to her locker next to mine. It was hard to explain to people that we were getting married so quickly. The Pack and Coven understood about the wedding and supported it. But to outsiders, they all had the same opinion. That we were being stupid and were too young to settle down.
"Eh, you will be soon," Jacob leaned against the locker, slipping Neveah a folded piece of paper he met her gaze. I watched the unspoken conversation occur before Jacob stretched, "See you losers later. Let me know if you're going Em."
I nodded, watching a Neveah put the paper in her hoodie pocket and turned around to give me a smile.
"So you two are engaged then?" Liam gave Neveah a look.
"Yup!" Seth answered for us.
"Well congrats man!" Carter shook my hand, "You got yourself a pretty one," winking at Neveah I suppressed the growl that wanted to come. I took a breath and tried calming my wolf, trying to remember that he was just joking.
"When's the big day?" Kai collected the last of his things.
"The weekend after New Year's," I answered, "her sisters are planning it."
"Awesome," Liam smiled wide. Looking at his schedule he looked startled as the warning bell rang, "Can anyone tell me were Art 1 is?"
"Follow us man," I put my arm around Neveah's shoulders and motioned to Liam.
Smiling again Liam fell into step with us. I saw Neveah peek at him from the corner of my eye, she bit her lip and shook her head, looking confused. As we entered Art we sat at our usual table in the back, Liam taking the only open seat in the front.
"What's with the eyeballing?" I whispered.
Neveah slipped me the piece of paper from Jacob. I read the messy script quickly:
Something's weird with these guys. Get a reading.
Giving her a weird look, I waited as she pulled out her sketch pad and for our teacher to start the movie. Being the last day of school before our break started, most of them didn't want to do much.
"Why would he want you to do a reading?" I asked.
"I don't know," Neveah whispered, she linked her hand with mine. "He just acted really weird about it."
I got quiet, watching the lame Christmas movie for a moment, "Were you able to notice anything?"
Shaking her head, Neveah sketched quietly, "No, I'm not getting anything. But you know it's hard for me to see anything with someone new unless I have an anchor."
"True," I mumbled. I dropped the subject for the rest of the class. Half paying attention to the boring movie, and the other half trying to figure out what Jacob was trying to get at.
Liam was leaning against the wall, reading a book. He looked up a couple of times to look at his phone but didn't interact with anyone else. He seemed like a good guy. His old school came with a bad rep, but The Pack were no angels by any means.
"I think Jake's finally lost his mind," I whispered feeling a headache coming on from trying to figure out my Alpha.
"He lost it a long time ago hun," Neveah mumbled. She smirked as I squeezed her leg.
"Mind if I sit?" Liam pulled up a stool on the other side of me.
"Go for it," I rubbed circles on Neveah's hand. I felt the small push of magic, she was still trying to read him. For the most part, I knew it was because she saw it as a challenge to try and see someone's future. I was pretty sure she could give a shit to what Jacob wanted her to do.
"You think anyone will come to the party?" Liam whispered, "Carter says he has a list already."
"Probably, usually the guys and I would throw a party but we've been busy with some stuff," I answered, "the kids around here are always up for a party, even if they don't know the people who are throwing it."
"Were you going to come?" Liam leaned on the table to ask Neveah.
I saw her eyes flash a darker blue for a moment, "Come to what?"
"They're throwing a party. J was gonna ask Leah and I think Jared's going with Kim. I didn't know if you wanted to go or if you wanted to do something else," I explained.
"Well my options are: Spend the night going over the correct shade of white napkins. Or going to a party with you," Neveah tapped her chin with her pencil, "Whichever shall I pick."
"Don't be a dork," I smiled and rubbed the smudge of pencil off her chin. Turning to Liam I gave him my phone to put in his number, "We have some stuff to do after school but text me the address and time and we'll be there."
"Cool," he happily transferred his number and I texted him so he would have number. He waved as the bell rang and quickly headed out the door.
Jacob continued to rant about the new kids on the walk home. He was convinced it was weird of them to just show up. When Kim pointed out that the Coven had just shown up out of nowhere, he got pissed and finally shut up. Part of me wondered if Jacob was so obsessed with weirdness that seemed to surround us, that he just assumed that everyone was far from normal.
Lately, his trainings had taken a turn for the worse. He had challenged every single vampire, and when he won against them, he fought against every member of the pack. And then came the Witches. After losing to every one of them, Jacob had decided that if he was weak that we all were too. The training became harder and longer. He was obsessed with beating the vampire's that were coming for his precious human. Leah had tried taking Jacob's mind away from the upcoming meeting, but his thoughts always turned to that stupid human.
He wasn't the Alpha we had in the beginning. He was meaner and more paranoid then I had ever seen him. Harlow had mentioned that it had been two weeks since the last time him and Leah had gone out. If it weren't for school and training, we wouldn't see Jake. He never came to my house anymore to hang out with the pack, and was unreachable on his phone or at his home. He was acting weird, and it was starting to freak me out. A paranoid best friend was one thing. But a paranoid unstable Alpha was worse.
LiamPOV
Honestly, the whole idea of my current situation all seemed ridiculous to me. For some odd reason, La Push and Forks, Washington were a epicenter for Supernatural creatures. No real reason, but it was almost as though they were drawn to the sleepy little town. Of course, the Shifters were only in their situation because of the vampire tenants close by. It was a surprise when the Boss told me about the Coven of Witches nearby also, and even more surprising was that one of the Witches was pregnant.
The origins of the Hunters are all screwed up and have been altered in so many ways I'm not actually too sure of our history. All I know for sure is that my father and grandfather and uncles were all Hunters, and so I became one also. We trained and studied all magical creatures, but for centuries it had been the Witches that we hunted the most. I had been taught that all of them were evil, filth that used the devil's ways to get what they wanted. We were single handedly responsible for the destruction of their vile kind. It was god's way after all.
I wasn't an overly religious person, but growing up in a church and a way of life that centered on the belief that god willed our actions, it was hard to get away from it. My father had preached in a little chapel when we weren't hunting, he collected money from members and from the Hunter Organization. My mother was a very quiet woman, rarely speaking or doing much. The couple of times she showed any emotion were when my father and I were going out hunting. As expected, she had stayed in her little house with my father when I was sent out to Washington.
Carter and Kai had started training with me when we all turned five. All our fathers were Hunters that had been in the top ranks all their lives just about. So, when all of us boys were born around the same time, they had already started planning our careers in the "family business". It wasn't a bad life really. We got all the money we could ask for, got to travel occasionally, and helped rid the world of one of the evilest creatures. We were all close knit and never failed to protect each other.
Meeting the La Push Shifters had been a bit of a shock. The last time we encountered Shifters they had been able to change into mountain lions, that group had been terrorizing the local town and killing off hikers for fun. It was a short trip to windy mountains, but they were exterminated in the end. These La Push guys were different. Scouting had shown that they could phase into giant wolves, but they seemed to be patrolling their area, almost as though making sure nothing happened. We had seen their training with the vampires, and watched them get their asses kicked by the Witches. But they were all loud and happy, acting as one big happy family. They did nothing that would warrant any intervention, the town people loved them and they always seemed ready to help their tribe.
Same went for the vampires, they kept to themselves. The lead member even worked at the hospital healing people. Usually we ran into newborns and human drinking vamps, so it was nice to see the rare animal drinker.
The Witches were another story. We hadn't seen them too much unless they were around the Wolves, even going to the store they acted as though everything was normal. The pregnant girl was said to be the next Supreme and had the ability to bring back the dead. We had watched the other's powers, gauging their strength and our ability to fight them. Honestly, it would be fun fighting them. All too often we ran into Witches whose blood had been so diluted that they didn't seem to stand a chance. It was nice to see that we were going to be in for a challenge. I wasn't worried that we couldn't take them, we'd kill them one way or another.
If the Organization found out that we had failed in our mission, then we wouldn't hear the end of it. Hell, I was more worried about what my father might do to me if he found out I had failed. My father was not a man who messed around with his hunting, he barely let me come on this new mission with my friends. He saw it all as a big distraction.
The guys and I were well known in the Hunter community, everywhere we went we found others who readily let us join with them and wanted to hunt with us. We had trained hard to make the top of the Hunter list, and my father didn't seem to understand that we were going to have some fun with the popularity. Maybe that's why we felt so comfortable around these La Push Shifters. They radiated popularity in their school and town, and it wasn't hard to make friends with them. Even the one who was engaged to the Witch was cool. Of course, I knew it would be a mistake to let my guard down around them, but no one ever said we couldn't have a little fun before the games began.
"Glad you guys could make it!" I shook hands with the wolf Paul as him and the other Shifters finally showed up. It had been three hours into the party and the guys and I had been on a look out to see if the Wolves would show up. Sure enough, they made a grand late entrance, three Witches clinging to their sides.
"Wouldn't miss it!" Paul smiled brightly before following Carter into the den to play pool.
"And who are these other two lovely ladies?" Kai winked at the other two Witches.
The short hair one rolled her eyes as the fairy like one smiled politely.
"These are Neveah's sisters Leah and Kim," Jared squeezed the fairy girl-Kim's waist and kissed her on the head.
"Nice to meet you," I shook hands with Embry and nodded politely to Neveah. She was looking around the room, I knew when someone was reading their surroundings. But I also knew that we hid who we were exceptionally well. In the end, those Witches wouldn't even know what, let alone who, hit them.
"Dude!" Brady came pushing into the living room, grabbing Embry's arm, "Carter is killing Paul! We gotta play teams with him."
Embry looked down at his Witch, "Go ahead," she laughed when he kissed her quick and disappeared with his friend. Kim and Jared disappeared into the kitchen, leaving Leah and Neveah with me.
"Can I get you guys anything?" I smiled charmingly, only to end up with Leah looking annoyed and Neveah looking down at her phone.
"I'm going to go find Jacob," Leah finally broke the silence and stalked out the room.
"Drink?" I tried again.
"Sure," Neveah gave a tight smile and looked at her phone again, "Is there somewhere quiet I can take this call?"
I pointed her to the back bedrooms and went into the kitchen to grab her a drink. Peeking into the pool room I saw Carter and Kai playing some kind of drinking pool game with the Wolves. The music was thumping in my ears, already giving me a headache. As much as I liked having fun with my friends, this whole party idea hadn't been my idea.
Carter had thought that since we had a house, it would be a good idea to throw a party. He always had been the wilder of our group. I knew it was important to blend into the community and make friends with the locals. But this many people shoved in our house was starting to be too much, all I had wanted to do when we showed up in La Push was to check our surroundings and gather information.
Kai thought I was being too much like my dad, but I couldn't help it. We were number one on the Hunter's list for a reason, and I didn't want anything to ruin that reputation. I may be relaxed, but I wasn't going to just pretend that we weren't here for a job. There would be time for fun after our mission was completed.
Leaving the den I went down the hallway, peeking in the bedrooms for the Witch girl. The last room on the right was still dark, but I could hear movement. My bedroom hadn't been installed with a camera yet, and the door was always locked. Pushing the door open silently I watched the girl. Neveah stood completely still, she was gently running her fingers over the dagger I had hidden behind the dresser.
"How long did you think you could hide what you were?" her whispered words surprised me.
Clearing my throat I stepped in the room and closed the door, "What are you talking about?"
Neveah turned around, the dagger levitating in her hand the point gently resting in her palm, "Jacob knew something was wrong."
I placed the drinks on my desk, taking a slow step towards the side table. The dagger flashed suddenly, pointing towards me. Shaking her head, Neveah stepped closer, the dagger following her, "Why are you here, Hunter?"
Laughing, I ran a hand through my hair, "You honestly think I'm going to tell you anything? You're a fucking psycho, I should call the cops."
Shrugging, Neveah made the dagger fly into the wall, where it embedded itself with a sharp ring, "You could call them, but how are you going to explain anything?"
This Witch wasn't an idiot, crossing my arms across my chest, I planted my feet into the ground, ready to make a move if needed. "You're right. But answer me this, how do you know anything?"
Smirking, her eyes flashed, "I can see the future. The only reason I came tonight was to get something of yours to use an anchor. I wanted to get Jacob off my back, and the idiot was actually right about something for once."
We stood there staring at one another for a long moment. Her body language was casual, almost as though she wasn't worried about being in the same room with her would be killer. Her eyes betrayed her feelings though. They were calculating, already looking for the next move I might make. She knew that I could kill her, but why wasn't she worried about that? If she could see the future, that meant she wasn't like most of the Witches we encountered, I don't even think my father had encountered a fortune teller before.
"What else can you do witch?" I spit the last word out.
"I'm sure you'll find out eventually. I'm assuming your plan was to show up and kill my Coven, am I correct?" when I didn't answer Neveah continued, "you've been scouting us for weeks. Watching the training with the vampires and with the Pack. Trying to figure out how we fought, what we did. You aren't the first Hunter's my sisters and I have encountered. Though you probably are smarter than the last ones."
"You kill those Hunter's off then too?!"
"No, our Supreme wiped their memories and sent them away. Which is what she will do to you all as well. We don't want trouble. We just want to live our lives in peace."
I couldn't help but laugh, and added a smirk as I saw the annoyance cross her face. "You honestly expect me to buy into that crap you just gave me? You Witches are all the same. You take what you want and leave behind death. Have for centuries."
"My kind has only killed because you Hunter's left us no choice. It's because of you that we are dying out!" Neveah snapped. Her hair whipped across her face and the dagger shook in the wall.
Good, she was getting riled up. Maybe I could just end the mission right here and now. "You're dying out because it's god's way. You are evil creatures."
It was her turn to laugh, "Gods way? Good one. You are the evil creatures. Killing just because someone tells you to do so. My Coven has done nothing, we've lived quietly and even helped people."
"You probably forced that mongrel to marry you, trying to blend in and all," I smirked as I watched the hurt cross through her eyes.
I waited for her next comeback, but instead was met with silence. The air that had started to get suffocating started to lessen. She took a deep breath and stepped forward, "I will tell the Pack what you are and why you're here. And you will leave my Coven alone."
She stepped around me and I shot my hand out to grab her arm. She immediately froze, her muscles tightening, "You're not going anywhere Witch."
"You're going to stop me?" she muttered, never looking up at me.
"I will kill you if need be," I answered honestly.
I felt her shift in my grip and I automatically tightened my hold, only to feel as though I had been thrown around in a tornado. Catching my breath, I rubbed my eyes hard. We were suddenly in the woods behind the house. It was deafening quiet, the loud music a long way away.
Neveah was pulling her hair into a ponytail, she turned to face me, "You can try and kill me. But I won't let you hurt my family."
Smiling, I rolled my shoulders back, "Have it your way princess."
She fell into a fighting stance as I rushed forward. Neveah easily dodged the punch I had sent to her head, appearing behind me, her hand coming down on my back harder than any human girl could muster. I had seen one other Witch do what she was doing. Sending out hits followed by a burst of telekinesis. That Witch had gone down once I figured out the trick, though Neveah's was more fluid. Obviously well practiced.
"We can play that way baby," I muttered and took the knife out from my boot. Her eyes flashed in shock as I grabbed her before she could teleport away. She managed to twist out of my grip just as I took a swipe. She didn't bother to wipe the blood off her cheek, instead her eyes grew darker. I tensed to move fast to her left, trying to catch her in a blind spot. Before I could move though she was at my other side, her flames licking at my arm before I managed to pull away. How had she managed to read my attack so quickly?
Again, she disappeared, the tree branches overhead shaking as she sent them crashing my way. I easily stepped away from them, grabbing a branch and readying to swing at her.
"Shit!" I dropped the branch as it burst into flames, Neveah send a push of her magic at me to get me off my feet. Catching my balance, I tried assessing what she was doing, again her eyes had turned dark, her body already tensed as though about to move.
That's when it clicked. She could see the fucking future! In the bedroom, Neveah, had talked about needing an anchor to clearly see my future, and after touching the dagger she had gained full sight of me. The little bitch was peeking seconds into the future to read my next move!
"Good trick sweetie," I muttered. Neveah said nothing, "But you're gonna have to be better than that!"
Rolling to my side I reached into my belt, grabbing the weathered handle, and flinging it up. Neveah stopped inches in front of me, her eyes widening as she saw what was in my hands. Smirking, I opened my mouth to laugh, only to go quiet.
Neveah's eyes dug sharply into mine, I could feel heat run up my neck. The blue sucked me in until I was lost to the vision.
