The Hunt.
Forks.
Through the dense green forest, past the lush and wet trees, Bella and Victoria made their slow progress towards their destination. "So, how do you know this man?" Bella repeated.
Victoria sighed. "I met him once, saved his life and now he owes me. End of story."
Bella snorted in disbelief. "You saved someone's life?"
"I've saved yours, haven't I?" Victoria quipped.
Bella pursed her lips, embarrassed. "So how long is this going to take?"
"How long is what going to take?" Victoria parroted.
Bella strived for patience, taking her frustration out on an overhanging tree. "Don't act like a dick, Victoria."
The vampire smirked, keeping her eyes straight ahead. "Probably an hour," Victoria paused, the smirk dropping from her face. "But on the other hand…. Hear that?"
Bella stopped walking abruptly, her eyes pinned to the red head. "What's wrong?"
Victoria didn't reply, instead pointing her long finger towards a small mound a little distance from where the pair were stood. Bella struggled to focus her eyes until finally she could make out four large wolves on top of the mound, all midnight colored which is why Bella struggled to pick them out against the night sky.
Victoria angled herself so that she was covering Bella. That was when Bella realized the wolves had heard them, and were now stalking them with their teeth glinting under the moonlight. They growled, and Victoria echoed it, crouching low in front of Bella.
"Enough!" A man's voice radiated across the open space.
The wolves stopped their movements but kept their eyes pinned on Bella and Victoria. Suddenly a man appeared beside the wolves, he was as dark as the wolves were with a shaven head and torn clothing. "What's this then? A vampire and a human? Strange. What are you doing in my forest?"
Victoria answered, her voice strong and unwavering. "We're simply passing through, that's not a crime, is it?"
The man smiled but it was less than welcoming. "I see. Well then, I'm inclined to let you leave just this once. However, that doesn't set the example I need to as Alpha to my pack."
Bella glanced at Victoria, who continued to stare straight ahead with a stony expression. "What would you say is fair for you, demon? Five seconds? Three?"
Before Bella could fathom what that meant for their survival, Victoria had already swung her onto her back, and was running through the forest as fast her vampire speed could carry her. Bella's scream was lost to the vortex of sounds following behind her, disappearing into the howling and snarling.
"Hurry!" Bella screamed.
"I'm going as fast as I can!" Victoria shouted over her shoulder.
Bella ducked her head into Victoria's cold shoulder to avoid a low hanging branch, and when she lifted it again they were bursting through a close corpse of trees with no wolves behind them. Victoria glanced behind her, still gripping Bella to her back.
"What's happening?" She whispered.
Bella followed her line of sight, seeing that the wolves were behind them but were snapping at the air as if held back by an invisible barrier. Victoria didn't waste any more time after that, and continued on until they were sure the wolves were no longer following them. After a while, she allowed Bella to walk beside her again.
"What was that all about? Why did they stop chasing us?" Bella whispered, still apprehensive about being followed.
Victoria shrugged, looking less than fazed as usual. "I have no idea. This place is strange. Anyway, lets speed up. The town is this way."
Bella followed on, her legs soon beginning to cramp. Time continued to unravel with barely any conversation passing between the two girls. Bella was exhausted, and bored but she refused to complain. Finally, after what felt like an age, they came across a set of run down, decrepit houses.
"This is the edge of town. East, I think," Victoria informed Bella.
"Your lack of reassurance is astounding," Bella muttered sarcastically, her lack of sleep sending her sass levels skywards.
"Shut it."
Bella rolled her eyes, glancing back at the houses. "This place gives me the creeps."
"It's quiet here, not friendly."
Bella rolled her eyes, sarcastically mimicking Victoria behind her back as she followed her. After a stretch of trees, Bella could make out a two story, white house with a police cruiser parked out front and a swing attached to a large tree in the front.
"We're here to see a police officer?" Bella asked.
"Chief of police, actually." Victoria grinned.
Bella rolled her eyes yet again. The pair stopped to knock the door, listening inside until a man called out to hold on. Seconds passed before the door was opened, revealing a man in his late thirties. He had a bushy moustache, and was dressed in a police uniform. He momentarily
seemed stunned before his face broke out into a smile.
"Victoria, been a while hasn't it?"
Victoria smiled back. "Hello, Charlie."
He briefly glanced at Bella before indicating the pair should come inside. The inside of the house was a large contrast to the outside which had peeling paint and an overgrown lawn. They entered a room with some chairs and a little table.
"Can I get you anything to drink?" Charlie offered.
Bella took a seat and asked for some water. Charlie had passed it over and she was sipping it when Victoria took a seat and become more brazen. "Do you have any blood?"
Bella chocked on her water, spraying it across the table. Victoria glanced at her with an amused twist to her smile while Charlie took no notice and without missing a beat replied, "sure. Chilled?"
Bella struggled to close her gaping jaw. "So, how do you two know each other?"
Victoria didn't answer, and Charlie didn't seem to hear because he sat down with them and asked, "so I assume there's a reason for you dropping by?"
Victoria pulled her mug away from her lips with a sigh, leaving a red smudge along her lip and chin. Bella grimaced, and Charlie seemed a bit queasy too. "We need a place to stay. We're staying in town for a bit but I haven't had chance to make arrangements."
Charlie's eyes widened slightly, though Bella couldn't determine if it was fear or excitement. "Well you're more than welcome to stay here. I have a spare room upstairs that I'm sure will be big enough for the both of you."
Victoria nodded, as if this what she had expected and didn't think there would be any other outcome. "Thank you. Now I have to ask: we've bumped into some wolves along the way. Do you know anything about that?"
Charlie seemed to ponder it for a second. "Color? Black? Mixed?"
"Why? Does it make a difference?"
"Well, if they were black, then yeah. There's two packs, take over different parts of the forest. My friend's boy Jacob leads the mixed pack, means well. Like to protect the people. The other one I'm not sure about. Only know the name of the pack: navagraha."
Victoria seemed to ponder this with another swig of her cup. Bella listened with interest, trying to work Charlie out more than the packs. If his friend's son was the Alpha of a pack, who more than likely killed passing vampires, why was Charlie friends with one, and even more interesting, why was he staking blood? Did he have regular vampire friends come around for a glass of blood?
"The name sounds ancient. I take it the navagraha pack are more volatile towards vampires?" Victoria asked.
Charlie shrugged. "Well, Jake 'ent so nice to 'em either. But Jake's pack has rules, and their purpose is to protect. The other pack doesn't care 'bout protecting, just care 'bout their turf and who steps on it. Seems to be some kind of war brewing between the two."
Victoria glanced at Bella who raised her eyebrow in reply. "Let's hope we're not here long enough to get stuck in the middle, right Bella?"
Thanks to Cheri! sorry for the wait/shortness of this chapter.