Chapter 49: The First Hunt

Amanda's POV

"So, where exactly are you taking me?" I ask curiously as Randy continues to lead me through the trees and shrubs, letting his nose lead the way as I continue to look around at our dark surroundings.

"I'm just letting my nose lead the way for now . . ." he tells me thoughtfully as he continues to look forward. "Once I get a scent I like, then we'll head straight for it, and that's when the lesson really begins baby."

"Oh yes, my very first hunting lesson . . . I can't wait," I say innocently, but inside, I'm feeling quite nervous about the whole thing. I'm finally on my first hunt, one that's months' overdue and I already have butterflies fluttering in my stomach. "This has definitely been a long time coming if you ask me . . ."

"Yeah, I know . . ." he tells me with a small smirk as he kicks a large branch out of our way, sending the dead wood into a tree trunk 20 feet away. "Are you feeling nervous yet?"

"Oh . . . you have no idea," I tell him with a shake of my head. "And it's not because of the reason you're probably thinking of Ran."

"Oh . . .?" he asks with an eyebrow raised. " . . . And what may that reason be exactly?"

"You're probably thinking about the idea of me making a fool of myself in front of you in my bad attempt of bagging a deer or something . . ." I tell him with a small shrug as I look up to see his reaction . . . I wasn't disappointed. "That was exactly what you were thinking of weren't you?'

"Oh 'Manda . . . You know me so well . . ." Randy tells me sheepishly as he holds up my hand to give it a kiss on the knuckles. "But you have got to admit. The idea of you finally failing majorly at something is something that could earn a few laughs."

"It's nice to know that my failures bring you joy Mr. Randal Keith Orton. . ." I tell him in a sarcastic tone of voice. "Honestly, it's really nice to know. . ."

"Just keeping it real baby, just keeping it real . . ." Randy answers back with a grin. "So, what's the real reason for your sudden bout of nervousness my sexy snake mama?"

"Okay, explain to me why you keep insisting on calling me your sexy snake mama all of a sudden?" I ask in return as I raise an eyebrow.

"Well, you're wrestling persona is named after a snake, you're a mother now, and you're sexy," he tells me like it's the simplest thing in the world. "There's nothing to it . . . And now that I have answered your question, would you care to answer mine in return? I'm dying to hear your response."

"Of course you are . . ." I say with a playful roll of my eyes. "Well . . . to tell you the truth, I'm nervous because well, this is my first ever hunting experience and well, this is going to be the first time I'm actually going to kill something that's bigger than a cockroach . . . Yes, I've hurt many people, and the occasional animal, in my life, but that was usually out of self-defense, or during martial arts practice. This is the first time I'm actually going to intentionally kill something for my benefit."

"Ah . . . I see where you're going with this . . ." Randy tells me with a shake of his head. "You're unsure about killing actual, somewhat innocent, living beings in order to survive another day. . . Would you just settle with feeding off blood bags for the rest of your existence?"

"No . . . I know it's essential for every vampire to know how to hunt in order to survive . . ." I argue back as I pinch the bridge of my nose. "I guess I'm just not used to the idea of killing animals for their blood. . . If that even makes sense to you."

"No, it's alright . . . it makes perfect sense," Randy tells me in a reassuring tone of voice, one that you would never hear him use when he's in a wrestling ring. "To tell you the truth, when it comes to hunting, it doesn't really get easy, especially when you're hunting humans. The first hunting kill is the one that sticks with a vampire the most, so it'll definitely be a memorable night for you, but yet again, this is the first time you're going to hunt an animal for your meal. . . Your first hunt for human blood, and I mean fresh from the living vein of a human kind of human blood, that's the one you're going to remember the most."

"And speaking of hunting for humans . . ." I say as a sudden thought pops into my brain. "Randy, what was your first human hunt like?"

"My first human hunt . . . I'll remember that one for the rest of my life . . ." Randy tells me as he lets out a deep breath. ". . . I'll remember it for the right and wrong reasons."

"You'll remember for the right and wrong reasons?" I ask with an eyebrow raised. ". . . And what exactly do you mean by that my sexy Viper?"

"Well . . . the right reason is that the girl I hunted never suspected that she became my first human victim. . ." he tells me with a small smirk. ". . . The wrong reason was that I almost drained the girl to death because I was this close to losing complete control of myself."

"You . . . almost went off the deep end?" I ask as I wrap my arm around his. "Do tell . . ."

"Well, it's not something I'm not too proud of, but I guess I should tell you about it so you would hopefully not make the same mistakes I did," he tells me, sounding slightly defeated. "We were 16 at the time, and my family decided to go visit my grandparents in Nashville for summer vacation . . ."

"Was that the same summer vacation you spent being Mr. Easily Pissed Off and Grouchy to everyone around you because of something the rest of your family would only describe as 'a very bad incident you went through in Nashville'?" I ask curiously as I narrow my eyes at him.

"Yeah, that was the same summer . . ." he tells me a tad reluctantly as we jump over another tree branch. "I became Mr. Easily Pissed Off and Grouchy because of the very bad incident I went through in Nashville. . . . My dad and grandpa thought it was finally time to teach me how to hunt actual humans, so one night they took me out of the house for a 'man's night out' and we drove in my grandpa's truck to downtown Nashville."

"A man's night out . . . I bet Nate loved hearing that."

"Yeah . . . Nate wasn't too happy about being the only guy being left out of the man's night out, but he got over it in time," Randy tells me with a small smirk on his face. "But anyway, let's get back to the main story at hand. . . . My grandpa and my dad agreed to have me start hunting in one of the less populated areas in downtown Nashville, so we parked at the city's old theater neighborhood and . . . well . . . they let me loose."

"Oh . . . please don't tell me your dad and grandpa just let you go walk around Nashville on your own so you could look for your next meal . . ." I tell him in a slightly stunned voice as I slapped my forehead with my free hand.

"Not exactly . . . they kept their distance as I hunted and only planned to interfere if something went wrong," he tells me quickly as he pushes a bush out of our way. "And yes something did go wrong . . . I was walking by an alley when I smelled her scent. I turned and looked into the alley to see this blonde haired girl walking through it heading my way. She was distracted, listening to her tape recorder with her headphones on . . . She just never noticed me. I quickly made my way into the alley and hid in the shadows till she would pass me . . . I was just really attracted by her scent. Once she passed me, I came out of the shadows and tapped her on her shoulder to get her attention. She turned around and as soon as we locked eyes, I locked her in my compulsion. I pulled her into the shadows and . . . well, I bit her . . ."

"What happened after that?" I ask as we stop walking and I turn to face him better. "C'mon, you can tell me."

"Well . . . I basically became lost in my own little world . . ." he tells me a sad smirk came across his face. "In terms of taste, her blood comes second behind yours 'Manda . . . I basically wasn't prepared for what I went through that night. As soon as I let go of her neck, my dad pushed me into a nearby dumpster before I could go in for a second bite . . . I never realized how much I drained her till I saw my grandpa holding her limp body . . . She was that close to death and I never even realized it. . . . The next time I fed from a human was a month after I was discharged from the military. I spent a good three years abstaining from drinking directly from the human vein because of that night. . . So, as you can see. Even the most experienced vampires can have their slipups."

"Oh Randy . . ." I say as I bring a hand to his cheek. "I never realized you went through something like that. To be honest, I thought your control was quite impeccable."

"Yeah well . . . it's not," he tells me bluntly as he wraps his arms around my waist. "And I wouldn't wish what happened to me on that night on anyone, especially not you and our daughters."

"Well . . . lucky for you, we're not hunting humans right now. We're hunting for wild animals," I tell him as I peck his lips. "And I thought you were looking for them with that acute nose of yours Mr."

"I was, but our conversation distracted me . . ." he tells me cheekily as he pecks me back in return. "I found the scent of a good amount of deer a good distance away from us."

"Good . . . Lead the way," I say with a smirk as I try to break out of his grip. ". . . Or not. . ."

"Oh, I'll lead the way, but first . . ." he tells me in that husky whisper of his as he leans his face closer to mine, but I bring a hand to his mouth to stop his advance from moving any further. "Aw come on baby . . ."

"Don't you use that tone with me Mr." I tell him with a smirk as I finally break out of his grip. "I see where you're trying to take this Randy. I'm not a fool . . . So can you please calm your horny ass down so we can get back to hunting?"

"Calm my horny ass down huh . . .?" I hear Randy call as I walk away from him. All of a sudden, a sudden change in his thought pattern instantly gets my attention, but before I could even move to react, I feel myself fly through the air in a split second before hitting a tree back first. I open my eyes to see Randy smirking at me as he pins my arms above my head by the wrists, his eyes looking playful as I shoot him a small scowl. "Care to rethink those words baby?"

"Now you're starting to get annoying . . ." I tell him with a small shake of my head. "Do you mind letting me go?"

"Not yet . . ." he tells me as he clicks his tongue. "Kiss me first, and then I'll let you go."

"Oh really . . . You're trying to bargain with me?" I say as I shake my head again. "That's not going to work on me babe."

"And what makes you so sure hon?" he tells me confidently as he touches he lets his forehead rest on mine. "I can be quite persuasive baby . . . Just let me have my one kiss and then we can continue our hunt okay?"

"One kiss?" I ask him with an eyebrow raised. He quickly answers me with a sharp nod of his head. ". . . Alright, but only one Mr. Got it?"

"Got it . . ." Randy tells me with a grin before pressing his lips onto mine. His grip on my wrists become loose as his tongue becomes more insistent in entering my mouth. Eventually, I let his tongue slip through my defenses in order to fight with mine for dominance, but I definitely wasn't going to let him win this go around. I let a small smirk come across my face before quickly spinning us around so that I had him pinned to the tree instead of him pinning me. Randy quickly breaks the kiss after this turn of events. ". . . Really babe?"

"What?" I say innocently as I keep his arms pinned at his side. "I let you have your one kiss, and maybe I'll let you have another one, after we finish hunting."

"You are really adamant about getting your first hunt over and done with . . ." Randy tells me with a small knowing smirk as I slowly release him.

"Well of course I am . . . Aren't you ready to get this hunt over and done with?" I ask him with a shrug. "The sooner we're finished with this hunt, the sooner we can get back to our girls."

"Hmm . . . You make a good point," he tells me with a smirk as he starts walking ahead of me. "But I also want to get this hunt over and done with for my own separate reason."

"And that is?"

"I want to get this hunt over and done with so we can get home and start on that 'repeat performance' . . ." he tells me with that mischievous smirk of his. "You know, like the one we did in the wrestling ring this morning, only a little more . . . kinkier."

"You are such a horny Viper sometimes you know that right?" I say with a shake of my head as I watch him walk ahead of me.

"I may be a horny Viper, but I'm your horny Viper babe . . ." he tells me with a chuckle as he points forward. "Now follow me, I know exactly where to go to find some food."

"Well then, lead the way . . ." I say with a smirk. Randy takes one step forward before moving in vampire speed, me following right after him matching his pace. I knew I was fast during my track and field days, but me back then doesn't come close to me now. With my increased speed, not only can I keep up with Randy instead of him outrunning me, but I can zoom past my surroundings in practically no time flat. Eventually, Randy stopped running once we reached a small brook, his eyes gazing out and around our new surroundings. "Alright, we're here . . ."

"We are . . .?" I ask as I look around the place.

"Yep . . . There's a nice amount of animals around this area of the woods," he tells me with a smirk as he walks over to me. "This is where your lesson begins, and don't worry, the lesson plan, is short and simple: Trust your nose and follow your instincts."

"You're going to let me loose around this place to hunt for my own food alone aren't you?" I ask him bluntly as he starts to slowly back away from me.

"Not entirely alone . . ." he tells me with a small shake of his head. "I will be nearby, and if you get into any trouble, just yell out to me verbally or telepathically and I'll be by your side in five seconds flat. For now, I bid you adieu . . . Bye babe."

And just like that, he was gone from my sight, leaving me to defend for myself in the wilderness.

Randy's POV; 30 minutes later

"Hmm . . . that was probably the best tasting bear I've had in a long time . . ." I say with a smirk as I wipe the stray blood from the corner of my mouth. I look down at the bear carcass to see its dead eyes looking up at me, the eyes wide in shock. "The only downside to you my friend is that you didn't even put up a fight. . . I usually like to fight with my food. Oh well. I guess you can't have everything."

I look up and scan my surrounding with a keen eye, my eyes looking at each of the dead animals in my wake. In total, I had killed three deer and this bear that was lying in front of me. It wasn't a bad day's work if you asked me.

"Now . . . I wonder how 'Manda's doing with her hunt . . ." I mumble to myself as I look in the direction I had left 'Manda in. "I hope she didn't have two much trouble finding something to feed on . . . Then again, I haven't heard any noises come from her direction. She hasn't called me, so I don't think she ran into any problems. But still . . . The silence is unsettling. I might as well go find her now . . ."

I leave the dead animals in my wake as I start moving forward in a small jog before going at my usual vampire speed. I quickly get a lock on Amanda's scent and follow it pass the brook I had last saw her at, making my way past a whole bunch of trees till I found the spot where her scent was the strongest.

"Well, this was definitely the last place she was at," I mumble to myself as I look around the place. "But where the hell could she be?"

Instead of my nose, I use my ears to sense her out, hoping to hear her heartbeat through the wilderness. Eventually, I get a lock on a pair of heartbeats that sounded like they were very close, probably only 20 feet away. One was getting slower and slower with each passing second while the other continued to beat at a slow, steady pace, slow enough that it wasn't even human.

"The second one must definitely be 'Manda's own. The first one has got to be her kill . . ." I say as I feel a small smirk come across my face. "My baby did it . . . I wonder what kind of animals she managed to bag."

The smirk continues to stay on my face as I close the distance between myself and my mate. Her scent grew stronger and stronger as I walked past the huge bushes she must be behind. I get through the obstacles with ease and once I reach 'Manda, the smirk on my face is replaced with a face of absolute shock, with good reason too.

About five feet away was 'Manda, crouched to the ground with her back turned to me. In front of her was a large mountain lion taking its final breaths as 'Manda continued to suck the blood right out of it. A second mountain lion was only a few feet away from them, already dead with a large bite mark apparent on its neck. I watch the scene before me in both shock and awe and it doesn't take long for the mountain lion 'Manda was currently feasting on to take its last breath. Amanda's head moves away from the beast's neck and she slowly stands up to her full height. She slowly looks over her shoulder at me, a small trail of lion blood trailing down the corner of her mouth as she looks at me with a small smile on her face.

"Well . . ." she asks me as she fully turns around to look at me. "What do you think? How'd you think I did?"

"You're asking me how you did?" I ask as I let out a brief chuckle. "From what I see, you're a natural at this baby. I'm still trying to understand the fact that you managed to bag two mountain lions on your first hunt. On your first try!"

"Well, after you left, I actually managed to catch the scent of some animals that were roaming around here. I thought it was deer, but when I got here, I happened upon these two mountain lions instead. And then, well . . . I think you can guess what happened next," she tells me with a wide, teeth showing smile, her pearly whites now tinged with her prey's blood. "What did you manage to get? "

"I bagged three deer and a bear," I tell her simply as I pull her into my arms. "But when it comes to who bagged the most predators, I would have to say you beat me in this round baby. I'm so proud. . . Wait, did these lions put up a fight at least?"

"They tried to, but I managed to subdue them with my psychic powers," she tells me with a grin as she pecks my lips. "So, shall we go find the others now?"

"Yep, and you should probably wipe your mouth first. You got a bit of blood falling from the corner there," I tell her with a smirk as I point to the right side of her mouth. "Oh, I can't wait to see the look on Becky and Nate's faces when they hear about this."

"I can't wait to tell them too . . ." she tells me with a smirk as she quickly wipes the blood from her mouth. "Now let's go. I got a lock on the others. They're not that far from us."

"If you know where they are, by then all means, lead the way. . ." I say with a smirk as I let her go. "And as for our repeat performance . . ."

"Don't worry. It's still on schedule . . ." she tells me quickly before breaking into a run. I couldn't help but have a smile on my face as I followed after her.

Normal POV

"You managed to bag two mountain lions? YOU ACTUALLY BAGGED TWO?!" Nate asked Amanda in wide eyed shock as the group, minus the werewolves, made their way back to Randy's Hummer.

"Yep . . . and I didn't need any help from your brother to do it," said Amanda with a big grin on her face as Randy wrapped an arm around her waist. "Take that Nate."

"Damn . . ." grumbled Nate as he crossed his arms. "All I managed to bag on my first hunt was a baby deer and a squirrel."

"You were only 14 at the time Nate . . ." said Randy as he shook his head. "There was no way Mom and Dad was going to let you hunt anything bigger than a deer on your first hunt, especially with the way you acted when you were 14."

"Oh yeah . . ." said Nate as he shook his head. "I was quite the troublemaker back then."

"Yeah, we know Nate," said 'Manda as the group reached the Hummer. "We know."

"When I went on my first hunt, I bagged a bear and a deer," said Becky as a smile came across her face. "My haul was better than yours Nate."

"Don't rub it in sis . . ." grumbled Nate as he climbed into the backseat.

"Monica and Wade aren't coming back with us right?" asked Marvin as everyone got inside the Hummer

"Nope, their transformations last until the moon finally goes down," said Amanda as she buckled up. "They're fine with us leaving early. We'll see them when they get back in the morning."

"But for now, let's go home shall we . . .?" asked Randy as he brought the engine back to life. A loud howl could be heard from their left, and all the vampires turned in that direction to see Monica and Wade watching them from about 20 feet away, both of them sitting on their hind legs.

"We'll see you back at the loft sis!" Monica said in her telepathic voice as she looked at the Hummer. "Before you go, I have one quick question? What animals did you manage to get while out hunting sis?"

"Two mountain lions sis!" called Amanda as she looked out the window at the wolves.

"Nice!" called Wade as Monica shook her head in approval. The two wolves let out one more howl for goodbye before walking back into the trees, leaving the vampires to themselves.

"Okay . . ." said Randy as he shook his head as he drove the Hummer into a U-turn toward the highway. "Now we can all go home and get some sleep."

'Yeah, some of us are going to sleep alright," said Nate as a sly smirk came across his face. "But I have a feeling some of us in this car are going to be doing a lot more than just sleeping tonight."

"SHUT UP NATE!"

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