The Predator's Hunt

Thalia POV

"I know you are still here."

Cormac’s voice slides through the dark trees. I freeze. My heart hammers against my ribs. He stayed behind when the others left. The crunch of his boots on the dead leaves grows louder.

"I know your mate rejected you tonight," he calls out. His tone is dripping with fake pity. "It must suck to be you. No one to love you. Let me help you."

I press my hand over my mouth. I need to quiet my breathing, but my chest heaves. Panic claws at my throat.

"Your brother and father abhor you," Cormac singsongs, moving closer. "Your mate thinks you are an ugly skank. He is embarrassed by you. His words, not mine."

He is hunting me. He enjoys the chase. I press my back against the rough bark of a massive oak, shaking.

"Gotcha!"

His arms lock around my waist from behind. I flinch.

"Your breathing is so loud," he whispers against my ear.

I throw my elbow backward, aiming for his ribs. Cormac doesn't even budge. He chuckles, untangling his arms and spinning me around to face him. A victorious smirk stretches across his lips.

"I like hunting. I like it when you are the prey."

His eyes dart down. The smirk vanishes. He stares at the blood soaking through the torn fabric wrapped around my wrist. A second later, a dark, deranged smile breaks across his face.

"You tried to kill yourself but backed out. Such a chicken," he laughs. The sound bounces off the trees, grating and cruel.

"Leave me alone, Cormac," I say. My voice shakes. I hide my bleeding arm behind my back. I refuse to let him see the extent of my terror, but my knees feel weak.

"No." He takes a step forward.

I stumble backward, tripping over an exposed root. I catch myself before I hit the dirt.

"Why don't we have some fun?" he muses, stepping into my space. "Everyone was right, you know. You are hot."

*Kaelith. Kaelith.*

I scream for my wolf in my mind. Silence answers me. I reach for her presence, her strength, but she isn't there. The void in my mind is hollow. It feels like she doesn't exist.

Cormac lunges. He traps me against the tree and buries his face in my neck. His wet mouth slathers against my skin. Disgust crawls up my spine. I whimper, shoving my hands against his chest. I push with everything I have, but he is solid muscle.

"My father will kill you," I gasp out.

Cormac pulls back and snorts. "Your father doesn't care about you. The man wants you to go with Kaelen. Do you know what he does to innocent girls like you? I'm just preparing you."

He weaves his fingers into my hair. He tightens his grip and yanks me sideways. Pain flares across my scalp as he throws me toward another tree. I hit the ground hard.

"No! Help me, please!" I scream into the night.

He steps over me. His fist comes down, connecting with my cheekbone. The impact snaps my head to the side. A ringing sound fills my ears. Copper floods my mouth. I whimper, spitting a mouthful of blood into the dirt.

Cormac drops to his knees. He shoves his heavy hand over my mouth, suffocating my screams.

I open my jaws and sink my teeth into his flesh. I bite down hard, tasting his blood.

He curses and rips his hand away, losing his balance for a split second. I scramble. I dig my fingernails into the dirt, crawling away on my hands and knees. I only make it two feet.

He tackles me from behind. The breath leaves my lungs as we hit the forest floor. He flips me onto my back and straddles my waist, pinning my hips down with his weight.

I look up. His eyes are wild. Deranged.

I drive my knees up, trying to buck him off. I thrash under him. I claw at his chest, scratching his skin, fighting for my life. Nothing works.

His large hands snap around my throat.

His thumbs press into my windpipe, cutting off my air.

"Stop it, please," I choke out.

Cormac raises his fist. He brings it down on my face. Then again. And again. The pain radiates through my skull. My vision blurs, fading at the edges. Darkness encroaches. The last thing I feel is the crushing weight on my chest before my mind goes black.

Unknown POV

I avoid these social events for a reason. They drain my patience. Yet here I stand, a glass of dark liquor in my hand, because King Tiberius Draken—my father—demanded my presence.

I survey the grand ballroom. The glittering chandeliers and the forced laughter irritate me. I hate the mingling. I hate the politics. Most of all, I hate knowing exactly how everyone in this room feels about me.

They fear me.

None of them say it to my face. They bow and smile. But I smell the bitter scent of their terror from across the room. I was born with untamed, lethal power, and it radiates off me in waves.

That fear doesn't stop the ambitious Alphas. They circle me all night, shoving their daughters into my path, desperate for me to claim them. I have zero desire to entertain their games. I refuse to mate with any random she-wolf for a political alliance. I will only mate with the one chosen for me. My true mate.

I down the rest of my drink in one gulp. The burn grounds me for a second, but it isn't enough.

I am restless. The agitation hums beneath my skin. My Lycan, Valen, paces inside my mind. He is growling, a low, incessant vibration that sets my nerves on edge. He offers no words, no explanation for his foul mood. He only projects one clear demand: *leave*.

"Alpha Prince Valerius, you're here."

The voice pulls me from my internal chaos. I turn my head. Chloe Thorne stands a few feet away.

Chloe is the daughter of the Dawn Lycan pack's Alpha female and her Beta mate. She comes from a wealthy, formidable pack. She also suffers from the delusion that we belong together. Her mother, Selene Vance, obsessed over my father years ago. Selene tried to ruin my parents' bond multiple times before finally settling for her own mate. Chloe seems determined to inherit that obsession.

"Hello, Chloe," I say. My voice is flat.

She flushes, dipping her chin to gaze up at me through her lashes. The coy act is transparent.

"Hi, handsome," she purrs. "May I ask why you rejected my invitation to attend the Alpha ball with me?"

"Excuse me. I need to find my Beta," I state. I turn my back on her and walk away. I reject every invitation she sends. She never gets the hint.

I scan the crowd. I spot Mace Rourke near the ice sculpture. He is my Beta and my oldest friend. Right now, he is dividing his attention between three giggling women. A classic player.

I head in his direction. Mace catches my eye. He excuses himself from one and walks toward me, keeping a woman draped on each of his arms.

"Alpha, here you are. We've been looking for you," Mace says, grinning. The woman on his right bats her eyelashes at me.

I raise my hand and give them a sharp flick of my wrist. The dismissal is clear. Both women drop their smiles, frown at Mace, and scurry away.

"Why are you not mingling with the ladies?" Mace sighs, rubbing the back of his neck. "You will need to pick a Luna soon, Valerius. I hear the elder council mentioned it today."

I narrow my eyes. The elder council acts as the pillar of the realm. They enforce pack regulations and pride themselves on their ancient wisdom. They hold a firm belief that an Alpha’s power is most stable—most tamed—when balanced by a Luna. If the council is discussing my lack of a mate, it means a target is forming on my back. All eyes will shift to my bachelor status.

Mace starts rattling off the names of the eligible women in the room, detailing their pack lineages and wealth.

I tune him out. The noise of the ballroom presses in on me. I fix Mace with a hard glare.

He stops talking, but he doesn't flinch. Aside from my immediate family, Mace is the only wolf alive who can stand in the face of my temper without dropping to his knees. His rational mind and unshakeable loyalty are exactly why he holds the Beta title.

"I'm going home," I state. "I've had enough interaction for one night."

"No, wait. Look at the women swooning over us," Mace protests, matching my stride as I head for the exit. "We can't disappoint them by leaving so soon."

"Stay then, Mace."

"Argh. You have a way of blocking me," he mutters. He trails right behind me, abandoning the party.

We walk out into the crisp night air and slide into the waiting SUV. The drive back to the royal castle takes ten minutes. The silence in the car offers a brief reprieve, but Valen continues to claw at the edges of my consciousness. He is agitated. Furious.

The vehicle pulls up to the massive stone steps of the castle. The driver kills the engine.

I open my door and step out onto the pavement.

The moment my boots hit the ground, a spike of pure agony erupts in the center of my chest.

I stagger, grabbing the door frame. The pain is physical. Sharp. Piercing.

*'No. Help me, please.'*

A girl's voice echoes directly inside my skull. It isn't a sound in the air. It is a desperate, bloody whimper transmitted straight into my mind.

I freeze in my tracks; who is that?