Selling Myself To The Hunter

Hunter Another f*****g s**t day. Not the worst day, no not by a long shot, but still shitty. Just like every other day here. Hugo and I were on a run through the suffocatingly humid jungle and ended up in another brawl. We won, of course, but the bastard got a good bite out of my leg, making me shift back to human form to cauterize and wrap it. Wouldn't want to risk bleeding out or getting an infection. Thankfully, my accelerated werewolf healing would take care of the rest. It'll leave a nasty scar though, not the only new one today either. Unfortunately, the fire I built, along with my freshly spilled blood, only ended up attracting more unwanted attention. I was bloodied up a bit more and beyond pissed off by the time I navigated through the dense foliage, making my way back to my camp, but on the bright side, I had a ton of hide and a couple of femur bones that would make great weapons or even tools by the time I was done with them. I made sure no one followed me back to my camp, not that anyone would bother me here, not normally anyway. The smart ones knew better than that. The dumb ones never make it close enough, too many terrors surrounding my camp. Too many terrors live here in general. The clearing was coming into view when my wolf, Hugo, spoke. "Something is wrong." He said, stopping me dead in my tracks. I trust him more than I trust myself these days. I stopped at the edge of the clearing, scanning the area. No sign of anything, or anyone for that matter. I took a tentative step forward, a branch snapping beneath my foot. f**k! That was a rookie move that could have me killed if the right creature was hanging around. Its sound was the only sound echoing around me. Not even the wildlife was- Shit. Shit. s**t. s**t. s**t. s**t. I dropped the hide and bones and raced to my camp. The fire was nearly out, some of our makeshift furniture displaced. "Kat!!" I bellowed. "Kat!!" I wiped my head around, searching for her, checking in the most obscene places. And then I saw it. Stuck in one of the logs we had gathered this morning, a familiar silver dagger with emeralds embedded in the hilt. I thought I might die then and there; I wanted to die then and there. But I couldn't. Not if I wanted to give her a chance. I grabbed the dagger, the silver burning into my skin, and ran like my life depended on it. "Please let me be wrong..." I prayed to the gods and goddesses who would not answer, not stopping for a single moment. Not for rest or sleep or drink. I paid no attention to my fresh wounds, fueled solely by terror and adrenaline. When I arrived at her mansion, hours later, my chest felt like it was going to cave in. There, on the front lawn, was Kat. Bloodied and bruised and chained to the ground. Her clothes were torn like she put up a good fight. And surrounding her was Seraphina and ten of her henchmen. My head spun at the sight. It took everything in me to not sink to my knees. I wouldn't dare give her the satisfaction. "I'm so sorry..." Kat whispered, her voice trembling. "Well, look who finally decided to join us." Seraphina smiled, her expression anything but friendly. She was a high fae, more lethal and cunning than any other enemy I had ever faced before, and with a vendetta against me. Banished from her world to Earth for heinous crimes committed, she was just as terrifying and beautiful looking as the last time I saw her, several months ago, before I met Katalina. Seraphina had scales running up and down her arms and legs, eyes like those of a serpent. Her face and body were devastatingly beautiful; porcelain skin, lush hair, generous curves on her slender figure, all a trap to lure unsuspecting victims her way. "Let her go." I demanded, a fool's words. Her head tilted ever so slightly, an amused smile on her face. "Are you ready to make a deal, oh mighty Hunter?" She purred. "Never." I seethed. She clicked her tongue. "As I expected." She stood from the throne where she sat and glided with unearthly grace towards Katalina. "I was disappointed to hear you made a new...friend." She said, running her finger across Kat's jaw. Kat didn't even bother to shake her off. She was sitting in a pool of her own blood, her breathing ragged. I was going to be sick. "Let her go... your anger is with me, not her." I growled. Maybe if I could get her out of this, I could still save her... Seraphina's eyes darted up to me, an excited smile crossing her lips. "I'll give you a choice, Hunter." She began circling me next."Option one, my men kill her, but not before they have their fun..." Her men laughed, eyeing Kat like a piece of meat. "... Option two, you kill her." She said, staring at the dagger still in my hand. Her dagger. "But either way, she dies today." "No." I shook my head, taking a step back. "Just make it quick." Kat pleaded, her one good eye meeting mine. The other was swollen shut. "I'm sorry Kat." I whispered. "I shouldn't have left you." "We knew this was coming." She coughed, blood spilling from her mouth. "Or, since I'm in such a benevolent mood today, I'll give you a third option: you make a deal with me, and she lives. I'll never lay a hand on her again." Seraphina smiled wickedly, using my own words against me. "Don't do it-" Kat roared, earning a kick to the side. She coughed up more blood. More than she ever would for a punch to the face. I noticed it then, the purple marring her abdomen. Internal bleeding. She was as good as dead already. “What’s it going to be? I’m not waiting all day,” Seraphina snapped. “Go to hell,” I replied... …and hurled the dagger with deadly precision. - - - - - - - I shot up off the ground, knife drawn, snarling at the eerie darkness surrounding me. I wiped around, nothing in front of or behind me. "I don't sense anything. It was just a dream." Hugo agreed, trying to get me to calm down. I took a deep breath and looked around again, and then again. "My name is Hunter Sullivan. I am thirty-four years old. I have green eyes and brown hair and my wolf's name is Hugo," I murmured to myself. I took a steadying breath. Then another, the untapped adrenaline rushing through my veins making it hard to keep from shaking. "My name is Hunter Sullivan. I am thirty-four years old. I have green eyes and brown hair and my wolf's name is Hugo." Just breathe. "Just a dream." Hugo reminded me as I laid back down, heart still racing. "Just a dream." "We both know that's not true." I grumbled, scrubbing my hands over my face. Another deep breath. "My name is Hunter Sullivan. It was just a...dream. Just a dream." I let out a weary breath and laid back down, staring up at the starless sky. If you could even call it that. I was still on Earth, that much I knew. But The Other World's location was unknown to everyone but Seraphina. There was no sun or moon in this fabricated hellhole, and Seraphina often manipulated the weather, the light, even some of the creatures she dragged here just to make things more interesting. Her words, not mine. That being said, we weren't lucky enough to have any sunlight or moonlight, no stars. Nothing that might bring us joy or spark hope within us. If there was anything beautiful here, it was usually deadly. Anything inspiring; a trap. Anything good was nothing more than a wolf in sheep's skin. You can't trust anyone here. I learned that early on. Even you yourself can be deceived at times. Victim to another one of Seraphina's attacks. There was a fog she liked to sometimes release, one that would make a person go mad. I learned that the hard way, but thankfully Hugo was mostly unaffected by it and was able to get us to safety before anything too terrible happened. That made Seraphina very upset. She has wanted me dead for years now, but she can't lay a finger on me, not without risking her own life. And that drives her mad. It's the only good thing I have to hold onto here. It's been ten years since I made a deal with Seraphina that got me dragged to this goddess-forsaken place. Ten. f*****g. Years. The Other World - that's what people here call it. Hell might be a better description. Broken up into three main sections: jungle, winter, and desert with Seraphina's mansion in the middle connecting them all. Each sector had its own torment: oppressive humidity, bone-chilling cold, blistering heat—whatever climate you despised most, Seraphina made sure it was there to greet you. Here, the worst of creatures crawled and prowled. Nightmares were not only born but lingered, thriving—if only for a short time. Surviving in this place meant never faltering; the moment you did, someone or something would be there to finish you. Most didn't make it past a week. Six months was considered lucky, anything past a year was impressive. I could probably count on my fingers how many survived more than five years, and only one has been here longer than me, from my understanding. Once all hope is taken away, it's hard to find the will to live, and easy to find comfort in death. But not for me. I made it my mission to fight, to survive, if only to piss off Seraphina. No matter how hard the days got, I kept on doing just that - surviving. I managed to outwit Seraphina once, and it was that gift that kept me going for many years. It was hope, a fool's hope I eventually learned, that kept me going. I used to think I might have a chance of escaping her. But that thought faded over the years. After seeing so many of her victims pass, after seeing thousands of attempts by just as many captives...seeing them all fail...after living in this hell for over ten years, I realized there was no way out. There was no escaping. Only surviving. A blood-curdling scream tore through the night, jolting me fully awake and wiping away any remnants of sleep. Either someone just found themselves dinner, or Seraphina brought someone else to this endless purgatory. I'm willing to bet the latter, though I have been wrong before. I used to think Seraphina just picked up souls from her swamp, randoms who sought her out for favors or information. But then I learned she also likes to trick unsuspecting creatures into making a deal with her. She would make them think they made out with it, only to terrorize them later on and eventually drag them to this hell. "Let's go for a run." Hugo pushed. "Why, is something wrong?" My wolf Hugo and I had a very strong connection. We were two souls in one body. A werewolf. A hybrid werewolf, specifically. My mom was a very gifted hybrid, my father an alpha king. Together they made me, and a slew of other extraordinary pups. We each had our own gifts, mine was spell casting. My powers are exponentially powerful, but I can hardly use them here. Not without drawing unwanted attention. The fewer people who know about me and my abilities, the better. "I'm not sure... But we should go, now." Hugo said more urgently this time. He didn't give me a reason why, but I didn't question him further. I simply shifted into my wolf form and let him take the lead. I knew better than to question my wolf. It was because we were in such sync with each other that we survived this nightmare for over ten years. Hugo set off at a quick trot, his nose to the ground every few minutes. We were out for over an hour before we heard it again, the same bloody murder screaming. Maybe they were someone's dinner after all. "Or about to be," Hugo guessed. The scream wasn't far from us, just on the other side of the river if I had to guess, and Hugo and I made sure to avoid that area. It was nothing but bad news and bad people and far too close to Seraphina for my taste. But so was everything else, I suppose. We were all trapped in this dome-like world. But fortunately, whoever just came crashing in was as good as dead. If the free fall didn't kill them, it was only a matter of time before the darkness kicked in, if something else didn't kill them first. Perhaps a mercy for whatever fool just made a deal. There were monsters out during the day, but at night...something else prowled through this world. "HELP!!! Someone please help me!!" The voice cried out, louder now, closer. I could hear footsteps pounding across the flimsy wooden bridge that spanned the river, each one rattling the old planks. If I had to guess, she was being chased. I normally wouldn't get involved, but Hugo was already running in her direction. Fine. It's fine. I could use this to burn off some steam after that awful memory. Still in wolf form, Hugo and I honed in on the endless pleas of Seraphina's new recruit. I caught a glimpse of her running, a few cyclops on her tail. We adjusted our course, and were sprinting towards her, ready to face her and the cyclops head on. "Anyone!! Please!!" She begged, just as we tore through the thick brush. Long silky black hair, deep brown eyes, warm skin. She was beautiful, and very, very human. She wouldn't last long at all here. Such a shame. Hugo lept, and she gasped and quickly ducked. He pounced on the cyclops that was about to grab her and tore into him. Hugo went into frenzy mode, killing for sport rather than survival. I didn't understand why at first, but then I got a small whiff of wild flowers and spring. A faint, familiar scent drifted by, instantly pulling me back to the warmth of my mother’s garden at home, surrounded by blooms and sunlight. My blood ran cold, and a deafening roar filled my ears. I had to be wrong. There is no way- Hugo’s fury erupted in my mind as he ripped the cyclops limb from limb. "Impossible." I blanched, Hugo fully in control now. I was going to be sick. Hugo tore through anything that dared approach, his fury drawing in more than just the cyclops. Blood and noise filled the air until, at last, the chaos died down. I shifted, sprinting back to where we’d left her, clothing be damned. But when I reached the spot where I’d leapt over her, it was empty. Her scent lingered, faint and fading—she was long gone.