Loving Luna - Stephan

Chapter Five - Hunters Introduced

Clifton followed Frank out of the factory and back to the truck.

“Do you want to drop me off at the bar?” he asked Frank.

“Why?”

“Don’t you have some personal things to pick up or do?” he asked curiously as he looked over at the beta, he saw the smirk on his face and wondered what was going on.

“Yeah, thanks, I almost forgot,” Frank drove them to the bar and dropped Clif off. They would come to Josie’s Bar if one or other had something personal to do. For Clif it would be a quick lay but for Frank, who knew? Clif went inside and watched as Frank drove off, however, instead of getting comfortable by the bar, he left and followed the truck. He would never think of doing such a thing in the past, but with Frank’s weird attitude lately, he was curious enough to take a chance and follow. Clif lost sight of the truck a few times but eventually, he found him again. Frank had parked the truck alongside a row of houses. Clif had no idea in which house Frank could possibly be in but waited for an hour. Frank exited one of the houses alone, he walked to the truck and got in. Clif was curious but knew he couldn’t explore, so he rushed back to the bar. Luckily, he made it back just before Frank by taking the alley and short cuts.

“Hey Clif,” Frank greeted him as he sat down next to Clif at the bar. Clif lazily looked over at him and smiled, trying to hide his nerves.

“Hey,”

“Give me a beer please,” Frank ordered from the bartender. Clif took a long sip of his own beer and watched as the guy slid over Frank’s beer. “Listen Clif, next time, don’t follow me,” Frank said as he stood and took his beer with him to a table in the corner. Clif was somewhat surprised but had considered the fact that Frank might have known. He decided not to join Frank but instead finished his beer and went outside to the truck. Minutes later Frank joined him, and they started making their way back home.

“Are you having an affair?” Clif dared to ask.

“Yes,” Frank answered simply. Clif was shocked. This was a surprise to him. he was confused by it and although he was curious and had many questions, he chose not to ask Frank anything. They were twenty minutes away from home when Frank pulled over.

“Why?” Clif asked curiously. Frank was never one to detour from their trip or to stop without cause. 

“Clif, look, I can tell you have questions. This is the only opportunity I will allow you to have, so ask me and be done with it,” Frank turned slightly in the car seat to look at Clif.

“I just don’t understand, you have a mate, why would you be having an affair?” Clif looked over at him and then back out the window. He was struggling to understand.

“Dora is not my mate,” Frank announced, causing Clif to turn to glare at him.

“What?”

“You heard me, Dora is not my mate or at the least, she is not my fated mate. I married Dora because I impregnated her and my father forced me to do the right thing,” Clif had a million thoughts and questions running through his mind. “You see Clif before I joined Night Drifters pack, I met Dora through a mutual friend. No, we are not mates but we both found ourselves quite attracted to one another. Her father was quite strict on her and she was acting out, being rebellious and I had no problem in taking advantage of that. I spent three days with her, three nights with her before I went back home. Her father came for a visit. Well,” Frank laughed without any humor. “He came to inform my father of my actions towards his daughter. My father was furious with me, told me to do the right thing. I panicked because I was still young at the time and I didn’t want to miss out on a chance to meet my fated mate. I refused to marry her, but my father threatened me. I went back with Dora’s father and she begged me not to marry her. She didn’t want me. She knew I wasn’t her mate. She felt the same as I did. We both wanted that chance at finding our mates,” Frank looked away and Clif stayed silent. Interested in hearing the rest of the story. “We made promises to each other, we made plans and with both our families thinking we would do the right thing, we left. That was one of the conditions, that we leave both our families and packs behind. That’s when we came here, George and Andrea welcomed us with open arms with minimal questions asked. Dora was carrying and everyone assumed we were mates and married. However, we weren’t, and Dora lost our daughter during birth,”

“How?” Clif asked softly.

“She was too small, our daughter I mean, she would’ve been the runt of the pack. Small and weak, Dora was a mess afterward and I felt terrible. In the time we spent together, we did fall in love and we married. Dora still refused to be marked and I tried everything in romancing her. I failed. It was only when she fell pregnant again that she gave in and we marked each other. Claiming each other as mates. As you very well know, we had Freya,”

“Why the affair then?”

“I met Kamila about four months ago when George and I came to town,”

“Is she your fated mate?” Clif asked.

“No, she is not,”

“Then?”

“My relationship with Dora is complicated Clif. Although we are married and sort of mates, we don’t share the same desires anymore and it is going to sound terrible, but Dora isn’t always willing to um, you know,” Frank blushed and shrugged. “Kamila, now she, is always willing,”

“Is she a prosti-”

“No, no, she isn’t. She knows all about me, what I am, what I want, she gives it to me because she is using me just as I am using her,” Frank interrupted him and began to explain.

“Why on earth would she be using you?”

“Her husband, Derick, is a monster. He abuses her and she enjoys the way I treat her. It’s complicated. I enjoy giving her what she needs, and she enjoys me distracting her. Look, Dora is aware of everything. that’s why things aren’t always happy to go lucky between us. George also knows about it; he doesn’t approve but I convinced him to let me do what I want. Kamila will stop me when the time comes, and I will find someone else. Dora is happy to have Freya and that is all she cares about. Nothing more and nothing less,” Frank turned and started up the truck. “Is there anything else?” he asked.

“No,” Clif answered and Frank drove them the rest of the way back home.

-

“Hello?”

“He left about two hours ago,”

“You are only telling me now?”

“Yes, she was, shall I say…upset,”

“Mmm, and now?”

“Now she is quiet,”

“Good,” he hung up and looked around at the few men standing in a perfect row. “We will scope out their pack tonight and then we attack one week from today,” he waved his hand and dismissed them.

-

Stephan stopped halfway up the stairs as he heard the music playing but it wasn’t that which stopped him. It was her. Her voice as she sang along to the catchy upbeat song. She sounded good and happy. He made the rest of the way upstairs and to his bedroom. The door was slightly ajar, and he could see her softly jumping around as she sang aloud. He smiled. Beautiful was only one word to describe how she looked at that moment. Carefree, open, sexy and amazing were other words he thought of to describe her. He would never forget this moment. He slowly pushed the door open and watched her as she jumped on the bed.

“Now there’s makeup on my counter, your shoes on my floor,” she dropped herself and lay across the bed as she continued singing. “Taking my side of the bed and more, but it's fine, I don’t mind cause you changed everything, what’s mine is yours,” she seemed to feel his presence because she stopped singing and turned to look at him. Stephan entered the room and closed the door behind him and she didn’t take her eyes off him as he turned the music down.

“I didn’t think you’d like country,” he commented as she sat up.

“Yeah, they really know how to set the mood,”

“Oh really? And what mood are you trying to set?” he asked teasingly. Jewel blushed as she looked down.

“I don’t know,” she whispered. Stephan was having a hard time controlling himself. Ever since she had moved into his room, the struggle had become even worse. He wanted her. The heat in the room went up and the smell of arousal was heavy.

“This s****l tension between us,” Stephan started as he moved towards her. “Is killing me,” he finished.

“I’m not ready,” Jewel breathed out as he stopped just in front of her.

“I know, I feel like I am ready, but I know we both aren’t ready,” he leaned down and kissed her forehead. “But that doesn’t mean we can’t snuggle, right?”

“Sure,” Jewel said as she got more comfortable on the bed. Stephan joined her, laying on his back. She moved closer to him and rested her head on his chest and gently placed her arm over his waist, being careful not to be to close to his throbbing hard-on. Stephan held her close to him as he breathed in her addicting scent. They laid like that for a while before they both fell asleep. Peaceful in each other’s arms.

“Stephan?” the voice called out, waking him up. He looked over at the door and sighed.

“Yeah?”

“Meet me downstairs in five minutes,” George ordered. Stephan growled as he slowly and gently moved Jewel away from him. Untangling himself from her was harder than he thought. He didn’t want to leave the warmth of their bed and the comfort of her embrace, but he was also curious as to why George had told him to go downstairs. Stephan glanced over at the uncovered window and frowned. It was pitch black outside. Stephan quietly exited the room and made his way downstairs. He looked at George curiously.

“What’s going on?” he asked.

“Hunters,” George said simply while gesturing for Stephan to follow. They met outside with Frank, Clif and the small team of warriors. Stephan had heard about the hunters but had believed them to be a myth. The stories surrounding the hunters were sick and he felt a cold chill go down his spine. Stephan shook his head as he followed them towards the training grounds.

“Alright, they are just inside our borderline, six men in total, don’t let them get too close,” Frank’s voice was strong and held no fear. Stephan admired that in him, and they shifted. George gestured for them to follow and they moved silently through the night. Stephan could smell them. Dirty scumbags. Two of the six men spotted them and ran away.

“Those two must be new recruits,” George declared through their mind-link. Stephan made a mental note to ask George more about the hunters. They continued moving along their border, looking out for the remaining four men. “There!” George growled. Stephan looked in that direction and suddenly he felt threatened. Two men stood lazily against a tree, holding up rifles. Both men were discussing their plan of action. “Clif, you and the others, head out and search for the other two,” Clif and the eight others, left. “Frank, Stephan, let’s get closer to hear what they are planning,” they moved so silently that Stephan felt proud at that moment.

“B man gave strict orders not to attack, we are here to scope the place out,” man number one said.

“B man is full of s**t, if you see a wolf, shoot it,” man number two hissed out. It was obvious from the way he spoke and stood that he deemed himself better than the b man. Stephan assumed they meant boss man but let it slide as he inched closer.

“I ain't shooting squat,”

“Then f**k off, loser,” man number one seemed to think this over. “Go,” man number two grumbled out. Man number one shrugged, grabbed his rifle and left.

“One down, one to go, easy,” Frank commented.

“Careful, he is out for blood,” Stephan warned.

“Good observation, son”

“Thanks,” they moved in closer, using their own hunting skills to their benefit. The remaining man seemed to be looking around but was unaware that they were closing in. Suddenly he spotted Frank first and grabbed his rifle, aiming. Stephan thought it would be the end, but the man looked nervous. No, scared was the correct term.

“Please, don’t,” he cried out as he dropped his rifle and fled. George shifted back to human form.

“Bigmouth,” he remarked. Frank then also shifted and laughed softly.

“Yeah, but what was the point of coming out here, if they are just going to run. Are they all new hunters?” Stephan listened to their conversation but suddenly a shot rang out in the dead of the night, causing the hair on his back to raise. Both George and Frank shifted, and the three wolves started running towards the sound. Clif’s voice ringing in their heads.

“Wolf down! Wolf down!” they arrived on the scene quickly. Clif and seven warriors stood over the hurt and bleeding wolf. George shifted almost immediately.

“What happened?”

“Two men, no fear, the minute they saw Sam they took defense and the one guy shot out. They would’ve continued but seemed to be called back. They left,” Clif quickly explained.

“Get him to the infirmary now!” George barked out. “As for the rest of you, do a perimeter run and make sure they have left,” Clif and one other, gently picked up the injured wolf and headed to the infirmary. George, Frank and three others started moving east. Stephan led the rest north and they soon met back at the infirmary.

“They are gone,” Stephan announced. Four nurses came out with clothing and water bottles. Stephan got dressed and gulped down the water thirstily.

“Sam will recover soon enough, Clif, no one sleeps for the rest of the night, keep watch,” George ordered. They nodded and moved out, ready to take their places and keep watch. George looked over at Frank. “Check on the village and make sure everyone is alright,” Frank nodded and left. “Son, come with me,” Stephan nodded and followed George back to the house. George checked on Andrea, while Stephan checked on Jewel. Once they were both satisfied that both their mates were still sleeping and safe, they met in the office.

“George, I had no idea that hunters where actually real,” Stephan spoke up breaking the awkward silence.

“What have you heard about them?”

“My father, ah, I mean Michael would tell me that the hunters would capture the females and pups, turn them into slaves. Kill the males and skin them. As I said, I never thought they were real because I’ve never heard of an attack,” Stephan felt silly and wished he had more knowledge with regards to the hunters.

“Humans never knew that shifters existed. We are the ones that have always been a myth, a legend or a story to the humans. Two hundred years ago, that changed,” Stephan listened closely as George started explaining. “His name was James Welsh; he was the first human to witness a shifter. He was an Alpha, who came across James in their territory. James was a runaway, stumbled onto their lands and came face to face with the wolf. Cadmar panicked and captured the human. Kept him, hostage, for well over a year. However, they let him go and he wanted revenge. He put together a team and they hunted down each and every shifter in that pack. James left Cadmar for last and he caught and held Cadmar for almost four years before he killed him. Four years of torture, wanting to learn the truth about shifters. It was during that time that all our secrets where revealed. What could hurt us, how to kill us and more importantly how we shift,”

“How did Cadmar survive so many years without turning feral?” Stephan couldn’t help but ask.

“He did go feral, a wolf not in a pack for that long is never a good thing. He was weak and he believed that James would eventually set him free,”

“Did Cadmar torture James?”

“No, he did keep James locked up. Never hurt the man, he was just afraid that more would come looking and cause problems. When no more humans came, they released James,” George continued to explain.

“Why did they let him go? Didn’t they think he would tell others?”

“They considered all their options, that is why they held him for much longer. However, James promised he would never reveal their secret. That he was alone in the world and would tell no one. Cadmar let him go, trusting in the human,”

“Bad move,”

“I agree, however, you must keep in mind that back then, humans and wolves were a lot different. The wolves lived in their true form. They only turned human to go into the towns. Otherwise, they stayed in their wolf form. It wasn’t till later that it changed around,”

“Boys?” George stopped talking as Andrea entered the office.

“Did we wake you?” George asked her as she came towards him.

“No, I had a bad dream, woke up to find you weren’t in bed. When I got up, I heard your voice,” Andrea leaned over and kissed his cheek. “Would you two like some coffee?” she turned and smiled warmly at Stephan.

“Thanks, mom, that be great,” she smiled again before leaving the office to go and make coffee.

“James became obsessed with hunting shifters and he found two other neighboring packs and destroyed them all. That’s how the hunters came to be,”

“What about the stories of them enslaving the females, killing and skinning the males?” Stephan asked curiously. Not knowing what was true or false.

“James left a legacy behind and you’ll find that although the hunters may not be direct descendants of James, they have the knowledge. Its not public knowledge. Ninety percent of the human population is still unaware that shifters are real,”

“Then how?”

“Once, when I was much younger, my father, your grandfather, showed me a book,” George got up as he talked and took a book out of the small bookcase and handed it over to Stephan. “Some say it was James’ journal, others say it is a hunters manual or guidebook,” Stephan paged through the old book and gasped in surprise to see all their secrets written out. How to kill a shifter, what weapons to use and much more. “The story on enslaving the females and pups is just a story. Hunters never leave any shifter alive. They r**e them and kill them. As for skinning, that is very true. What and why they do it, I don’t know,” George looked defeated and Stephan couldn’t help but understand what pressure his father felt.

“I’m confused though, I thought human is aware of us, that’s why they leave us to build our villages?”

“That’s the council’s doing. When they came along, they would go to each city, town, and state. Approach the governor and the woods would become the shifters territory. The treaty states that so long as the wolves leave the humans alone, then the humans would leave the shifters alone. Humans are curious creatures, but they fear for their lives and abide by the laws of their cities,” Stephan nodded.

“That makes sense, but then the hunters?”

“The hunters move around, this pack has been under attack once before, but I thought it was the end of that since the leader had been killed. By accident of course, as you know, we don’t kill,” Andrea came in carrying a tray with their coffee. “Whoever is behind this is someone new, not necessarily a new hunter, but new to us. We must take proper precautions. Later Frank and I will go to the council, inform them of the hunters and take it from there,” George took a slow sip of his coffee. “I’d like for you to come with us Stephan, these are things you need to know,”

“Thank you,” Stephan said as he too sipped on his coffee. He was happy that his father would include him on this trip. He gladly accepted the fact that he needed to understand everything there was to know about these hunters. After a while, Stephan excused himself and went back upstairs. Jewel was still sleeping peacefully, and he stripped down before climbing into bed and cuddling her against his chest. All he wanted at that moment was the comfort only his mate could provide.