Chapter Text
Thick dense paws had padded against the ground, the curve of claws had sunk into the softened soil. There was a heavy huff of air that had been drawn from the formed nostrils of a beast. The impatience that had rendered a steady set pace within the beast was narrowly controlled by the end goal that sat ahead of them.
The hunt that would conclude itself within hours was simply being dangled in front of them like a toy. A trophy that had laid within the walls of the maze had already begun to manifest itself deep within his soul with raging desire. There was little time left to wait and yet, there was a steady surge of need, of desperation that made him raise his head and bare his teeth.
The other beasts in the area were readying themselves for this same hunt, the same kind of prize that would be exclusive to those werewolves. The humans had called them monsters, the lot of these beasts that had been separated beyond a thick amassing maze of hedges.
The hedges that were meant to keep them out of the human’s territory, as if humanity could even do anything to prevent them all from taking over if they decided to.
I smell her, his teeth which had been bared before were now obscured by his jowels, I can smell our mate.
It was there, desperation that was clawing at him. Where man had met beast, and the thin line of humanity clashed with something darker. It wasn’t an affliction that was limited to him, no—there were three others who were waiting. Biding their time for the release they’d been craving. The human, their little female mate, was there, beyond a border that they could not cross, and yet they were mere minutes from being able to hunt her down.
I can’t wait any more this is fuckin’ hard, he lowered his head and pressed his snout against the mossy floor, the bioluminescence would guide their little human throughout the forest while they chased you.
But it wasn’t the ethereal glow that he was interested in, no, it was the scent that had begun to radiate across the natural density of the forest. It was a siren’s call that was beginning to drive him mad, an echoing tease that had rattling his mind.
We’re close, another had spoken and when he turned his head, Johnny had seen him standing nearby. Gaz, with thick and deep, dark brown fur with a gentle curl, a glimmer of gold upon his back, was just as antsy as Johnny was. Deep brown eyes had stared Johnny down, rimmed with gold that almost seemed to match the gold on his back.
We push her, but not to exhaustion, John had cut through all their thoughts with his order as the oldest of their pack. The alpha, if you could declare the beast that by the standards humans gave them, was leading the hunt.
He, like Johnny, had the lightest colour fur in the pack compared to Simon and Gaz. John had an even mixture of brown and soft streaks of what could have been blonde, around his muzzle and paws. Blue eyes that had been retained from his human form, were, like all of them, rimmed with the yellow-gold that came from their other halves.
With Simon as the second in command of this hierarchy, they were the determining factors of how this would go. This was a calculated hunt, a task that they would not fail and between the four of them, would be an absolute success.
The first humans are being released, Simon had encroached upon the path that would lead them toward you. His fur, thick, and black, was dusted with small, almost insignificant speckles of white that appeared scattered throughout his fur. His eyes were deep and intense, a dark brown that could have appeared black like his fur, if it weren’t for the colour on the edge of his irises.
There, John’s voice echoed in all their minds as the fireworks, set off by the humans, had kickstarted the hunt. There was an immediate release of adrenaline from werewolves nearby, and almost just as quickly the first screams had begun. There was a slow yet steady pulsing of the barrier that was being removed between the edges and alleys of the maze.
She’s here, Johnny had raised his head and curled back the lips on his snout, letting out a single yet harrowing howl that would undoubtedly send fear down your spine. Your scent had grown stronger, it was reflective of your state of proximity to them.
It’s time.
The first jolt of his body had spurned him forward, given the permission to start the hunt by the leader, their captain. Johnny’s thick and sharp claws had scraped against the few stones that were partially visible through the mossy floor. You were there, led on a parallel path that would allow yourself to be placed ahead of them, while they would circle up behind you.
Run. Run, girl, RUN.
The sounds of the forest had come alive with deep and twisted growls of the other wolves. Screams of terror became natural moans of pleasure and pain, such a mix that came from the first claims. Johnny had passed by a break in one of the paths and through a single glimpse had seen a human caught.
That human, surrounded by their new beastly mates, was being split open and taken right in the dirt. A beastly creature had shifted into a crazed human, gyrating and grinding into the human who was tapped.
Intense and rough, a desperation that they would all be inflicted with, was driving that werewolf, now human, to fuck their mate stupid. That was an inhibition that was nearly impossible to ignore, the temptation to claim and fuck and bite right there was an urge every one of them would be tempted by.
No, not us. John had spoken through the bond they shared, an indication that they were better, far more controlled, than others. Not tonight, not here.
Johnny had turned the corner, coming from a narrowed path into the opening of the forest. His paws dug into the soft earth, a scattering of bioluminescent moss allowing him to see you clearly while you glanced over your shoulder. You had become transfixed on eyes that were impeccably blue yet framed in a thick rim of gold.
Johnny stopped a few dozen feet behind you, and had tucked its snout against the mossy earth. Johnny inhaled deeply, your scent entering his system and filling his lungs while a provokable claim had flashed in his mind.
His lips curled back in a snarl. There were other werewolves nearby, some who wouldn’t second guess chasing you just to fuck with you, just to scare you. His ears had shifted, perking up when you had completely stopped, almost frozen in fear.
Simon struck before you had a chance. You were dragged to the earth and pinned beneath his deep black paw with razor sharp claws. The weight of that paw kept you trapped against the earth when it pushed against your chest, making you incapable of moving even an inch. Simon’s deep and intense eyes had been cast down upon you, committing everything about you to a quantifiable memory that he would use for his own good.
Ours, his voice was husky and deep, an edge that was nothing less than absolute animalistic driven possession, our little mate.
Too easy mate, Gaz had come up from the rear, staying in the shadows while Simon was clearly debating whether this hunt was going to end now or whether it should continue.
Simon sucked in your scent, his teeth grazed your neck where his mark would go. When he removed its paw from your chest, Simon had grabbed hold of the front of your clothing with his teeth and lifted you from the ground. It took little effort for him to actually throw you back onto the path they wanted you to take, and he hd been calculated enough not to use the kind of force that would break you.
RUN GIRL. RUN
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The spindly limbs of trees had grabbed hold of your sleeves, threatening to tear them from your body. The only shield you had was being thinned out by the nature that you could have sworn was coming alive.
Coming alive to help the werewolves that were chasing you. Coming alive to make you an easier target to the beasts that were nipping at your heels. The creatures that were going to hunt you down one way or another and this was, to them, a game of cat and mouse.
You were disadvantaged, and not just because you were human. No, you were disadvantaged from the ceremonial garments that the villages had made every sacrifice wear before they were cast into the forest.
The almost pure white long sleeved linen that was decorated with few small beads around the wrists, were symbols. Each bead had represented how many lots had been cast in your favour to be chosen for that year. The linen was a robe that everyone wore, male or female, anyone who was selected, though you hadn’t understood the design.
Not until you had come to a semicircle clearing in the forest and had stumbled upon a scene of a human caught. It wasn’t until you had captured the image of a male in those robes being taken between two other males. The robe was set against his hips, while one of the beasts in human flesh had vicariously thrusted into the male. The other werewolf, in human flesh, was using the male’s mouth for pleasure, and ether glinting in the pale moonlight was a set of marks.
Bites on his neck.
The robes are for ease of access, love. A voice seemingly whispered against your neck, a crooning yet almost taunting tone that drew you back away from the semicircle clearing. It was improbable to understand what you were seeing, not because it physically wasn’t compatible.
You were under the impression that you, all of you human’s, were meant to be torn apart with teeth. Not fucked in the dirt and used for pleasure.
Mates, not just pleasure. To be filled with pups. Another voice, another ghostly whisper against your neck, and the sensation of hot breath against your lower back had spurned you to run again.
Your feet thudded against the ground as you darted away from the clearing and back into the forest. There was an inexplicable drive that made you try to make sense of what you were seeing, of where you were going.
You were navigating a space you had never been in before, being hunted down while there was an overhanging threat of being split open in the dirt. You were at the end of your energy, there was not enough for you to go much further and you knew it. Your lungs had already felt like they were on fire, your legs had begun to ache with a surging jolt of pain that nearly made you collapse.
Your chance to run had dwindled when you felt a pressure against your back. You fell forward to the dense forest floor, your hands extended to brace your fall. A muffled mixture of a grunt and a whine had slipped from your lips, and you had felt the depths of the cool tampered grass against your cheek.
No sooner had your eyes adjusted to the earth beneath you, had you been flipped over. Soon enough it wasn’t the even mix of a beaten down path, grass and bioluminescent moss that you were staring at, it was a clearing in the sky above you.
A full and intense moon had overhung above you, surrounded by the brilliance of glittering stars. A natural and beautiful architecture laid out against a dark canvas that had felt unjustly mocking of you.
It wasn’t fair. It was beautiful, absolutely breathtaking for you to be able to witness such a clarity of the night sky only for you to have this last moment of beauty before your life was over.
Easy, a voice you didn’t recognize had echoed, rattling the walls of your mind, easy
Soft, a brush of something warm against your arm was nearly enough to tear your attention away from the beauty of the stars, smooth.
Your vision was blurred by tears once more. The stars and full moon, that iridescent dark canvas above you, had become hazy as you lay pressed against the floor. It was an unseemly end to this whole ordeal, to witness something so magnetic and grandeur, only to it be the last thing you will have ever seen.
“It’s not fair.” You vocalized your thoughts and were met with another brush of something warm against you. “The stars are so pretty, it’s not fair.”
“You’re cold,” an actual vocalization that was not yours, had finally drawn your attention away from the stars and the night sky, “you need to get warm.”
Three werewolves stood above you, the one with those intense and deep dark eyes, almost black, had been to your left. It’s massive two front paws were near your head, dark fur speckled with minimal flecks of white, had been the one to throw you.
The other two, one with eerily light blue eyes and another with deep brown eyes, had stood to your right and then at your feet. You were trapped, held captive against the ground by three beasts who had chased you until you felt like you were going to die.
“Look at me,” the voice called again, and a man crouched by your head, his blue eyes only retaining a sliver of gold, “you’re cold. We’re taking you to your home.”
In the distance was moaning and howls, the sounds of animalistic growling. Moaning that you had first thought were made of pain, had registered in your mind as pleasure. The other humans were bing taken right there in the dirt, barricaded between beasts with little self-control.
The werewolf with blue eyes, the one who had first chased you, had lowered his head and whined. Its cold nose had pressed against your arm, the linen sleeve you wore was torn nearly completely off. You titled yoru head, still in a deep haze, and saw the crimson beading of blood staining your skin.
“We need to leave.” The man above you had reached forward and brushed some of those salty and unstoppable tears from the corners of your eyes. When you felt the warmth of his fingers against you, two more animal-like whines had broken the silence.
You were lifted from the cold ground, your body handled wth upmost care as if they were afraid you’d break. The cold chill of the ground was steadily replaced by the encompassing softness and warmth of fur.
Just as quickly as you had been driven to the ground by the chase, you were settled against thick black fur. Your fingers instinctively woven into the softness of this beast’s fur, seeking warmth as the tru nature of that chill made you shiver. There was little for you to do, even less for you to say, as the steady and heavy movement beneath you had soothed you.
Enough that your body’s exhaustion led you to sleep.