Smoke and Mirrors

Damien Black

I sat on top of a hill as I watched my men scour through the dense forest that hid the Blackwater Pack from Man. The flora acted as their second barrier besides the Black Lake that gave their pack its name as its waters were rumoured to be poisonous and killed any descendent of Man who tried to cross it. It was even rumoured that the Blackwater Pack themselves poisoned its waters in an act of desperation when there were under attack by Hunters.

My patience grew thin with each meaningless report I received, and it took all of my restraint to not snap the neck of each messenger that came. My thirst for that wolf’s blood was the only thing that reminded myself that I needed all the men available and that I was in no position to just keep killing them.

It had been almost five hours since I sent the first scout party out to find that wolf and they found a trail within minutes, but it soon turned cold. It was the first of many as lead after lead went cold, my men kept bringing me the items they had found before the scent disappeared.

This person was playing us like fools, he had left several trackable trails before they just ended. My hands itched and flexed at the thought of it, I could not wait till I got my hands on him. Death would be a much-welcomed choice to what I was going to do to him. My musing was interrupted when one of my men ran up to me, chest heaving due to the exertion but eyes alight with excitement.

“Sir, we have an hour’s old scent!”

My ears perked as I ran towards my men. I would not stand for another failure, I would lead this hunt myself.

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My paws thudded as they hit the ground, I howled as my men and I charged on, he would not escape me, not this time. I sped up as the scent got stronger, I sneezed, I smelled the scent of jasmine flowers after the rain and I liked it, it was probably another one of his tricks to lead as away from him but it was not going to work this time. I sneezed once more before running.

My men howled as we finally caught up to the bastard, a black wolf came into view, it was running right in front of us and with closer inspection was carrying a child on his back that I had no doubt was Ryder’s son.

“This commander had to be a strong warrior,” I thought to myself, the black sheen his fur gave of was nothing but proof of it. Black was the colour of power to us wolves and was usually an indicator that this child would be a strong warrior in the future as the darker the colour of the wolf, the more powerful. Furthermore, his wolf was large even for a werewolf and was toned with muscle made from days of training.

“Charge on!”

I growled as the distance between us and that wolf began to close, I will catch that wolf and I will end the Blackwater bloodline today, I howled as a chorus of ‘Yes, Sir’ resounded through my mind.

That wolf was smart, I had to give that to him, he jumped through bushes, over boulders and weaved through the trees, surprisingly agile for his size. I growled as I caught up and used my canines to bite his leg and pulled causing him to lose balance and crash to the ground, the child flew off his back, I tried to reach for that insufferable child but was met with a bite to the shoulder as I grappled with the wolf below me.

“This wolf is mine! Grab the child!”

The child ran further into the forest, his small frame slowly disappearing from view as my men pursued. The wolf below me whined as he tried to get to the child, I put all my weight in my legs to keep him where he was, he growled at me before throwing me off with a surprising amount of force. We gnashed our teeth as we circled each other, each sizing the other up. Curiosity got the better of me as I felt my spine straighten, my four legs becoming two, I wanted to see the face of the man that had killed so many of my pack and caused me so much trouble.

“Shift now, Mutt!”

The wolf growled at me, the three-clawed scar scrunching up as he narrowed his eyes, and I smirked, mutt was the most derogatory name a wolf could be called. The wolf gave me one last growl as he shifted. My eyes widened by a fraction when I saw this wolf’s human form, I had expected to see a male, not this dark beauty was in front of me.

“Is this the secret that Ryder has kept from all us Alphas?”

The she-wolf growled at me, she spoke no words and yet venom dripped off any noise that left her lips, I must have struck a nerve. I surveyed her closer. Her body was marred with scars of different ages, some were just faint white lines that stood out against her copper skin while some had just scabbed over, our brief tussle causing them to peel and glisten red.

“Okay enough, the chase was fun and everything, but I need you to answer me now, where is your Head Commander and Warrior?”

With each step I took towards her, the sweet scent just got stronger till I grabbed her wrist and looked into those dark irises that for some reason now reminded me of melted chocolate, I flinched as I felt a wave of warmth wash over my body.

No, no, no. I did not want a soulmate not now not ever, the girl in front of me looked even more horrified before looking at the hand that grabbed her wrist with utter revulsion and for some reason, it made me angry.

“I seem to have found my mate so let me cut you a deal since you, after all, are my one true love, tell me where the Head Commander and Warrior is, and I will make sure your death is quick.”

I snarled as she laughed before spitting on my face, the defiant expression on her face remained unchanged as she used this distraction to yank her hand out of my grasp. She stood tall before me, paying no attention to the cuts that littered her figure.

“I am the Head Commander and Warrior, I am the one that murdered your men, I am the one you are looking for.”

I could not help but let a laugh slip through my lips, it was almost adorable the way she tried to stand up to me, like a puppy yapping at a wolf.

“No woman has been made Head Commander and Warrior in the last hundred years and there has been no record of that change as well.”

That was a fact, there had been no record of any female commanders or even warriors for the last hundred years, even the ones dated further back weren’t known as they got themselves killed months into their service, highlighting women’s incapability to lead. She scoffed at me, glaring at me in disgust before rubbing away the thick layer of mud that covered her arm, exposing the intricate Warrior’s Mark tattooed on her upper bicep that made it obvious that her claim was nothing but true.

I made a move to grab her arm to examine the mark when she punched me in the jaw, my head snapping back causing me to stumble backwards. I had barely enough time to get my bearings before another punch hit home on my nose. There was a loud crunch before I felt something warm trickle down to my lips.

“Don’t you dare touch me ¡”

Each word that spewed out from her mouth was punctuated with a punch straight to my face, she took no time to aim her punches she was satisfied as long as her punches hit their mark. She continued raining down punches on me before I grabbed her hand and twisted it to her back, I applied enough force to hear a snap, her body tensed but surprising enough, no scream. I looked down expecting to at least see tears in her eyes, instead, they were full of defiance, the same defiance that her Generals showed me right before I killed them. I snarled in frustration before snaking a hand down to her torso to apply pressure to her ribs, again a snap and again, no scream. The only response I got was her digging her nails into my skin. I decided to change my tactic, if she did not respond to physical actions maybe she would respond to my verbal ones.

“I was going to kill you, but I decided not to due to your insolence so now you are stuck with me. The fates must be cruel to make me your mate, the physical pain you feel now is nothing compared to what I am going to you. You are nothing but a weakness to me and trust me when I say, I will never love you.”

“You think I care! This pain I am feeling right now is nothing as compared to the emotional pain I felt when you slaughtered my pack, forcing me to see my sister’s dead body. Let me be clear with you here and now, I am not the type of girl who is going to do her best to find the good in you, who brainwashes herself into thinking that she can change. I will be the girl that challenges you at every step and I promise that I will take every chance to get away from you.”

I snarled as she struggled, she almost broke out of my grip before one of my men injected her with diluted silver, causing her to lose consciousness and limply fall into my arms. I watched her eyelids slowly flutter shut before bringing my lips to her ear.

“Challenge me all you want, darling. After all, a wolf loves the chase.”