Page 1 of Hunt

CHAPTER 1

BELLADONNA

I feel a vibration,making my breath catch and my eyes pop open. Glancing to the side, I watch as Hector’s chest rises and falls steadily, telling me he’s still sound asleep. Silas’s face is buried in my pillow as he snores.

We’ve been hiding out in a rented townhouse for three months now, under fake names so that my pack can’t track us down. We’ve been careful not to go out in public too much. Not until the guys get everything under control with their own pack now that their dads are six feet under.

Fuck… I still can’t believe they’re gone. I have nightmares about the night of my birthday when I thought it was all over. When I thought the guys had betrayed me. But they’d made the ultimate sacrifice to keep me from having to become a slave to their pack.

None of them had any real love for their fathers, but still, to take their lives so coldly, was something I could never scrape from my fucking mind. It would replay over and over again until the day I fucking died.

I smile for a second as I watch them, but I know I need to deal with this before they wake up.

Guiltily, I lift the covers and slide out of bed without making a noise. I silently thank the gods for memory foam mattresses. Squatting down to the floor, I curse myself silently for being such a fucking rookie and forgetting to turn the damn thing off.

It’s a burner phone the guys don’t know about. A way for me to keep in touch with Mama. If they knew I had it they’d be livid.

My hand glides between the small space separating the mattress and the box spring. Fumbling around, I find what I’m looking for. Pulling the small flip phone from its hiding place, I hurry through dressing in a pair of grey joggers and a loose black t-shirt. Forgoing my sweater and shoes, I head downstairs on my tip-toes, hoping I’m the only one still awake at this hour.

My heart squeezes for the millionth time. I miss my fucking dog. I never realized I became so attached in just a few short months. But Silas promised me he was being well taken care of by someone he trusts. Still, the house feels emptier.

It’s three in the morning and freezing outside as I step out into the parking lot of the small community we’ve been living in for six months. It’s a nice place in the good part of town, but it doesn’t stop my eyes from automatically roaming strategically over the area—looking for something amiss.

As of right now, everything looks normal, so I pull the phone out and flip it open. Six missed calls fromUnknown.

Heart thumping wildly, I take a few deep inhales of frosty air before dialing a number by heart. My throat is thick, and my mind is spinning with wild ideas. The phone rings three times before it’s answered.

“Bella?” comes a small, whispered voice on the other end. Something in me settles. “Is it you, Bella?” Mama asks softly.

My heart squeezes at the familiar sound of her voice. It’s been a year since I’ve seen Mama and three months since Ithought I’d never speak to her again. Three months since she told me to run and never look back.

“It’s me,” I whisper, though there’s nobody around to hear me. “Is everything okay? Its late…”

She normally calls me late at night, but it’s always scheduled. I told her in the beginning, when I first found a way to get ahold of her, that it needed to be kept only between us. The guys just couldn’t know without putting them in danger.

Mama sighs and there’s some rustling over the line before she answers. “There’s been talk… They’re looking harder, baby. Your fathers haven’t forgotten, and I fear what they’ll do next. You know Alessio. He does not take kindly to looking like a fool.”

Chills race over my skin that have nothing to do with the near freezing temperature of the cold Canadian air. I knew they’d never give up. Their alpha pride won’t allow it.

“Mama, is he hurting you?” She’s quiet for too long and my heart drops to my stomach. “Answer me, is Alessio hurting you because of what I did?” I feel sick. I don’t know what I’d do if I were the cause of her pain. “You have to tell me?—”

“Don’t you worry about me. I’m a lot stronger than you give me credit for.”

A loud hiss escapes my lips, followed by a string of curses. I quickly glance around, hoping I didn't disturb anyone with my outburst. Then, I turn towards the cement wall and place my shaking hand over the speaker in attempt to muffle the noise.

“I’ll kill them all—” I promise under my breath.

And I mean it.

I’ll kill all of my dads if they lay a single unkind finger on my mama.

Alessio is known for his violent tendencies, and while he had never laid a hand on me, I couldn't discount the possibility. I’d witnessed him physically abuse men, women, and children before. He’s a monster. More so than the others. My instinctsare telling me something is off. She sounds too forced, trying to convince me that everything is fine when it clearly isn't.

There’s a loud bang over the other end of the phone, causing my breath to catch. “What’s going on? Why did you call me at three in the morning?”

It takes a few agonizing moments for her to respond. “I just wanted to hear your voice. I have to go, Bella. Don’t call this number again. I’ll call you when it’s saf—when I get the chance.”

I know what she was about to say, but before I have the chance to argue, the line goes dead.

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