Page 77 of The Hunt

The second was a junkie who’d sold his own underage daughters for drugs. That one I’d handled up close with a knife. No room for error, no chance for him to slip away. The memory of his frantic pleas briefly clawed at the edges of my mind, but I shoved it back down. He’d never felt an ounce of guilt for what he’d done, which he’d made very clear during his court proceedings. So why the fuck should I feel bad?

The third… he was a child killer. A guy who’d spent years beating his own kid before finally taking it too far. I’d made it quick, but only because the sight of him turned my stomach. The world didn’t need scum like him walking around.

Three kills, all fresh out of prison. Three people who deserved it.

I took a deep breath as fury flared inside me all over again. My anger was always there, simmering under the surface, like a fire that never fully burned out.

I knew when it all started. Didn’t like to think about it, though; just knew I needed to channel it somewhere. Somehow. In the past, I’d tried to control it, bury it, but it never worked. Never went away. Not entirely.

Here, in The Wild Hunt, I’d finally been given a way to use it. The rage that had always clawed at my insides had a purpose now. Each target I took down today—each monster—made me feel like I was striking a balance in the universe, evening out a scale that was tipped too far in the wrong direction. It was the closest thing to peace I’d ever known.

I tapped my watch again, scrolling through the contestant list. My gaze caught on the Group 2 players. I had an easy shot at one of them earlier, could’ve climbed to the top of the leaderboard without breaking a sweat. But I hadn’t takenit. Those people were a hard no for me, even if it meant the difference between winning and losing.

For me, it was simple. If I was going to kill, it had to mean something.

Monsters. People who truly deserved it. That was where I drew the line. Always had.

I glanced up at the sky. The sun was dipping lower now, painting the sky in streaks of orange and red, a warning of the darkness to come.

I smiled thinly, satisfied at the sight. Night was my favorite time to hunt. It was when things got interesting, because people lost their sense of direction in the dark. They panicked, stumbled, and made mistakes. Turned into easy targets who couldn’t see it coming until it was right in their fucking face.

I checked my watch again. Four hours until the safe zones shut down at midnight. That meant I had four hours to hunt Group 1 and 3 prey under the cover of darkness before returning to this cabin to keep an eye on Everly and track her next movements.

I pulled a protein bar out of my pack and washed it down with a thermos of strong black coffee, sitting on a fallen log at the edge of the safe zone clearing. The caffeine would keep me sharp, awake, and ready for what was coming.

Some of the other hunters were still out here, like me, braving the cold and the elements to stay in the action. Others, though… they played it differently. They’d already gone back through the tunnels, retreating to their luxurious rooms in the Lodge, where they could enjoy hot meals, warm beds, and a full night’s rest. They’d be back at it in the morning, refreshed and recharged, ready to hunt in the daylight.

Surprisingly, it actually worked for some of them. Last year’s winner was one of those guys. He didn’t bother with the night hunts at all—just picked his targets carefully during the day andtook them down with ruthless efficiency. It didn’t matter that he skipped half the game. He played to his strengths, and it paid off.

That wasn’t my style, though. I wanted the rawness of it. The grit. The rush of stalking prey under the cover of darkness, where every shadow could be a threat and every sound could be a clue. The kind of hunting that made my blood pump harder, my instincts sharper.

I finished the last sip of my coffee and stood, stretching out my muscles as stars began to prick the sky. It was time to go.

Before I left, I couldn’t resist turning back for one last glimpse of Everly. Through the cabin window, she sat by a small, flickering lantern that someone had lit inside when the sun dipped. Her hair caught the soft glow of the light as she talked to the girl next to her, her expression a mixture of fear and determination.

I was wrong the first time I met her. Those guts she’d shown when she stepped into that tunnel with the Taser… they were real after all. Not just a show she put on to protect herself. Deep down, she had a strength that burned quietly, waiting for the right moment to ignite. She just didn’t seem to know it yet.

I let the moment linger, burning the image of her into my mind. Then I took a step backward, a slow smirk tugging at the corner of my lips.

Not much longer, baby.

18

Everly

Nikkiand I made it into the cabin just after eight o’clock, and five others trickled in over the next half-hour.

First was Cheryl, who I was glad to see unscathed.

The second to arrive was a petite, porcelain-skinned girl I recognized from the beach. Her name was Kanako, and she’d sustained an injury after running into a hunter in a small clearing. He’d thrown a knife at her, lodging it in her upper arm, and she’d simply turned and fled, not even bothering to pull the knife out.

The hunter hadn’t managed to catch up with her after missing the shot—presumably, he was aiming for her heart—and I could only assume it was because he was inexperienced in this fucked-up game. Unlucky for him, but very lucky for Kanako. If she’d gone up against an experienced hunter… God, the thought made me shudder.

Nikki told her that she’d done the right thing in leaving the knife lodged in her arm as we helped her treat the injury with one of our first aid kits. Apparently, removing it could have caused even more bleeding, especially if it had nicked a major blood vessel. By keeping it in place, she’d minimized the damageuntil we could properly dress the wound. As long as she kept the area as clean as possible, she was going to be fine.

For now, anyway. None of us had any idea what the future held.

The other three arrived together, having teamed up after leaving the beach earlier. One was Chris, who I already vaguely knew, and another was the tall blonde woman who’d stood up for him when Nathan was being rude about his criminal history. Her name was Ava. The final one was another guy I recognized but hadn’t been properly acquainted with until now—the guy from the yacht party who’d brought up the NDA with me. His name was Jade.

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