Page 92 of The Alpha King's Fate

A rookie. Not important enough to the Hunters to know all the details, but the details of any missions he went on the past few weeks would help.

If the kid talked.

He threw an old crossbow across the lounge and looked back at the Hunter. His blood was pouring out of all the places he had clawed him. He would bleed out if he didn’t get help, but the kid’s lips remained sealed.

Maybe it was part of their training. He’d have thought facing death would change his mind.

“Do you even know what you’re fighting for?” he growled as he stalked the kid.

He picked up the knife the kid threw at him after his gun ran out of silver bullets. It was wider than a butcher’s knife and a little rusty. The same strange smell came from it, the same one on the arrowheads mixed with the wolfsbane. Cain was as wary of the new scent as he was.

“Do you know why they train you to become an asshole, killing people who haven’t done anything to you?” he continued. “I bet they never teach you what a wolf can do to you. One snap of my jaws and all your training would be for nothing.”

The kid remained silent. His hazel eyes spat so much hatred that talking was a waste of time. Besides, Hunters were born that way. The instinct to hunt them was as natural as breathing.

But this Hunter wasn’t as strong as the ones he fought at the hotel. He was a young version of what he’d always known Hunters to be. There couldn’t have been a new breed born while they weren’t watching; it would have been widespread news already.

“What’s this shit on the knife?” he asked.

“You’ll find out soon enough,” the kid grinned.

His teeth were red as blood dripped from his mouth. There was no fear as there would have been had he been dealing with a human. The kid remained confident even when he’d beat the shit out of him.

He threw the knife at the pillar just beside the Hunter's head. Fresh blood fell to the kid’s dislocated shoulder from where it nicked his ear.

“I suppose we’ll both find out.”

Surely, if it was poison, it would affect the Hunter, too.

But the kid just grinned and didn’t lower his gaze.

He’d used the silver chains to bind him to the pillar and tied his wrists behind it. The kid could hardly stand but he wasn’t letting his knees give out.

Stubborn. He was too stubborn for his own good. Hunters had no weaknesses that they could exploit. They were taught to be monsters their whole lives. It would take too long to break the kid down.

The sun was about to rise, but he was no closer to finding Layla. This kid was his only hope.

He turned away from the Hunter and continued to look around for clues. Receipts, phones, notebooks...anything with a hint about the Hunters’ base or his next search location. If he didn’t find anything, he’d have to continue heading north. But if he went in the wrong direction, it could cost Layla her life. And his.

His eyes narrowed as he turned back to the cocky Hunter.

The kid wasn’t scared for his own life, but what if...

He picked up an upturned chair and placed it in front of the kid.

“Did you enjoy your date the other weekend?”

The Hunter’s brow twitched slightly. Not enough that anyone else would have noticed.

“It must have been something special for you to pay so much for a room and go so far out of your way just to fuck,” he continued as he crossed his legs and arms.

The Hunter’s mouth remained closed.

“I mean, your boyfriend lives a few blocks away from here. Samuel, is it?”

Another twitch.

“Why couldn’t you just find somewhere nearby to spend time together? Oh, I get it. You’re not allowed to, are you? You’re not allowed to fuck for the sake of fucking. You’re not allowed to enjoy having your partner in your arms,” he said. “I’ve always wondered what happens when they tell you to have children. Do they pick a woman for you and lock you in a room until she gets pregnant? Is there some sort of factory?”

---