Page 2 of The Hunt

She held onto her face and tried not to panic.“How are you not freaking out right now?How are you not panicking?”She bent forward and put her hands on her thighs, trying to take deep breaths.

This couldn’t be happening.Could it?

“Regardless of what we think and feel, there is no going back.We’ve got a choice to make.Either we work together, and by the end of it mate and get out of here alive, or we die.”

No one had died during The Hunt.

She lifted her head.“You’re talking about failing.”

“No, I’m talking about winning here.Failing is the other option, but I don’t want to die.”

She watched as he shoved his hands into his jeans pockets.

Calliope hated failing.She studied for every single test she took.Throughout high school, she worked her ass off.When it came time to pass her driver’s license test, she nearly failed because she got so nervous around new people.Even though she lived within a community, she didn’t know everyone well, and she was shy.

On the night of her eighteenth birthday, there had been a party.There had been several peers who shared the same birthday week as her.Every Friday, regardless of whether it was a party, an elder came to the pack, sat down, and they would watch as his wolf would take over.He was known as the Mate Maker.All she knew from rumor was that his wolf had a way of seeing the connections of soulmates.

It was all freaky and scary, and she hated it, but she had watched people come together.She saw their love and happiness at knowing they were destined to be mates.Then, of course, there were people that were heartbroken.In her case, she and Jaxson had burst out laughing, and then denied it.For three years they continued to deny it, with the threat of The Hunt looming over them.

“Okay, okay, so, we’re not failing.We’re going to survive,” Calliope said.She didn’t want to be mated to Jaxson, but at twenty-one years old, she didn’t look forward to death either.

Jaxson moved toward her.“You know what this means?”

“This means that you and I share a common goal.We’ve got to make it out of here alive.”

“No one makes it out of here alive unless they are mated, Calliope.Mated, marked, and fucked.We both know what that means.So, until that happens, I guess we have no choice but to work together and survive.”He took a deep breath.“And seeing as you don’t have strength or speed, you better watch my back.”

“I can totally take care of myself.”

She gasped as he suddenly cupped her face.It was the first time he’d touched her.At first, she didn’t know what to do.It was easier when there was no touching involved.

They shouldn’t be doing this.

She hated him.Didn’t she?

Did The Hunt mess up feelings as well?

None of this made any sense.

“You and I both know, without me, you cannot take care of yourself.There are going to be things that attack us, Calliope.Scary, monstrous things.There is a lot you can do, but taking care of yourself is not one of them.”

With that, he started to move, and she had no choice but to follow.

****

Jaxson had a littlesecret.He never went to his parents, nor did he go to the elder to ask him to withdraw the mating between him and Calliope.He had every intention of doing so.Each time he did, some other excuse came up that stopped him.He couldn’t explain it.

His father advised it was because he knew Calliope was his mate.That made no sense.

Sure, they had kind of grown up together.When they were kids, they had been best friends.Calliope had been a little bit of a tomboy, climbing trees with him, and they would run around wild in the forest.There was a time she’d been his best friend.

Then, something happened.She suddenly turned into a girl—a girl he noticed with beautiful thick, rich brown hair.Gorgeous brown eyes, that always had that sparkle in them, as if she was trying not to laugh about something.He adored her.

Then, she stopped wearing dungarees, jeans and shorts, and instead wore skirts and dresses.She started to wear makeup and pin her hair back.She looked beautiful, and he started to become attracted to her, and that was a bad thing.A very bad thing.

So, he’d been a little surprised when the elder stated they were mates.Sure, his feelings for her had never quite gone away.Somewhere along the way, their friendship had changed, and they’d become enemies.That was what they were now—enemies.

Although, she did look really pretty.

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