Page 5 of The Hunt

Chapter Two

There was nothing Calliopehadn’t been prepared for.She crammed for every single test.When it came to cooking dinner, she practiced until she could now cook many foods with her eyes closed.She liked to be the best she could be.

She liked to be prepared.This was not prepared.This was the biggest mistake of her life.

From the moment she turned eighteen and the elder declared the two of them mates, she should have been preparing.Getting close to Jaxson once again, and understanding and believing The Hunt was very much real.

She had witnessed other couples who had come out of this and were closer.Every part of her being always told her to not look away, to not back away.

She took a deep breath and couldn’t help but feel a little sick.This was her fault.Instead of going to the elder herself, or being by Jaxson’s side when he went, the elder clearly thought they wanted to be together.

“What did the elder say when you went to him?”she asked.

“What?”

“You know, you were going to the elder to petition him to retract his ...mating thing.”Jaxson squeezed her hand a little tighter, and they may not have been friends for quite some time, but she knew what that squeeze meant.“Jaxson?”

“I didn’t go!”

“What?”Calliope asked.

“I didn’t go to the elder.”

“How could you not have gone to the elder?You’re a wolf.You said you were going.”She tried to pull away from him, but he refused to let go of her hand.Instead, she came to a stop.So, he had no choice but to either let her go or stop.It wasn’t like he was going to get very far.

“Damn it, Calliope.Does it even matter now?”he asked.

“Of course it matters.We’re in a damn maze or a game, whatever this is.You did this, Jaxson.You should have gone to the elder.Damn it, I should have gone to the elder.”

“We’re both to blame for being in this situation, so stop playing the victim.”

“How dare you!”She wanted to stamp her foot, growl at him, but the truth was, he was right.Exactly right.

She hadn’t gone to the elder, because in the back of her mind, she figured it would have been rude.Instead, she sent Jaxson, which had been the cowardly thing to do.He didn’t deserve her yelling at him.She was just about to apologize when a roar suddenly permeated the air.

Looking toward Jaxson, he tightened his hold around her wrist, and together they didn’t argue but took off running.Neither had a weapon on hand, and they kept running.

She didn’t know how, but the bushes that suddenly appeared seemed to be getting thicker, making it impossible for them to get away.

“Don’t look back,” Jaxson said.

Now, most people when told not to look behind them, automatically did.Not her, she was going to take Jaxson’s word for it.She wanted to keep running and moving forward.

Part of her wanted to scream.

Instead, Jaxson’s grip tightened, and then, as if my magic, they came to a cliff edge that hadn’t been there, and the sound of running water exploded into their senses.

Her heart pounded and as she looked back now, she saw it.The roar had come from something that looked like an ogre.One look at Jaxson, and they both knew what to do.

She held on tightly to him, and together they jumped over the edge, heading straight toward the water.

Calliope prayed that whoever was controlling this world kept the water exactly where it was, and made it deeper so she and Jaxson didn’t plunge to their death.

---