Page 156 of Fated to the Hunters
“Just say it,” Mateo teased. “You love me, that’s why you won’t.”
“Piss off.”
Mateo had brought a few bear traps that they had configurated for their own needs. They hid them around the trees that they’dchosen for their stakeout, hoping they might give them a few extra seconds of protection. Ezra made himself as comfortable as possible, though that didn’t mean much high in the branches of an old tree. He closed his eyes and let the night fall on them. Mateo wanted to stay awake first—like the hero he was—so Ezra took the opportunity to rest.
They prayed the lycans wouldn’t return during the night, knowing the moonlight only made them that much stronger. They hoped that the lycans had grown comfortable, and that they’d use their strengths for their own hunt.
Once it was his turn to take watch, Ezra struggled not just to stay awake, but not to cut. He didn’t need the scent of his blood tipping his prey off. Their chances of remaining undetected were already slim.
The hours crept by and the moon gave way to the sun, easing Ezra’s nerves. Even with his own night vision, he didn’t want to fight those fuckers at their full strength. The urge to cut intensified with each passing minute, boredom warring with his already dark thoughts. He knew it was dangerous—the wait always was—so he tried his best to fight it. Instead, he wondered what his sweet little princess was doing. They had left her a parting gift for lonely evenings and the thought of her making herself come…Shit. He grew lightheaded from the rush of blood going south.
Mateo woke up, and immediately scolded him through the bond. He shrugged and pulled out a protein bar, the first sunrays peeking through the leaf roof above them. Ezra chuckled to himself, feeling Mateo’s emotions boiling up too and loved how much he hated it. His friend was way too easy to mess with.
They alternated throughout the day, taking turns resting while the other kept watch. Vince was in and out of sleep himself. When the afternoon passed by, Ezra’s nerves heightened again and with them, the need for pain.
When Mateo’s emotions jolted, Ezra pulled himself out of the half sleep of his afternoon nap.
They were here.
He quickly downed his luck potion and then popped the vampire blood capsules into his cheeks, making sure the flask with his extra stash of blood was secured to his waist.
When they finally came into view, he had to stop himself from swallowing too loud—even breathing felt as if it would give away their position. They counted each one and the second the fifth came into view, Mateo had already made his first move, shooting the leader in the head. The lycans were trapped between them, with Mateo to the front and Ezra to their back.
Mateo fired bullet after bullet with Ezra right behind him, aiming for their heads each time. The beasts hissed and howled in pain. The first one fell to his knees and then kissed the dirt headfirst. Ezra had his silencer on, but that didn’t stop them from finding him, zeroing in on their prey and launching themselves towards him with inhuman speed.
Fuck!
The bastard was much faster than anticipated and unlike he’d hoped, it missed every single trap. Pulling out his second Glock, Ezra aimed and rained bullets down at the beast climbing up his tree.
Shit!
Ezra snarled in pain. The fucker ripped his thigh open, attempting to yank him down with him before he lost the fight to the bullets and fell to the ground. That was two dead—hopefully.
Before Ezra could soak in his victory, he flew backwards, having been snatched from behind. The ground flew towards his face, his lungs emptied in a scream as his bones cracked. The vampire blood mixed with his own in his mouth as he tried to refocus.
Red eyes locked onto his like lasers. His gun fired, habits and reflexes he had trained over years overwriting the pain coursing through his body. The beast sliced through the air with his claws, aiming. Ezra swapped his gun for a silver dagger and cut the fucker’s paw like butter. Silver truly did do wonders—only not enough. The second claw sank deep into Ezra’s side, slashing all the way down to his thigh.
Fuckity fuck!
Ezra aimed and fired his last bullets.
Time seemed to slow, until the silver sank deep between the beast’s eyes… and he fell dead. But before Ezra could move, he was buried under the massive shape of his enemy. He barely had the strength to breathe, but he knew this wasn’t how he was going to end. This wasnothow he wanted to die. He closed his eyes and poured every ounce of energy on wrenching his hand free, getting into his waistband and locating the flask. He managed to down the whole thing, his body becoming stronger with each drop. It took less than a minute before he worked both arms under his prey, pushing until the furry bastard rolled off of him and collapsed into the dirt.
Unable to get to his feet, he knelt on the ground and tried to analyse his surroundings. With his head thumping and his vision blurring up, he reached for a silver wire and the small motor that would slowly behead the beast. Once that was done, he sought out the second and repeated the process, before aiming a few more bullets at their brains. His hand shot to his second flask, drinking enough to make the deafening headache disappear, only for him to realise his mind was suspiciously quiet.
Shit!
He shot to his feet and reloaded his gun, searching for the other one he’d dropped earlier. Thanks to whatever God was out there—or maybe even his luck potion—it was only feet away. Hepicked it up and ran towards the path, seeing Mateo’s lifeless body being dragged away by one beast while another was being held back by Vince’s bullets.
Horrified by the image, Ezra detonated the silver trap.
He couldn’t lose him. He couldn’t live without his friend, the one person who cared enough about him to always come after him and bring him home. Hehadto bring Mateo home, just as Mateo had always done for him. He couldn’t face a life without his brother. Fuck… He couldn’t face Scarlett’s grief.
The first beast fell and with it, Vince redirected his bullets to Mateo’s captor. They both fired at him, Ezra screaming at the top of his lungs for Mateo to open his eyes. Time stopped. It felt as if the bullets weren’t doing a fucking thing. Just when he thought his heart couldn’t take another beat, the beast finally fell, releasing his grip on Mateo.
Ezra ran to his friend, muscles burning as he dropped to his knees and doused the unconscious man in vampire blood. Bones protruded through his skin, intestines spilled from a gash across his middle. Tears burning his eyes, he attempted to stuff Mateo’s insides back where they belonged, desperately trying to open the flask with his other shaking hand.
“Open your fucking eyes, you prick!” Ezra shouted, more of a plea than a curse. “I can’t tell her. I can’t tell her you’re not coming back.”Yes!Ezra finally had the flask open. “You’re the only one of us who deserves to be with her. The only one who longed for her heart and bond all your life. You can’t leave without ever knowing what her mind feels like.”
