“Fuck me,” Hunt said to himself as they walked.
He had no idea how far the next door would be, but he was certain he would find one as it was a two-way tunnel. They just had to keep pushing forward. They walked in silence for several hours, until Hunt finally saw something up ahead. He smiled and pointed. “I think we finally found it.”
Emma looked up and dashed ahead, somehow unfazed by the heat. Reaching it before him, Hunt heard her yell out in frustration.
“What the fuck, Hunt!”
“What?” he asked, rushing up to her. “What is it?”
“Don’t play games with me! What the hell did you do?” Emma yelled.
He slowed down a bit as he got to the mass he had seen in the distance. It looked different for a moment, but as he looked closer it began to make sense to him. They had gone around in a large circle, and they were right back at the spot where they had started. Where Emma had broken a hole through the rubble. Except, they were on the other side. The entire tunnel was a large ring underneath Orin City, and they had just spent most of the day walking around it.
“Are you listening to me?” Emma yelled. “Fuck, you know what? Screw this, okay? I thought you’d be some help, but you could just as well be screwing me over and handing me off to Garret. You have no idea where you’re going, and you’re just taking me with you. I’ll stand a better chance on my own.”
“Emma, wait,” Hunt called out as she shouldered past him, heading in the direction they had come.
But it was too late—the Werewolf walked off into the darkness, looking to find her own path. A wave of guilt flushedover him as he wondered what he could do to change what had happened. Emma felt betrayed, and now he was all alone. But it wasn’t the fear of running into Garret alone that haunted him, it was the fact that she left. He wasn’t sure if he would ever see her again.
Hunt began walking, moving slowly as he scanned the walls, looking for signs that he had missed. Maybe the men who had dug the tunnels had built a secret door, and only those who were down here could find it. As he ran his fingers over the wall, he heard the sound of footsteps behind him.
“Show yourself, or you’ll be dead before you can speak,” Hunt said loudly, pulling his blade. He was hurt, but they wouldn’t know that. If they knew who he was, whoever had thought it was wise to sneak up on him would back off.
“Oh relax, I’m here to help,” came the voice in a sing-song manner. It was the Vixen from the bar. The woman in the rafters who had started the commotion. She walked out of the shadows with a smile plastered on her lips. “My name is Sly, and Mr. Hunter, I’m going to need your help.”
Chapter 7 - Emma
As Emma walked in the darkness, she felt a hole in her heart, one that seemed to resonate with each step she took, heading forward. At first, she thought it was fear. Being alone in a dark and enclosed space would put anyone on edge, but Emma had been in bad situations before, and she was able to keep her cool. But something was different, and no matter how much she tried to force the feeling away, she knew the difference was Hunt.
“Fucking Hunter,” she mumbled to herself as she walked, looking around as she got into the dark corners.
She switched to night vision, allowing her eyes to see better in the darkness. Emma hated herself for this feeling. Hunters were the worst of the worst. They spent their lives killing her kind, and now she had found someone who had led them at some point. Hunt was more than just any kind of Hunter; he was the worst one alive.
Emma wondered why he was down in the tunnels. It didn’t make any sense. For a man who spent his life killing paranormals, he was found in a bar that was frequented almost entirely by the same type of creatures. Was he there looking to hunt down someone? What was his plan?
Emma walked up to a wall where she saw some markings inscribed. She peered closer and realized that it was an arrow drawn pointing forward. She couldn’t tell where it would lead, but if it was an arrow that would get her out of the place, she was going to follow it. As she turned, Emma recalled the night before.
Hunt pinning her against the wall, his lips all over her, sending sharp sensations through her body. Emma hadn’t beenwith anyone in the past, but somehow, being with Hunt in that moment had made perfect sense. He had made love to her, his hands had taken her body as their own, and it was the best feeling Emma had ever felt.
That’s why leaving him was so damn hard.
Emma felt conflicted. The surge of emotions that had come with her bloodlust was what had made her feel the way she did. Hunt had just taken advantage of that, and if she hadn’t thought things through, she would have had sex with him. He was quite older than her even.
She shook her head; it wasn’t his age that mattered. It was who he was. Hunt was a bad man who killed Werewolves just like her. Just a few weeks earlier, Emma and her pack had faced off against Caspian and his group. There was a high chance that this man had taught them everything they knew. But he had saved her. Emma rubbed her temple as she walked.
Hunt had saved her back in the bar, and he had fought Garret side by side with her. Garret would have burned her to a crisp if Hunt hadn’t done what he did with the pipes. But on the other hand, he had left her alone in the tunnels when her bloodlust started. He had aconite, which he was not afraid to use on her.
Emma had no idea what to think.
As she walked forward, she saw a creature in the distance with its back turned to her. Emma recognized it at once as one of the creatures released by Garret into the tunnels. If they had gotten this far down, it would mean that Garret was not far behind, and he was looking for them.
The creature turned its head to face her, baring its teeth and letting out a guttural screech. Emma brought up a fist and a clawed hand, waiting for the creature to attack. It swung its longsharp claws at her, and Emma smacked the arm out of the way, driving a boot into the chest of the creature. It fell to the ground and scrambled back to its feet, looking to attack.
But Emma didn’t let it. She caught its arm and sliced right through it with her other free arm, causing the creature to scream in pain. She tossed the arm to the side and made a fist, punching right through the skull of the otherworldly creature. It staggered backward before falling right to the ground.
Emma looked at the creature as it struggled to stay alive. She raised a hand to finish it off, and then she paused. The creature itself wasn’t inherently evil. Garret had poisoned it with his power, taking over its mind and lack of awareness. He had turned it into what it was, and now she would be the one to kill it. She wouldn’t be any different from Hunt.
She turned away, knowing it would die on its own. But then it occurred to her—if it had come down here, that meant that the creatures could find their way into the corridor. If Emma could see where they were coming in, she would be able to leave from that point.