HUNTED

[ Music Recommendation: Game of survival by Ruelle ]

**

The white wolf sprinted through the depths of another forest. Her paws pounded against the ground in sync with her heart as her breath came out ragged. Her legs ached; her lungs burned along with the non-stop shooting pains rippling through her body from where she had been stabbed. But her mind was stronger than her body, the love she felt for her mate, and her pack was stronger than a wound robbing her of her strength.

Each time Aila was in pain, she reminded herself of the consequences of being caught. All of the pack's losses, all of their attempts to keep her safe, protected, would have been in vain. Damon's injuries… A whimper left her mouth as she was reminded of the three bullets she removed from his chest. Two inches closer to the left, and he would have been hit in the heart... Her eyes filled with tears again, but she shook her head. Anytime she thought of him, her mark burned, and her chest tightened at the distance between them.

"We are doing it for him," Malia cried.

Those five words had been uttered to her each time Aila was lost in thought about their mate. This helped her not to lose focus on their goal. Though it was hard on both of them, the mark and the bond weren't making it easy on top of her spiralling emotions. 

But her wolf was right, and she urged herself on as she whipped past some bushes, their leaves scratching at the side of her face from her speed. From what she could see of the skies from the thick foliage of the forest, it was becoming darker. She had been running for ages but was unaware of how long for. At the moment, it didn't matter. As long as they were following her away from the others, then she would not complain.

The hunters were still on her tail as she planned them to be. Though Ajax last reported them to be half a mile behind her, that was an hour beforehand. Aila had been running through fields, muddy terrain, forests and only occasionally showing herself near the roads, so she did not lose the hunters.

But after a few close calls and nearly being shot, Aila, picked up her speed and lost Ajax an hour prior. Even with his speed as a falcon, it was no match to hers. However, they kept in contact via mind-link; luckily, the vast radius between them didn't stop them from keeping in touch. Aila would mutter to him where she was, and he'd follow and tell her where to go.

Ajax had not been lying when he said he had lived like an animal for long periods of time before. Ajax knew the land well, something that surprised Aila. She presumed he was being cocky like usual, but she had to hand it to him; he knew the terrain like the back of his hand. He knew every rock, river, lake, grasslands, forest she would come across. 

Unfortunately, she lost Ajax an hour prior; even with his speed as a falcon, he could not keep up with her. And he knew she wouldn't slow down until there was much more distance between them. The thing about this cat and mouse game was that she couldn't escape them just yet. 

Aila had been running for hours now. The latest forest that went along the windy road started to become too dark for human eyes to see through. But her crystal blue orbs began to glow in the dark, and she could still see the faint outlines of trees and where to place her paws so as not to trip over. The sounds of the forest settled down to that of the night creatures scurrying through their nightly routines.

An owl hooted as the wind swept through the leaves of the woods, rustling them along with bringing the crickets out and their melodious tune. The sounds became soothing. Even though her body was still tense from a day of being chased, she found her heart beginning to calm for the first time in hours. 

Aila slowed down her pace to a walk. She grunted at the sudden change and the throbbing sensation on her back. She needed to rest and heal, but like Ajax mentioned before, she had to keep moving throughout the night. Her heart rate spiked again as Aila heard a car driving nearby; her walk turned into a trot as she sought out more coverage. Aila was so tired, not just from the running, but mentally too. 

Aila had to keep pushing her thoughts to the back of her mind, keep her emotions in check while blocking her mate from the bond. If she felt Damon's emotions, then she would want to turn around and return to him. She knew he was okay, and that's all she needed to know right now. 

Tyres squealed in the distance, and Aila snorted before picking up her pace again. She grunted and let her aching muscles go back to work. They were never going to catch her. She would make sure of it.

"Ajax, are you nearby?"

There was silence for a few minutes, making her mind begin to race.

"No," He finally replied. Aila relaxed. The car's she had been hearing were ordinary people. But it didn't mean she should stop.

There were so many hunters clambered into those SUVs, and she knew they could take it in turns driving while the rest slept. Aila didn't have that luxury, nor Ajax. She did feel bad for dragging him along, but at the same time, it was nice to have another voice in her head. Malia and Ajax kept encouraging her to keep moving, not that she needed it much when an angry mob of hunters were after her.

"Ajax, can you still see them?" Aila mind-linked him again. She swore by the end of this, her paranoia would be the one to kill her.

"I'm still with them. They have slowed down.."

"Good, it gives me a little break-"

Her stomach rumbled, interrupting her thought process. Usually, Aila could deal with a bit of hunger before she became grumpy, but she had run miles non-stop. This would be the perfect time to hunt while the hunters were still quite far behind her. It would give them time to catch up again also. 

Aila weighed the odds in her mind. But food was a necessity for her to keep going through the night. Letting them catch up for a while would give them renewed energy and leading them astray. With that in mind, she made her decision.

"I'm going hunting. Ajax, you should do the same," Aila murmured through the mind-link as she let her instincts slowly take over, and she started to sniff the ground at different scents. Ajax replied swiftly, and she knew he set off on his task. Almost instantly, Aila let Malia take the reins without a word said between them.

Aila has hunted once or twice herself, it was quite an exhilarating experience, but after running non-stop, she was in no mood to work for her food. Malia happily took the reins and could use her energy and clear mind to find their prey. In the meantime, Aila stayed vigilant in their surroundings. With Ajax hunting simultaneously, she needed to at least remain on guard while Malia hunted.

Malia roamed around the trees, picking up scents and following leads for their food. She preferred big animals like deer and elks, but they were unfamiliar with the area and if there were any nearby. Plus, they didn't have the luxury of time to hunt like a pro and take down such an animal. 

Instead, she chased after hares, which helped in releasing her energy, but was not so great for the wound on their back. The hares were agile, and the quick change in direction made Malia wince more than once. They knew where to run to escape the predator, so the first attempts at capturing their meal failed.

But after some time of following their rapid speeds of turning in different directions to keep up with them, Malia outwitted them and took a chance of guessing where they would go next. Instead of wasting more energy and causing her wound to stretch further and cause more pain, she stayed hidden, lying in wait for her food to walk right into her trap. In the end, Malia captured three hares and gobbled them up far too quickly.

She wasn't satisfied and wanted to feed on more, but they had stayed too long in the area. Malia had been engrossed in her meal and was now lying on the ground, panting to catch some much-needed rest after exhausting herself hunting. Her snout was covered in blood, making her look all the deadlier in her huge form. She stood up again and wandered to the stream and drank from the refreshingly cool water.

The sound of engines nearby made Malia's ears flick up and stop drinking as she raised her head once more.

"Aila, I can see you again. The hunters are catching up!" Ajax' panicked voice whipped across her mind. Malia let Aila have the reins once more, and she immediately started to run, following the stream down a slant in the woods and away from the road.

"That's it cut across the meadow, once you pass through the next set of woods, there will be a road follow the road on the opposite side until you come across some fields. Once you make it to the fields, you should be able to make a quick getaway from there," Ajax directed her. His voice was slightly strained, and after seeing the headlights of a nearby car casting shadows through the trees, Aila knew why.

They had really caught up this time.