Hunter & the Wolf
BREXLEY
“They hired me to keep the wolf away from them,” Hunter says, still keeping me dangling in the air. Little prick. The second he lets me go, I'm going to tear a new hole for him to breathe out of.
The twins are back to grinning evilly. I intend to teach them a lesson as well. Nullify their powers and beat the unholy faefucks out of them. The stench in here is near unbearable.
“Hunter, what the hell are you doing?” Red demands.
“I’m protecting our way of life, Red.”
“What the hell do you mean,ourway of life? I don’t understand.”
His face contorts with barely repressed rage. “Your grandma is more interested in helping humans than her own kind.”
I knew the boy didn’t like me, but I didn’t quite pick up on the fact he’s bigoted against humans and fae.
“This recipe she wants to unleash into the world, it will unlock powers for humans, but what about me, I mean us?”
He stepped right into that one. Hunter’s nasty side can’t be contained anymore.
“So this is about you needing more power? Like them?” she gestures to Hansel and Gretel.
“For you, too,” he urges. “Red, you have mage blood coursing through you, just like me. But we are imperfect, unexpressed. My father fired me from security because I’m a Level Two on the cusp of Level Three. He said I’m destined to spend my days working on a construction site, moving metal bars for minimum wage.” Anger twists his face. Sweat droplets pop out on his forehead. He’s having to work to keep a hold on me.
Red gasps. “Hunter, you are so much more than that. You are better than what he thinks.”
It pains me to see her try and comfort him. Her caring side won’t let him go on some level. Either he’s too embedded in her past, or she is really that good of a person. Either way, it rankles me. Hunter doesn’t deserve her consideration. He doesn’t deserve to lick the mud off her boots.
Neither do you, a nasty voice inside me whispers.
At the far side of the bar, there’s movement and a flash of banana yellow. Rap slowly creeps her way toward the twins. She may not have magic, but she wouldn’t approach unless she intended to inflict some damage. Retraining my gaze on Hunter, the twins and the tiny energy mage, I make sure not to draw attention to the sneaking bar owner.
Hunter is still going on. “Oh, I will be. After Hansel and Gretel tweak the magic of your grandma’s recipe, I'll be a Level Five. You could be too. It’s the recipe for power.”
I finally interrupt. “You really think the wonder twins here are going to share power with you? They murdered their own grandma for leverage. They are going to toss you as soon as they get what they want. Like the garbage they know you are.”
Hunter’s face turns purple, and my body drops a few inches. A Level Two mage can’t hold me forever. He's weakening the longer he holds me up. I’m counting the seconds.
Hansel takes over. “Well Red, looks like it’s time you give us what we want.”
“Or you become as hungry as we are,” Gretel promises.
“How do you like this?” Rap says, popping up from behind them, and smashing a skillet to the back of Hansel’s head.
The room explodes in activity.
Cinder and Goldie rush forward and attack the tiny energy mage, while Red goes straight for Gretel, kicking her in the stomach before she can do anything.
Hansel stumbles forward and Rap smacks him again with a resoundingThwang. The mage goes down like a ton of bricks.
Hunter loses his hold on me.
Red screams as Gretel unleashes her power.
I hit the ground running, tearing straight for the group of mages. The second I get in range I can nullify their magic and it will be quick work with them.
A loud groan precedes a nearby bar table dismantling. The metal bar rips right off the bottom of it. The steel bar flies across the room and slams into me. Red screams, and my vision goes black.
