Travis POV
*The next night*
I could tell this year's hunt was already going to be a lot different. First, the snowstorm came through the night before dumping a full foot, then stopped early this afternoon. By the time the sun had set, it started to snow again, which isn't a problem for us since everyone's wolf has grown their winter coat for the season and our paws are specially designed for walking through the drifts.
The only one I was worried about was Nia, being a human from the city that's not used to this brutal country weather and not being located close to stores and shops since most of the homes out here are on their lot of land in the woods. I called her earlier to see if she needed me to get her anything before it got too bad outside but she said she had already done her shopping and was fine with waiting out the storm at home.
By the time 10 o'clock came around, the pack started going out back to shift and get used to the snow depth that came up to 2ft now. Luckily the last bit of the storm was passing through and only flurries were falling now. For the newly shifted pups, this was going to be their first Yule hunt, so they were going to lead in a separate group by Jesse while I and Garrett led the top hunters on a mission to take down a large bull moose whose scent Garrett picked up while out scouting yesterday.
Being my brother, you'd expect us to be more tight-knit but with our different ideologies about humans and the circumstances surrounding our mother's death, we both have grown apart in recent years. I've noticed that since her passing, he has kept communication with our father but part of me still hopes that some way we can find some common ground besides pack business, but I guess only time will tell.
Nia POV
When Travis called earlier to check on me, I couldn't help but feel all warm and giddy at hearing the concern in my mate's voice about my wellbeing. He even offered to come over and get me so that I could wait out the storm over at the packhouse with him if I didn't want to be alone right now but I politely declined.
It wasn't like I didn't appreciate the offer, it's just that I would feel more comfortable being introduced to the pack more formally at the feast instead of being a human that was just brought on the territory and staying in the same house as the Alpha. I told him that I stocked up on food and firewood along with making sure that the electricity was working. He also told me that if anything goes wrong or if I need help, to call him immediately and he would come over, which was comforting to know.
Right now I was just sitting in front of the fireplace sipping on some hot cocoa while wrapped up in a blanket thinking about how it would be sitting with my mate in front of the fire. From the way his touch sent shivers through my body, to the look in his eyes as he gazed into mine, I could only imagine that it would be one of those intimate moments only shared between true mates and that just made me wish he was here with me right now even more but I guess I'd just have to wait until after meeting the pack to reach that level of closeness with him, which I was fine with if it meant that it would help us form a deeper connection with each other.
Travis POV
It was now only a few minutes before midnight and as I made my way up to the Western Ridge, I could see that the snow had stopped and the storm was finished.
When I reached the high point, I looked up and saw the clouds parting showing the moon and letting its light shine through meaning now was the time. I filled my lungs with as much air as I could before I let out a loud booming howl across the land that was joined in by those of the pack meaning the hunt was on.
I took off back down to the bottom of the ridge where I could see that almost everyone except Garrett and our hunting group had gone off on their own. "Take me to where you found the scent and we'll start from there", I linked him before he took off with the rest of us following.
After a while, we arrived at the east woods, which had a lot of vegetation that the moose and deer around here like to hide in and eat. We all started sniffing around to see if we could pick up any scent but that would be a hard thing to do with 2 feet of snow on the ground, so we started looking for any broken or chewed branches as a sign the moose was here. We decided to split our groups into two so I took my group on the west side of the woods while Garret took his east and we would hopefully work our way in and catch him in the middle.
Most of my hunters were some of the best in the pack with years of experience so they should have been able to pick up any clues but like with many hunts, sometimes your prey outsmarts you and I was close to giving up on this mission until Garrett's voice came through the link.
"Travis get over to the northeastern corner of the forest we spotted him!"
"We're on the way!" I replied before taking off in that direction with my troop following close behind. When we reached their position, the scent grew stronger and was further confirmed when we saw the moose's large frame illuminated by the moonlight standing on the edge of some bushes looking for leaves to eat while occasionally looking around.
We made a plan where my troop would take him head-on while Garretts would flank him to cut off any escape.
After both our groups were in position, I waited for the right moment to attack and took it when he put his head back down in the bushes. I charged out across the field at full speed as best I could through the snow while my hunters ran alongside me ready to take down our prey. Once he raised his head back up and realized what was going on, he turned and took off in the opposite direction as we had predicted. Our only hope now would be that Garret's troop could tackle and hold him down until we caught up.
He disappeared out of our sight into a dark wooded area with some fallen trees, meaning it would be harder for us all to jump on him at once while having to navigate a bunch of obstacles. I was starting to think we might lose this target until I heard the moose let out a loud howling grunt of pain followed by barking and growls that meant Garret's troop was able to get him.
We got through the thick brush to see two wolves biting his legs while Garrett and another one both grabbed each side of his neck. I knew it was going to be up to me to go for the jugular but I had to be careful and make sure I went for it at the right time. If I misjudged and went in at the wrong time, it could mean either a broken jaw or death for me. A full-grown bull like this could do serious damage to even the most experienced hunter and can only be taken down by a strong pack.
"Travis, hurry up and go for his throat, we can't hold him much longer!" Garrett shouted through the link.
One of my hunters jumped on the beast back biting down on his spine while the other two each grabbed a leg making him fall to the ground. All I had to do now was get to his throat without being hit by one of his antlers.
I ran around to the front of him and when he turned his head trying to hit the other wolf with his antlers I jumped forward, opened my mouth then bit down hard with all my strength trying to keep my jaw clamped down on his throat until I felt him start to bleed into my mouth. After another minute of holding onto him, I felt his body weight start to sink into the snow and I thought for sure he was dead until somehow he managed to snatch one of his front legs out of the wolf's mouth and strike forward stabbing me in the chest with his sharp hooves.
The pain was so sharp and sudden that all I could do was bite down harder and twist until I heard a snap and finally he was dead. I pulled back with his blood dripping from my mouth and tried to stand until I felt that stabbing pain again in the right side of my chest. I looked down and saw that his hoof had slashed open my flesh to expose the muscle. Normally a werewolf's accelerated healing would start to work but this was a more serious injury that would require medical attention. I needed to get back to the pack clinic for treatment if I was going to make sure this wound healed the right way but that would mean a painful 5-mile walk back, which I knew would take twice as long since I was now injured and also having to walk through all this snow.
"Alpha, me and David will walk back with you until you reach the packhouse", my hunter Charlie offered. It wasn't like I would be in any danger walking by myself since all of these wolves were running around the territory and I was the biggest one out here but they would mostly be doing it to show care and support to their Alpha which is highly regarded among us, so I accepted their invitation.
On the walk back, I could feel the wound start to heal a bit but I knew that my constant moving wasn't helping it, so when we arrived at the clinic, the doctor had me shift back to my human form which was even more painful due to the injury. It took over 50 stitches to get everything closed up before she decided I needed to stay in the clinic overnight to make sure nothing came loose.
As I lay there in that hospital bed trying to get to sleep, one thing I noticed was that my brother didn't come by to see how I was doing. He didn't even send me a mind link to ask how I was feeling which was odd given the extent of my injury but I guess he went off somewhere with his mate since some of the pack decided to stay out on the land tonight and enjoy playing in the first snowfall of the season.
Hopefully, by tomorrow I would be in better shape to get back to work since it was a feast day and I had to make sure all the final preparations were taken care of to ensure that everything went smooth and also that Nia's first experience with the pack would be one she'd never forget.