The boy could have been no older than 10 years, and yet, he seemed to age a century as his bloodied face lost colour by the minute, turning a stony grey.
"Ah yes." Reynold harrumphed
"Our first quarry, Maia, would you be a darling and finish this for me, like you were meant to earlier. Remember?"
With that, her father picked up the silver knife and handed it to Maia.
"But it's just a boy, father". "Surely a young child couldn't have caused someone so much pain already." She pleaded.
Her father opened his mouth to speak, but is cut off as the Alpha arises once more. His forehead, that seemed to take the brunt of the fall by evidence of the huge bump that settled there, was bleeding a river.
"Take a stand my people, I will not allow these hunters to kill our young kin."
As if with newfound strength, the werewolves, still in human form, wrestled free from the captivity of the hunters and rallied behind the Alpha, poised to strike.
As the hunters and wolves stood against each other in the worst face-off man had ever seen, Maia's heart sank. She had grown up amidst the cold brutality of her father's world, but this was a cruelty she could not bear. Her hands shook as she held the knife, her gaze locked with the innocent eyes of the cub.
"Maia, do it," her father's voice commanded, cutting through the tense silence. "This is the price of loyalty."
She tensed, and in that moment, caught eyes with the Alpha, and could almost swear she glimpsed a hint of betrayal in his eyes, before it reverted to the cold steely look she had now known him for.
"You!", the Alpha bellowed.
"Whatever you do to that boy, I will unleash on you and your clan tenfold. Do not test our might, human."
"Big talk for a guy who just got his ribs rearranged." A hoarse ogre-like voice commented as Michael, the beefy man from earlier, walks to the front of the gathering of the hunters.
"Enough", Reynold demanded.
"Maia, you have him right there, just finish the job. These are beasts of the wild who would not think a second before tearing you to shreds. Just remember what you witnessed this night as a reminder for that."
Maia wanted to believe him, to follow his every word with utmost devotion, but deep within her, she knew this was not quite right. How could it be? It was too cruel. She looked at the Alpha once more. As usual, his distinct eyes pierced through her being, and within them, she felt a plethora of desires, a longing that seemed to have ached within her for thousands of years.
She studied him closely, and could almost swear that she saw a flicker of longing within his eyes, just like what she had felt. It seemed as though they felt the same connection to each other.
Maia hesitated, torn between her loyalty to her father and the stirring emotions awakened by the alpha. With a determined resolve, she lowered her weapon and stepped back, allowing the wolves to defend their cub. Around her, she could already feel the collective disappointment of her clan.
As the cub's safety was ensured, the Alpha wolf looked at Maia, his expression clouded with surprise, and in a short moment, anger.
"Do not think I would forget what you did here today!"
And with that, his entire pack morphed back into wolves and scampered off, leaving a bloodied battlefield and injured or disoriented hunters in their fray.
In the aftermath of the chaotic encounter in the forest, Maia's father, the formidable Hunter King, sought her out with a storm brewing behind his piercing eyes. They stood in the dimly lit confines of their rustic cabin, the air heavy with tension and the scent of damp earth.
"Maia," her father's voice was low, but each word carried the weight of his disappointment. "Explain yourself."
Maia braced herself, meeting his gaze with a mixture of defiance and resignation. She had anticipated this confrontation, yet found herself at a loss for words, her thoughts still reeling from the events of the day.
"I couldn't do it, father," she began, her voice barely above a whisper. "I couldn't bring myself to kill the cub."
Her father's brows furrowed in frustration, his jaw clenched with restrained anger. "You are a hunter, Maia. It is your duty to uphold our legacy, to protect our people from the threat of the wolves."
"I understand, father," Maia replied, her tone tinged with remorse. "But there was something... different about this cub. Something that stirred within me."
Her father's gaze softened, if only for a fleeting moment, before hardening once more. "Sentimentality has no place in the heart of a hunter," he admonished. "You must learn to steel yourself against such weaknesses, lest they cloud your judgment and endanger us all."
Maia bowed her head, a knot forming in her throat as she struggled to contain her emotions. She had spent her life striving to earn her father's approval, yet now found herself at odds with his expectations.
"I will do better, father," she vowed, her voice trembling with determination. "I will prove myself worthy of the title you have bestowed upon me, no matter the cost."
Her father's expression softened, a flicker of pride glimmering in his eyes before he turned and strode out of the cabin, leaving Maia alone with her thoughts.
As the weight of his expectations settled upon her shoulders, she knew that her path as a hunter would be fraught with challenges, but she refused to falter in the face of adversity.
For she was Maia, daughter of the Hunter King, and she would carve her own destiny amidst the shadows of the forest.
Nothing though, would have prepared her for what was going to happen the next day.