Suddenly, a twig snapped behind me a small distance away, scaring me out of my thoughts and alerting me of someone's presence coming closer. Whipping my head around, my senses perked and my eyes searched the greenery for any signs of the hunters. Ears alert, I heard the faint whispering of a man, confirming my thoughts.

"You think we are still on the right track of finding it? The dogs are useless this far into the woods since it hid its scent... it may have even vapori-"

"Christopher be quiet! It should be around here somewhere," an annoyed, frustrated voice hushed.

I'm it.

Their voices made me want to shoot them straight through the heart with my arrows waiting at the Den. I wanted to see the blood spill from their wound as they experience a quarter of the pain mother had to endure.

Another twig split further to the left this time making panic flit through my system and picking up my pace towards the waterfall only a few leaping bounds away. So two of them had come from what I could decipher without their mutts and horses like I predicted. If only no one had followed me this far this would've been much more enjoyable. I was hoping they'd get lost in the Charmed Forest since they never come in this deep... Realization hit me like a brick. If they haven't come this far into the forest I shouldn't have led them to Hollow Falls where our pack sometimes goes to drink because they might not have known about it. Which also means they may come here more often seeing another water source other than the creek and waterhole in Pine Meadows ... Stupid, stupid me. Hearing the footsteps of my pursuers louder and feeling the ground move more, I quickly covered the last few strides and rocketed my body at the falling wall of water with as much strength as I could muster, using my bad leg as well.

Freezing water pelted down on my back for a split second, drenching my fur to my body before my paws landed clumsily on the hard rock ground of the cave. The scent of stale, unmoving air greeted my nose as I softly padded to the back of the hollow a few meters from the mouth of the cave. Water droplets hung from the ceiling and walls, dripping onto the hard ground making it slippery to walk on. My body felt like a hundred pounds with all the water occupying my fur making it very difficult to hold back yelps of pain as extra weight pressed onto my leg. Collapsing against the rock wall, sopping wet fur drenched my wounded body as I sat with my side pressed against the hard, back of the cave.

My heart thumped hard in my chest, so hard I could feel its beating against my ribcage. Sitting with my side pressed against the cave wall, the coolness of the rock seeped into my skin sending a chill through my body as I tried to keep the weight off my bad leg. Quickly looking down to examine my painful wound, I tried to keep my hushed breathing even as I saw gushing, terrifying blood layering my fur. My white fur sprouting from my leg was coated to my paw in red liquid as the inch hole spilled out dark, hot blood. Dried blood cluttered around the edges of the wound, making it look horrid and lumpy in appearance.

"Hey Mark, I think I saw it jump into the waterfall, we should check it out," A man who I assumed to be the owner of the name Christopher, called out. Curiosity shone through his words sending fear streaking through my system as I hid behind the waterfall. I would for sure be dead if they came even close to the tumbling water that obscured their view of my battered, dirty, injured form. More sticks breaking around the edge of the trees rose the anxiety threatening to make me cry for the help of my pack. The two hunters had entered the lagoon.

I could only hope my pack bought Accalia's story and wouldn't try to come and save me anytime soon seeing they would have little chance with the hunter's technology on their side. If Father had seen through Accalia's lies and forced the truth out of her, they'd be panicking and come after me. Reaching out with my mind, I tried to find the familiar mind link to communicate with my pack. Dread overcame me like a cheetah pouncing on a gazelle as I realized how the hunters outnumbered me greatly and I couldn't reach any of the pack's minds since they were too far away. A small painful cry escaped my throat before I could catch myself as the thought of dying here alone crept through my mind.

Squeezing my eyes shut, I strained my ears to hear any commotion my whine might have caused. If my mistake of letting my emotions get to me resulted in getting killed, I would never forgive myself. Then again, I wouldn't be alive to forgive myself.

My heart suddenly jumped wildly in my chest as the extremely faint presence of a Charm wolf entered the lagoon. Yet I barely felt the Charm pulsing through the being that a regular Charm wolf had. The presence barely had any Charm pulsing at all. Alarm rushed through me as I pushed on the presence with my mind to tell it to run. It didn't respond. Confusion wafted through me as the presence didn't react to any of my actions nor try to reach me. Had I mistaken myself? Were my instincts wrong? Surely it wasn't a Charm wolf.

"Well if you don't stop talking so damn loud! Maybe, it will still be in the area and we can capture it," Mark seethed, clearly angry at Christopher for not being stealthy enough to not be heard by me. A flash of relief eased my racing heart slightly as they hadn't heard my slip of a whine. "Since Drake prefers all Charm wolves brought to him alive, we need to sneak up on this thing so it can't run away, then we can net it and viola... Charm wolf served," Mark said quieting down near the end, signaling the end of the conversation.

Mother's bloody, battered body flitted through my eyes hurling a fearful spike at my heart. I didn't dare breath for the chance they'd hear over the roar of the waterfall. I could not put my family through the torture of experiencing that again. I could not let the hunters capture me. I refuse to do so. I would fight to my death... or whoever's came first.

"How do you even know it is a Charm wolf? Maybe we are going through all this hassle for nothing and it is just a regular wolf that ran off. We are putting too much effort into this, I say we go back," Christopher said loud and clearly over the roar of the falls, easy for me to hear even passed the crashing water. An outraged yell of the other man penetrated my ears making my cringe into the wall even further, my throbbing, bloody leg helping push me away from the hunters that meant my death.

"One, the golden wolf beside it evaporated meaning they had some kind of relation, two, the hounds had no scent to follow, three, it ran faster than a normal wolf and four, DO YOU NOT HEAR ANYTHING I SAY YOU EMPTY HEADED MORON!?" Mark bellowed. "You are supposed to be quiet, so the BLOODY THING CAN'T HEAR!" His words dripped with venom, raising his voice to get his reasoning clear. Little did they know, their so dearly wanted prize was right under their greedy noses.

With my heart threatening to beat right out of my ribcage, I urged it to settle down. It felt as if they'd be able to hear my heart erratically beating through my ears. With the rocks digging into every part of my body, I prayed they would give up their search and leave so I could collapse right here and tend to my wound. I don't know how much more blood loss I could handle before I would pass out. I could already feel my head getting lighter and lighter, while my body felt weaker by the second. I wouldn't even be able to physically escape if I wanted to. I wasn't in good enough condition for it.

"You both need to shut it. Chris was borderline, but Mark, c'mon you just alerted the whole bloody forest. Any chances we had of finding it are gone now. One of our men already ditched back to Avalin because they think it is a normal wolf and that six men shouldn't go after it. In other words, I agree with Chris, we should call it off," a stiff, irritated voice shocked me as I realized I hadn't heard another person with them. Obviously there were more hunters here than I thought, six had come out of the brush at East Point View. The one the new voice talked about must have gave up at the border of the forest... Why was I so surprised anymore would have stopped when they thought a Charm wolf was going to be their prize? "Eh Wesley, what do you say?" the guy asked, offering to hear 'Wesley's' opinion.

"I'd say we call the search off." Wesley stated simply. I tried to keep down the flash of hope that prodded my mind, serving as a light at the end of my tunnel. Calling the search off meant I'd be able to get back to the Den safely. "It is probably long gone by now from you folks bickering and the mutts always stay off the land on our side of the creek during daytime. We got lucky two wandered onto East Point View so early in the morning since that has never happened before. At least all this confirmed our special mutts are still on this land after all. I say our game is done for today until night when they come out so I'd say we head home. We have something to tell Drake." Fighting down the small spark of hope that soon turned into a tiny flame, relief washed through me like a river as happiness took over my mind. Mentally, I forced the joy down and pushed it into the back of my mind again. I would not let my emotions influence or accidently make me make a sound that could alert the hunters of my where about when we were so close to them leaving. I mentally begged for them to call the hunt off.

Only a few more minutes and I could relax.

"We can't just give up on this! We have it right under our noses! I bet it is hiding in this lagoon. Someone should check by the waterfall, I coulda swore I saw a body of white disappear into it," Mark claimed, stealing Christopher's idea. The hairs on the back of my neck raised as my lips pulled back into a snarl at his words. I did not like Mark. He was too keen on capturing me, his commitment was impenetrable.

"I think you had one too many drinks last night and you're still a wee off. Wolves simply do not disappear into a waterfall. How bout we compromise on this situation like mature gentlemen and have someone stay in this area for the day with some ammunition, tranquilizers, a net, and a bit of first aid since that wolf can easily take a chunk out of you. That way if whoever stays, finds it, we still have our magic mutt. If nobody finds it, then you owe me a beer, Mark," the unnamed man suggested with a smile playing on his words.

I had gained some gratitude knowing the hunters considered me a dangerous enough threat to have first aid close by. Yet if it was up to me, they'd be too dead to fix themselves up.

After analyzing their few exchanges of words, my flame vanished as this meant someone would still be searching for me.

Someone would find me.

Murmurs of agreement passed through the lot of men making my last bit of hope smothered miserably. It was much like a small ember getting drowned in an ocean.

"I'll stay. I want to find that damn mutt more than any of you anyways, I ain't losing that beer," Mark piped up quickly. Laughter met my ears as the men seemed amused with Mark's attitude and dedication to finding me. I swear if he stayed I would muster up the strength to tear him apart slowly and painfully, watching every drop of blood leave his pathetic body.

"I don't think that is reasonable considering you're kinda blood thirsty over it and might accidently land on your own knife," Wesley chuckled earning a few deep rumbles of laughter from the group of hunters.

"Oh shut it Wes. Kenneth why don't you stay? Earn your beer," Mark quipped, the challenge clear in his words.

It was quiet for a few moments as 'Kenneth' muddled over the thought, "I don't feel like getting eaten by a bear out here. I don't know the area to be comfortable enough in order to stay a whole day. Thanks, but no thanks." So the unknown voice all this time belonged to Kenneth.

Unclear mumbling was all I heard as the hunters decided and threw people under the bus as to who should stay. All the while I could feel my eyes drooping shut and blackness hovered behind my eyes ready to take over. Fighting my eyes open, I tried to keep my mind clear of the hazy fog that settled over my mind, concentrating on the shearing pain in my leg to keep me awake. As I quietly waited to hear their decision, I could slightly put together who was here: Christopher seemed the youngest out of the lot with his inexperience of hunting our kind... or hunting in general with his lack of stealth, Mark seemed like the temperamental one who would do anything to get a wolf killed and/or captured, Wesley seemed like one of the leaders of the group seeming his decision tilted the scale one way while also being more the humorous one and lastly, Kenneth was the leader who made the final decision and had the guts to call out people. Thinking back to the hill when the six hunters had burst through the brush, the rider on the blazing black horse came to mind.

Kenneth must have been the one riding it. Dead set on killing me. Although I would make sure to stay clear of all hunters even more so after this interaction, I made a mental note to steer clear of the bloodlust Kenneth who was after my pelt and Charm.

Kenneth also mentioned how one man left back to Avalin, so that would leave five hunters left yet only four have spoken....

What I really wanted to know was who this 'Drake' was they had mentioned earlier. The hunters talked as if he was important and called all the shots. Was he the leader of the hunters? Was he the man who killed mother? At this thought my stomach churned and the idea of revenge drifted through my mind causing my fear to subside momentarily and abruptly change to fury.

After a few minutes of the hunters mulling the idea over, a new voice spoke up that shocked me. The faint presence I had felt earlier hit me like a ton of bricks as a rich, deep, velvety tone made my ears perk, heart stall and my hazy mind slightly wake up as his voice.

"I'll stay," the presence said stiffly. His voice was like the most mesmerizing thing I've heard that had an enticing, rich, deep tone that captivated my attention and sent my heart fluttering. Bracing myself on the rock, I slightly leaned forward, trying hard to peer through the waterfall and see the person who belonged to this captivating voice. A movement of the hunters made me fall back against the cold rock, afraid of being spotted and killed.

Despite my dangerous current situation, my mind couldn't help but wander to those two words that sent shivers soaring down my spine and warming my terrorized heart. His voice took away a small portion of fear that was eating me alive. Made me feel somewhat secure despite having hunters within killing distance.

I hated it. What was wrong with me?

I had never had this... secureness before other than with my family and had no idea of why I was reacting to him this way. Not only did he make my mind and body respond unnaturally, but as soon as he entered the lagoon I could feel his presence in the area, not just hear him.

Shock and fear exploded through my system as I forgotten what he was.

A hunter. He wasn't a Charm wolf in the slightest and definitely couldn't be a half breed since he'd need much more Charm in his system; I'd be able to feel it also. Had the hunters developed a device that made Charm wolves act this way towards it? Have they advanced their technology so much already?

Staring harshly at the shining, roaring water crashing into the large pond, I couldn't believe the thoughts I had been thinking about him. I had momentarily felt safe by just hearing a hunter speak. Someone who was here to kill me. Skin me alive and impale me through a spike for my loved ones to see.

Trying to rid myself of those thoughts and feelings, I slightly shook my head and reminded myself his purpose here. He would take me back to 'Drake' and I would have my eyes gouged out, to never be able to see again. Everything that happened to Tala. Everything that happened to mother.

Yet... he seemed different.

"You're the one who said the magic mutts weren't even here anymore bud. I think even if you found it you'd nurse the mutt back to life since Wes nicked it and then run off with it," Kenneth joked playfully nudging the strange aura with his shoulder from my poor point of view. My leg seemed to throb at the words that came out of Kenneth's mouth. Wesley was the one that 'nicked' me? Or in other words, shot a polished bullet into my leg to help slow down my get away and catch me? He was the one that caused this terrible fate to befall me. I didn't like Wesley. Secondly, how would that strange hunter know if our pack still lived here or not? He had no way of knowing that, nor proving so. However, they knew we were still here and that sent a jolt of fear puncturing my thrashing heart. They had stayed in Avalin this long, they had to know somehow we were still here. However they tracked us, was that the way they tracked Mother and Father?

Silence met his remark.

"I think he is our best bet. Maybe he'll attract it with his dashingly good looks and sweet talk that woos the girls in Avalin," Wesley grinned, trying not to laugh at his own small joke.

"Or maybe he'll take it home for a pet and name it Fluffy!" Christopher piped up immaturely which sent the hunters over the edge into a pit of laughter. I scrunched up my nose at his unentertaining joke. They think that is humorous?

Unarticulated words were heard once they quieted down and I think I heard a 'cheer up' and a 'stay here' somewhere in there. A deep chuckle pushed its way passed the intriguing aura's lips as they teased him, which sent butterflies erupting in my stomach and relaxing my alarmed mind. Seeing my mind trail back to the hunter after just recently scolding myself, I forced myself to picture him plunging a knife through Accalia's golden furred chest. Anger suddenly burned through my system at the thought, successfully getting my mind to focus again.

"Good luck. I've not a doubt in my brilliant mind you won't be able to bring it home so I get a beer!" Kenneth cheered. The blurry silhouette of a hand waving in a dismissive manner caught my eye as the hunters left the surrounding mist that hung around the trees of Hollow Falls.

The same pure, comforting, reassuring voice cut through the waterfall and bounced off the cave walls into my ears as he gave a small gesture of his hand to signal a goodbye.

"As long as you split it with me! In no time at all I'll be riding majestically into Avalin with that white wolf strapped to my black beauty, Nightmare. That Charm wolf won't get away from me a second time," his voice hissed near the end as I heard a gun being cocked.

Heavy pounding thuds of my heart stopped cold in its tracks at his words.

The safe, assuring feelings his voice made me feel, the innocent presence that radiated from his body, the butterflies that fluttered wildly in my stomach caused only by his laugh; all were ripped savagely apart as I realized he was the rider of the black mustang. He was the one set on killing me.

He wanted me dead.

My heart suddenly kicked into high speed and resumed its previous actions of beating rapidly inside my ribcage that threatened to shatter. Icy chills creeped along my neck, raising my fur in an alarming manner. Harsh pants rushed passed my lips in an erratic rhythm of terrified breaths. How did I think he was different from the other hunters? If anything, he was worse and wouldn't hesitate to drive a knife through my chest to spill the Charmed blood coursing through my veins. This man was here for my Charm and thick pelt under the command of another.

The command of Drake.

Hatred for this man boiled in my body for corrupting such an... fascinating man. Unless, he was on this mission of capturing for his own sake. Unless, he wanted to drive the stake through my body.

Shuffling of feet outside the cave brought my attention back from my thoughts as the hunter made himself comfortable on the grass. Swishing my fluffy, dirt filled tail over the dull grey rock, I settled it on my bleeding leg in a protective manner. Closing my eyes, I winced as the high pitched sound of a blade being sharpened penetrated my mind.

Sharpening the blade he was going to use to puncture my breast.

Each swipe of the blade-on-blade sent a jab of terror streaking through my heart and seizing hold of it. It was like each slice of the blade caused the invisible grip tightened more and more, making my breathing shallower every time I tried to suck in a wheezing breath. How did I let this happen? How could I think those things about a hunter? Why did my heart stutter for a hunter? Even if it were mere thoughts, I felt things no wolf or person should feel towards a hunter. A hunter! Someone who brutally murdered my mother and were out for more.

Out for me.

Panic overwhelmed my mind like a cat finally catching a mouse as black blotches slowly, threateningly wafted into my vision. A strange buzzing sound resonated in my ears, blocking everything out but the now muffled roar of the waterfall pounding onto the fresh pond. I could not fall unconscious here, not with the hunter so close to finding me. Not with him so close to killing me. My vision blurred in and out as I forced myself to keep my heavy eyelids open, my head weighing as light as feathers as I dizzily bobbed it around trying to focus on my leg; the source of my unstableness. As I tilted my head to get a better look, I undoubtedly noticed the large amount of dark blood pooling under my leg that had poured from my body. A menacingly low growl escaped my lips as the thought of the bullet lodging itself in my leg passed through my mind. The sudden blaze of pain that seared up my leg so quickly like lightning striking the ground. If they hadn't shot me I wouldn't be here stuck in this cave. I wouldn't be waiting for a hunter to find and capture me to bring me back to an awaiting Drake.

I wouldn't be waiting for the hunter to find me.

With one last look at the blurred silhouette sitting purposefully on the grass outside my hidden cave, blackness sucked me under as I fell unconscious and the pain in my body subsided to the high pitched sound of a knife being sharpened.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Picture at the top is of 'Father' who is also known as Cassian, Dawn's dad.

*So, I decided to update instead of waiting until Wednesday because of something important....

I have 125 followers!!! Agh Mah Gahd I'm so happy!!!!!!

So thank you to all of you who have followed me, you have made me one happy happy happy lady :3

For this, if I could I'd dedicate this chapter to all of you, but sadly I can't. You all deserve it :(

Anyways, I did dedicate this chapter to HannaWhitfield for being one of my first followers, commenters and voters! It is very much appreciated :)

Another thing I'd like to mention is how I have 144 reads on my story so far :D I am really surprised and the comments I am receiving are leaving me speechless because I did not expect this kind of feedback.  You girls/guys are really making me want to update faster and write more xD  I now understand others when they say followers and comments really are and inspiration and boost your dedication to post/write!

Lastly I'd like to say how overjoyed I am I have 31 votes total on this story!  

Sorry for the long author's note...

Bye my lovelies :*

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