The Hunt Begins"

"Shit."

The mutter came from behind me. A chair scraped against the floor a second later before the weird girl scurried around the edge of the room and disappeared through the door.

"I've got five hares out in the wooded area. They're marked from one to five...and all must be returned to me alive. I'm looking at you, Judas."

There was a snigger from the guys. I turned to see Wolf boy smile and lean against the back of his chair. He seemed proud of himself despite whatever happened.

"So, if you'll all make your way out to the cemetery, I'll give the signal, and you can have at it." 

I shifted my focus to Ms. Lucas herself. She was a little harder to read. I stared into her eyes, searching for that shine of silver. not Wolf and definitely not Vampire. Why all the animal stuff? I was a damn Vampire.

The thought of a mock hunt sounded terrifying.

I didn't hunt.

I didn't even mock.

I rang a damn bell, and food was delivered in a crystal glass.

Sweat broke out along the back of my neck as chairs scraped against the floor and the class rose in unison. I cut a panicked gaze to the doorway.

Maybe I could hide...

"Ms. Livingstone?" The teacher called, and I cringed.

I stood up and cut her a smile as I slid into step with the others and filed from the room.

A tremor rippled across my chest as they all turned left. I scanned the hallway to the right, desperate for some place to hide, and caught sight of a bathroom door. A place to hide for the duration of the hunt, and no one would notice.

They'd be caught up in chasing bunnies, and me...Me, l'd stay out of sight.

One fast lunge and I left them behind, pushing the door aside and letting it close behind me.

The rush of water filled the bathroom. I stepped inside, catching the weird girl standing over the basin, water dripping from the point of her chin. She froze, lifted her eyes as I neared and seized my gaze.

There was an awkward moment until she murmured. "Don't like hunts either, I take it?"

That ache in my chest clenched tighter. "I don't know how to hunt. I guess that makes me the world's worst vampire," I murmured.

I didn't even know why I told her.

She wasn't my friend. But at this moment, there was almost an alliance as she straightened and turned off the tap. "I know how to hunt, and I suck. Unlike the Wolves, and those dicks who follow Judas' every command as their alpha. He might be hot, but he's a jerk.

So, I guess that makes me worse. Maybe we can scare the hares away and escape into the city." She laughed nervously.

I lifted my hand, catching the mark on the edge of my nail from cleaning my room. "I could sure do with a manicure."

She swiped the drop of water from her chin and smiled. You know, for someone weird, she wasn't half bad. A little makeup, tame her blonde hair, and she could be quite a stunner.

"Girls!" The teacher's voice cracked through the air from outside. I took a hard breath, and it was mirrored by the not—so—weird girl.

"I'm Mor." I reached out as she turned toward me.

She swiped a hand across her skirt and shoved it out. "Ava."

I grasped her hand in mine. Ava was a plain name, and I was sure that she had the look of a Demon, still, it was nice to know someone, even if she was a little strange. I dropped her hand and motioned toward the doorway. "I guess we'd better screw this up in the most spectacular way."

There was a twitch at the corner of her lips as she nodded. I followed her out of the bathroom to where Ms.

Lucas waited, arms crossed.

"The hunt waits for no man...or Vampire, Ms. Livingstone, or you, Ms. Blaine."

I focused on the teacher and followed the sounds of the others along the hall to the foyer. Running,

sweating, biting- all the things I wasn't into. I glanced down at my ring and sighed, Maybe I could find some shade and hide?

Hunting could be a spectator sport.

"I'll expect you to at least try."

Ms. Lucas called out behind us. "I'll be watching...everyone."

Ugh.

I shoved through the front doors to the academy and lifted my gaze to the hazy sun.

The faint taste of blood still lingered in my mouth. Having my food delivered to my dorm was a much better option than being outside.

The others surged forward, the boys jostled and shoved each other in a macho show, seemingly to linger around the jerk I'd bumped into in the dorm. Judas. He might be hot and pleasant on the eye, but that didn't make him less of an ass. And now I knew he was the alpha of their little pack.

The girls giggled and watched, following their every move. In particular, the one with raven hair falling to her waist. She eyed Judas, admired his every move, and when he caught her watching, he winked. Yep, the two were definitely an item, and I almost choked on the cliche of the Wolf and Cat leaders dating. Maybe this Academy wasn't that much different to Beverly Hills 90210 with the jocks dating the cutest cheerleaders.

The air suddenly changed. A different kind of hunger wafted toward me like the bitter stench of cheap perfume. One I couldn't shake.

I winced as the others disappeared between the trees. Leaves crunched under my sneakers as I followed, and the hazy brightness overhead faded. I followed a trail toward the fetid stench I smelled yesterday.

A goddamn cemetery.

They expected my kind to haunt these places, when in fact...we detested them. Still, we played to the scary monster routine that mortals expected from us...for the pact.

The pact was everything to the immortal races.

We learned from our past.

From the terror, from the stigma.

And now we were all about the future, cohabitation, such a dirty word. But we needed to blend in, needed to be at peace with our frail, time-sensitive companions. So, the pact was created, and it was through places like Betias Academy where we showed mortals, we were a new breed of hunters.

That we had control over our supernatural sides, weren't dangerous in society, and all the stuff that made humans feel better about living amongst us.

"Okay, class," Ms. Lucas called behind. "We've changed things up a little this time. The hares are marked with numbers one through to five, but that's not the only thing they've been marked with. I want you to hunt based not on what you see but on what you feel, and remember, out here, only the strong and the cunning survive."

"How is this supporting the pact?" I muttered. "I mean, I thought you didn't want us to be killers."

"That's where you're wrong, Ms. Livingstone." The teacher strode closer and then passed, cutting me a glare. "We want you to be better killers. To know your target and have better control over your instincts. What we don't want is for you to go out there in the world and just kill blindly and wantonly because you were never taught the skill of self-control."

I ground my jaw, muscles flaring as I lowered my gaze to the ugly ass skirt she wore. I'd teach her a little about self—control. I dressed to perfection, smiled, and laughed on cue. I was the epitome of self— goddamn-control.

She had no idea who she was dealing with.

All of a sudden, I understood that change in the air, that feral, primal scent that only grew stronger around me, and it wasn't cheap perfume.

It was strength. It was determination.

It was the kind of hunger that danced with desire.

The desire to win.

The desire to be the alpha.

Goosebumps danced across my skin. Pain flared, sharp in my mouth. I lifted my hand, finger probing my gums to find the thick fang. A jolt of energy tore through me like lightning.

Ms. Lucas pushed through the rusted wrought iron gates to where pale headstones covered the grounds.

But I no longer saw them.

I no longer smelled the old and gone.

I smelled the heady scent of Wolf and Vampire, and under that, I smelled food.

"Remember, what you see isn't always what you need to react to. Good luck, class."