HUNTED

In the barn twenty meters from the cabin, Finn watched as the sun slowly descended from the heavens and hid its light behind the hills, darkening the sky to his first evening there awake. In his position tied up against the post, he still felt weak. Even with the wolfsbane slowly leaving his system, he was still leaning against silver. The silver weakened the body and still blocked him from his wolf; though its effects were not like the wolfsbane, it would only take a few minutes for his wolf to break through once more.

Finn leaned forwards, bringing his head and neck away from the silver post. He could not remove his body from it, but the least he could do was try to get as much of his body away from it. Finn grimaced as his neck seemed to stick to the silver slightly, but he pulled away quickly, only causing himself minor pain. He stared at the floor as his thoughts returned to Sariah.

It must have only been a few hours, but his mind seemed to go in circles. If he wasn\'t thinking about escaping and about his Luna, then his mind turned Sariah. She did not return to the barn since leaving it earlier, but Finn could hear her outside the doors. The huntress was keeping guard, exchanging pleasantries to other hunters who passed by. However, he noticed that there were not many who checked up on the barn.

He also noticed that there might only be four hunters, including Sariah. From what he listened to of the other conversations, they had no interest in seeing him or continuing speaking to Sariah. They deemed her unworthy of being a huntress and left her with the tedious task of guarding \'the mutt\'. He also tried listening out for Aila again, but she had been quiet since her earlier cry. He didn\'t know if that was a good thing or not.

Finn whipped his head to the side at the first sound of footsteps, and the doors to the barn slid open. Sariah\'s small frame entered, and she closed the doors behind her before continuing to his position on the ground. Sariah carried a water bottle and what looked to be a homemade sandwich wrapped up in cling film. While she eyed him, he eyed the sandwich questionably. Was she going to eat in front of him?

"You look really uncomfortable like that.. Here.." Sariah placed the bottle and sandwich in his lap and walked behind him. Finn blinked in surprise as he felt his restrained hands loosen and his body relaxed from the chains being removed from his wrists. Sariah dropped the chains on the floor and returned to sitting on a haystack at a small distance away, watching him warily.

"Thank you?" He replied in confusion. "Why.."

Sariah sighed, "I said I\'d help you in any way I can. You\'ve been in the same position for a few days.. Don\'t you want to move your body a bit?"

Finn couldn\'t help but look at her in disbelief before chuckling. He glanced at the opening of the barn, looking at the serenity of the valley. "You know.. I could attack you right now.. You haven\'t given me any wolfsbane, and you\'ve removed the last obstacle keeping you safe," Finn replied calmly, his eyes still set on the purplish, orange sky.

"If that were the case, you would have done it by now.." Sariah said confidently. Finn whipped his head away from the scenery, looking at the girl that sent his heart racing just by looking at her. "Plus.. I feel.." Her whisper trailed off, and a pink blush spread across her cheeks.

What did she feel? Finn wanted to ask but considering their situation, he didn\'t want her to feel awkward. She was doing a lot already for him. Instead, he planned to do precisely as she said and pulled away from the post. He hissed at the silver, leaving his bareback and went onto his hands and knees with a pant.

He could feel Sariah\'s eyes on him. "I\'m sorry.." She whispered sincerely. Finn looked at her before pushing off and standing tall, but his body was weak, and he stumbled slightly. Sariah jumped up and held his forearms, trying to steady the Delta. Finn looked down at her, trying to refrain from laughing, but he couldn\'t help it and chuckled. She was so small, and she was helping him to stay standing.

"Ahem, thank you, Sariah," He smiled at her and watched as she blushed again, removing her hands from his arms and looking away from him.

"I knew wolfsbane and silver was a werewolf\'s weakness, but I didn\'t expect it to affect you so much.. I mean.. look at you.." Sariah raised her hands at his body. Finn tilted his head to the side, raising a brow at her commentary.

"What about me?" He almost purred back.

Sariah bit her lip. "Well, you\'re a beast!" She exclaimed. Finn frowned at that; he was a beast? No, he was a werewolf.. Sariah waved her hand up and down around his torso area, "You\'re shredded!"

  A beast.. She was referring to his physique? Finn burst into a peal of laughter.

"Shhh!!!" Sariah somehow managed to cover his mouth with her hands. When he checked her body, he realised she had jumped up onto a haystack to reach his face. He glanced back at her face while her hands stayed clamped on his mouth, "They might hear you!"

Finn sighed and waited for her to remove her hand. When she did, he raised a brow at her. "Did you forget the part where I was a werewolf? I can hear if anyone is approaching the barn.." He smirked at her annoyed expression before turning his back to her and stretching his limbs.

"Oh! Does your back hurt?" She asked, peering around him.

"It will go.." He murmured, though he knew his freedom from the post would not last long. The other hunters would not leave him entirely. 

They were full of hate, and much like the guards in the compound, they would get bored at some point and return to him only to beat the living shit out of him. He would have to put up with it as well, otherwise killing them might cause issues.

He still didn\'t know where he was and how to get to and help Aila. But Sariah said she would help, and so far, she even went to lengths as such as letting him free from that post.

"You should eat and drink. Try and get your strength back.." Sariah interrupted his thoughts by holding out the water bottle and sandwich in front of him.

"Were these yours?" He asked, taking them from her small hands.

Sariah nodded, "But you need it more than me. I can just get some more from the car."

Finn sat down on a haystack, opening the bottle instantly and gulping down the contents. Sariah still kept her distance, only by keeping a spot in between them as they stared out at the view. Finn put the bottle down, half of it already empty and looked at her. "Why doesn\'t anyone come \'round this way?" He tilted his chin in the open door entrance to the barn.

"Oh.. erm.. Well, the land belongs to Clint; that area is off-limits. He is in charge of us. We are only resting here for a few days after the incident at the compound.." She replied as she continued to stare at the view of the valley. The sky was now dark, but the moon shone bright, illuminating the valley and the river that rushed through it.

Finn swallowed his first bite of the jam sandwich. Clint? That psychopath was here? Did he have Aila? "Does Clint have the she-wolf I heard earlier? Does he have Aila? Are you friends with Clint? Were you at the compound?" He asked, unable to hold back his questions, although he had much more swirling in his mind.

Sariah glanced at him with furrowed brows. "I know he has a werewolf, but I didn\'t get a glimpse at them. Clint is.." She shuddered, making Finn pause from eating and staring at her fearful face. Has he done something to her? He suddenly felt hot from the fury burning inside of him. "If he has your friend, then they are probably being tortured right about now.." She whispered. "And Clint is definitely not my friend."

"Has he touched you?" He growled. Sariah turned her head to look at him with widened eyes.

"No, I have only run into him a few times. He freaks me out, though and scares most people." She placed some of her hair behind her ear before meeting his gaze again. "And I wasn\'t at the compound. Clint called for assistance from the academy nearby.."

Finn dropped his sandwich, now wholly focused on her. "You said academy.. How.. How old are you?" He glanced at her wrist, searching for the Hunters Association tattoo, but he found none.

Sariah smiled gently. "I am 21. I \'graduated\' this year.. And the tattoo isn\'t a symbol of completing the academy but of your first kill.." She explained.

Finn nodded his head. When she said the academy, he wondered just how young she was, but 21 was fine. And now he also knew more about those tattoos, he presumed every hunter would have it, but this was not the case? "Are there a lot of hunters without the tattoo?" He asked curiously before picking up his sandwich and finishing it off. He was famished and only eating politely in front of Sariah. Otherwise, he would have stuffed his face by now.

"Most hunters have it once they graduate. We are put on a mission to test our skills.." She glanced at him nervously.

"Did you fail it then? Is the meaning of it to kill as many creatures or some shit?" He spat. Disgusted by the hunters\' ways once more, he remembered again how his old pack, friends, and family were dead.

Sariah gulped after reading his features. "I did not fail.." She whispered, "I was allowed to pass." She did not add any more, and Finn decided he didn\'t want to know.

This was ridiculous. Sariah was her mate but had a past with the hunters… He closed his eyes and sighed before staring at her intently. "Are you sure you want to help me?" He asked her sternly.

Sariah nodded her head, the determination apparent on it. "I do. I\'ve never agreed to the hunters\' beliefs.. None of it is right.."

"If you don\'t believe in any of it, then why are you with them?" Finn asked; his voice was a little terse, but he needed to know more about his mate.

Sariah chuckled without any amusement. "I didn\'t have a choice.. My family.. Anyway, not everyone wants to be a hunter. It is just expected of us," She said dryly.

Finn nodded his head, "I understand.. Chase said something similar.."

Sariah\'s eyes widened again, "Wait.. Chase Hunt!?"

Finn nodded again. Chase was infamous to the creatures for obvious reasons, but in the hunters\' world, he was probably looked upon as a hero, that was until he became a traitor.

  "You know theeee Chase Hunt?" Sariah exclaimed in excitement.

Finn chuckled in response, "If you come with me when I escape.. You can meet him.." Though he said it lightly, his chest tightened at the idea of Sariah getting excited over another man. Especially one who was on par with his own good looks.

"I still can\'t believe he switched sides.." Sariah smiled then frowned, "What do you mean come with you? I can\'t come with you.. I mean.." She looked down nervously, clasping her hands together, "Don\'t you hate me?"

Finn instantly reached his hand out and squeezed hers. "I can\'t hate you.. Why would I? You\'ve been nothing but nice to me, Sariah.. Come with me."