Chapter 1: The Journey Begins

"KATE! IZZY!" Susanna called out in excitement. She rushed through the tent city; Maria was close on her heels. Kate and Izzy, twin sisters, looked back as Susanna caught up to her two best friends.

"Maria, you're coming, too? How exciting!" Izzy exclaimed, giving the little girl a gentle squeeze. "How ever did you convince your dad to let you come along this year? You know you’re still ten years away from your own hunt.” Izzy winked at Maria and kept her arm wrapped around the younger girl’s shoulders as they made their way through the tents, following behind Susanna and Kate.

“Daddy is not a problem,” Maria said primly as the other girls laughed. “We’re all going to share a room!” Maria added excitedly.

“Of course, we are!” Izzy agreed, “Who else would we have in our room, silly?” Izzy was Maria’s favorite of all the women in the Ellisvale tribe, Susanna excluded, and Maria was going to miss her so much if she found her mate and left during this hunt.

“What am I going to do if you leave, Izzy?” Maria lamented softly. “Who will sing with me when I’m sad and cheer me up when Susanna leaves me out?”

“You’re going to be just fine, squirt!” Susanna turned around and ruffled Maria’s hair as they all made their way down the road toward the wagons which were loading supplies for the journey to the hunt. “Who knows, maybe you’ll find a mate in the same tribe as us when it’s your turn!”

“Lord, I hope we all find mates together. I don’t know what I would do if we were in different tribes,” Kate complained. She was excited at the prospect of besting a hunter. Despite that, she thrilled at the thought of finding her mate. She wasn't sure she would care what tribe she joined when the time came. There was something to be said about teenage mating hormones that canceled out all other emotions, including reason. That, and Kate was a magnet for adventure. Leaving behind the tribe she had known her entire life sounded like the best kind of adventure she could possibly have planned.

“We’d be just fine, silly,” Izzy laughed, grabbing her twin’s arm as she ran toward the wagon her father was loading.

“Daddy!” Izzy called out, running up to the wagon and smiling widely when she met her father’s eye.

"There are my girls!" Richard called out as he swung his arms around all four of the girls, giving them a giant bear hug. He released them and looked down at them sternly, his voice clouded with a touch of disappointment, "I have bad news, my loves. I will have to leave halfway through the festivities on council business. I'll be gone for the actual hunt then will return at the final feast. Marcus will be there with you and will act as chaperone, but I regret I won't see you when you're caught." His eyes twinkled as he looked at the four girls, each one holding a special place in his heart. He saw a twinge of disappointment cloud Izzy’s eyes before it was quickly replaced with excitement.

"If we're caught," Kate corrected. While she secretly thought she wanted to be caught, the Hunt was as exciting to her as it was to the hunters coming after them. She had dreams of evading even the most skilled hunter. She would come out of the forest at the end of the 120 hours with no mate, victorious like very few omegas had been before her. Then, of course, she wouldn't be able to enjoy those mating hormones that she had clued into within the last few days, and she wouldn't be able to join a new tribe, but the thrill of the win might be enough to cancel the disappointment of going home after this year's Hunt. There was always next year, after all. She could rejoin the Hunt next June once she knew the identity of her mate. The battle raged within her, to be caught or not. The more she regarded the possible outcomes, the more she wanted to win.

"Oh my love, the Kreil are coming this year. I highly suspect many a young maiden with dreams of lasting through the full five-day Hunt will be caught much more quickly than even they anticipate. Kreil are natural trackers and are possibly the best hunters we've ever seen. But, sweet girl, I do think if anyone is capable of evading even a Kreil, it is undoubtedly you." Richard gave his oldest daughter a kiss on her cheek. His confidence in her abilities was apparent as he spoke with pride to her natural physical talents. Kate beamed at his praise, prancing around the wagon, checking the horses for the journey. Her affinity for animals was well known, a natural gift she had inherited from her father. She pulled on the girth and tightened the clasp, laughing as the animal shook his head disapprovingly.

“Oh, Smoky, you would do well to eat a little less grass on the journey north, it seems this girth is getting snug.” She laughed as she patted the horses’ rump and walked to the other horse to check their straps.

Izzy and Kate were twins, most people thought they were identical, but they were actually fraternal. Kate was slightly older than Izzy, by a full five minutes, and she threw that fact around whenever she could. Kate was the lover of the outdoors, camping, fighting, running, and most importantly, winning. Izzy was the daintier version of Kate. She preferred a book, a roaring fire, and a comfortable armchair in the library over anything related to the outdoors. Kate secretly thought that Izzy would get caught within the first thirty minutes of the Hunt if Izzy's mate was coming this year. Izzy was prim and proper, she was kind and cheerful, a mirror image of the mother that had died a decade prior. Richard looked at her with pride, knowing Amalie would be proud of the daughters they had created.

The girls had turned 18 in April and it was now June. They were officially old enough for their first Hunt. The Hunt was a three-week festival that happened every June. Every tribe in the Shifter Kingdom was mandated to send their unmated adult shifters to the Hunt. It was here, and here alone, that an alpha shifter was able to find and claim their omega mate. Claiming and marking outside of the Hunt was punishable, not by death, they weren't savages, but definitely by public humiliation and demotion within the shifter ranks. To be able to control yourself and your baser desires was the highest quality a shifter could obtain.

"What do you mean, the Kreil are coming this year?" Susanna asked in curiosity. "Don't they always come?"

"No, the Kreil are a tribe that lives in the far southern stretch of our kingdom, beyond the mountains. The trail takes them much longer, so they typically come to the Hunt every two or three years. Their omegas are sent with other neighboring tribes to appease the council rules," Richard added as he saw the question in Izzy's eyes.

"So, the Kreil are the ones to beat, is that what you're saying?" Kate asked with a mischievous smile. It sounded as though she had been personally challenged to best a Kreil. She briefly wondered what she would do if her hunter was a blubbering, inept fool. No, fate would not be so unkind to her, she thought. Her hunter would be swift and clever, someone worthy of besting.

"So they say," Richard replied with a laugh. His eyes twinkled knowing where his daughter's thoughts had strayed. He hoped, for his own sake, she was not mated to a Kreil as the journey south was long and arduous. As he considered the possibility of a mate for Kate, he realized a Kreil was the only tribe that made sense for his feisty daughter. She would grow bored of anyone less intense. Only perhaps a Ranger could have been a better fit, but they had died out decades prior, there were no longer Rangers in the shifter kingdom of Elail.

Richard walked around the wagon, checking the supplies and packs. He was determined not to forget anything. "Have you all packed everything you need? There are many events-" Richard asked the girls, his eyes watching every reaction.

"Yes, Daddy, don't worry, I checked every trunk twice, we are ready for every event!" Izzy said interrupting her father, the excitement overwhelming her voice as she rattled off each of the events and dresses that she and Kate had packed. She proceeded to grill Susanna and Maria about their trunks and finally determined it was best she just check their trunks herself to make sure they hadn't forgotten anything. She climbed in the back of the wagon and proceeded to do just that. She opened Susanna’s trunk and rifled through the dresses, mentally checking off each event that Susanna would wear them to and checking for appropriate accessories to match.

"Suse! Don't forget your mother's diamond necklace, you'll want to wear it to the ball, that's likely where you'll find your mate and he will make his claim on you as his prey," Izzy wiggled her eyebrows laughing as she did so. Susanna rolled her eyes but made a note to go back and grab the necklace. Izzy was right, she did want to make the best impression. Not to mention, if she did get caught, she'd like to take it with her to her new home.

An hour later they were ready to go, just on time as the rest of the tribe's caravan was getting ready to pull out of town and make the two-day journey to Castle Rouge, the center of tribe Romula, where the Hunt would take place.

"We are ready to go, Daddy! Everyone's trunks are packed to perfection!" Izzy exclaimed with glee. She clapped her hands twice in excitement then jumped up on the wagon, settling in the front seat next to her father, Richard. Kate climbed in the back and sat next to Maria and Susanna while Marcus, Susanna and Maria’s father, rode on his horse next to the wagon. The wagons slowly pulled out of town in a single file, tribe hunters rode along the outer edge of the caravan to keep a close eye out for raiders and the caravan made their way out of the village.

As they passed the last house and made their way through open plains, a hunter rode up to their caravan, smiling at Izzy sitting on the seat of the wagon as he did.

"Hey, Iz!" Ethan called out cheerfully. He had always carried a torch for Izzy. To be fair, most of the town did, her infectious laughter and joy were enough to win any party over to her side. Pair that with her cascading golden locks falling in waves down her back and her clear blue eyes and she was easily the prettiest girl in her class, very likely in their entire tribe. Her childlike innocence gave her an air of pure, unadulterated innocence and joy. You could not find a better beacon of hope. She drew people to her, despite preferring the solitude of a library and the friends found within pages.

"Ethan!" Izzy called out, waving as she turned in her seat to face him.

"Hey, Ethan!" Kate called from behind Izzy.

Susanna chimed in as well, knowing Ethan likely didn't hear the two friends’ greeting in the back seat, "Hi, Ethan!"

Ethan proceeded to ignore Kate and Susanna, his rudeness unintentional as his focus was so intent on Izzy that he didn't even realize he was being addressed by anyone else.

"Isn't this exciting?!" Izzy called out to him. "I can barely contain myself!" Izzy bounced lightly in the seat, the change in weight causing Richard to slide ungracefully against the edge of the seat. He turned toward his daughter and gave her a stern look.

"Sorry, Daddy," Izzy said meekly, "I just can't help myself!" She gave him a sweet kiss on the cheek as she turned back to Ethan. Richard chuckled; all had been forgiven long before Izzy had even spoken.

"Are you on patrol, then?" Izzy asked Ethan happily.

"Indeed, I am. That's why I stopped to speak with Marcus and Richard," Ethan turned to Richard, remembering suddenly why he had ridden over. He looked at Richard over Marcus' horse. He lowered his voice slightly, enough that Izzy didn't overhear him as she turned to survey the rest of the trail ahead. Kate and Susanna, much more observant of their visitor, were able to pick up on the basic gist of the conversation as they pretended to be searching for a bag under their seat.

“There have been raids along this path the last few weeks. We’ve been warned by a rider from Romula that we are to take extra care and keep a keen eye out for any attacks that may come our way,” Ethan said in a low voice, glancing between Richard and Marcus. He knew that the two men would protect their daughters with their lives, but goddess-willing, it wouldn’t come to that. The raids were never fatal, merely frightening.

“How many raids in the past few weeks?” Marcus asked, glancing around the flat plain that spread as far as he could see. They would come upon forests later in the day.

“Four that we’ve heard of, possibly more that went unreported. Nothing is taken, no one is hurt, it’s all quite curious,” Ethan said as he glanced between the men.

“We likely won’t have any trouble for now, we would see them coming three days off,” Richard muttered glancing around the caravan. The ground was flat and bare, there was no where to hide.

“Indeed, I suspect when we reach the forests ahead we will need to be more vigilant. We will camp at the regular spot by the river and the waterfall then reach Castle Rouge by nightfall tomorrow,” Ethan said, surveying the trail ahead as the caravan slowly proceeded forward.

“Thanks for the warning,” Marcus nodded to Ethan. He nodded and waved goodbye before riding off to talk to another wagon.

"There are raiders along this road, Suse," Kate whispered to Susanna as soon as Ethan had bid farewell and ridden back toward the back of the caravan, keeping a watchful eye on the processional.

"Well, that is an adventure we weren't expecting, now isn't it?" Susanna replied to Kate with a twinkle in her eye, excited that their mundane lives in Ellisvale were quickly turning into one great, exciting adventure.