Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Ryker

I grab Liam by the shoulder halting his actions, “I’ll take care of it.” I stroll up to the female and stare her down waiting for any inkling of weakness from her. Her reception has been anything but welcoming and this would only be the beginning.

Nothing, I do not pick up so much as an increase in heartbeat. Her resolve is rock solid, and she proves me right, a fact that greatly pleases me. The moment she stepped in I feared for her, but then when her gaze didn’t falter from Ezra’s death glare, I pinned for her.

The faded hope within me came aflame once again and she was the spark that ignited that flame. I will be her support and protection if no other will. I thought that this may be divine intervention, an attempt to correct an injustice.

My trusted aid Morris approaches and greets me with a downwards nod of the head, a sign of respect to higher-ranked Hunters. Miss Alessia is our first female Hunter, she is a new recruit. Take her to work in the cells and have her lodge with the other new recruits.

She looks me over quickly before turning to follow Morris. Her eyes are stern and unwavering as they take in everyone around her with caution. Rightfully so, she will not find a single friend among the Hunters. I cannot see any embracing her, but I hope the young inexperienced Hunters might be more accepting.

…

It had been nearly two weeks since the female joined our order and to my complete amazement, I had not heard a single complaint. Not from the trainers, not from the cell knights and nothing from her lodge mates.

My body breaks out in cold sweat as I start imagining the worst. The creatures in the cells have already eaten her, the recruits locked her up somewhere and left her to starve or worse she is being molested by the instructors and used for sports.

My body springs to action and I start making my way to the training grounds with great haste. How could I have been so lacking in my protection of her, I had meant to keep her safe knowing if things are to change that she would be the start of that change.

I had been completely consumed in my work with the upcoming raids and preparation that needed to be made that I had forgotten the future that is to come after.  Rushing past the gardens in the recruit block I see them perfectly tended to.

Stone paths swept clear of dust and leaves, bushes and flowers trimmed and pruned. It has never looked this good. I see some newly placed benches sprayed about under cover of large trees, this looks better kept than my own residence. The task of grounds keeping has scarcely been obeyed by the recruits as they thought it beneath them.

I see Morris making his way to me, “Morris, where is the female, what the hell is going on here? Why do I not hear the creatures and why do I not see any training? Where are all the instructors? I survey the area frantically, absorbed in my need to find Alessia alive and well.

“I believe most of the men are washing up, we have finished training and are about to prepare dinner.”

My face contorts in confusion, “Bathing and cooking?”

“Yes.” Morris answers with a shy blush burning his cheeks. “Alessia says we stink after training and that food must be properly prepared and not just burnt on fire. Food cannot be properly prepared when sweat from our brow drips onto the produce.”

What the fuck is going on here? Has she tamed the young Hunters so easily? Is it because she is older? Is it because of her mesmerizing beauty? My god, has she seduced them?

“And the cells?” We have captured creatures in the cell to help guide us to nests, we are forced to keep them alive and well until the next raid. The task is dangerous, the creatures never stop their screams and the stench is vile. We have the new recruits tend to them and stay close to the cells for exposure.

On their first raid, we cannot have them cowering in fear from the screams of the unknown. They need to see, hear and smell what it is we are fighting against and what better way to teach them, than having them tend to them daily?

“Well…it is hard to explain. The lady went into the cells for duty, we had her assigned to the creatures on the second day. She went in and then a deafly silence followed. She cleaned the entire day. The former smell washed away, the creatures fed and silently resting. They now only scream in the morning for food.”

Morris’s eyes look to mine, admiration shining in them for the female hunter. Did he call her lady? I fold my arms over my chest and lean against the tree to my side in waiting. I raise a brow and he gets my meaning, preparing to explain further.

“The recruits and instructors all reside here, none have had a proper night’s sleep since arriving, some years past. We all felt so grateful but then she would not eat our food, she said, dogs eat better. They laughed at her, but then the creatures started again. For two days they screamed, after the small relief from constant noise we could not bare the sleepless nights again. The men went to her and begged, she said nothing, simply stood and left them there begging on their knees. Still the screams continued. Then Kade suggested we make a proper dinner, his grandmother taught him as a child.”

Kade is aid to Ezra, a man he picked himself. Kade had shown great potential with a spear and his strength far surpassed the other recruits at the time. Morris had a fool’s smile every time he spoke about Alessia.

“And then what?” I ask.

“She came to the hall, where we all waited. She entered and inspected the food. After a few seconds she left, we all felt lost.” Morris has a solemn look on his face, the pain still fresh in his heart.

“We sat looking at the meal, appetite lost. Then they stopped again, she entered the room again and sat next to me,” he puffs his chest out at that. “And she ate. After we followed her charge.”

I am struck with disbelief, how does she do it? How does she silence them? More importantly, she has managed to tame the entire training block. The woman truly is fearless. I cannot help the smile spreading across my face. These men shared a similar mindset as Ezra.

His leadership and strength in closely admired and followed by the Hunters, as is his hatred for women. He took the failure at Capnar personally, he was overwhelmed with anger and then shortly after redirected that to the women involved.

“Well, I think it best you show me.” I say pushing off the tree. Morris is delighted with my interest and quickly walks off to show me the way.