Chapter 58: The Hunt

Michael’s POV

By the time I arrived at my estate, the night had settled over the city.

The moment my car stopped, one of the guards stepped forward and opened the door for me. I stepped out and adjusted my cuff before looking towards the vast grounds surrounding the house.

The wedding had been more eventful than I had expected.

I had gone there with one particular purpose in mind. Alaric had warned me that a shapeshifter would be present, and I had intended to find her, confirm what she was and deal with her discreetly.

I hadn’t expected a second one, and I certainly hadn’t expected them to target Emerald.

That part still bothered me.

I had spent most of the evening thinking about Darius Hugo as well. I had expected to see the old man at his granddaughter’s wedding, especially after I had finally met Emerald and learned more about the family.

But he hadn’t turned up. I wondered why.

Then there was Kelvin Mercer and Maya Fox. I hadn’t forgotten them either.

Those two had deserved the embarrassment they received before leaving the wedding. I was the reason they ended up soaked, although neither of them had any idea what had happened.

It had been a small matter.

A little adjustment of the water system near the driveway at precisely the right moment had been enough.

I wasn’t interested in making a spectacle of myself. I simply wanted them to experience a fraction of the discomfort they had caused Emerald.

I walked into the house. The butler was already waiting. "Welcome home, sir."

I handed him my jacket. "Thank you."

"What would you like for dinner?" he asked, following after me.

"Roasted antelope," I replied without dwelling on it.

He nodded. "Very well, sir."

"I will hunt it myself," I added. I didn’t wait for his response before walking towards the stairs. I climbed them and went straight to my bedroom.

The moment I entered, I loosened the collar of my shirt and dropped onto the edge of the bed to take off my shoes.

Draxen, who had been silent all this while, finally chose this moment to speak. "They attacked our mate."

I closed my eyes. There it was again. "She is safe," I assured him, which was a fact he knew.

"Safe isn’t enough," he said.

He wasn’t wrong. It wasn’t sufficient.

The thought of someone deliberately targeting Emerald had done something I hadn’t expected. Before tonight, I had been interested in her. I wanted to understand her, and I had already decided to help her reclaim Mercer Technologies.

That was all.

But now, it was different. Anyone who deliberately targeted her had become my problem.

I opened my eyes. "Are you finished?"

"No."

I almost rolled my eyes. "She is safe. That’s what matters."

"They should never have been able to get close to her."

I didn’t answer. Draxen was unusually agitated. I understood why, but there was another matter I wanted clarified, so I asked, "Do you know if there is something special about Emerald?"

I was met with silence for a few seconds. Frowning, I called my wolf’s attention. "Draxen."

He finally answered. "Anyone who is our mate cannot be ordinary."

I shut my eyes again. That word. Mate. He had been using it far too often, and I was beginning to suspect he enjoyed irritating me.

"Is she truly our mate?" There was no immediate response, so I continued. "Why can’t I feel anything?"

Draxen’s answer came calmly. "Because you have shut the core of your heart."

I furrowed my brows. "And what does that mean?"

"You have already decided that the matebond cannot be real because she is human. You locked that part of yourself away before you were even willing to consider the possibility."

I scoffed. "So you’re telling me that I can’t feel anything because I don’t want to?"

"You have made yourself unwilling to accept it," he stated.

I sat there in silence for a moment. That explanation irritated me more than it should have. I decided to ignore it and focus on what was more important to me.

"What exactly is in Emerald Hugo that has attracted shapeshifters to her?"

Draxen went silent, so I allowed him some time, thinking he was pondering over the question. But after some time had passed and I still hadn’t heard anything, I called out to him.

"Draxen?"

Still, there was nothing. I frowned. "Answer me."

His voice eventually came. "I will not tell you."

I stared at the wall. "Excuse me?

"I said I will not tell you."

My jaw tightened. "Why?"

"Because you won’t recognize what exists between us and her."

I gave a quiet scoff. "You’re bargaining with me?"

He didn’t answer me, so I called his name again. I was met with complete silence this time. I waited several seconds, but it was so obvious that he had decided he was done talking.

I shook my head and rose to my feet. "Fine. If you won’t tell me, I will find out myself."

There were countless ways to obtain information. I didn’t need my wolf to hand everything to me.

I went into the bathroom and took a long shower. The hot water helped clear my head, although it didn’t remove the questions that had settled there.

Why had the shapeshifters targeted Emerald?

What did they know about her?

Why had the actress reacted to her presence?

And why did Draxen seem to know more than he was willing to tell me?

I dried myself and changed into a simple shirt and trousers. I had no intention of spending the rest of the night thinking about it.

I wanted my dinner. But more importantly, I wanted to hunt.

I left my bedroom and made my way downstairs. The guards at the entrance stepped aside as I walked out.

The night air met my skin immediately.

My property stretched far beyond the main estate. A massive expanse of woodland surrounded the house, with dense trees spreading across the land for miles.

It was quiet there.

I walked deeper into the trees, then I stopped and closed my eyes.

My body began to change. Bones shifted, muscles stretched, and the surrounding world became clearer. In a matter of moments, I was no longer in my human form.

I stood on four legs, my senses opening fully to the forest around me. The scent of the night filled my lungs. I heard the movement of small animals beneath the leaves.

Ahead, something larger moved through the undergrowth. My ears twitched. I lowered my head. Then I ran.

The forest rushed past me as I disappeared deeper into the darkness. It wasn’t long before I caught the scent of my prey, so I followed it.

The antelope was somewhere ahead of me, moving through the trees with enough speed to make the hunt worthwhile.

The forest blurred around me as I pushed deeper into the woods. I could hear the animal’s hooves striking the earth, its breathing growing heavier as it realized something was following it.

I enjoyed this.

There was something about running in my wolf form that no human activity could replace. The freedom of it. The speed. The instinct that took over when I stopped thinking and simply followed my senses.

The antelope suddenly changed direction and so did I.

It darted between two trees, but I was faster. I gained on it with every stride, my paws digging into the soft earth as I accelerated.

The animal broke into an open stretch of land. I quickly followed. It glanced back, which was a big mistake for it.

I surged forward and closed the remaining distance in seconds. I leapt, caught it and brought it crashing to the ground beneath me.

It struggled briefly, but I held it down. Then I sank my teeth into its throat. Its movements stopped.

I remained there for a moment, breathing heavily, my instincts settling after the chase.

The hunt was over.

I released the carcass and stood. A small satisfaction settled over me. It had been exactly what I needed.

---

I shifted back as soon as I returned to the house with the game. Then I went up to my bedroom to freshen up.

I changed into a dark pair of trousers and a loose, long-sleeved shirt before making my way to the dining room.

The roasted antelope was already prepared and served. I sat down and picked up my knife and fork. I cut into the meat and took a bite.

Just then, I heard the front door open, followed by the sound of approaching footsteps striking against the tiled floor.

I looked up. Xero stepped inside and stopped a few feet from the table. "Good evening, Alpha."

I placed my fork down briefly. "Xero."

He bowed his head respectfully. "I have come to give you my report."

I nodded in approval. "Go ahead."

"We checked the movements of the shapeshifters before the wedding. One of them had been watching Emerald’s family for several days."

My hand stopped. "The Hugo family?"

"Yes, Alpha."

My expression hardened. One of the shapeshifters had not simply arrived at the wedding and decided to target Emerald. They had been watching her family beforehand.

That changed things.

The wedding might not have been the beginning at all. It could have been the culmination of something that had started much earlier.

"What exactly did you find?" I questioned.