The Hunting Game: A Fantasy Romance Novel Read online

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  Copyright © 2018 by Leila Vy

  All Rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of required fees you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this book. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known, hereinafter invented, without express written permission of BLVNP Inc. For more information contact BLVNP Inc. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content. This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. While reference might be made to actual historical events or existing locations, the names, characters, places and incidents are either products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  About the Publisher

  BLVNP Incorporated, A Nevada Corporation, 340 S. Lemon #6200, Walnut CA 91789, [email protected] / [email protected]

  DISCLAIMER

  This book is a work of FICTION. It is fiction and not to be confused with reality. Neither the author nor the publisher or its associates assume any responsibility for any loss, injury, death or legal consequences resulting from acting on the contents in this book. The author’s opinions are not to be construed as the opinions of the publisher. The material in this book is for entertainment purposes ONLY. Cover image from Shutterstock com.

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  Praise for The Hunting Game

  The book is different from other werewolf romances, breaking taboo about being fated to the one given by god, 'soulmate'. Leila Vy brings romance, betrayal, adventure and great sex under one book. The characters will make you fall in love.

  -Anushka Nayan, Goodreads

  When I read the book the first time, it blew my mind away. When I read it the second time, it had the same effect on me. The characters are realistic and yet unimaginable. They haunt your dreams until you read the next chapter or the next book. For me, this is a real life fairy-tale.

  -Suhani Ritu Swaytank

  This book is amazing. It has drama, love, suspense, and much more…

  -Zareth Perez

  The Hunting Game

  By: Leila Vy

  ISBN: 978-1-64434-020-2

  ©LeilaVy2018

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Epilogue

  I dedicate this book to my husband

  who has stood and supported me through thick and thin.

  You never once stopped me from pursuing my dreams.

  I love you.

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  Chapter One

  Patience

  There are three important steps in a werewolf’s life: the first is their first shift; the second is their first hunt; the last one is when they meet their mate for the first time. It is supposed to be the most wonderful thing in the world when two mates meet. I expected to be lovingly welcomed into my mate’s arms when we first see each other and words of love spoken to me, but what I never anticipated was to be rejected by mine.

  The sky was pale gray; the wind blew hard, whipping the branches on the trees. I looked at my mate standing on the stage in the middle of the field. His arms were wrapped around his chosen. The ache in my chest and the tug in my bond was too much to bear, and a teardrop slipped from my eyes. I inhaled sharply to stop the pain that was building in my chest as I saw my mate leaning in to kiss his chosen on the cheek. My wolf howled in sorrow inside of me, and I couldn’t help but let us both dwell in each other’s pain.

  After he pulled back, his dark blue eyes sought mine. When he found it, his gaze remained still, and I stupidly pleaded with my eyes to him, telling him to choose me. He averted his gaze from me, and all I wanted to do was run away from the scene ahead, but I still stood and looked at them.

  He looked handsome with his blond hair blowing in the wind, his boyish smile shining to his pack. My wolf whined and begged me to take what was given to us by the Moon Goddess herself, but I couldn’t. The woman standing next to him was my older sister—his girlfriend, the one he had always loved.

  How cruel was fate to pair me up with my sister’s boyfriend? The one male I couldn’t have. At this moment, I hated fate. When my sister turned to me, I put on a fake smile and clapped my hands. The tears on my face mistaken for happiness. After she looked at me, she turned back to what would be her pack and gave them a good luna smile.

  My parents knew about it, but I begged them not to tell anyone who my mate was. They stood next to me and looked at what should make them happy, but at the same time, they were torn because their other daughter was in turmoil. My sister only knew a made-up name of who my pretend mate was. She didn’t know the truth. I squeezed my mother’s hand, and she turned to look at me with her loving chocolate eyes.

  “I’m okay, Mom,” I whispered. My mother lifted her other hand to my cheek to wipe away my tears.

  “You are going to be okay, darling,” she said quietly before turning back to look at her other daughter.

  After Kyle, my mate, gave his speech about their official luna to everyone, he turned towards Kailyn, my sister, and pulled her into his arms. He pulled back her hair to expose her neck. His canine flashed for everybody to see, and my heart stopped beating. My breathing became labored, and I squeezed my mom’s hand in a grip that I knew must be painful for her.

  He was really going to mark her. When werewolves find their mate, they will give their mate a mark on the neck. It is a sign of possession and belonging. It connects the two wolf souls and completes them. It is what keeps us all sane. The mark is a symbol of love. It is nothing more. Stories have been passed that it helps the two mates communicate with each other through telepathy, but in reality, it is simply a mark that puts a sense of belonging to you. It connects you like nothing else in the world, and now he was going to give it to my sister.

  I’m okay.

  I’m okay.

  I’m okay.

  I chanted in my head as I kept loo
king straight ahead, and I felt it. I felt the agony the moment my mate bit into my sister’s neck. A searing pain shot through my heart, and my body vibrated. I let out a strangled scream and clutched at my mom’s arm. She turned to me immediately.

  “Harold!” she shouted. My dad came to my side at once and picked me up as I began feeling the world shift under me. A whimper escaped my lips as the ache in my chest magnified.

  “Mom…” I roughly whispered out, tears running down my cheeks. “Dad…”

  “It’s okay, honey. Breathe. Breathe for me.” My dad soothingly urged me.

  “It hurts.” I cried. “Why does it hurt so much?”

  “It will be over soon.” My mom’s voice broke into my haze of pain.

  I felt myself being placed on a soft bed of pillows. The burning sensation from my heart crept up into my neck. I felt like a porcupine who had all her spikes removed, and now she was left in only her skin with no barriers to protect her from any torment. The rawness of the pain was killing me slowly. My eyes fluttered closed, and I felt a hot liquid run down my mouth to the back of my throat.

  “Swallow.” My mom urged, and I gulped it down. “Good girl.”

  It didn’t take me long, but soon after, I allowed darkness to take over and fell asleep, the fiery pain in me slowly dimming.

  When I awoke, I heard whispers outside my bedroom. There was a harsh voice that demanded obedience as the person spoke. My father’s voice growled out an angry no to the other person, but his harsh bark back at my father silenced my father’s disobedience.

  The door to my bedroom swung open, and a comforting and beautiful smell swept into the room. My heart began aching, and my chest rose and fell rapidly. I refused to open my eyes to meet the person I did not want to meet.

  “I know you are awake,” he said huskily. My eyes fluttered opened to meet his, and I felt the familiar strong tug at my heart again.

  “What are you doing here?” I asked.

  “I came to see if you are okay,” he replied as he sat down on the bed. “I am sorry, Patience. I am sorry fate paired us, but I cannot have you as my mate. I love your sister.”

  I gulped the lump in my throat and nodded. “I told you I understood. Please leave, Alpha. I do not want to see you. It would only make things difficult for me and my wolf.”

  “Patience…” He exhaled slowly, and his hand moved to touch my cheek. Sparks flew, and my body responded right away. I turned to look at him as my body couldn’t stop responding to him.

  “Please,” I whispered gruffly. “Please leave me alone.”

  He sighed, and I felt the mattress lift as he stood up and sauntered to the door. He stopped for a moment and turned back at me, his eyes scrutinizing me before he opened the door and walked out. It felt like my heart was being ripped in two, burning in fire. It felt like I had died.

  My dad came walking into the room, and he sat in the same spot that my mate sat in. He sighed and looked at me sadly.

  “I couldn’t stop him. I am sorry, Patience. I tried.”

  “I know, Dad,” I replied.

  I inhaled deeply; I made my decision. After seeing what happened today and talking to Kyle, I decided I shouldn’t sit and weep like a pathetic reject. I wanted a second chance. I wanted someone who cared for me. I turned to my dad with a look of determination on my face.

  “Dad, I want to go to the yearly hunting game next week.”

  It was my last attempt at happiness. If going to the hunting game would give me a chance to leave the pack and hopefully find someone for me, I would go. Nothing was going to stop me.

  Chapter Two

  When I told my father about my decision in joining the hunting game, he was hesitant at first, but he knew there was no hope for me in my pack. He went to my mate and alpha to inform him of my decision.

  Kyle’s natural instinct was to protect what was his. His human side did not want me, but his wolf knew who I was to him and wanted me. My first and second request were denied immediately.

  On my third request, I went up to him personally.

  “Alpha, I need to speak with you,” I spoke as I chased after him down a dirt trail that led onto the training fields.

  “What is it, Patience?” he said from over his broad shoulders. His blond hair was flying all over in the wind, but he still looked handsome.

  “Can you at least stop so I can speak with you directly?” I growled out as I picked up my speed to get closer to him.

  “Just say what you need to say.”

  “Fine. I am joining the hunting game this year.” He stopped abruptly, causing me to bump onto his hard, muscular back.

  “Goddess,” I mumbled as I took a step back to give us enough space.

  “You aren’t going.” He turned around to look at me with angry black eyes. When werewolves are angry or expressing desire, their normal eye color turns into pitch black.

  I crossed my arms under my chest. “You can’t stop me.”

  “I can and I will. I am your alpha, and I am telling you it’s a no,” he growled.

  “Then I rather you not be my alpha. I would leave this pack against your wishes. This will forfeit my right as a pack member, and I understand I will earn myself a rogue title,” I spat back heatedly.

  A werewolf rogue is a lone wolf with no pack attachment. They are easily targeted and vulnerable to attacks, but they can also become ruthless and uncontrollable.

  Kyle’s shoulders were stiff, and his breathing was uneven. He was trying to contain his dominating wolf.

  “Don’t test me, Patience,” he said.

  “I am not here to ask you for permission. I am here to inform you of my decision,” I responded and spun around to go back up the trail to the pack house. I heard him growl behind me, and I was suddenly lifted and carried to a secluded area. He pushed me hard against a tree and pinned me with his body.

  “This is hard on me, Patience. Every atom in my body screams for you,” he said through clenched teeth, my eyes never leaving his dark black ones. “I want you.”

  My heart fluttered and melted at his words. I couldn’t stop what I was feeling. Regardless if he was my brother-in-law, my wolf recognized him as her mate. She was prone to affection towards him.

  “But I love your sister.” My heart crushed again for the hundredth time.

  “Then let me go.” I urged and pleaded at the same time. “This will benefit us both. You can go on living without me.”

  His nose trailed from my neck to my jaw. He paid no attention to what I had just begged him.

  “You smell amazing. It is a scent that I have become addicted to,” he muttered as I felt his lips on my neck. A whimper escaped from my mouth against my will. My wolf was clawing to escape and meet her fated mate. Fighting against a powerful force inside you was emotionally and physically draining.

  “No,” I mumbled and gathered enough strength to knee him in the groin. He pulled back instantly in shock before bending over in pain. “Kyle, you are my sister’s chosen. You sick bastard! You chose her! From the moment you did, you had lost every right to me.”

  His head slumped, and his shoulders drooped in guilt. I spun on my heels and ran back up the trail and away from him. He didn’t come after me.

  In the end, he allowed me to join the hunting game, but he was still so angry. My parents dropped me off on a neutral territory for all werewolves. Kailyn didn’t come along with us. She was needed back at the pack house. Instead, she said her good luck to me back at home before I left. I loved her because I knew she had done everything for me. However, I couldn’t tell her the truth as to why I was doing this. Luckily, Kyle wasn’t there when I left. I think he knew that he would stop me if he saw me leaving. I was thankful that he was not there. It would be hard on us both to know that I was making this decision.

  The lines for registration was long and a little on the crazy side, as the workers asked us, participants, deep personal questions. After the inquiry, they led us to a room where they prepped us on w
hat to do. I can’t say that I was excited. A part of me thought this is barbaric, but we are animals. This is what we do.

  I was a bit thrilled, but I was also scared. What if no one wanted me? If my own mate could reject me, who was to say these males would not reject me too?

  “Hi!” A cheerful voice came from my side. I turned to see a petite blonde girl looking at me. “My name is Tina.”

  “Hey,” I murmured. “My name is Patience.”

  “Nervous?” she asked.

  I shifted uneasily in my seat. “Yeah. A little.”

  “You don’t have to worry at all. You will be fine. Did you lose a mate or get rejected?” she asked curiously.

  “Rejected,” I said quietly. Tina gave me a sympathetic look—one that I had seen too often.

  “I’m sorry. I lost mine in a battle,” she said quietly, and I felt sorry for her. She must have suffered just as much. “It’s okay though. It’s time to move on for both you and me.”

  I nodded as one of the workers ordered us to stand and walk through a door while handing us a long red cloth.

  “Put this on and do not take it off. Put your hand out to hold the shoulder of the one in front of you. Once you exit, you will be led to a clearing where the game will begin.”

  Chapter Three

  The hunting game was held on neutral territory by the alpha king. The land was a hundred acres of woods, rivers, streams, and thick fields. We stood at the north border of the territory in a single file. All females were ordered to stand in a single line with a red cloth over their eyes. There were excited voices and whispers amongst the females, and I could hear the distant whispers of the males that were a couple of miles away from us.