soncnica | The Hunt 2/?

Title: The Hunt 2/?
Author: soncnica
Rating: 'NC-17' later, but 'PG-13' for now
Genre/pairing: Jared/Jensen AU
Characters: Jared, Jensen
Word count: cca. 2.800 this chapter
Summary: It's the time of The Hunt again. And this year Jensen has to participate. Jared is a werewolf who hasn't found his mate yet in all the years he's been participating in The Hunt. But this year... he smells something he wants.
Warnings: *takes a deep breath* werewolf!Jared, bloodplay, branding, barebacking, biting, mental links, chuffing/presten, scenting, skitish!Jensen (but not too much, he is a man after all), language, dirty talk, age difference (Jared is 28, Jensen is 18), NO CHARACTER DEATH, NOT UNDERAGE, NO BESTIALITY (that means no Jared as wolf having sex with Jensen, okay a little scene, but it's 'you blink and it's gone' trust me) and a lot more warnings to come. I'll post warnings with chapters, so THIS CHAPTER: no warnings.
Disclaimer: I seriously only own the grammar/spelling mistakes. Everything else is not mine! NOT MINE! ALL IS FICTION! FICTION I TELL YA!!!!
A/N: Writen for this prompt at spn_hardcore animalistic behavior meme.

I was surprised with the response this story got with just the lazy, boring 1st chapter! THANK YOU ALL SO VERY MUCH FOR READING AND LEAVING COMMENTS --- it means so much to me, I can not even tell you! THANK YOU!

AND once again.... PLEASE read the warnings, if there's something you don't like stop reading the story now OR ask me about it and I'll tell you just how much of the kink will be in the story, because some kinks will be WHOAH A LOT and some will just be there and gone in a blink of an eye! :) Thank you! And while I'm writing this story and scenes, I find myself adding more and more kinks to it so... please read the warnings with each chapter... I think my mind went a bit nuts with this! LOL :)

Enjoy..

The room became dim all of a sudden; the only light were flickering flames of three candles that were burning out slowly on a table beneath a small window on Jensen's right. The scent in the room was still too much for him to handle and he wanted to ask Zehas if they can open the window and let some fresh air in, otherwise he'll pass out, but when he looked at Zehas' eyes… they turned distant, like the Elder went into another place and time to look for whatever will happen next. Jensen shifted his weight a little, rocked forward and back and waited for Zehas to speak.

"Before your father and before their father's father was born, long before that, before this village was even properly named," the old man began, his voice becoming one of a father's telling a bed time story, soft, putting babies to sleep, "a warrior named Raki was send to the forest to gather food, meat and berries, fresh water and healing plants. He was a great hunter; young, only twenty summers old but wise, sharp eyed, strong, good with his bow and knife, a true warrior and hunter, someone everyone looked up to; women wanted him in their beds," Jensen laughed at that and felt Aidan punch him in the shoulder, while the boy giggled, "men envied him, boys like you wanted to become him. They followed him around the village begging him to let them hold his knife, feel its sharpness," Jensen closed his eyes, Zehas' voice truly like a father's, "its power. He always wore his bow on his back with only three arrows to choose from when he fired. One had green feathers, one was with orange feathers, and the third one had black feathers that sparkled in the sun."

He paused then, which made Jensen open his eyes and see Zehas' eyes on him, like a snake's, mesmerizing, so concentrated on him that Jensen was afraid he did something wrong. All he did was close his eyes, he didn't mean too.

He shuddered and breathed in a shallow breath; the smell was making his stomach twist 'n' turn and the story wasn't helping any. His head was throbbing; a pressure right at his temple making his eyes hurt too, water and sting when he blinked. Zehas was still watching him and that made Jensen squirm.

"Raki sharpened his knife, strapped on his bow, took his arrows and a pouch and went into the forest on this very day when the sun stays up the longest and the heat stays with it. It was many, many ages ago when his foot first stepped on the forest ground, moving leaves that hadn't been moved by a human's foot in a long, long time."

Jensen wondered if that was so, then how did people get here in the first place. They had to walk through the forest to come here, or was there a clearing somewhere where they passed through?

All those questions and he was not allowed to ask them.

He wanted to puke and he wanted Zehas' concentrated look off of him.

"He was in the forest for two days; killed elk and squirrels, wild boars and rabbits, birds and foxes, a lynx and wolves. He killed everything he could spot, everything that moved in his line of sight. Killed it with his bow, killed it with his knife, killed it with his bare hands," Jensen watched the Elder's lips move in a way that made him sleepy, so sleepy that he couldn't resist the pull, so he closed his eyes "cut it apart with his knife… he picked up wild strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, all that he could find. He gathered herbs and other plants, all that he could get his hands on."

Jensen could see Raki hunting, sneaking around the forest, catching animals and cutting them, skinning them… picking up wild berries and putting them in his pouch.

"He hid all his gatherings in one of the Bele jame caves, where it would all stay cool and fresh until he'd come back to get it. The caves were cold and no animals around, it was safe."

Jensen could see Raki placing meat and berries on the cave's floor, the huge cave's chamber cold and moist and Jensen doubted that anywhere in the forest's really safe, especially not those caves... a sharp pain hit him in his left temple, making him pull his fingers in a fist. There was a flash of bright light, sun in his eyes and tree branches swinging in the wind above him...

...a figure shadowing the bright sky...

...brown hair...

...brown, no orange, no yellow-blue-green eyes looking at him, colors changing so fast...

...a voice telling him: "Close his eyes, kiddo."...

...the smell of fresh, cold air making him swallow it all down before it could go away...

...warm fingers - that brought the smell of sun hot earth to his nose - on his eyelids pushing them down, making him close them...

...sounds of growling, whining, slurping...

...the smell of blood and fresh grass, the warmth of the sun and the hazy feeling of safety...

Flashes of light, darkness, a face, brown skin, locks of hair in the man's eyes, white teeth, sharp teeth…

He snapped his eyes open so fast, he nearly fell on his back but caught himself just in time. Zehas was still watching him, the Elder's blue eyes so dark, they almost seemed black. Jensen hugged his knees tighter and tried not to think about how it felt as if the Elder was looking straight into his soul, those dark blue eyes searching something there. Jensen's breath hitched; he wanted to run away, he wanted the Elder to stop looking at him like that and he wanted his mother.
He couldn't breathe, the pain was gone from his temple, small mercy as that was, that fresh air was gone too. But... he could still feel those warm, soil covered fingers on his eyelids and that voice calling him 'kiddo', whatever that meant.

He watched Zehas, couldn't look away even if he wanted too… Zehas was holding his eyes hostage not allowing them to close and Jensen could've sworn that he saw the Elder smile.

It wasn't a nice smile; it made Jensen itch all over.

"Raki had been in the forest for the third day, when he decided that he should go back to the village. He stepped into the cave to gather the food and saw a wolf eating all the meat that he hunted, all the berries he gathered were scattered on the floor and the wolf was smacking its lips and licking the blood off of its fur when Raki raised the bow with the black-feathered arrow to shoot it dead."

Jensen could see it… it was like a scene playing itself in Zehas' eyes where he was forced to look in… Raki and the wolf, both hunters, both pray, looking at one another's eyes, muscles tight, fear and desire to live running through both of their veins.

"The wolf was big, gray and brown, growling at the hunter and walking towards him, slowly, one paw at the time. Raki had his bow ready, he just needed to release it and the arrow would kill the wolf in an instant. But he couldn't do it. The wolf was coming closer and closer, its mouth bloody, its teeth dripping with blood, bared in a growl. Raki was frozen…"

Jensen's heart started to beat faster, faster… fasterfasterfaster…

"… and when the wolf was only a few more steps away from the hunter, it changed; human feet started to walk towards the great hunter, two legs, broad chest, long arms, black hair, blue eyes. The wolf became a man."

Jensen stopped breathing and passed out.

He was getting closer to waking up, just a little more and he'll be able to open his eyes, the smell of roses and honeysuckle already in his nose and tickling his throat but a voice stopped him. The voice was all around him, whispering: "You took what belongs to us, you killed those animals that were ours to kill, you killed my kin, you picked the berries that do not belong to you and for that, human" the voice snarled, "we will take what is yours. Your children. Your flesh and your blood."

He gasped for breath and opened his eyes when the smell coming from the voice was too much like blood and too little like roses and honeysuckle.

"Jensen?"

Zehas asked from his spot near the door.

He blinked and realized that he was still in the dimly lit room, still sitting in the circle made from his friends, still breathing and with Aidan's face hovering above his: "Ye-… yes, Elder Zehas?"

He let Aidan pull him up to sit properly.

"Are you alright, my boy?"

"I'm," not alright, I'm not even close, "I'm… I'm al-alright, Elder Zehas."

"Alright, just don't go passing out on us like that again. You gave Aidan there quite a scare."

But the way Elder was looking at him, Jensen know that Zehas knew what he saw.

What Zehas showed him.

"Where were we, hmm, boys?"

"Where the wolf became a man, Elder Zehas."

"Ahh, thank you Zishas. Yes, the wolf became a man, right before Raki's eyes and Raki didn't know what to do. He never killed a man, he killed a lot of animals, but he never killed a man. He lowered his bow to the ground and stared at the naked man before him, his skin brown, his hair raven black, his eyes dark green. Raki greeted the man, saying his good day, like we always do when we meet someone, yes," he paused and waited for the boys to nod, "but the man kept staring at him. Raki repeated himself, said his good day again, not scared of the man, not scared of the animal the man could become. The man didn't respond, just moved his head a little to the left and when Raki wanted to put his bow back where it belonged, the man jumped on him, brought the mighty hunter to the floor, ignoring the noise the bow made when it broke and whispered to the hunter in a growl: "You took what belongs to us, you killed those animals that were ours to kill, you killed my kin, you picked the berries that do not belong to you and for that, human, we will take what is yours. Your children. Your flesh and your blood."

Two of the candles went out, turned the room even darker.

Jensen was lost in his head thinking about what happened to him. He doesn't even wanna know what just happened, because what just happened was him seeing himself as Raki and a wolf turning into a man and threatening him and talking about taking children and he… he doesn't wanna know more. Because that wasn't real. It couldn't have been real. Things like that don't just happen; you don't just see the past happen like that, you don't see yourself there and hear things and feel them and you just don't. It wasn't real… it wasn't real.
But… but what if it was? What if it was and he's loosing his mind? He's only thirteen, he can't go insane. He has to watch out for his mother and the animals and he has to kill two sheep and Lara will eat the whole house if he won't feed her and he couldn't breathe; the smell of roses and honeysuckle was so strong it burned his nostrils and the darkness was making his eyes close, but he didn't wanna go to sleep, he needed to hear this, he needed to find out more, he needed to listen. To learn. To know. He needs to know.

He was hot, sweating buckets, his thin shirt becoming like a second skin on him, he wanted to go out, get some fresh air into his lungs, dunk his head into the barrel horses use to drink from and then run to the oak in the meadow. Clear his head. Think.

But this… this was his moment to find out the truth, to find out everything.

He cleared his throat and barely found his voice: "Those boys that go missing… do they really die?"

Zehas showed no emotions, his face didn't change at all when he answered: "Yes, Jensen, they do."

Jensen nodded and felt a sting of tears in his eyes and a lump in his throat. They do die.

"But… but what does it all mean?"

Zehas smiled, showed his rotten teeth, two of them missing when he answered: "It means that the village depends on you boys. It means that without you, the village will die. Boys… you are going to become the warriors who will keep this village alive. You will be the ones who will go into the forest and secure the truce we have with the werewolf tribe of the Bele Jame caves. You do not need to be afraid, this is an honor, it is fate. Your destiny."

There was silence.

And more silence.

And one miserable candle still burning and casting shadows on the walls.

Silence.

"Werewolves are real?"

"Yes they are, Lokas. You do not remember the howling you hear, at night sometimes?"

They all nodded. They do hear howling at night, especially when the moon is full and even after, when the moon is taking down its weight, they can hear howling, sometimes even barking.

"You do not remember the stories your mothers tell you before you go to sleep?"

They all nodded again. The stories of werewolves in the forest, the stories of them hunting and killing and fighting and blood on blood, snapping teeth and ripping flesh and pack, Alphas and Betas, family. Safety in family, safety in numbers.

They remember. Those stories brough more then one nightmare in the long nights.

Silence.

And the miserable candle's flame flickering.

"What happens at the ritual, Elder Zehas?"
It was Lokas' scared, tiny, breathless voice that made Jensen blink and focus on the room again, it was Lokas' girly voice that interrupted the silence.

"Ah, Lokas," Jensen looked up at the Elder, startled out of his thoughts by the man's deep voice, "the ritual you'll all go through five summers from now, will make you men. Will make you hunters and warriors, will make you Raki's son's, will make you his blood and his flesh, his bones and his voice. Will make you all that he was. Fearless. And you will go to the forest and secure the peace. It is an honor to do so, you will be worshiped among the men here… the men who came back. You will be heroes; men in this village will sing songs of you, worship you as Gods. If you come back, you will be acknowledged in the men society, you will get a woman, marry, have children to continue the tradition. If you do not come back, the men in the village will think of you as Gods and worship you as one."

Jensen swallowed. He wanted that. Wanted to be something more then just the son of a widowed mother, because his father had been killed in a fight; a fight between two drunks where his father got stabbed for mouthing off.

And Jensen didn't want to be that. He wanted to be something, something greater. A worrior, a hunter like Raki. Be good with a bow and a knife and know his herbs and berries, animals and how to hunt them, kill them, skin them and cut them. He wanted that, be worshiped or continue the tradition.

He wanted to be eighteen tomorrow.

But he was just thirteen, foolish as only thirteen year old boys can be, and he had five more summers to go.

"What about girls?" Molar's voice was tiny, scared.

The other boys laughed at the question, because seriously, girls? Girls are to stay at home to clean and take care of the house and sew new clothes during long winters, and have children and take care of them and take care of the men of the house, the animals, the fields. They are not to be sent out to secure some peace between tribes. That is a man's job. A man is supposed to be a warrior, a hunter and a protector. Not some girl.

Zehas took a deep breath and Jensen feared that it meant nothing good.

"Girls are taken when they're just babies. They're left at the edge of the forest the very same day that they're born."

Jensen looked around to see the shocked faces of his friends.

"As babies, but how…"

"It is an honor Molar, it is an honor to sacrifice them to the werewolf tribe, women do it with pride, Molar."

Jensen understood now; why Ale had been pregnant, but had no children. And how Ria had been pregnant, but had no children either. And all those other women he saw with bellies full and round, but never saw their children.

His mother had said they all died. They just didn't want to come into this world, Jensen, she had said, they fought and fought and won so they came in this world dead, she had said.

Now he understood.

"But if girls are… but there are girls in the village, and so…"

Zehas' eyes flashed black, anger and irritation shining in them: "My, my you boys ask a lot of questions. Curiosity killed the cat, boys."

Jensen gulped and saw Molar go pale. Zehas looked angry as a summer storm.

"Sometimes, boys, two babies are born. One is given and one is kept. Sometimes the girl born is too weak and needs to be with her mother and can not be sacrificed. The werewolve tribe wants only healthy, strong girls. And then sometimes the tribe rejects the offering."

"Mikan and the other girls…"

"…Mikan was rejected, I remember that. But the others either had a twin or were too sick to be given to the werewolves."

TBC…
Next chapter will be Jared's life, so it'll be a bit dark(ish) :)

CHAPTER 1 _II_ CHAPTER 3

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From:

ebbingtides.livejournal.com

I'm loving this. I am enjoying how you have turned a kink meme prompt into an amazing story with such an interesting back story and mystery. Update soon please.

From:

because crazy works

The Hunt 2/?

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