HUNTED-Chapter 393: Daughters of the Alpha Queen

The breeze rustled gently against the leaves. The songbirds stopped their sweet tune as a little girl froze in the middle of the forest. Golden specks of sunlight danced across the grass and across the girl’s dazzling blue-silver eyes, making her squint.

The day was young, but that meant nothing in this dangerous supernatural world. Monsters attacked at all times of the day.

A twig snapped in the distance to the girl’s right. Her head turned in the same direction, inhaling sharply at the bold, bright amber eyes glowing in the bushes. A low growl followed as the girl stepped back in anticipation.

The girl didn’t think before turning and sprinting as fast as her tiny legs could carry her. The pink dress already bore signs of play, mud spotted along her clothes, and white tights ripped at the knees.

Her breath came out in gasps as she pushed branches away, not looking anywhere as the sounds of pawprints and footprints chased her. Hands grabbed her under the armpits, and she swirled in the air with a squeal.

"Got you!"

The girl’s squeal turned into a giggle as her older sister whipped her around in the air.

"See! See! You beat her!" Chloe, the younger sister, beamed at Keira from above her. Chloe’s long brown locks hung loose and covered most of her face, but she still giggled.

Keira shook her head and lowered her younger sister to the ground, but Chloe tugged on Keira’s sleeve, insisting on more playtime.

"We can’t." Keira outstretched her hand, and Chloe accepted it with a pout. "As much as I want to remain hidden in the woods away from the outside world and play with you… We have to return."

Chloe huffed but didn’t act out like so many others her age. Keira’s sister had turned six, and this was a nice little ’girls weekend’ and a birthday treat for the youngest in the Cross family.

The black wolf from before hopped out of the bushes, a bag in their mouth as she shifted back into her human form behind them. "The woods will always seem nicer, Keira," Chiara began after putting on a comfortable sporty dress. "We’re wolves at heart. But you’d soon get bored here."

Keira glanced at the Gamma of her pack. "And that’s where you’re wrong…" she murmured before the woods parted and a luxurious three-story lodge made of wood and stone came into view.

The small lake beside it shimmered under the sun’s morning rays, twinkling and oh-so-inviting. There was small decking and a ladder for anyone who wished to swim in the lake. Most jumped or dove in, except for Chloe, of course.

On the wooden decking just outside the lodge, Amerie, the eldest Cross sister, lay down on her back with a face mask on, golden locks tied up in a messy bun and took a selfie. There was no signal here, so she had to make do with taking offline selfies and keeping her followers on pause.

Keira rolled her eyes.

"I saw that," Amerie said quietly, careful not to crack the clay on her face.

Chloe giggled, releasing Keira’s hand and rushed back up the steps, ignoring everyone scolding her not to run and trip. She didn’t go to Amerie, no, she ran to Mandy, who had a teapot, cups and saucers floating in the air while the teapot poured the contents into the cup.

"Nanny!" Chloe hugged their crazy, yet chill, nan.

Mandy feigned anger. "It’s Mandy! Or Manny! I am too young to be a nan!"

Keira arched her eyebrow, and leaned against the wooden post, arms crossing. "Actually, it’s typical age to be a nan…" Mandy’s hair had occasional grey roots, while others were coloured purples and pink around her brown curly hair. "And it’s a bit late.. There’s six of us."

Mandy waved her hand. "I’m a witch, darling, I haven’t even had my midlife crisis yet."

"I don’t think that’s ever going to be a problem," another feminine voice called from behind Keira. Her head rested on Keira’s shoulder, and she cuddled her side. "You’re too mellow for such things."

Keira stared at her mother’s white locks and striking features. After six children, governing the werewolf and supernatural world, and working as a vet, Aila Cross bore no wrinkles or marks of stress, and her body was still rocking.

Yup, every woman wanted to look like her, or her eldest daughter, Amerie, who was the spitting image of Aila, minus her golden locks and slightly plumper lips.

Aila Cross was a goddess, someone Keira looked up to, yet could never live up to her, the media or society’s expectations. Still, Keira loved her mum to pieces. They all did.

"Luna, the cars are ready for you now," one of the many guards who had been keeping a good perimeter around their little hideout in the woods said. He bowed his head and rounded the corner once Aila nodded in response.

This chapt𝙚r is updated by freeωebnovēl.c૦m.

"Alright. Amerie, get that crap off your face, you don’t even need it." Aila pulled away, getting straight to organising everyone. "Mandy, can you take Chloe? Keira…"

Keira was already waving as she walked away and entered the back of the car, thanking the guard holding the door open. After adjusting her black cap, she looked outside the opposite window while waiting for the others. With a sigh, Keira put her wireless headphones in and turned up the music on her phone.

Once everyone was inside, the cars pulled away from the little haven Keira didn’t want to leave. She watched it grow smaller in the distance, sitting across from Amerie, who was already dolling herself up for the day.

The drive wasn’t long but with the lodge in the middle of nowhere and only a select few who knew about it, the trip away did feel worlds apart. It was the quiet Keira enjoyed the most. She could relax more without the watchful eyes of everyone.

Keira tuned back in and cursed silently when she noticed Amerie’s features lighting up as the car began to slow. She turned her music down, allowing it to fade out as the outside world started to buzz in her ears with the sounds of cameras, squeals and guards ordering people to ’stand back’.

"How did they know we were away?" Mum asked from the opposite window seat, her brows furrowed.

"Gee… I wonder," Keira commented sarcastically, unlocking her phone, opening social media and clicking on Amerie’s latest update.

That girl could hardly go a weekend without updating her fans. There was no signal at the lodge, but from some of the uploads, it was clear her sister had found a way.

Amerie didn’t bother apologising as she pressed a button, and the black-tinted window rolled down, allowing the flashing lights and roar of noise to flood the car. Keira lowered her cap further and looked down, hating the public eye and the glamour Amerie seemed so well designed for.

Their mum couldn’t even scold Amerie because of the media and the Cross Family fans, who somehow managed to block the area into the gated community of Silver Crescent.

Keira watched in admiration, jealousy and disgust as her sister blew kisses and replied to the journalists, particularly a well-known source for all supernatural creatures, Faustice, who was at the centre of the questioning as the cars still tried to move. He was the only one who managed to squeeze past the guards.

She didn’t know how that was possible because his hair was bright blue, his skin spray-tanned, and his teeth glowed a bright white. It was a lot to see first thing in the morning-- far too much flashiness for Keira’s tastes.

Faustice wasn’t in his usually flashy clothes, so perhaps that was how he barged through to the front. If anything the slight blonde flakes, the first sign of stubble around his mouth revealed just how quickly he jumped out of bed and came straight to the gates to get a small scoop on the most beloved werewolf family.

"Who’s with you, Your Highness?" Faustice beamed at Amerie, his white teeth almost comically blinding Keira. He was closest to them but not near enough for him or his cameraman to detect the inside of the car.

Keira kept her face mostly hidden, but she was the only one in the family who shared her father’s features. With long black silky hair and silver eyes, Keira was the odd one out in the royal family and easy to pinpoint when she was with her sisters and brothers.

"Oh." Amerie waved her manicured hand. "We are returning from a girly trip away. It’s just us Cross Women!"

Keira huffed, leaning as far back as possible and avoiding the limelight her sister worked so well under.

Faustice grinned, "Does that include Princess Chloe?" He acted like he was peering inside the car to locate her younger sister, but the guard nudged him back.

Chloe cuddled into her mum tighter, hiding her face in the crook of Aila’s neck and using her long hair to hide herself further. This ticked Keira off more. Chloe was so young, and the fans and media can be extremely overwhelming.

Chloe was everyone’s ’little sweetheart’, pin cushioning everyone’s hearts with a smile and twirl of her dresses before she’d skip away from the cameras all to hide and relax once more.

"Fauce?" Keira clipped. The showman, a journalist, whatever he was, looked in her direction, his smile faltering only slightly to Keira’s slightly less welcoming tone. Keira internally cursed at herself. She was well-practised in this, well, not so much as Amerie.

Keira put on the works, even while keeping her eyes hidden. She leaned forward so more of her visage was on show. With a tender smile, she said in a sweet tone. "If you don’t let us pass, I’m going to be late for my first day back at school."

Faustice’s smile returned to its usual showman, fake-as-f smile, and he stepped back. "Oh, we cannot have that!"

No, we cannot, Keira thought dryly as she flopped back in her seat, put her elbow on the window seal and rested her cheek on her fist, furthermore hiding from the crowds of people calling out their names—mostly Aila, Amerie and Chloe.

Just how she liked it.

It was odd whenever Keira heard her name called.

The cars started to move forward. The wind from outside flourished through Keira’s dark locks, swishing them across her features more. She didn’t mind it one bit while Amerie continued to lean out the window, waving at her fans.

With her trained, stunning smile still plastered on her face, pink lip gloss shimmering, Amerie murmured, "You should smile more to them. They love you too."

Keira snorted. "They don’t know me…" and expect me to be like you, her mind finished what her mouth could not.

"You should let them get to know you. Your looks are so enchanting…"

Amerie blew another kiss to a fan, ending the awkwardness Keira started to feel under her sister’s attention. Their mum also stepped in, pressing the button to close the window to the outside world so she could berate Amerie for causing such a scene first thing in the morning.