Captured - Cara Wylde Page 0,2

of its own accord. I got up and made my way to the balcony. And as I walked outside, I saw it.

My family was coming back, and their hunt had been successful. They were currently busy unloading a dead wolf from the car.

It was massive, bigger than any wolf I’d seen before. Its fur was jet black, reminding me of the Black Diamond Lake. For a few seconds, there was something beautiful and majestic about the sight of the animal, like the magic I’d imagined I could find in the water. And then, I blinked, and the beautiful sight of the magnificent beast turned into a grotesque spectacle.

The body was mostly in one piece. Of course it was, because my father wouldn’t want to damage his trophy. But there was blood splattered all over its black fur, and as my family struggled to carry it out of the truck, it spilled over their hands. Congealed clumps of dark scarlet landed on Emmett’s face, but he didn’t seem to mind. His face was flushed, but it was because of triumph and not just exertion.

“This is the best catch we’ve had in ages. I can’t believe our luck.”

“I know,” my father said. “Good job at spotting it. Your aim was impeccable.”

“He got lucky,” Richard grumbled. Was he jealous? It almost seemed like it. “I could have sworn that thing heard us when we approached.”

“Well, it doesn’t matter now,” my uncle replied. “Come on. Let’s take it to the workshop.”

With that, the four men carried the massive wolf into the taxidermy workshop. I went back to my room, feeling even worse than before.

Please, God, help me survive this.

* * *

Dinner was excruciating. All my family could talk about was the amazing hunt. Oh, they weren’t rude to me, but that just made it even worse. Emmett and Richard greeted me politely and then decided to regale me with the tale of their bravery.

“You should have seen it, Isabel,” Emmett said. “It was the largest fucking wolf I’ve ever run into in my life. It must have weighed as much as I do.”

“Didn’t even know wolves could grow that big,” Richard offered. He’d gotten over his jealousy pretty quickly and was now just as enthusiastic about their success. “I wonder if we can go back to look for more. I want to get my hands on one of those fucking beasts too.”

“Don’t swear at the table, boys,” Melinda chastised them with an indulgent smile. “And there’s plenty of time for you to hunt more and for Isabel to see today’s creature. We’ve only just arrived.”

I hated her. How could she encourage this disgusting behavior? How couldn’t she see how wrong it was?

“Plenty of time, right,” I said between gritted teeth. I stabbed a potato on my plate with such viciousness the porcelain almost cracked. “I look forward to it.”

The sarcasm went over my father’s head, or maybe he just decided to ignore it. “Happy to hear it, Isabel. I was actually thinking of starting to teach you a few techniques too. After all, there’s no rule to say you can’t learn how to hunt if you’re a woman.”

I stared at him in horror, unable to believe my ears. My father wasn’t exactly a strong supporter of feminist ideals. I didn’t like his attitude, but the one good thing that had come out of it was the fact that he’d never shown interest in involving me in the family hobby.

Apparently, he’d decided that was going to change.

Hell no! It was bad enough that I had to witness it and couldn’t do anything about it. But to actually kill these animals with my own hands? I’d rather die.

I must have said at least some of that out loud, because my father narrowed his eyes at me. “You’re assuming I’m going to give you a choice. You know better than that, Isabel.”

Awkward silence fell over the dining room. I bit the inside of my cheek so hard it bled. “Father, be honest. Do you really think I can shoot a gun? I’m more likely to blow my head off.”

“It’ll take time, but you’re an excellent student,” he replied, waving his hand. “I…”

He didn’t finish the sentence. The sound of a crash cut him off. After that, everything happened so fast.

We barely had the chance to put down our cutlery and look toward the source of the noise. The next thing I knew, three massive wolves were bursting into the dining room.

They rushed straight through the heavy wooden