Page 322 - Hunter - The Vigil

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causes so profoundly that they cannot stay off the radar pling on his powerful frame. He’s normally tanned, and his face
for long, and hunters will pale when realizing that it’s sports a wide range of old scars — more after every hunt. Black
not just one city block they control, but a whole damn hair sprouts from his head in a mane down to his shoulders, and
city, or an entire highway, and the awful demons and a thick layer of stubble graces his chin every morning. Every
spirits those werewolves summon seem to herald an end move he makes exudes “Alpha Male,” from his stance to the
to the world as all humans know it. An apocalypse born way his deep brown eyes focus on people’s throats.
of wild hearts. In his hybrid form, Jack stands nine feet to his shoulder,
rippling with powerful muscles and covered in a thick layer of
Jack Cross black fur. Razor-sharp teeth jut from monstrous jaws, and he re-
Quote: Don’t think of it as murder. Think of it as competitive tains the habit of staring at the throat of the person he targets.
acquisitions. As a wolf, he’s a burly black wolf with a penchant for running
Background: His friends said there was always some- through shadows faster than the untrained eye can follow.
thing predatory about Jack Cross. He wasn’t just competi- Storytelling Hints: In person, Jack Cross is a complete
tive; that, they could deal with. He had to win, and when bastard. He doesn’t hold with sweet-talking his way past
he did, he lorded it over his peers. That didn’t stop with high people — he’s not the sort to debase himself before humans.
school. Throughout college, he set himself constant goals and Instead, he hits them full on. He gets up in people’s faces,
stalked victory. The only thing worse than losing to him was shoulders back and chest out, looking like he’s barely holding
being around him when he lost. He powered his way through back from lashing out. Even when he’s being nice, there’s an
college, destroying his exams — and killing a professor who air of hostility, and he capitalizes on every sign of weakness.
dared to fail him. That professor was the fi rst person to die by The other werewolves in his pack aren’t quite so bad, though
Jack’s claws in the light of the moon. they do what he says without question.
Jack graduated in time to take over a failing dot-com. He Jack isn’t a mindless beast. He and his pack hold a ter-
got a lead from a friend, and through a combination of his in- ritory much like a pack of wolves, straying from it only to
timidating presence and outright threats, he gained majority pursue their prey. If something threatens their territory, they
control. Other werewolves now hold positions inside Cross hunt it down and kill it. While many of their targets are hu-
Technological, from board members to security guards. The man, the pack has hunted a number of stranger targets. Jack

firm is more than just a cover — in many ways, it acts like a himself has been the target of several hunter cells. One cell
werewolf. Cross Tech is a predator. Its board isolates useful or didn’t realize that werewolves hunt in packs, and died after
weak companies and piles on the pressure, driving them to mounting a sloppy attack. The other saw a very different
either dissolve or accept a hostile takeover. If a few human side to the boardroom werewolf. He discovered their inves-
cattle have to fall to make his company’s prey collapse, they’re tigation late on, and only when they approached him did
necessary casualties. As an up-and-coming industrialist, he’s he realize the skills they had. He isn’t stupid, and knew that
a face at charity dinners and other social gatherings — while killing them would be very bad for him. Instead, he offered
everyone finds him a bit scary, they also find him a bit…sexy? them a job. Although the relationship between cell and pack

He’s always on the lookout for his next prey, and when he couldn’t be called cordial, they share information on targets
fi nds it, he hunts. and stay out of each other’s way. This is how Jack prefers to
Appearance: Cross grooms himself to be every inch the deal with his opponents — if he can use them, then he offers
powerful businessman. He capitalizes on his body language and them a deal. He’ll capitulate to any number of demands, but
feral nature with immaculately pressed suits and a series of ties he enjoys setting his “loyal” hunters against those who hold
featuring subtly unsettling designs. Even when he’s off duty, he’s out against him. He tests each cell’s ability though a number
never seen without an expensive watch and a pair of cuffl inks. of false fronts and shell identities that make finding the real

He stands six feet tall and broad at the shoulder, muscles rip- Cross signifi cant work for an investigator.

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