Hunter's Attraction

Lena's First Day

Lena had been jittery all morning, and Sirena struggled to coax her into eating breakfast. First, Lena woke up at 4 a.m. and spent 20 minutes joyfully chatting on her tablet with a mostly sleeping Samson. Afterward, she burst into Aiden and Sirena’s room and gleefully jumped on their bed, making them scramble to cover themselves.

After changing her outfit multiple times, Lena convinced Lily to do her hair, a request Lily happily obliged. "The first month of school was always my favorite," Lily said as she braided Lena’s hair. "I got to show off all my new outfits."

Aiden and Sirena both rolled their eyes. "Your Aunt Lily used to model all her outfits for us the night before," Aiden said. "She held us hostage."

"Shut up," Lily laughed, tying off the braid with a beaded elastic. "All done!"

Now, Lena sat happily at her desk, her feet swinging as they hovered above the floor. She was thrilled to be with kids her age! Although she could have been placed with fifth graders, she had begged to stay with other 8-year-olds. So far, she was not disappointed; she'd already chatted with several classmates and planned five play dates.

The bell rang, and Lena saw her teacher’s silhouette appear through the door. Smoothing her shirt one last time, she caught a strange, yet familiar, scent wafting past her nose. Lena frowned. The scent felt familiar, though she couldn’t quite place it.

The teacher opened the door with a cheerful greeting, “Hello, class! I hear we have a new student today!” Lena beamed, feeling her excitement bubble up. Her teacher was beautiful, with skin the color of Uncle Aiden’s eyes when they shifted. Her bright dress was covered in flowers, and her hair shone with vivid color. But… Lena noticed a peculiar look on the teacher’s face as she stared at Lena. Does she not like me?

“Elena?” the teacher asked.

Lena frowned. “Um… no, miss. My name is Lena.”

“Oh, Lena,” the teacher chuckled. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m Miss Trixie.”

***

Lily was in the middle of a leg stretch when her phone rang. JP. She sighed before answering. "Hello?"

"Hola, Lily," he greeted, sounding unusually cheerful.

"What do you want, JP?"

"I forgot to borrow the book from the library, and now it’s gone."

"Seriously?" Lily frowned. "You’re supposed to have your rough draft ready tomorrow."

"Exacto—so you understand my problem."

"JP," Lily groaned.

"I remember you mentioning that your brother’s girlfriend might have a copy."

"Yes," Lily said, already knowing where this was going.

"Is there any chance she has more than one copy?"

"No," Lily replied, "but you're in luck. I've read the book so many times, I know it like the back of my hand." She heard Jean-Pierre’s sigh of relief. "You can borrow it."

"Great! May I swing by and pick it up today?"

"Sure. It’s not like I’m going anywhere.”

"Good. I’m here."

"What?!"

***

Trixie watched as her new student—“Lena”—played and interacted with the other children and changeling pups. She appeared to be having the time of her life, but Trixie’s mind was racing. Lena was the spitting image of Trixie’s deceased niece. She even had the same scent as Elena. If Lena smelled the same, there was a 99.9% chance she was Elena. But… how? Elena had theoretically died in that fire nearly four years ago—the same fire JP had started in a drugged state… or at least, that’s what Trixie believed. Roderick hadn’t been very forthcoming about that night.

Refocusing on “Lena,” who was now “It” in a game of tag, Trixie pondered: if Lena really was Elena, then what had happened to her, and where had she been all this time? Time would soon tell. Elena had been a unique werewolf, and Trixie would be watching closely to see if Lena was just as special.