Hunter's Attraction

Monday Eve

After carrying Lena home and giving her strict orders not to move from the couch until she or Aiden returned, Sirena set off to get Monte. The walk was long, and by the time she reached Monte, an hour had almost passed. The effort to carry him back to the house drained the last of her energy. Still, she pressed on, knowing Lena would be waiting.

Unsure of where his injuries were, she didn’t risk carrying him on her back in werewolf form. Instead, she had to bear the weight in her human form. Throughout the walk, Sirena whispered soothing words into Monte’s ear, keeping him calm and distracting herself from the fact that she was trudging through the woods—naked.

Once they reached the house, Sirena gently laid Monte on the sturdiest surface she could find. Lena came limping in, wearing an oversized T-shirt and holding another in her small arms. "I’m sorry, Sirena! I’m so sorry! I know I should have shifted!" she cried.

“Then why didn’t you?” Sirena demanded, unaware her eyes had turned red.

Before Lena could answer, Aiden burst into the house. "Sirena! Lena!" he called.

“In here!” Sirena replied.

Aiden rushed over, wrapping both of them in his arms. "Are you girls okay? Chris said that someone attacked you.”

“Lena and Monte were attacked,” Sirena corrected him. “Monte is on the table. We need to get him to the vet.”

“Okay, I’ll handle it,” Aiden said, stepping back. He turned to Lena. "Are you hurt?"

"She didn't shift, and her ankle is swollen," Sirena said, her voice stiffly conveying the information.

Aiden shot Sirena a surprised look but addressed Lena. "Go wait in the truck. Do you need to be carried?” Lena shook her head, her expression full of sadness, and limped out the door.

Once Lena was out of earshot, Aiden turned to Sirena, his voice low. "What happened?"

“I don’t know,” Sirena replied. “I was sitting here, then I heard Monte howl.”

“And the other wolf?”

“He’s alive. I had to…compel him,” she said.

Are you okay?" he asked, concern evident in his voice. He knew all too well the flashbacks Sirena struggled with when it came to unplanned, panicked, shifting.

“I’ll be fine,” she nodded.

"Okay, okay." Aiden dragged a hand down his face. "I’ll take Monte to the vet. You stay here and try to catch your breath."

"But, what if—"

"Sirena, it’ll be fine," he reassured her. "Chris should’ve found the other werewolf by now. Hopefully, he won’t need backup."

"Well, I’ll be here if he does."

"Good. We’ll talk about Lena when I get back, okay?" He framed her face with his hands. "Are you here? Are you steady?"

"I’m fine," Sirena said.

Aiden searched her face for a moment before kissing her tenderly. "Okay." He pulled away. "I’ll keep you updated." Walking over to the counter, he lifted the heavy Saarloos. Monte whined and whimpered as Aiden hoisted him up. "It’s okay, boy," he cooed. "It’s okay." He looked back at Sirena. "Contact Lily. She may still be working, but send her a text, okay?"

Sirena nodded.

"I’ll be in touch," Aiden added, before heading out the door with Monte.

***

It was 9 p.m. when Lily’s shift finally ended. Searching her bag for her keys, she breathed a sigh of relief when she found them and headed toward her car. Her contentment vanished when she saw who was leaning on the passenger side.

“Seriously?” She quickened her pace. “How’d you even know this was my car?”

“It smells like you,” JP said with a smile. “We need to talk.”

“No, we don’t.” Lily walked to the driver’s side.

“Please, let’s just—”

“Do you want to be mated to me?” Lily cut him off, point-blank.

“What?”

“Do you want me as a mate?”

“No... I’d like to have a choice.”

“Then there’s no reason for us to talk,” Lily said with a slight strain in her voice.

“You don’t understand mate marks.”

“You don’t understand me,” Lily shot back. “Leave me alone.”

Suddenly, the parking lot went dark as all the lights went out.

“What the...?” Lily glanced around as other college students whooped in the distance. “Great,” she muttered. The dark always brought unpleasant memories to the surface. She froze, hand on the car door, when she saw movement beyond JP. "Dang it," she muttered again, cursing her eagle-like vision.

“What?” JP asked, noticing her gaze locked behind him. He sniffed the air and whirled around. “Oh, crap.”

“Friends of yours?” Lily frowned, tossing her bag into the car and pulling out a recurve-bow and arrows from the back seat.

“I don’t know who they are,” JP said, watching as Lily strapped on a quiver. “I swear. I don’t recognize any of those scents. Well…” He trailed off, backing up slowly until he grabbed Lily’s hand. “I recognize one scent.”

“What are you doing?” she demanded.

“We need to run... to the woods,” he motioned with his head.

“Why? And why are you holding my hand?”

“I’ll explain later. Just run. We don’t want innocent people getting hurt.”

“Jean, I’m an innocent person... sort of,” she said, trying unsuccessfully to free her hand.

“You know what I mean,” he said, pulling her along.

“Why are there werewolves in town?” Lily asked as they ran into the woods. “And why are we running? How do you know they’re after us?”

“Because,” JP turned to her, “they smell like you.”

***

Jean-Pierre listened as Lily steadied her breathing. Who is this girl? She’s calm, cool, collected, talented, beautiful, and—A loud howl cut through his thoughts. He heard Lily take a sharp breath. Moving as quietly as possible, he padded over to where she was hiding and nudged her leg with his big head. Lily glanced down at him, her chocolate-brown eyes filled with tension. He nuzzled his head against her leg, reassuring her, before returning to his hiding spot to wait.

***

I can’t believe this is happening again! Lily felt disbelief wash over her. It was Monday, and she had just fought a drugged, rabid werewolf on Friday. Friday! I can’t believe I’m being attacked—and by 20 werewolves this time! What is going on? I moved to Virginia to escape the packs, hunters, and inner-pack turmoil. Virginia werewolves were reputed to be the most mentally stable among American werewolves, but of course... I just had to live in the one place in Virginia where—this is JP’s fault! Yep, Lily nodded to herself. All JP’s fault. Unfortunately, her moment of self-affirmation was interrupted by the sudden sound of a nearby howl.

Only panicking for a moment, Lily inhaled and exhaled deeply, tightening her grip on her bow. She gasped when she felt a furry head bump her hand. Glancing down, well, a little higher than her waist, Lily instantly recognized JP in wolf form. He nudged her leg gently, rubbing his head against her, a comforting presence in the chaos. A warmth spread through her chest at the sight of him; it was reassuring to have JP by her side, a reminder that she wasn’t alone in facing the danger ahead. It certainly made facing 10+ werewolves a lot more manageable.

More howls filled the air, quickening Lily’s heartbeat. They ensured that no onlookers and civilians would be hurt by being far enough away from campus. She needed to act now. Notching an arrow, Lily stepped out from her hiding place. She didn’t take joy in the thought of killing a werewolf, but with at least 20 wolves, one of her, and 10 silver-tipped arrows capable of piercing a werewolf’s ribcage, she knew that some would have to die. Setting her sights on the wolf leading the pack, she released her arrow.

***

Trixie watched from her hiding spot as her drugged werewolves chased after Lily and her nephew. Glancing at the jacket in her hand, Trixie smiled. Stealing it hadn’t been easy, but losing track of Juan had turned out to be a blessing in disguise. By the time she reached the hunter’s house, no one was home—neither his girlfriend, their child, nor their dog. It may have been reckless for Trixie to break Lily’s bedroom window, but being part of a new alpha family allowed her to mask her scent. The family dog wouldn’t be able to detect anything.

Turning her attention back to the pack, she frowned when she realized just how deep into the woods Lily and JP had gone. I need to get closer. None of her wolves would attack JP unless he intervened between them and Lily. After all, this was Lily’s jacket. Even with her fated mate’s help, there was no way Lily would survive the night.