Hunter's Attraction

A Rough Weekend

“I will see you on Thursday,” she said, locking eyes with everyone in her group—everyone except JP. “Remember, rough drafts.” Her heart raced as she stood up, the urge to flee overwhelming. She needed to get out of here. As she approached the professor’s desk, she felt the weight of their stares, but it was JP’s gaze that lingered in her mind, heavy and unrelenting.

***

She rushed out of the building, fumbling with her keys in her haste. It wasn’t until she locked herself inside her car that she exhaled, her heartbeat pounding in her ears.

12:30 p.m., Saturday

“You’re—what? I don’t know what that means,” Lily stammered in response to JP’s mother. “I’m not engaged to JP.”

Josefina’s expression fell. “He didn’t tell you.” She frowned before a look of horror spread across her face. “¡Ay no!” she gasped, covering her mouth in shock.

“No, what do you mean? Why would you say that? Por favor, dime,” Lily pleaded, not entirely sure why she even wanted to continue the conversation.

“Mamá!” JP’s voice came from behind her, and she turned as he rushed forward.

“Mijito,” Josefina reached for him, her hand striking his shoulder repeatedly. “¿No le has dicho? ¿No le dijiste?”

“¡Ay! ¡Basta!” JP tried to block her swings. ““No, I—I haven’t told her… I was going to—”

“Told me what?” Lily looked between mother and son, desperate. “I’m getting my brother.”

“No!” JP quickly grabbed her hand as she began to turn away. A strange, pleasant heat shot up Lily’s arm. Startled, she yanked her wrist free. “What was that? What the hell was that!” she repeated. “What did you just do to me?” she demanded, her voice trembling with horror.

“Nothing!” JP stammered, trying to salvage the moment. “It’s—”

“Come on, JP,” a fourth voice cut in, “just tell her.”

Lily and JP turned to see Isabel standing nearby, a smirk on her face, and a small crowd gathering. Lily felt her heart race even faster. She turned back to JP, who stared at her with pleading eyes.

“I don’t know what’s going on,” Lily held up her hands defensively, “but I don’t want any trouble.”

“Too late,” Isabel’s smirk widened. “Turns out, you’re JP’s fated mate.”

Present

Lily fought the urge to slam her head against the steering wheel. This has to be a joke. Humans and werewolves weren’t fated mates, or marked, or whatever Josefina had tried explaining to her on Saturday night. I’m not a werewolf! No one in my family is a werewolf!

Except… Lily groaned, leaning her head back against the seat. Her mother’s late father—Lily’s grandfather—had been born to a werewolf mother and a werewolf father. Her mother couldn’t shift, but she had unnaturally fast reflexes. And Aiden, her brother, had a rapid healing ability. As for Lily… she had eagle-like vision and freakishly perfect aim.

Lily slumped down further in her chair. This was… something. Something big. “So much for easing into the semester,” she mumbled. Glancing at the clock on her dashboard, she groaned again. “Great.” She was late for her shift.

***

Jean-Pierre stood, pushed his chair back with a shove, glaring at his group. “This is happening,” he stated firmly. “We already talked about this,” he said, referring to their brief conversation from Saturday.

5:00 p.m., Saturday

“I can’t believe you,” JP growled at Isabel, meeting her and the others outside his house. “How’d you even find out?”

“Diego told me,” she answered with a shrug. Jean-Pierre glared at Diego. “How’d you find out?” JP demanded.

“Julian told me.”

“Julian!” JP whirled around to face his best friend and cousin. “Really?”

“Hey,” Julian said, “you know I can’t keep a secret. This is on you.” Jean-Pierre glared at him.

“Just…reject her already,” Isabel said.

“I don’t know if you were listening earlier, but my mother said it’s a long and hard process.”

“But your bond hasn’t fully cemented yet,” Isabel nearly whined, crossing her arms in frustration.

“That eager to become Luna of this pack?” Diego joked.

“Shut up, Diego!”

“Enough!” JP snarled. "Look, until we find an actual solution, we need to play nice with the hunters." All three scoffed. “What?”

“I can’t believe the love of my life is a hunter,” Julian joked.

“Shut up, Julian!”

“Testy,” Julian smirked. JP’s jaw clenched, his patience hanging by a thread. “Someone’s feeling a little protective,” Julian continued to joke.

“I will hurt you.”

Present

“This doesn’t have to happen,” Isabel said. “I’m sure the elders will find a solution.”

“And if there is none?” Julian asked her with a smirk.

“Shut up.”

“Look,” JP interrupted the two. “Would it kill you to be nice to her?”

“Us?” Diego asked. “What about you? You haven’t exactly been her knight-in-shining-armor protecting her honor.”

“I know, okay? I’ve screwed up,” JP ran a hand through his hair, his voice rough with guilt. “Which is why I’m going to fix it. Right now.”

“Good luck,” Juan huffed.

“Shut up, Julian.”

***

Lily apologized profusely to her manager. "Lily, Lily, Lily," Jesse chuckled, "it's fine. You're barely five minutes late."

"Five minutes can lead to 10 minutes, which can lead to 20 minutes—"

"If you ever show up 10+ minutes late, I'll know there's an emergency. You consistently show up on time. It's okay that you're almost five minutes late. Relax." Jesse smiled, calming Lily down. It was fine. She was fine. "Oh, and that boy from last week is staring at you again."

Lily rolled her eyes, briefly throwing a glance in JP's direction.

"Is everything fine? Do I need to call security?" Jesse asked, concern lacing her voice.

"No," Lily shrugged. "He's harmless. Just ignore him."

"Okay," Jesse replied, still keeping an eye out.

***

Sirena sat at the table, two encyclopedias about mate marks laid out in front of her—one from her family, the other from the Cortez pack. Although she hadn’t been there to meet the Cortez pack on Saturday, Lily had caught her up on Sunday afternoon. A brief rundown: Hector, nephew to Beta Aguilar, had been found dead last week; Juan, the drugged werewolf who attacked Lily and JP, was still missing; and the dead wolf found on the road remained unidentified. Aiden was working on that. But Sirena thought it best to learn more about this "mate thing" for Lily’s sake. Poor girl had nearly had a panic attack.

“What are you doing?” Lena asked, climbing onto the chair beside her, Monte, her ever-present companion. He’d gone from being Sirena’s shadow to Lena’s almost overnight.

“I’m helping Auntie Lily with something,” Sirena answered.

“‘Mate Marks’,” Lena read aloud, precocious as ever. “What is a mate mark?”

“Well,” Sirena paused, thinking of how best to explain, “sometimes Alphas and future alphas wake up with a tattoo on their chest, arm, stomach, or somewhere else. It appears overnight. That means they have a mate they’re supposed to find and eventually marry.”

“Oh,” Lena ooh-ed. “That sounds lovely.”

“I guess so,” Sirena laughed.

“Do you have a mate mark?” Lena asked, eyes wide with curiosity.

“We—wolves like you and me—don’t get them.”

“We don’t have a special mate made just for us?” Lena looked horrified.

“No, that’s not what it means,” Sirena nudged her playfully. “It just means…less pressure.”

“Hmm...” Lena frowned, still puzzled. “I don’t think I understand.”

“Maybe when you’re older,” Sirena chuckled. “Why don’t you and Monte play outside? I’ll start dinner in about an hour.”

“You’re going to cook?” Lena crinkled her nose.

“Spaghetti,” Sirena reassured her, “only spaghetti.”

“You promise?” Lena asked, her tone worried.

“You know, I’m not a terrible cook!” Sirena called after her, laughing as Lena and Monte raced outside, Lena’s laughter echoing behind them.

Sirena smiled to herself before returning to the encyclopedias. A memory flickered to life in the back of her mind.

23 years ago, Knight Pack

“Mommy,” a younger Sirena asked as she held a small bow-and-arrow, “what’s a mate mark?”

“Where did you hear that term?”

“Aunt Lina was talking to Grandma on the phone,” Sirena answered.

“Didn’t I tell you two to stay out of grown-folks’ business?” their mother gave them a reproving glance.

“We didn’t go into busy-ness,” Sirena explained, “we were hiding in the kitchen.”

“The cupboards,” Silena added innocently.

“You two,” their mother laughed, pulling both girls into a tight embrace. “You’re too much, and I love you both so much.” She began covering their cheeks in kisses.

“Eww, Mommy!” Silena squealed, “No kisses! No kisses!”

Sirena laughed at the memory as tears welled up in her eyes. She didn’t have too many pleasant memories... or any memories, truly. Wiping her eyes before the tears could fall, she looked back at the encyclopedia—then unexpectedly, her senses flared. Someone is outside! She rushed to the window just as Lena’s scream pierced the air.

***

Lena picked another wildflower. "I'm going to make you a pretty crown," she told Monte. "But don't destroy this one. You ate the last one. Bad dog. Dogs don't eat flowers." A twig snapped, and Lena froze. Monte stiffened beside her. Instead of calling out “Hello?” like one might normally do, Lena activated her Alpha vision, attentively scanning her surroundings.

"Monte," she whispered, backing away slowly from the sound, "I think we should—"

GRRRL!! A large, gray wolf—a werewolf—lunged from the bushes. Lena screamed.