Hunter's Attraction

Run and Hide (part 1)

(Monday, 5:30 p.m.)

Sirena stared up at the ceiling as she lay spread out on the bed she sometimes shared with Aiden. She’d been staring for a little over two hours. Her head was in a weird place. Sirena turned her head towards her nightstand, where her anti-depressants and anti-psychotics were. She had finally reached a low dosage, but now she was wondering if she needed to return to her high dosages. She didn’t like feeling these…feelings…and the meds’ side effects did a great job of numbing her to the world. Sirena frowned as soon as the thought entered her mind. “I can’t do that to Aiden,” she whispered to herself. They’d come so far in their relationship. Upping her meds to silence her emotions would be a giant step in the wrong direction. No, she needed to deal with these negative emotions.

Closing her eyes and slowing her thoughts, Sirena inhaled deeply and then exhaled. Her eyes flew open, a familiar tingling sensation spreading across her vision as they began glowing white. She sat up abruptly, a frown on her face. There was a scent she hadn't noticed earlier during the day's chaos, but now it stood out sharply. Standing to her feet, Sirena followed her nose to Lily's room. Sirena usually stayed away from Lily's room. She wanted to give the 20-year-old some semblance of privacy, but now...it was technically an emergency. Sirena pushed Lily's room door open. Sirena didn't have time to dwell on the pink. Her eyes immediately went to the opened window. Someone has been here! All of her senses ignited as her awareness skyrocketed. Sirena raced back to her room, grabbed her phone, and called Lily. "Crap," Sirena muttered when her call went immediately to voicemail. With Lily at work, her phone would be turned off. Sirena dialed Aiden next. "Sirena," Aiden answered. "I was just about to call you. They just called Monte's name. We're-"

"Aiden," Sirena interrupted, "someone's been in our house."

***

(Monday, around 10 p.m.)

Lily slumped against the tree, gasping for air. “Please, please, let him get the text,” she whispered, breathless and desperate. She’d been in the middle of sending Aiden an SOS when a wolf had surprised her, lunging in for an attack. Now, her phone lay shattered in the grass, a hundred yards back.

Quickly, Lily did an inventory check. Her recurve bow had kept its shape, but she was down to her last four or five arrows. Numerous self-inflicted injuries covered her body: without an armguard, she’d earned a nice welt on her forearm from the string slap; her hands were punctured in places from grabbing arrowheads while running. And she’d tripped at least half a dozen times over stones, a log, and a thornbush. Good job using your night vision, Lily, she scolded herself.

A howl startled her, and she came close to screaming as a werewolf landed in front of her. She relaxed, though, when it pawed the ground. “JP,” she gasped. “How many are left?” she whispered. Jean-Pierre stomped his front paws ten times, alternating left and right. “Seriously?” Lily groaned. She took in his bleeding front leg and nose. As long as nothing was broken and his ribs held up, he’d be able to shift back to human form.

Lily glanced up at the moon—it wasn’t even full. “What’s wrong with them?” she asked him. “Why were they all foaming at the mouth?” JP only blinked back at her. “Wow, super informative,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Sorry,” she added quickly, “it’s not like you can talk.” Several distant howls resounded, and Lily rubbed the painful welt on her arm. JP whined and pushed his head into her stomach. “Thanks,” she murmured, forcing herself to stay calm.

She looked up at the night sky, realizing her mother’s astronomy lessons were finally paying off. “That’s part of Hercules,” she pointed out. Jean Pierre raised his head, staring blankly at the stars. “And that is…” Her voice trailed off as realization dawned. “I know where the shelter is. We’re surprisingly close.” More howls echoed, closer this time. The fur on JP’s back rose as he bared his teeth, growling.

“Right,” she said, pushing off from the tree. Her legs wobbled like Jello. “I don’t know if I can keep going,” she whispered, feeling tears sting her eyes. This was nothing like what happened that night.

(Three years earlier, Jamison’s home in Wisconsin)

Lily stood her ground, adjusting her stance and closing her eyes, the lights left on. Reaching out with her senses, she focused like she’d been taught. She wasn’t as good as Aiden, who’d inherited the rare werewolf gene at eighteen, but she was improving. A jiggling sound from the front door told her someone was twisting the knob, breaking the lock. A shuffling in the back showed an intruder entering through the kitchen. A final click meant a second intruder had closed the back door behind them.

Her hand slipped to her back pocket, retrieving several silver throwing stars.

The intruder in the kitchen charged first. Lily threw two stars before he could shift. Next, she notched an arrow, aiming for the werewolf at the front door. A sharp whine told her she’d hit her target.

(Present)

“I can do this,” Lily steadied herself, gripping her bow tightly. “I can do this,” she murmured. “Let’s go.”