Hunter's Attraction

Surprise

Lily, out of breath, studied the werewolf in front of her. He—or she — was staring at her wide-eyed, looking just as confused as she felt. "Um," Lily began hesitantly, noticing how the werewolf seemed to size her up. "Are you okay?" She took a tentative step forward. "Do you… need help?" she asked, gulping. The only werewolves she’d spoken to before were Sirena and Lena, and they were always in human form. "Do you need water or something?" Lily looked him up and down, and then her eyes landed on the blood pooling by his front paw. "Oh," she gasped, falling to her knees in front of him. She reached out and touched his injured paw but immediately pulled back when the werewolf yelped. "I’m sorry! I’m sorry," Lily apologized, her heart racing. "I want to help, but I need to get you inside, and I’m not strong enough to carry you."

The werewolf seemed to understand and tried to put weight on his paw, but collapsed to the ground with a painful squeal.

"Oh no," Lily gasped again, biting her lip as her mind raced for a solution. Suddenly, an idea struck her. "I’ll be right back." She rushed inside, muttering to herself as she ran in and out of rooms, slamming doors. "Where is it? Where is it?" she muttered. "Sorry!" she apologized to the animals she had startled awake. Finally, she found what she was looking for. "I knew Lena left this here." Grabbing the item, she hurried back outside.

"Here!" Lily beamed, presenting the wagon. The werewolf stared at her, incredulously. "Look," Lily explained, "I might be able to lift you, but carrying you… not a chance. Please, get on. I really don’t want to be out here if more rogues are around." Lily could’ve sworn the werewolf looked at her with pity before reluctantly getting onto the wagon.

Working together, they managed to get him on the wagon with as little pain as possible. Once inside, Lily double-checked, then triple-checked all the locks.

Satisfied that everything was secure, she grabbed Monte’s expensive, custom-made, humorously large dog bed—the one Lena sometimes slept in when she was in werewolf form and feeling cross—and helped the injured werewolf limp over to it. "I don’t think Monte will mind… hopefully," she muttered. "It’s a bit... small, but..." She trailed off once she had settled the werewolf. It wasn’t cozy, and the werewolf’s large body engulfed the specially made dog bed…but it would do. "Okay,” Lily sighed, “I’m going to grab some antibiotics, water, and gauze to clean your wound. I’ll be right back."

***

Jean-Pierre followed Lily with his eyes as she gathered medical supplies from the shelves. His head was spinning. Lily is a hunter! My mate is a hunter! What… how… huh? He struggled to find a word to describe his feelings—‘confusion’ was inadequate. He was utterly speechless. Who was this girl? She wasn't the wimpy priss he and his friends had assumed she was. Beneath the pink, the Prada, and the gloss was a level-headed, skilled hunter. His attraction to her skyrocketed, and that worried him. “I’m back,” Lily’s soft voice broke his train of thought. Jean-Pierre snapped back to attention, eyes wide.

I can’t introduce a hunter to my pack, JP thought, hunters aren’t allowed. Good hunters, bad hunters—it doesn’t matter. No hunters. He needed to get rid of this mate bond, and soon.

***

“Do you know me?” Lily asked as she wrapped the werewolf’s paw. “Your staring is intense—makes me think you recognize me.” The werewolf blinked his large brown eyes.

“Well, anyway,” Lily continued, “my name’s Lily. I’m a hunter with The Guild.” The wolf’s ears twitched.

“Oh, so you’ve heard of us. Cool.” She tightened the gauze around his paw. “You don’t have to tell me who you are.” She glanced at the bite. “It doesn’t look too deep. I just wanted to stop the bleeding. You should be fully healed in the next ten minutes. I’ll check on you later.”

***

Jean-Pierre watched Lily’s retreating form, his mind racing. He did not know what to do, but knew he needed to decide promptly. He could already feel his body healing. Maybe I can remain in wolf form? No. Once an injury heals, a wolf should swiftly shift into human form to ensure the corresponding organ or appendage is fully cured.

Jean-Pierre sighed internally. He’d have to leave here in human form. That meant exposing himself to Lily... naked. If only… his thoughts trailed off.

The mate bond must be at work, he realized, as Lily returned with a pair of men’s basketball shorts and a shirt. It was as if she had read his mind. “Hey,” she greeted him with a warm smile. “I called my brother. He told me where he keeps his extra clothes, and he’ll take care of the wolf outside.” She set the clothes down in front of him.

Jean-Pierre gave her what he hoped was a grateful look. “I also have microwaveable burritos,” Lily continued, blushing a little, “and I know where my brother’s girlfriend keeps her Cup-of-Noodles. You know… if you’re hungry.”

Jean-Pierre nodded his large wolf head, and the bright look on Lily’s face warmed his heart.

“Okay,” she smiled. “I’ll be in the other room whenever you’re ready.”

***

Lily opened her economics book, willing her racing heart to slow down. Hopefully, the werewolf would be female and not male. If this is a male…This would be her first time alone with a guy who wasn’t related to her in two years. She could tell the werewolf was male, and Lily prayed he was a nice guy. Not that she didn't know how to protect herself—she did—but she didn't want to fight or, worse, have to kill anyone. If push came to shove, she’d defend herself at all costs. Still, her foot tapped nervously against the floor. “I’ll be fine,” she muttered, “breathe in, breathe out.” Closing her eyes, she mentally ran through the grounding techniques she’d learned in therapy. She didn’t open them again until an “ahem” broke her concentration.

Turning to greet her guest with a bright smile on her face, Lily’s jaw dropped. “JP?” she squeaked. JP chuckled, giving a small wave with an anxious smile. "Hey."

"What the what!" Lily blurted, standing up so fast she nearly knocked over her chair. "You’re the wolf? You?" Her mind raced, trying to reconcile the two images—JP, the werewolf, and JP, the guy from class. "How did I not realize? How long have you—wait, were you spying on me this whole time or something? Is this some type of-of-of initiation?"

JP vigorously shook his head. "No, it’s not like that."

Lily stared at him, her eyes wide. "I… I need to sit down. Or maybe I should stand. Or—what is happening right now?"