Hunter's Attraction

Lily's Story (part 2)

TRIGGER WARNING: PHYSICAL ABUSE

Lily released her hair from the ponytail, letting it fall over her shoulders as she began. “Sometimes, different sects of The Guild would meet to update the heads of state or whatever. Teens, tweens, kids—we’d train, spar, bond. I was popular in both worlds. My dad was, is, a high-ranking Guild member, so people wanted to get on his good side. I was also a cheerleader at my high school. We basically ran the school.”

“Like in every American high school movie,” JP teased, smiling.

Lily rolled her eyes. “It wasn’t like that… Or maybe it was,” she admitted. “I dated the right jocks, played dumb just enough for teachers to pity me. But I didn’t want the hunter life. I wanted house parties, field parties. I thought… the hunter lifestyle was beneath me. Justin changed that—at least, I thought he did.”

“Justin?” JP’s frown deepened.

“He was 21, a college guy. And I was 17, feeling ‘mature’ and untouchable.” Her laugh was bitter. “Until him, I’d had female trainers. But Justin wanted to train me. Said I was beautiful, intelligent. And he wanted to ‘help me.’” Her hands clenched at the memory, anger and shame rising inside her. She felt a warm touch as JP covered her fists, interlacing his fingers with hers. She didn’t dare look up, breathing through the mix of comfort and confusion his touch stirred. “My dad… he saw right through Justin. We fought about it.”

“You don’t even know him!” Lily argued emphatically.

“I know his type,” her father replied calmly. “There’s no way he is going to train you.”

“That’s not fair,” Lily pouted, “Trisha has male trainers all of the time.”

“The men that train Trisha don’t have predatory gazes. There’s something off about Justin. I don’t want you alone with him. I don’t want you anywhere near him.”

“But-“

“If you want a guy to train you, what about Keith Evanson’s son? He’s really impressive with the bow-and-arrow. You know what…once Aiden returns, he can become your new training partner.”

“I don’t want Aiden. I already told Justin ‘yes.’”

“Another thing, why didn’t Justin ask me directly?” Cliff asked his daughter with a raised brow. “No, there’s something off. Either you resume training with me, Aiden, or your old trainer. Those are your options.”

“Ugh! Mom!” Lily called out just as her mother entered the kitchen.

“I could hear your conversation from upstairs,” Lily’s mom, Sarah, sighed. “Your father is right,” she stated calmly. “Your father and I have been discussing this Justin fellow at length with the other parents.”

“But he cleared the background check. Dad said so himself.”

“A background check isn’t infallible,” Sarah folded her arms. “Listen to your father.”

“I’m not a child!” Lily yelled before storming away. “I’m sick of this family!”

“Justin began training me in secret. My family didn’t question my improved grades; we were all under so much stress at the time. Aiden was occupied, and I think my parents just assumed I’d started taking school seriously. For nearly two months, sneaking in and out was easy. But when things calmed down, and my parents weren’t so distracted, sneaking around became… harder. That’s when my ‘friends’ stepped in. They helped me lie, cover, whatever. We thought it was a forbidden romance, something… scandalous.”

She hesitated, twisting her hands together. “It wasn’t until January I began noticing things. He became rougher, more aggressive when we trained. At first, I thought he was just stressed—some rogue pack had invaded, and all hands were on deck. Justin insisted he was helping me learn to protect myself. I told myself he wasn’t trying to hurt me. That maybe I hadn’t tapped the mat hard enough when he had me in a chokehold. I… I made excuses. For him. For us.

“By mid-February, I was convinced it was all in my head. He’d be sweet one minute, then insulting the next, and back to sweet. It kept me off balance. My friends said I probably misunderstood him. He was always the perfect gentleman around them, kept his distance around my family, seemed fine dating me in secret.” Her eyes met JP’s, intense and direct. “Valentine’s Day was great. He didn’t force me to do anything. I need you to know that, JP. He never forced me to do anything.”

Jean-Pierre held her gaze, his voice steady. “I believe you. You don’t have to explain that to me.”

Lily’s shoulders eased a little, and she gave him a small, grateful smile before continuing. “In March, my grades started slipping. After a sparring session one day, he asked about a test I’d bombed earlier. When I told him, he got annoyed, started scolding me. I… don’t know what came over me, but I remember saying, ‘Okay, Dad.’ Just something snarky.” She swallowed, her fingers tightening. “And then… I was on the mat,” She closed her eyes, voice barely above a whisper. “I didn’t even see him move. My jaw was…” she absently lifted a hand to her jaw as if she were reliving the moment.

She took a breath as more memories surfaced, unbidden and raw. “I could feel a bruise forming. I tried to speak, to say something, but I couldn’t—my mouth just… wouldn’t move. All I could do was stare up at him in shock. And then, it was like a switch flipped. Suddenly, he was mortified. He started crying, apologizing over and over. He brought me ice, treated me like…” her voice caught. “He was so gentle. He took care of me that night.

“I hid the bruise as best I could the next day, but my parents saw right through it. My dad asked what happened, and I said it was a sparring accident. He thought I’d been training with a woman-Helen. He offered to talk to her, to make sure everything was okay, but I just laughed it off, telling him not to worry. I remember the look my parents exchanged, but they… they promised to stay out of it.

“By the end of March, I was barely holding on. I was almost failing every subject; I’d lost so much weight. I stopped hanging out with my friends, quit cheerleading… I was distant, like I was only half-there. I didn’t even care when my sister called me ‘stupid’ or an ‘idiot.’ She did it all the time then, probably trying to get a reaction. But I just… gave her nothing.

“By April, the hits had grown worse, more intense. They happened more often, and I had no idea what I’d done wrong to deserve it. I kept telling myself I had to be better, work harder. Things didn’t… really hit the fan until May.

Lily’s hands shook slightly, her voice dropping lower. “I don’t even remember what I said or did that time. I don’t even remember… the beating. I just remember limping home. I was in so much pain. I thought a hot bath would help, but I must have fallen asleep. The next thing I knew, it was morning, and my mother was screaming for my father, yelling for him to call 9-1-1.”

“Baby, what happened?” Sarah whispered, her face streaked with tears as she gently touched Lily’s bruised face. But Lily’s gaze remained distant, unfocused. Sarah then began screaming for her husband.

“Mom?” Rose’s voice called, frantic, as she rushed into the bathroom. She froze, gasping at the sight.

“Grab your sister’s robe, honey,” Sarah said firmly, never taking her eyes off Lily.

“Sarah!” Cliff appeared in the doorway, confusion flashing to alarm. “What’s going on? Why am I—” He stopped short, his face twisting in shock as he took in the scene. He looked away, stammering, “Why would you call me in here when she’s—” He stopped, his eyes landing on Lily again. Rage simmered. “Who did this?”

“Just call them!” Sarah yelled.

“It’ll take too long.” Cliff was already moving, his tone firm. “Get her dressed. Meet me in the car; I’ll get her to the hospital.”

“Dad, Mom,” Rose’s voice was small.

Cliff turned to her. “Rose, you’re in charge here. Help your mother with Lily, then call your brother. We’ll need him.”

Lily remained in a daze as Sarah helped her out of the tub. She didn’t even realize she was limping, the pain barely registered in her catatonic state. Lily remained disassociated, allowing herself to be dried and dressed, her mind far away. At the stairs, her legs buckled, and Cliff had to carry her the rest of the way—her body like dead weight in his arms.

“I had a sprained wrist, three fractured ribs, a left ankle sprain, a torn MCL in my right knee, and a severe concussion.”

“¡Qué barbaridad!” JP gasped in disgust and barely contained rage. “Why would he do that?”

“I don’t know,” Lily shrugged tiredly. “Justin was arrested the next day, and I dropped out of school. I was in no condition to continue. I received my GED, began therapy. Justin was officially sentenced when I turned 19. I learned all I could about the werewolf community. I turned 20 in January and moved in with my brother and his girlfriend about 4 ½ months ago, when I officially became a college student.”

“Wow,” was all JP could say, his voice low and sincere.

“Yeah.” The two sat in silence for several moments, the weight of Lily’s words hanging between them. Finally, she spoke up, “The storm is over, and you seem healed.”

“Uh, yeah,” JP replied, glancing over his body. “No scratches, sprains, or broken bones.”

“Um…” Lily began patting her empty pockets. “Right,” she sighed, “my phone is shattered on the ground somewhere. You wouldn’t happen…?”

“Nah, I have no idea where my phone is.”

“Well, looks like I’m walking home.”

“Not on that ankle, you’re not,” JP said, jumping to his feet. “Come on. You can ride me.”

Lily looked away with a blush. “That’s okay,” she said.

“Lily,” JP looked at her imploringly.

“Okay,” Lily said, placing a strand of hair behind her ear. “Let me just grab my—”

“Shh!” JP put a finger to Lily’s lips. She looked up at him in alarm, their faces inches apart. “There’s a wolf outside.”

Lily’s eyes widened in horror, but only for a split second. She recognized the morse code being howled. “It’s fine,” she gently removed JP’s hand, her fingers brushing against his. “I recognize this howl.”

“What?” JP looked at her in confusion, their breath mingling in the close space.

Lily smiled softly, warmth spreading through her as she limped and hopped to the back door. Swinging it open, she came face-to-face with a giant wolf with midnight blue fur and silver eyes with white pupils. “Hey, Sirena,” Lily greeted, her heart racing with excitement, “I am so glad to see you.”

“Lily!” JP hollered from behind her. “Get away from… it! That’s not a normal werewolf.” Sirena growled at JP, who took several steps back, but his eyes never left Lily.

“I know,” Lily said, turning slightly to look back at him, feeling the connection between them. She patted Sirena on the head, who rolled her werewolf eyes in annoyance before huffing impatiently. “Sirena, this is JP, Alpha Cortez’s heir. JP, this is Sirena, Aiden’s girlfriend.”