Hunter's Attraction

Rough Start

A human. A human!!!!! Jean-Pierre remained frozen in place, caught in a complete daze. This was… no! No! No! No! No! No! No! This was unacceptable. This was… this was a… a… “¡No puede ser!” JP shouted, startling the milling students around him.

“Dude,” he recognized Julian’s voice immediately. “What is going on? Why’d you split?”

“A human,” JP growled, whirling around to face Julian.

“Dude, calm down. Your eyes.” Jean-Pierre closed his eyes, counting his breaths. “Now,” Julian said, “what the heck is wrong?”

***

Lily’s hand shook as she pulled a gel pen and notebook from her bag. “Breathe, breathe,” she whispered to herself. “F-f-five things you can see.” She remained frozen in her chair, naming five things she could see without moving. “Desk. Whiteboard. Podium. Computer. Projector.” What was after seeing? Four things you can touch. “My notebook. The desk. The chair. My hair,” she said, touching her perfect ponytail. Justin isn’t here. I’m no longer 18.

“Three things I can hear,” she whispered, fighting the rush of memories. What the heck? What the actual fu — I should have kneed him in the balls, she thought, recalling the guy’s hands on her waist. “Students chattering. Chair scraping against the floor,” she continued, grounding herself. “And…and…”

“Good morning, class,” a warm, feminine voice greeted everyone. Lily finally looked up to see the classroom had filled. An older woman in her forties, with graying hair, smiled elegantly at the students. “Welcome to ENG 225, Introduction to Creative Writing. I’m Professor Williams, Margaret Williams. Before we begin, I’d like everyone to double-check their schedules and ensure you are in the right class. Afterward, we will do roll call.”

***

Jean-Pierre resisted the urge to slap his friend. “Are you finished laughing?” he asked Julian.

“I can’t believe it,” Julian chuckled. “First, you, who aspires to be forever single, suddenly get a mate mark.”

“You have a mate mark?” Isabel asked from behind him.

“Crap,” Julian muttered, looking at his cousin apologetically. Jean-Pierre glared at Julian before turning to see Isabel and Diego staring at him with very different expressions. Diego appeared confused, while Isabel looked heartbroken. “Um… yeah,” JP adjusted his backpack. “I woke up with it this morning.” Isabel opened her mouth, but no words came out.

“Wait,” Diego said, trying to process it. “Mate marks are real? Am I going to get one?”

“They’re infrequent,” JP answered.

“Yeah,” Julian laughed, throwing an arm around his cousin and best friend, “only the most special, most deserving gets blessed with one.”

“Well,” Isabel huffed, “who is it?”

“A human!” Julian guffawed.

“What!” Isabel and Diego gasped.

“Thanks,” JP glared at his cousin.

“You have to reject her,” Isabel all but demanded as they began walking to class. “I mean, a human? What are the Heavens thinking?”

“Maybe this one’s special,” Diego shrugged. “You’ve already met her. Is she cute? Are you going to reject her?”

“I don’t think rejecting a mark is as simple as saying, ‘I reject you,’” JP rolled his eyes.

“Well… you don’t know for sure,” Isabel said. “We just have to research past marks, find rejections—”

“Dang, Isabel,” Julian smirked, “you really want JP to reject this human.”

“Shut up.”

“Guys,” JP put his hand on the classroom’s doorknob, “can you forget—” Jean-Pierre froze. That smell! That scent! Like… like the air after it has just finished raining. She was in the classroom—his mate.

“¡Vaya! No way!” Julian exclaimed, watching JP’s face. “Is she in there? She’s in there.” Jean-Pierre peered through the small window. Sure enough, his mate was in the classroom, sitting in the front and staring intently at her notebook. “Yep,” JP sighed. “She’s… here. Great.”

***

Jean-Pierre sat right behind the girl, who he learned was named Lily. (The flower searing his ribcage made sense now.) Anyway, Lily, the human, was… pretty. And it killed him to admit that. Her hair was in the neatest, tightest ponytail he’d ever seen. She had perfectly manicured nails. She smelled so good. She was wearing a pink shirt, a pink skirt, and pink heels. The color pink usually made JP want to puke, but on Lily… it worked. And she smelled divine. Jean-Pierre wasn’t sure if it was because of the mate mark, but she pulled off the outfit well.

Jean-Pierre barely paid attention to the class. Jean-Pierre's mind was completely focused on the girl in front of him, which wasn't good. He couldn’t afford to be distracted. He had a plan, and a mate was not part of that plan. And how on Earth was he supposed to reject a human whose only reference to werewolves was most likely the Twilight series? The girl probably carried pepper spray in a Prada bag. Not that it would matter; pepper spray didn’t affect werewolves that much. But how was he supposed to — “…and I think you five will be a group.”

Jean-Pierre looked up, his heart pounding as he saw a pair of chocolate-colored eyes staring at him with accusation. “Huh?” was the only noise he could muster.

“Paying attention, I see,” the professor smiled. “You, Miss Isabel, Mister Julian, Mister Diego and Miss Lily will be a group this semester.”

Oh, great. Jean-Pierre glanced behind him at his friends. Isabel was barely holding back a growl, and Julian was cracking up behind his hands. This semester was going to suck.

***

Lily decided to take charge of the group. “So, I already read through the syllabus—”

“Of course you did,” Isabel interrupted, her tone dripping with sarcasm.

“I’m sorry?” Lily asked, taken aback.

“Who made you leader? I don’t remember voting.”

“Isabel,” Julian glared at her, trying to defuse the situation.

“Fine,” Isabel huffed.

“So,” Lily began again, “our first project is due in three weeks. But it’s not as intense as—”

“How rich are you?” Isabel cut her off once more.

“Isabel,” Jean-Pierre, the boy who had nearly tackled Lily earlier, growled. “¡Basta!” He continued berating Isabel in Spanish, leaving Lily feigning confusion.

“Um…” Lily pressed on, “The first group assignment is to answer some questions. If you guys want, we can just text or email instead of meeting in person.”

“What’s wrong?” Isabel shot back. “Are we not good enough to step foot into your mansion?” Lily pursed her lips as Isabel added, “Princesa tonta.”

“¡Isabel!” Jean-Pierre exclaimed, at least a little horrified.

“Forgive our friend,” Julian schmoozed to Lily. “She’s not used to sharing.”

“O-kay,” Lily swallowed thickly, feeling increasingly uneasy. What was wrong with these people? Did I do something? “Um…” She cleared her throat, blinking back tears. “This is my number and school email.” Her hand trembled as she jotted her information on a piece of paper. “So… here,” she tore the sheet from her notebook and slid it to Jean-Pierre. “The professor said we can leave once we’re finished—”

“We heard her, princess,” Isabel sneered.

“Right,” Lily gulped, quickly packing her items. “I guess… I will hear from you later.” She glanced at Isabel, who rolled her eyes. “Or not.” With a tentative smile, Lily calmly exited the classroom, head held high, exhibiting grace and poise despite the uncomfortable exchange.

***

As soon as Lily left the classroom, she hurried to the nearest bathroom. Thankfully, it was unoccupied, so no one witnessed her meltdown.

She sobbed uncontrollably, her hands braced on the sink to keep herself from collapsing. What happened? Why were they so mean to me? What did I do? She had done nothing to them; she didn’t even know them. “Calm down, Lily,” she gasped, staring at her reflection, her eyes red and puffy. “Calm down.” But the words broke her resolve again, and she slid to the floor, tears streaming down her cheeks. She knew it would be challenging, but could she really do this?

Just when she thought she had no more tears left, her phone buzzed with a text message. Dad? she frowned, surprised. Their relationship was definitely on the mend, but why was he texting her?

“Hey, Sweetie,” it read. “I hope your first day is going well.” Lily c****d her head, feeling tears well in her eyes. He remembered, she thought joyfully. She continued reading. “I know this is a weird question, and I’ve done this enough times, so I really should know the answer. Um… your sister asked me for scented maxi pads. Is there a scent she likes, and how will I know it’s the right one? I don’t have to smell these, do I? I’m already getting weird looks.”

Lily burst out laughing, the sound a welcome relief from her earlier sobs. “Why are you buying pads for Rose? She’s 18!” she texted back.

“I took a last-minute trip to the store, called home, and asked if anyone needed anything. What are the odds that your sister is pranking me?”

“There’s a good chance she is pranking you,” Lily texted back with a grin, “but you shouldn’t risk it. Instead, I’ll text you the brand she likes.”

“You are a lifesaver. How’s your day?”

Lily bit her lip in contemplation. “Rough start, but it’s already getting better.”

“Good. I am so proud of you, sweetheart.”

Lily held her phone close, staring at the words. “Thank you,” she replied, adding several heart emojis.

“Where are the scallops? Are they with the pickles?” her father texted back, causing a round of giggles to emanate from Lily. They went back and forth for some time before her father bid her adieu. Placing her phone in her bag, Lily stood on shaky legs and splashed water on her face. She reapplied her makeup, taking a moment to breathe deeply. “Okay,” she said, shaking off the remnants of her earlier tears. “I got this.”

With a burst of energy, she stepped out of the bathroom, prancing down the hall. It wasn’t too late; there was still time to turn the day around.