Among Demons : Rebellious Huntress

Chapter Three : Blissful Changes

*Wren Fenir*

I couldn’t stop smiling, no matter how hard I tried. My eyes kept scanning the massive space around me. A few buildings could be seen in the distance, all in different stages of construction. Turning a bit more towards the right and my eyes locked onto the decent sized apartment complex that was built there. The five buildings were four floors high and had eight apartments on each floor. There was a near complete park sitting at the center of the complex, with several walking paths criss-crossing here and there.

Turning further to the right, I was able to see the few residential houses that were some of the first buildings to be built. More homes were in the process of being planned out, following the path of the road that had been put in place first. As I continued to turn right, the empty space only added to my smile. I knew that my brother had plans already set for this area, with a few restaurants, another two schools and a large clinic set to rise in a few months' time. And on the other side of the huge gated lot, sitting closer to the half built buildings in the distance, sat a fully working Elementary school and a horse shaped mini market to the left of it. A large rectangle building almost sat perfectly in the center of our fully gated Demon Village, partially blocking the sight of the buildings in the distance. This building was a recreational spot that my brother insisted on having built first, along with the houses and the brick fence surrounding the Village itself.

He was right of course, having a place where our people could work off some of their excess energy was a must. Our community was made up of mostly Shifters, and with the Humans threatening to shoot us on sight if we’re spotted in the woods or mountains in animal form, this place was highly needed. It has three floors with all manner of work out equipment, boxing, dancing and yoga classes, a fully functioning rock climbing room and an indoor pool.

We also added a large daycare center on the first floor and a bigger playroom for slighter older kids too. It had a few indoor obstacle course things that the kids seemed to love, and a mini rock climbing wall too. Shifter children are very physically demanding and have a massive pool of energy that needs stimulation almost constantly.

Pride filled me as I kept looking around. I could almost envision how this place would look once everything was fully built. The faint sound of kids laughing and playing would only grow along with our little safe haven. And the protection of our people was near guaranteed now that we had a place that those wealthy Hunter f***s couldn’t touch or enter. Not when the Matron herself was sponsoring and protecting its growth and construction.

“What are you doing here?” I turned and locked eyes with my older brother, Atlas. “I thought you’d be in your new place, unpacking and getting some rest.”

He clapped my shoulder and raised a brow at me, searching my face for the answer.

I shrugged, “I was waiting for the movers to finish putting all my crap inside.” I told him, glancing over at the apartment complex.

Atlas and I had just returned last night after being away from home for a very long time. We’d been traveling around trying to gather enough businesses that were interested in expanding and partially funding the construction of their own place inside our new Village. It had taken so long, driving around, going from city to city and meeting so many different Demons. We would occasionally return home, staying in a hotel for a night or two while overseeing construction or filling out paperwork. But we had spent the majority of our time over the last two years on the road.

Now that we were back for good, both Atlas and I were in the process of settling into the apartments we picked out for ourselves. We had left all our things in storage, having already sold our old home before we started traveling. I knew that Atlas was more than happy to get things settled and in place in his new home. His girlfriend of four years, Verilla, had agreed to move in with him and had already settled into their place a week before we came back. But I was more than happy to take my time getting settled, wanting to walk around and look at the progress of our Village a little more.

I also wasn’t in the mood to deal with some of the Shifters that were currently moving my things into my new place. I had heard from them that there were a few Human girls that were Shifter-Sluts, going around sleeping with all manner of Shifter men to fulfill some weird fantasy of theirs. The guys, who were all a different type of Shifter animal, had texted me nonstop about how these girls were eager to meet me and my brother. We were two of the very few Wolf Shifters around. And apparently, these Shifter-Sluts were quite eager to ‘try out’ a wolf man, since the others were either some type of predator cat or a type of bear.

‘No thanks.’ My inner wolf, Koa, grumbled in disgust in my mind.

‘I know, buddy.’ I chuckled, shaking my head a bit at him.

Both my wolf and I were tired of sleeping around and going through short, dying relationships. We may not be very old, being only 23, but the empty feeling left by pointless one-night-stands was growing within us. And it had been, since the day that our brother's girlfriend Verilla had told us about that one unique woman that was somewhere out there. The one that would connect to us just as effortlessly as Verilla had to Atlas. A woman who, according to V, was our one and only Match. And who had some weird connection to starfish too, apparently.

“Have you gone over to visit Uncle Dolph yet?” Atlas asked, pulling me out of my thoughts.

I shook my head again and turned to face the residential section of our Village.

We had lost our parents when we were in our early teens and moved in with our mothers younger brother Dolph and his wife Leonie, who was a black panther Shifter. They had looked after us like we were their own and still called or texted us whenever they wanted to check in. This was why, when the first few houses had been fully built, my brother and I had gifted our Aunt and Uncle with one that fit their family’s needs. Both our younger cousins, Allie and her younger brother Olcan loved the place and were happy to have their own rooms. Especially when Allie found her Match and moved into the basement in-law suite with her Vampire boyfriend Emerys.

“I’ll swing by later after unpacking a bit.” I told him, turning back to face him, only to find him staring at his phone.

He had that goofy grin on his face and a little twinkle in his eyes as he looked at the glowing device in his hand. It was a familiar sight and one that only one person brought out in him.

“Let’s go.” I told him, nudging him with my shoulder. “You don’t want to keep her waiting.”

He scoffed and tried to reign in his gleeful expression, but failed miserably, making me laugh. He smacked the back of my head hard, laughing himself before he picked up the pace.

My brother wasn’t one to show many emotions around others, even me sometimes. He didn’t like the thought of giving anyone a chance at reading him in any way, thereby giving them an upper hand against him. He firmly believed that keeping himself as unreadable as possible was the best way to prevent anyone from thinking they could trick him, trap him or challenge him. And his belief in this only grew after we were both given the title of Lead Lieutenant by the Matron herself. So even though we were both responsible for the safety of our people and this Village, he, as the older brother, was more than willing to put himself forward first, as the main man in charge.

This was his way of protecting me and our people, since being the main face of this Village would make him a prime target by the local Hunters. Of course, I wasn’t about to let him take the brunt of the danger and potentially risk his life. Not after losing our younger brother Lyall…

I frowned and shook my head hard as I tried to shake away the memory and pain, my wolf whining in my head a little as we both tried not to think about it.

Soon enough, both Atlas and I were closing in on the apartment complex, with him aiming for the building to the far left edge. He had let Verilla pick which apartment she wanted and, being a Sorceress, she had picked one that would be struck by the rising sun first. I didn’t fully understand it when she told us why, but Atlas had explained that many of the potions she makes require direct sun or moon light to hit them for them to work.

I, on the other hand, wanted a place closer to the back of the Village, where the high brick walls were hugged by the thick hanging branches of the trees on the other side.

The Village was built at the base of a mountain, with one big main road right outside the front gates that led to the very popular Cabin grounds sitting higher up on the mountain. They were owned by some rich family that, from what I’d heard, used to be Guardians to us Demons. But a few generations ago, something made this powerful and wealthy ally turn their backs on the work of their ancestors, choosing to help the Hunters instead. It would’ve been great if they had stayed our allies while my brother and I built up the Village. It could’ve given us a safe place where our animal halves could run freely without fearing Hunters or eager happy Human Civilians with guns.

But things don’t always go the way you want.

Once inside my new place, I sighed at the sight of all the boxes, running a hand over my face.

A part of me that was still tired and a bit cranky wasn’t looking forward to unpacking all of these boxes. But another part of me wanted to get this done so I don’t have to deal with it later. Thankfully, my decision was picked for me when my wolf flooded my body with a bit of his energy, urging me to get this done so we could rest properly.

I worked for the next several hours, opening boxes, pulling crap out and finding their rightful places all around my new home. My clothes were hung up or folded and placed in my dresser. My bed was made and all of my toiletries, and towels were placed in my bathroom. I had to move around the furniture a bit since I hadn’t told the movers how I wanted things placed. But once the big things were put how I wanted, I focused on the smaller things.

‘This should be good for now.’ Koa said, yawning a bit as my stomach growled. ‘Food.’

I groaned as I straightened up, having been putting the last of my kitchen appliances, plates and silverware away. I looked out the still open window, mentally reminding myself to hang up my curtains later. It was dark outside and I didn’t have any food in my apartment, so cooking was out of the question. I was also not in the mood to go out shopping or to drive out to a fast food place either.

A smile spread across my face as I thought of some place else where I could get a warm meal. So, after dusting my hands off and making sure that I locked up my place, I went off towards the residential area to the right of the complex.

I could see as I came closer that my Aunt and Uncle's house was lit up. My pace picked up when my stomach roared at me again, my excitement to have Aunt Leo’s home cooked food pushing me to move faster. I could see my Uncle's lifted blue truck in the driveway, parked next to his wifes small white Honda. My cousin Allie and her boyfriend's red coupe was parked in front of their small front yard. I paused when I stepped onto the sidewalk behind the truck, spotting a light blue motorcycle parked in front of the coupe with a smokey gray helmet hanging from the handle bars.

Curious over who would be visiting my family so late, I moved closer and let Koa push forward, sniffing the bike to see if we possibly knew the person.

The scent was soft, definitely feminine and a little on the wild side. It was a unique blend of wild flowers and tequila that strangely went together. It was also a scent neither my wolf or I recognized. At least not in the sense that we knew the owner. It was faintly familiar, though, now that I really thought about it. It was a scent that sometimes clung to my cousin and Aunt when they would visit Atlas and I in the hotel during the few times we came back home over the last two years.

‘It’s nice.’ Koa said, sitting up a bit and taking in a lung full of air so that scent would be easier for us to recall later. ‘Spicy and sweet.’

I agreed and turned towards the house again, feeling even more curious now. Though my still grumbling stomach protested against this change of thought, reminding me of the reason why I had come here.