Hunter shadow
1014 Words
Jason's POV
I stared at the back of her head, waiting for her to acknowledge what I'd said. Waiting for her to turn around and answer the question that was clawing at my insides.
Why do I feel like I know you?
But she didn't turn. She sat perfectly still, her shoulders tense, her hand gripping her pen like it was the only thing keeping her grounded.
Alice. That was her name.
Alice.
And everything in me was screaming that she was mine.
"I expect full attention in this class," Professor Ruckus said sharply, suddenly interrupting my reverie, his gaze sweeping the room. When his eyes landed on me, they lingered.
"This material may seem like fiction, but I assure you—it's very real.”
His eyes narrowed, cold and calculating.
Then he turned back to the board, marker in hand.
He wrote in large, deliberate letters:WEREWOLVES: MYTH OR REALITY?
My stomach dropped.
"Throughout history," Ruckus began, his voice smooth and measured, "humanity has feared the wolf. Not just the animal, but the idea of it. The beast hiding beneath human skin."
He turned to face the class, his gaze sweeping across the room before landing on me. "Monsters walking among us. Pretending to be one of us."
I forced myself to breathe evenly, my nails digging into my palms beneath the desk.
Is this what he was supposed to be teaching as a history and culture professor?
"Legends speak of creatures that could shift between forms. Predators that hunted in packs. But more dangerous than their claws or their teeth…"
He paused, letting the silence stretch. "…was their ability to blend in. To deceive. To make you believe they were human."
A girl in the front row raised her hand. "But Professor, werewolves aren't real. Right?"
Ruckus smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "That depends on what you consider real, Miss Chen. History is full of accounts. Trials. Executions. Silver bullets weren't just folklore—they were tools. Methods of extermination."
My pulse beat loudly in my ears.
"And the most dangerous of all," he continued, his voice dropping lower, "were the Silunars. Female wolves with voices that could compel. Control. Destroy entire packs with a single song."
His eyes found mine again. "They were hunted to extinction. Every last one."
The air in the room felt too thin. I couldn't breathe.Alice shifted in her seat in front of me, her hand moving to her chest like something hurt.
"Your assignment," Ruckus said, turning back to the board, "is to research the methods used to identify and eliminate werewolves throughout history. Five pages. Due Monday."
Students gathered their things and began to leave the room, chattering and laughing like he hadn't just described how to kill people like me.
I sat frozen, my hands still clenched into fists.
Alice stood quickly, grabbed her bag, and left without looking back.
I wanted to follow her. Every instinct in me screamed to go after her, to pull her aside, to demand answers.
But Ruckus was watching me. I could feel his eyes on my back as I slowly gathered my things and I realized he knew something.
Outside, Landon was waiting by the stairs
The moment he saw me, his expression shifted.
"Bro, you look like you're about to rip someone's head off."
I shoved my books into my bag harder than necessary.
"I'm fine."
"You're not fine." He crossed his arms. "You've been weird all week. And in there?" He turned his head toward the classroom.
"You looked like you were two seconds from shifting in the middle of Ruckus's lecture."
I glanced around to make sure no one was listening. "Drop it, Landon."
"No." He stepped closer, lowering his voice. "Talk to me. What's going on?"
I exhaled through my nose, trying to calm the wolf clawing at my insides. "It's nothing, I can't explain right now."
Landon studied me for a long moment, then sighed.
"Fine. But you need to chill out before you do something stupid."
He pulled out his phone. "There's a party tomorrow night. Big one. You're coming."
"I don't…"
"I'm not asking." He clapped me on the shoulder. "You need to blow off steam, and sitting around brooding isn't gonna cut it. Plus, if you don't show up, people are gonna start asking questions. You're famous, you know"
He had a point. The last thing I needed was to draw more attention.
"Fine," I muttered. "I'll be there."
"Good." He replied with a grin.
"Now go home and get your head straight."
I didn't go straight home. I drove around for an hour, trying to make sense of everything. But eventually, I pulled into the driveway and walked inside.
My mother was in the sitting room, a glass of wine in her hand. She looked up when I entered, her expression unreadable.
"We need to talk," I said abruptly.
She set down her glass. "Sit."
I remained standing.
"I felt it today. The pull. It was… stronger than anything I've ever felt."
Her eyes instantly sharpened.
"Who?"
"A girl. Alice. She's human."
The silence that followed was deafening.Then my mother stood, her face pale.
"You cannot have a human as your mate, Jason."
"I didn't choose this…"
"It doesn't matter!" She replied suddenly .
"A human mate weakens the pack. You need a Luna who can fight beside you, who understands our world. Not some fragile girl who'll break the first time she sees what you really are."
I clenched my fists. "What if she's not just human?"
She froze. "What are you saying?"
"What if she's a Silunar?"
I watched as the color drained from her face.
"Silunars don't exist. They were wiped out centuries ago."
"But what if they weren't?" I pressed. "What if one survived?"
She shook her head slowly. "If you bond with a Silunar, the Hunters will come for both of you. They'll kill her. And then they'll kill you."
Her voice dropped to a whisper and for the first time I saw fear in her eyes.
"You'll both die, Jason."
- Writer
