Hidden in Plain Sight

Joanna’s POV

 BANG BANG BANG! I awoke to someone violently banging on my door. I stood up abruptly. Still disoriented from sleep, I stumbled towards the door. Looking through the peephole I was confused to see none other than dreamboat Tyler on the other side. I jumped when he banged on my door once again. BANG BANG BANG! 

Not sure what to think about my daydream standing outside my door. My mind raced. I didn't answer his unspoken demand to open my door.

Why is he here? How does he know where I live? Did he follow me home?

As I start to get worked up over this gorgeous but now not so alluring man standing outside my door I can feel my wolf start to take hold. No no. The last thing I need is to lose my cool and expose myself. Maybe he'll go away. Yea that's it. I’ll just wait for him to leave.

I quietly lowered myself to the floor sitting on the rug. My heart was beating so loud in my chest I would be amazed if he couldn't hear it. Time seemed to drag on forever as I tried to calm my breaths and prepare for the worst. I tried to smell his wolf but despite my best efforts, I couldn't get anything. Strange.

After about 25 minutes of him banging on my door and me, not answering. He strode away with a scowl on his face. The look in his eyes sent a shiver down my spine and left an uneasy feeling in my stomach.

It took me a while to get up off the floor. Waiting to make sure he was gone. I took a few calming breaths and stood up. While it made me uneasy that he had found me, I still for some reason didn't think he was a threat. I couldn't place the notion or where it was coming from. I didn't know this man but some part of me trusts him.

My apartment was the last place I wanted to be and I started to wonder if he was sent here. I shook off the feeling. I had hidden from the pack for three years. How would they find me now? I shook off the thoughts again deeming them unlikely. I threw on a pair of joggers and a hoodie. A run always helps clear my head.

I packed water and a few snacks in case I got thirsty or hungry while I was out. Throwing all my supplies into my bag I threw it over my shoulder and headed out to my car.

Since I live in the middle of Bangor I have to drive way out of town to be able to shift without being seen. I drove for about 30 minutes then pulled into a spot where the trees divide making a path just big enough for one car.

After turning the car off I sat on the hood and listen for about 10 minutes to see if I can hear anyone. Snapping my head at any sound the wind can shuffle my direction still a bit paranoid from earlier.

Deciding no one was around I threw my clothes into my car and shifted. My wolf wasn't big by any means but wasn't small either. Her brown fur was coarse and long paired with lavender glowing eyes. She had large paws and thick muscles to go with my wide stature. I did a little jump of excitement and took off into the trees.

It had been a while since I had shifted and it felt nice to run freely. I inhaled the sweet scent of trees and grass till I got to a clearing too deep in the trees for any human to venture. I shift back laying in the grass taking in nature herself.

I slightly start to doze off in the sunlight but the feeling that someone is watching me was keeping me from drifting off. At the sound of a stick snapping, I jolted up looking in the direction of the noise. Seeing nothing I brushed off my nerves it was probably a rabbit. No one could find me up here.

The little voice of doubt in my head wasn't convinced that it was nothing though and I decided to head back. Shifting I began to catch a wif of something strange. A smell I wasn't familiar with and it made my hackles stand up. With my senses on high alert, I started my way back.

Weaving through the trees was muscle memory at this point. This was my favorite spot to run. With long stretches of trees and hills. The grass was tall and waved in the breeze.

I checked over my shoulder now and then with the sense that someone was following me. I kept hearing sounds behind me but every time I looked I could seem to find the source. About a mile from my car is when the sent went from faint to stong making me cringe at the bitterness.

At the same moment, I heard a crunch of leaves and sticks behind me and I turned to find myself a yard away from a big black wolf with glowing red eyes. Teeth bared at me like I was his afternoon snack. I coward and backed away. In a moment of panic, I turned and found myself at a dead run towards my car. Not daring to look over my shoulder.

Strange enough the wolf didn't follow. I made it to my car almost running into it. Hurriedly, I started throwing on my clothes. Almost falling in my hurry to get in my car I fumbled the door open and got in. I threw it in gear as soon as the engine turned over and floored it. Speeding off I couldn't help but think.

What the hell was that?