Chapter3
1151 Words
Alexei seemed completely oblivious, or perhaps just indifferent, to the attention. He led us through a series of streets with unerring certainty until he stopped in front of a nondescript brownstone. He produced a key and ushered us inside, the silence of the building a stark contrast to the city noise we left behind. It was a modern, minimalist apartment. It was clean, impersonal, and felt completely untouched.
“This is a safe house. Shower. There are clothes in the master bedroom closet,” he ordered, pointing down a short hallway before disappearing into what I assumed was the living room.
Marley and I exchanged a glance before making a beeline for the bathroom. After a quick, hot shower that felt like heaven, I ventured into the bedroom. The closet was filled with men's clothing and a smaller section of women's basics. I pulled out a plain black t-shirt and a pair of grey sweatpants. As I suspected, they were ridiculously big on me. The shirt hung off my shoulders, and I had to roll the waistband of the sweatpants three times to keep them from falling off my hips. Feeling small and slightly ridiculous, I walked back into the living room where Marley was waiting, similarly dwarfed by his borrowed clothes.
Alexei was standing by the window, now dressed in a dry pair of black jeans and a dark grey Henley that stretched across his chest. He turned as we entered, his gaze lingering on me for a fraction of a second too long.
“Okay,” I said, crossing my arms and planting my feet. “We’re safe. We’re dry. No more excuses. Start talking. Why were people shooting at us? Who are hunters? And why are you calling us ‘human’ like you’re not one?”
Alexei let out a heavy sigh, running a hand through his still-damp hair. “It’s complicated.”
“Try us,” Marley shot back, leaning against the doorframe. “Our day went from coffee to a swim in the Hudson with a side of bullets. I think we can handle ‘complicated’.”
Alexei’s jaw tightened. “I am a Lycan.”
Marley and I stared at him blankly. “A what-can?” Marley asked.
“A werewolf,” he clarified, his tone flat, as if he were discussing the weather. “I am part of a… family,a mafia family, you would call it. The men chasing us are called Hunters. They’re a rival group, a faction of evolved humans who hunt people that are other. They’re faster and stronger than regular people, and they want me dead.”
The silence that followed was deafening. Then, Marley snorted. A small, disbelieving sound that quickly turned into a full-blown laugh. “A werewolf? Dude, seriously? Did you hit your head when we jumped in the river? Are we in a movie? Is this a prank show?”
“I don’t find this funny,” I said, my patience worn thin. “Is this some kind of joke? Because people were shooting at us!”
“It is not a joke,” Alexei said, his eyes darkening. He stepped closer, and his gaze seemed to intensify.
He held my gaze, and for a second, nothing happened. Then, a flicker. A strange, silvery luminescence passed over his pupils, like a cat’s eyes catching the light in the dark. It was there and then gone.
“Whoa,” Marley breathed, his laughter dying in his throat. “Cool party trick. Special effects contacts?”
Alexei growled, that same inhuman sound from before, low and guttural in his chest. “You want to see a f*****g trick?”
Before I could process what was happening, he lifted his hand. The change was subtle at first, then terrifyingly fast. His fingers seemed to elongate, his knuckles thickening. His nails darkened, extending outward, sharpening into vicious, black claws that scraped against the air. The sound was like daggers being drawn from a sheath. He snarled, his canines visibly lengthening, and for the first time, I felt a primal, gut-wrenching fear. This was not a man. Not entirely.
Marley and I scrambled backward, tripping over our own feet until our backs hit the wall. My heart was a frantic drum against my ribs, and I couldn't tear my eyes away from the monster he was becoming.
He held the partial shift for a long moment, letting the reality of it sink into our terrified minds. Then, with a visible clench of his jaw, his hand retracted, his features softening back to their human state.
We were both breathing heavily, trying to make sense of the impossible thing we had just witnessed.
After we had calmed enough to stand without shaking, Alexei spoke again, his voice clipped. “I’m leaving the city tonight. And you,” he said, his eyes locking onto mine, “are coming with me.”
“What?” I squeaked, finding my voice “Why? What about Marley? I am not going anywhere without him.”
Alexei’s expression soured. It was clear he wasn’t happy about the complication, but my glare was unwavering. He let out an exasperated breath. “Fine. He can come. But you are the priority.”
“Why me?” I demanded.
“Your scent,” he said, taking a step closer and inhaling softly. “The hunters were after me, but they would have noticed you eventually. You'd smell other to them and you don't smell human to me”
Marley and I looked at each other, then back at him in utter confusion. “Excuse you?” Marley scoffed. “I’m pretty sure we’re 100% USDA-certified human. I get papercuts. I pay taxes. What do I smell like to you, a unicorn?”
“I don’t know what you are,” Alexei admitted, his gaze fixed on me with a frustrating intensity. “But you smell of something old, something powerful. And it’s a scent that will get you killed if you’re left alone.”
Before we could argue further, there was a sharp, coded knock on the apartment door. Alexei opened it to reveal two large men in dark suits. They nodded at him respectfully.
“The car is ready, Alpha Alexei. The plane is on standby.”
Alexei nodded. “Get them in the car.”
Without another word, we were being hustled out of the safe house, down a back staircase, and into the back of a black SUV with tinted windows. As the vehicle sped into the flow of traffic, whisking us toward an unknown airport and an even more unknown future, I could only look at Marley, whose wide eyes perfectly mirrored my own terrified confusion.
- Writer
