Life was good.
I just hoped it stayed that way.
Chapter 17
Life was good. No, it was perfect.
I had my friends, I'd forgiven my family for lying to me about being a shifter, and now I had Asher.
After my run-in with Jane, I felt braver than ever. I was ready to learn everything I could. I wanted to push my body to make myself stronger, healthier, and prepared for anything.
I set off on a run by myself after practice one afternoon, never expecting the storm that would hit me.
"Elle," a voice called from far behind me.
I'd been running for hours at that point, having shifted in the woods like I'd been told to do, and was running to gain speed and muscle mass. I knew it was important for me to stay in shape, and I was desperately trying to hunt down a large rabbit I'd seen earlier in my run, having gotten tired of relying on everyone to get me food. I needed to learn how to hunt for myself.
The voice grew louder, and I realized it wasn't just one voice, but two.
I stopped dead in my tracks, skidding on the damp leaves that had just fallen from the trees. The air was crisp, and the sky was clear, the perfect day to be outside, enjoying nature. When I turned my head, I spotted two forms coming at me with lightning speed. My first instinct was to snarl, show my ferocious fangs, and stand erect, but as the two figures gained on me, I saw two of the last animals I'd ever expect to see together: Maddox and Asher. Both of them were coming my way and shouting my name in a way that caused the hair on my neck to stand.
If those two were together, it couldn't be good.
"What's wrong?" I asked, when they'd caught up with me.
Asher panted, trying to catch his breath. Maddox, who had shifted, was growling and pacing the ground around me.
"We...were...chased," Asher managed to say.
"What?" I gasped.
"Two men were hunting, and they began shooting at us," Maddox hissed. "I ran, trying to escape, and spotted Asher heading toward town. He let me get into his truck." Maddox glanced at Asher.
"You have to be careful," I began. "Maddox, you can't just shift anywhere. Maybe those men were just hunting for deer, and you scared them."
Both of them shook their heads and looked at me. ""No, this was different," Maddox stated. "These men weren't the kind of hunters we usually see around here. They had serious guns: rifles, shotguns, pistols, AK 47s-a whole arsenal."
"I didn't see them, but Maddox was pretty shaken up," Asher offered.
An agreement and maybe something more transpired between the two guys, and for an instant, I felt my heart swell. They were bonding; I only wished it wasn't over something this serious.
"What do you think this means?" I asked.
"I think the hunters I saw today aren't just regular hunters. I think they're shifter-hunters," Maddox said. He shuddered when he spoke, and I could see fear emanating from his eyes. Suddenly, the image of the man from the coffee shop replayed in my mind, and my body froze in fear.
"What did the men look like?" I asked.
Maddox paused for a moment as if to think. "I really only got a good glimpse of one of them. I was getting a drink of water from the creek past Old Canyon Road. I heard the gunshots first, and it startled me. Then I saw a group of men running. They were coming from the clearing in the woods. I spotted a man wearing a black and gray shirt. He had dark brown hair and a tanned face, only there was something about his eyes that really caught my attention. They were...different." He sighed. "I guess I was focused more on the guns strapped to his back and waist, but there was something terrifying about his eyes."
"Remember the other night at the coffee shop," I began, "when that man came in and asked for directions?"
Maddox waited a minute, then realization struck. "Was that him?" he said loudly.
"Maybe," I stated. I shook my head. "This isn't good."
Asher wrapped an arm around me and pulled me in close. I bit my lip when I felt the muscles in Asher's arm ripple when he flexed them to hold me. This wasn't the time to be struck by his beauty.
"What do we do now?" Asher asked.
"We tell the pack," Maddox and I said in unison.
Chapter 18
Sometimes in life, we're thrown a curveball. Circumstances arrive that we've never prepared for or expected to find ourselves in. For me, it was the harsh reality that all of the terrifying stories my dad had told me were actually true.
And they were about to hit me head on.
"Dad, we have to tell you something," I shouted, rushing into the house.
"Elle, you need to wait," my dad stated and he continued to talk to Wayne, a member of our pack.
"But-" I began, but my words were cut of£
"Not now, Elle," my dad shouted. He'd never used that tone with me before. His words struck me like a blow to the face.
"What's going on?" I asked when I saw my dad's pale gray face.
My dad stood and began to pace the room. He walked over and turned on the television mounted above our stone fireplace. The evening news began to play but something was mistakenly different. Blue and red lights flashed behind the young reporter as he talked rapidly about a threat to Shady Oaks.
Our attention focused, the three of us moved closer to the television. As we listened, we learned that a wolf had been spotted and killed and brought to the center of town. Local police and wildlife officials were baffled as to how such a large, wild animal had made its way into our town. Most bobcats and bears stayed within the confines and safety of the forest. Sure, deer were occasionally spotted on farms or trying to cross roadways, but never had such a feral beast been killed or found in our town.
My eyes were glued to the screen. I noticed the wolf that had been killed wasn't just any wolf. This one was large and muscular. He had golden fur and claws the size of my head. I knew that majestic shape all too well. This wasn't just any wild animal; it was a shifter.
I looked quickly to the door as Maddox came rushing in. I'd sent him a text earlier, and here he was, panting and sweating as he waited to expand on the news we were just figuring out ourselves.
"That's not a wolf," Maddox began, shaking his head in disgust. "That's a shifter.
"Who is it?" he spat, his body beginning to tense.
"We're not sure yet, but we think it's Jim Lee. He's from our pack. He lives in the next town and has always been good to us," my dad said through gritted teeth.
My dad hung his head low. Wayne ran his hand through his hair. There was an air of anger and sadness that weighed so heavily in the room it was almost suffocating.
"What do we do now?" I asked, my body shaking.
Dad placed an arm around my shoulder for comfort, but I wasn't sure if anything could comfort me now. "We protect ourselves and we remain on high alert," he said.
"What does that mean?" I asked, trying to control the emotions swirling through my head.
"It means we're in more danger than we thought," my dad said
sternly. "We're no longer the hunters; now we're the prey."
The room grew silent. I swear I could hear my heart beating as it threatened to jump straight out of my chest.
"We're all in grave danger," my dad said, looking around at the faces around the room. Asher and Maddox had run to tell their parents what had happened and then raced over to my house. My dad had immediately contacted the rest of the pack and they'd all come to our house. Now, when the voices echoing concern around the house had died down, everyone sat and listened to my dad speak.
"We all knew this day would eventually come," he continued. "Our pack is growing and word has gotten around. The hunters are onto our whereabouts and they'll be here anytime. We've sent a few men west and a few men south. We hope to throw them off of our trail, but from here on out, no one goes out alone."
I shook my head, not wanting to believe what he was saying. It seemed only moments earlier that I'd been running through the woods, carefree. Now, I was sitting with my
extended family and being told I was in danger. I knew this could be a possibility-a very, very far off possibility-but this was like being hit by a semi-truck.
"Why now, when the pack has been growing for years?" I asked
My dad nodded his head and looked at Maddox's dad. "There's a spy within our pack. A rat. Someone paid them to disclose where we were in return for their own safety."
His words felt like a punch to the gut. How could someone in our pack, someone in our -family, betray us like that? It didn't make any sense.
"Who is it?" Maddox growled from beside me. His shoulders were tense and he was standing tall. When he and Asher had finally reached me in the woods, they'd both shouted the news that we were in serious danger and I had to rush home immediately. In that moment, I would have done anything they'd have told me to do. The fact they were working together scared me more than anything.
"A man named Charlie Rose," my dad said. "He was a loner. He had no family left from his original pack and we took him in as one of our own. He confided his secret to another member of our pack who told it to us. We know Charlie's disappeared-probably running to find a new pack before any of us catch him first."
I thought back to all of the people who had been in my life. The name sounded familiar. I caught the glimpse of a memory-he was a burly man with dark hair and broad shoulders in my mind. He wasn't close to us like Maddox's family was, but he had obviously been close enough to my dad and the pack to be trusted in our world.
Maddox and his dad stood with their arms crossed, a daring look in their eyes. Anger seemed to boil from the both of them as they no doubt wondered how someone that close to us could decide to lead us all to our deaths without reservation.
"Elle, we should be fine," my mom said, having noticed my worried expression. "We have several men on the lookout and others, like your father mentioned, leading the hunters away from here."
I wanted to believe her words, but I didn't. I couldn't. There were people out there who were ready to kill me at any minute, just for being different. It was wrong. It was cruel. But it was how the world worked. If I'd learned anything at all from my history classes, it was that people were capable of doing terrible acts of cruelty out of fear and jealousy.
Our situation was no different. We were being persecuted, targeted for looking, acting, and thinking differently than the rest of the world.
"What does this mean for us and our lives?" I asked frantically.
"It means we need to be more careful. Everyone must be accompanied at all times. Never go out alone. Don't talk to people you don't know. Be aware of your surroundings. Look for suspicious behavior, even from friends. We can't be too careful," my dad said. The others nodded their heads in agreement.
I felt sick. I felt hurt. I felt tired.
It felt as if my world was collapsing in on me again and I didn't know what to do. I hated how we were expected to become prisoners in our own lives. It wasn't right. I had to stand up and say something. Even if no one listened, we couldn't live in fear forever.
Fear is what had killed my grandparents.
Fear is what kept shifters hidden in the shadows, afraid to step into the light.
Fear is what would kill us all.
"I won't hide," I said, showing more confidence than I truly felt.
I began to stand, but my dad held up his hand, motioning for me to stop, but I stood my ground. I'd never defied my parents before, but I had to tell them they were wrong.
"Elle, please listen to us: this isn't simple," dad said by way of a warning.
Too bad I was stubborn and never listened. "Dad, this is all wrong. Why should we have to hide who we are? Maybe if we show the world who we are, how amazing we are, then they might help us fight against the hunters," I said. A wide smile grew on my face. Adrenaline was coursing through my veins, and I prayed they'd hear me out.
Asher stepped up and put his hand on mine. "Elle, why don't we go somewhere and talk?" he asked in a low voice.
Shock registered on my face when I realized he didn’t believe in what I was saying either. "No," I shouted. "You all have to try. We have to know if the world will accept us."
"Elle," my mom began, but I held up my hand to let her know I wasn't listening. I'd already heard enough.
"No, you've hidden this from me my whole life. Now that I know
what I am and have decided to embrace my gift, you want me to crawl back into my hole. Well, I won't do it," I said again, my voice rising with anger.
"Elle, be serious," Maddox cut in. "You're acting insane. These people want to kill us. This isn't some silly movie you watch or a game you play. This is our lives. If the world found out about us, it'd destroy everything. I'm not ready to roll over and die because you have something to prove."
His words cut through me like a knife. Never had Maddox talked to me in such a demeaning tone before. He'd always been my rock, the one person who'd defended me regardless if I was right or wrong. Now, he was siding against me. It was all more than I could handle.
"You'll all be sorry," I hissed, breaking away from everyone. I began to run. I ran out the door. I ran through my yard. I ran into the woods that had become my sanctuary.
I'd find a way to prove we could live just as we were in the public eye.
I'd prove to my family and myself that we shouldn't fear the hunters.
I wished I believed me.
Chapter 19
I feel like I'd blinked and it was suddenly October. The leaves were changing on the trees, apple cider was being sold at every market and store in town, and pumpkins were popping up on everyone's front porches. I loved the fall. It was my absolute favorite season. Nothing made me happier than the cool weather, the vibrant colors as one season ended and another began, and the approaching holiday of Halloween.
Shady Oaks was magnificent during the fall. The town decorated for every holiday and season, but there was something truly magical in the small-town during Halloween. The pumpkin spice and crisp, cool air swirled together, delighting my senses. The local orchard and pumpkin path had opened early this year, and everyone was in the spirit. As usual, Maddox and I were buzzing about visiting Evan's Orchard and picking out our very own pumpkins. It was our yearly tradition, one I could include Asher in, too.
At lunch, Asher sat next to me as I was eating my turkey sandwich. The cafeteria was full and loud with students laughing and catching up with their friends during the free time in the day.
"What do you have planned this weekend?" Asher asked, scooting closer to me.
I swallowed my bite and turned to face him.
"It's a yearly tradition for us to go to Evan's Orchard and pick out pumpkins," I said, with a bright smile. I sighed when I thought about how much fun it would be. I needed some fun and calmness in my life. I needed to remember all the things I loved and cherished before my life had been turned upside down.
"That sounds like fun," Asher said. I saw his smile fade and his eyes grow dark. He knew it was something I'd always done with Maddox. Even though I'd never told him, anything I did that was a tradition always included Maddox.
"It is!" I exclaimed. "You have to come with me this year." I grabbed his hand and squeezed.
As our hands touched, electricity soared through my body. I knew he'd felt the spark, too, because his eyes instantly turned back to their mesmerizing blue and a smile spread across his face.
"Really? You don't mind if I join you?" he asked.
"Seriously? I want you to go with me. It'll be amazing!" I beamed. Asher pulled me in and placed a soft kiss on my cheek. "I'd love to go.
Just tell me when."
We talked about our upcoming plans and caught up on some school gossip. I was so excited; I couldn't wait for the next day. Friday had just gotten better. Now, all I had to do was break the news to Maddox.
Maddox sulked behind us, following Asher and I as we made our way up to the ticket stand at Evan's Orchard. When I'd told him, Asher was coming with us, Maddox
had thrown a tantrum, insisting the orchard was our "thing" and repeating how upset he was that I hadn't checked with him first. I just ignored his antics and told him to get over it.
Now, as Asher stepped up to purchase our hayride tickets, Maddox grumbled something unintelligible.
Asher handed Maddox his ticket and smiled warmly. "Here," Asher stated. "I know you wanted this day to be about just you and Elle, but I appreciate you letting me tag along."
Maddox took his ticket and shoved past us.
"Ignore him," I said, glaring at Maddox. 'He's just being a baby."
Asher nodded his head and said nothing else. Instead, he followed me as I headed to the line to wait for the tractor to arrive. Maddox was standing in line, his arms crossed. People walked about, drinking cider and eating home baked treats purchased from the snack bar. A slight breeze filled the air, and I caught the scent of cinnamon funnel cakes being fried nearby.
As the large, green tractor approached, Asher reached down and took my hand. I smiled as I watched our fingers link. He helped me into my seat and sat next to me on the large hay bail. Maddox sat across from us, keeping his gaze focused on the trees lining the path on the way to the patches where we could pick our own pumpkins. The bumpy ride almost made me fall into Asher's lap as he held me close. When the tractor stopped, he helped me off the wagon, and we began to look through the endless fields of pumpkins. There was orange in every size, shape, and shade as far as the eyes could see. A giddy sensation flowed through me as I was reminded of all of the good times I'd experienced doing the exact same thing.
Maddox looked sullen as he walked slowly along the rows, searching for the perfect pumpkin we'd carve in his garage, like we always did. Seeing that I was looking at him, Asher nudged me to go to Maddox. That was one of the things I loved about him. Even if he didn’t like Maddox, he always made sure that Maddox and I were okay.
"Go. I know he's upset I'm here. This is your thing together,” Asher said, as he watched Maddox.
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