Hunted

by DJ DeSmyter

  “Do you write your own songs?” I asked. The song I had heard was unfamiliar.

  “Yeah.”

  “Will you play for me later?”

  “Sure, but you have to tell me more about you,” she said with a smile.

  “I’m not sure there’s much to tell.” That was a big lie. The most interesting part about me was the one part she couldn’t know.

  She tapped her upper lip with her finger. “Well, do you write songs?”

  “A little,” I said. “But my songs are strictly guitar. I can’t sing.”

  Lily laughed. “Neither can I.” She took a bite of her food. “What else?”

  “My favorite color is blue.”

  “Favorite food?”

  “Steak.”

  “Favorite place?”

  “I don’t really have one.” I stopped to think and then added, “I guess I like being outside.”

  Lily pushed her empty plate away from her. “My mom loved being outside, too.” Her voice grew quiet. “At least, that’s what Dad says.”

  “Do you mind if I ask what happened to her?”

  She sighed and looked down at her hands. “Dad says she died while hiking. He’s never told me exactly what happened, but I don’t think I really want to know the details.”

  “I’m so sorry.” My apology was unnecessary, but I could tell it gave her some comfort.

  “Thanks.”

  “Do you miss her?”

  “Not really. I never had the chance to know her. She died when I was a baby.” She paused and looked up at me. “Does that make me a bad person?”

  “No. Of course not,” I assured her. “It’s understandable.”

  She weakly smiled. “I do wish I knew more about her, though. Dad hardly talks about her.”

  “Maybe he’s not ready.”

  “Maybe.” She fell silent and then sprang out of her chair, picking up her plate in the process. “Ready for some music?”

  18. Lily

  I could tell Alex was trying to handle the conversation as if it were made of glass. Although his questions were neither invasive nor insensitive, I couldn’t talk about Mom anymore. I had said more about her to Alex than I had to anyone else, but his quiet, gentle nature made him easy to talk to.

  Alex helped me clean up the kitchen and as soon as the dishes were in the dishwasher, I took him into the family room and over to the piano. The bench creaked as I pulled it out.

  “Would you mind if I sat with you?” Alex asked. He sounded a little embarrassed.

  “No, go ahead.”

  When he sat down, a gentle wave of warmth washed over me. Having him only inches away from me caused my heart to beat so furiously my body pulsed along with the rhythm like a metronome. Closing my eyes for a brief second, I placed my fingers on the keys and began to play. Beside me, Alex sighed and I looked over to find his eyes closed and a gentle smile spread across his face. He didn’t open his eyes until my song came to an end.

  “You wrote that?” His eyes and voice were filled with wonder.

  I nodded. “You like it?”

  “Yes,” he said sincerely. “Does it have a name?”

  Shrugging, I said, “I wrote it a year ago and I’ve never given much thought to naming it.”

  “Play it again,” he murmured. “Please.” Closing his eyes again, he waited for me to start.

  After playing it for the second time, he asked me to play more of my songs. For an hour, my fingers stretched over the keys and filled the house with music. I eventually ran out of original songs, so I started playing some classical pieces only to have Alex stop me.

  “They’re not as beautiful as yours,” he said.

  I was positive my cheeks were as red as a rose. “I highly doubt that.”

  “It’s true.”

  Smiling, I sighed in disbelief. “Thanks.”

  “No. Thank you.”

  “For what?”

  He looked away and stood up, still smiling. “It’s nothing.”

  Our eyes met when he turned to me and without saying a word, he leaned down and kissed my cheek. It was so quick I barely felt his lips on my skin. Before I could even think of something to say, he was gone, leaving me dazed.

  Q

  The days following the kiss were anything but awkward because Alex and I both knew neither of us regretted it. The amount of time we spent together grew, which seemed impossible since we lived in the same house and attended the same school. Most of the time, we spoke about school, books, and movies, but sometimes we would just sit in silence doing homework or reading. He was so easy to be around that the silence didn’t bother me. In fact, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Dad noticed our growing friendship and even asked me if we were dating.

  “I don’t know,” I answered with blushing cheeks and a racing heart. “Would you be okay if we were?”

  He didn’t respond.

  19. Alex

  “Two tickets, please,” I said as I handed over my money to the student. My voice wavered and I couldn’t believe how nervous I was. When the girl handed me the tickets, I stood there staring at them in my hand. I didn’t move until the guy behind me cleared his throat and tapped my shoulder.

  “Oh. Sorry,” I said, removing myself from the line.

  I was about to ask Lily to go to the school’s winter dance with me, but more importantly, I was going to ask her to officially be my girlfriend. I had never asked either of those questions before and I tried to summon all the strength and pride of my canine nature in hopes of being calm and collected by the time I reached her locker.

  “Hey,” she said as she watched me walk over to her. “How are you?”

  “I’m all right,” I answered, trying not to show my nerves. My palms were sweating and the image of a sweating wolf flickered unexpectedly in my mind. “And you?”

  She smiled and continued trading items from her locker. “I’m okay.”

  I cleared my throat and lowered my gaze to the linoleum floor. “May I ask you something?” I gained enough courage to look up at her through my hair.

  Closing her locker and readjusting her backpack, she nodded. “Of course.”

  “Would you be my date to the Snowflake Dance?” Once the question had left my mouth, my heart slowed down and my palms began to feel drier.

  Lily just stared at me and a rapid thumping filled my ears. “I would love to,” she finally said. Her expression was an adorable mix of excitement and disbelief. As much a relief as her answer provided me, there was still one more question I had to ask. I felt like I was betraying John, despite the fact he never said I couldn’t date Lily. I had promised him I wouldn’t tell her about werewolves and I wasn’t going to break that promise. I was in control of who I was, but not all wolves were and they let their predatory instincts control them.

  Lily interrupted my thoughts and surprised me by asking, “Does this mean we’re dating?”

  “I suppose it does.” I chuckled

  “Good,” she said with a smile that left me feeling like I could fly.

  Q

  Later that night while Lily was fast asleep, I stole outside to look for John in the woods. I stared up through the snow-covered tree branches and up at the clear night sky. I took a moment to gaze at the stars and quickly found the Big Dipper along with a few other constellations. Looking at the stars was always something I loved doing, especially after a good hunt. At times like those, I was both a wolf and a stargazer, an oddly fascinating combination. I wonder if Lily ever looks at the stars. I’ll have to show her sometime; I think she would like that.

  I took one last long look at the tiny balls of light before continuing my search for John. His scent hung in the air and with a few quick sniffs, I found him. He didn’t look surprised to see me.

  “Any sign of them?” I asked him, looking around for paw prints.

  “I’m afraid not,” he said with a sigh. “No sign of the hunter either. But I’m sure your family is safe.”

  I stuck my hands in
my coat pockets. “I haven’t even been able to pick up their scent.”

  “They’re probably just lying low for right now. If I were you, I’d do the same and quit looking for them. At least for now. It’ll draw the hunter right to you and I’m assuming you don’t want to be shot again.”

  I nodded in agreement and glanced over at him. “Why are you helping me? You know what I am, what I’m capable of doing.”

  John took a deep breath. “I do, but I also know you’re not a threat.”

  “How?”

  “You didn’t try to fight the hunter; you ran. A feral werewolf would have fought the hunter without hesitation.”

  “What if I was just a normal wolf?”

  “Then you wouldn’t have shifted into a human when you were shot,” he smirked “And I’m helping you because my wife was a werewolf too.”

  “She inherited the gene?” I asked, my voice full of surprise.

  “One of the lucky few,” he said. “Or unlucky depending on your viewpoint.”

  It surprised me he knew being a werewolf was genetic, a curious little trait that no one understood.

  “My wife told me a lot,” he added.

  “How did you take it when she first told you?”

  “I thought she was crazy until she shifted right in front of me,” he said, with a chortle. “I had never seen anything like it. The change was so fluid and quick.”

  I guess she had never told him about the initial pain of shifting. My body had grown accustomed to it by my fifth time. “Did you still love her?”

  “Of course.”

  “And you weren’t afraid?”

  “At first I was. Once she explained how most werewolves were harmless and how to tell the difference between a tame and a wild one, I felt better. I found the more I knew, the less I was afraid.”

  “My mom always says that knowledge is power and if the hunters knew that not all of us were killers, we’d be a little safer. Of course, the hunters don’t care. All they see is a beast that killed a loved one. Fortunately, there aren’t many rogue wolves.”

  “All it takes is one.”

  “True. Have you come across many hunters?”

  “Just two,” he answered with a hint of sorrow in his voice. “The one who killed my wife and the one who shot you.”

  “They’re not related, are they?” What a sick family tradition that would be, I thought.

  “No, they’re not. I’ve checked,” he said with a snort. “I kind of wish they were so we would know who shot you.”

  “Why haven’t you told Lily?” I asked, my eyes now on my feet.

  John sighed and pulled the collar of his coat closer to his neck. “I just want to keep her safe, keep her away from all of this.”

  “I won’t let anything happen to her,” I told him, making sure each word was filled with assurance.

  “You better not, young man.” His expression was deadly serious

  With a nervous laugh, I asked, “So are you okay with me taking her to the dance and uh, well, dating her?”

  John glanced at the sky. “She’s lonely, Alex. I’m not close to any of my relatives, not even my parents, so she doesn’t know my side of the family and she obviously doesn’t know her mom’s. Then again, I’m not sure if Marie’s family is still alive.” He paused and then continued. “So I guess what I’m saying is yes, I’m okay with you dating her. I trust you, Alex, and Lily needs someone in her life, someone other than me. She’s happy with you and I don’t want to take that away from her.”

  I felt light enough to fly. “I care about her a lot, John,” I said with sincerity.

  “Are you in love with her?”

  “I think I am.”

  John just sighed and, wearing a slight grin, continued on walking.

  20. Lily

  It was the day of the dance and nothing could keep me from thinking about it. Having never been to one before I had no idea how hard it was to get ready. Dad had to take me dress shopping, which he loved.

  Not.

  After trying several floor-length dresses on, which varied in design and color, I settled on a dark blue one that reached the floor. It had an embroidered filigree pattern along the hem that swirled up the right side and crossed over at the waist before continuing to the top. The pattern was the color of pearls and sparkled if caught in the right light. It was a fairly simple dress. Just like me.

  I scoured the Internet for hairstyles, but failed to find one I could do myself. My hands were not made to style hair. I was running out of time, so I decided on doing a French braid. I didn’t own much makeup, but a trip to the pharmacy remedied that situation. While I made sure I had everything I needed, Dad and Alex were nowhere to be seen. Dad had already bought Alex a suit, so I assumed they were picking up my corsage. Alex’s boutonniere was sitting happily in the refrigerator.

  Dad had been surprisingly accepting of Alex and me as a couple. I thought he’d treat me like a baby and refuse to let me date at all, but thankfully he didn’t.

  While I brushed my teeth, I heard the front door open followed by Alex and Dad’s voices. With my hair done and a little makeup on my face, I checked the clock and rushed to finish. As soon as I was done in the bathroom, I hurried to my room to put on my dress. I heard Alex bound up the stairs and rush to his room as I zipped up. I didn’t have a floor-length mirror, so I did my best to check my appearance. Keeping my eyes glued to my backside, I turned around several times, wearing circles into the floor, and I felt like a puppy chasing its tail. Carefully, I touched my hair to make sure there were no stray strands wanting to ruin my look. This was my first dance and I wanted everything to be perfect, including myself.

  Feeling good and slightly shallow, I left my room and headed downstairs. My heels clicked on the stairs and I was sure you could hear me coming a mile away. Dad was sitting in the front room with a camera in his lap. When he heard me coming, he stood up and stared at me, his eyes wide and his jaw dropped.

  “You look beautiful.” His face beamed with a proud smile.

  “Thanks, Dad.” I wasn’t used to hearing compliments. “Do you think Alex is almost ready?” I made my way to the kitchen and returned with Alex’s boutonniere. As cliché as it was, I had chosen to give him a red rose.

  “Yes, I am,” I heard Alex say from the stairs. My own jaw threatened to drop when I saw him. He looked absolutely stunning in his slim-fitting black suit, complete with a perfectly centered tie and shoes so new they reflected the light. I couldn’t believe I was going to my first dance with someone as gorgeous and, most importantly, as kind as him. It was all too good to be true. He was too good to be true.

  “Smile,” Dad said, snapping me out of my trance. He immediately started taking photos.

  Alex wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me towards him. Through his smile, he said, “You look amazing as always.”

  “So do you. And I hardly think I look amazing.”

  “Would I lie to you?” Alex teased.

  “I hope not.”

  Dad continued blinding us with the camera’s flash until we were out the door and in the truck, which he had given Alex for the night. As soon as Alex turned it on, I cranked on the heat. My pea coat failed to provide enough warmth.

  “Are you excited?” Alex asked, keeping his eyes on the road.

  I nodded while shivering. “Yeah. Are you? This is your first dance, too.”

  “Yes, and even more so because I’m going with you.”

  I blushed. “Thanks for asking me to go; no else would have.”

  “Why wouldn’t someone want to ask you, Lily?”

  “Last time I checked, no one pays attention to me, especially none of the guys, which is fine since the available ones are all jerks.”

  “They are, aren’t they?” he said, laughing.

  When we got to the school, Alex took my hand as we walked into the gym and his warmth managed to fight off the winter air. Music and swirling lights greeted us as well as a photographer.
<
br />   “Just to warn you, I suck at dancing,” I shouted.

  “So do I, but it doesn’t look like there’s a whole lot of actual dancing happening.”

  As expected, people were grinding and throwing themselves all over their dates. I felt dirty just watching. Thankfully, the song ended and a slow one began to play.

  “Slow dancing’s easy, though, right? All we have to do is stand there and sway,” he said as he led us onto the dance floor.

  Wrapping my arms around his neck, I rested my head on his chest and closed my eyes.

  I wanted to savor that moment, to stay in it forever, and if time refused to freeze for me, then I would have found a way to capture the scene. As ridiculous and cheesy as it was, it felt as if we were the only two people in the room. It was then, with the sound of Alex’s heart singing in my ear and my body tucked into his, that I knew my emptiness had been filled, that I would no longer cry out of loneliness. I was happy and whole. I didn’t think such a feeling existed.

  When the song ended, Alex kissed me, this time on the lips and my whole body responded. It was a gentle, yet passionate kiss. For a moment, I forgot how to operate.

  Q

  The rest of the dance passed in a blur and all I could remember was the kiss. All I wanted to remember was the kiss. On the way home, Alex kept his hand entwined with mine. When we pulled into the driveway, he kissed me again before getting out of the truck. We started to head inside, but stopped after hearing a strange noise. Alex stiffened.

  “Lily, go inside,” he said sternly. His voice had an edge to it, one I had never heard from him before.

  Confusion consumed me. “What is it?”

  “Go inside.”

  “Okay,” I said slowly as I headed for the front door, not quite understanding what was happening. Before I could reach the porch, a snarl pierced the air and a large dog appeared from the shadows, cutting off my path. It took me a minute to realize it wasn’t a dog, but a wolf. I let out a scream.