Killer Moon

Three

"All packed and ready?" Marcus busts through my door while I'm still dripping wet, wrapped in a towel, long-sleeve, and bra in hand. "Damn, I came too soon," His face drops, and a second later, a grin replaces his frown. "Can't say I've done that very often." I scoff, throwing the clothes on the bed, and return to the closet, grabbing the rest of my outfit.

 "You've also never said that to a girl in bed before," I drop the rest of it on the bed and smile at him. "You say that alone to your hand." He sticks his tongue out at me, squinting his eyes.

"Haha, funny; you wouldn't even know." He leans on the door frame, one hand holding the door handle halfway in the room. "Don't be so sure about that. Your room is two doors down. I can hear Evan walking up the stairs right now, probably to see what the holdup is." He turns around to look. I put my underwear and pants on under the towel since it doesn't seem like I will get any space.

Marcus scoffs, turns to look at me, and opens his mouth. "Look now." I stop him and peek over his shoulder from my spot, and Evans's head peaks over the stairs, looking straight at us. 

"Told ya." I slip on my socks.

He whips his head back to me, and I give him a wide smile as shocking horror takes over his features, and his face pales. 

"Does that mean you can hear..." he trails off, eyes wide, mouth open, staring at me like I just ran over his dog. "Don't worry; I haven't told her." I turn away from him and put on my bra and shirt. They stick to me, and I curse him as I pull them down.

 "What the hell is taking so long?" Evan pushes past Marcus into my room. "I would've been ready sooner if Tweedle Dee hadn't barged in when I was changing, and Tweedle Dum hadn't come to help with stupid questions." I retort, tying my boots, water dripping from my hair onto my boots and hands.

"Well, come on, hurry up. We've got a four-hour drive, and I want to be there by lunchtime to look around the area." He claps his hands. Standing, I move to grab my bags and coat. Marcus yanks my bag over his shoulder before I can get my hands on it and rushes down the stairs and out the doors. 

"At least someone knows how to hurry." Evan walks out behind him, not in a hurry at all. "Yeah, well, I could beat you there on my own," I add, closing my door behind me. "Be my guest then." He looks back at me over his shoulder.

God, what a prick sometimes. I followed him down the stairs and through the living room, out the door, and took my spot in the backseat of the SUV. I buckled up and bundled my coat into a makeshift pillow to nap. It's seven in the morning, and we have four hours on the road. I will not be sitting in this car doing nothing for that long. 

"Are you seriously that stupid?" Evan whispers. I don't know how long I've been asleep, but there's no reason to whisper. "I know we hunt her kind, but she's still one of us and never hurt anyone." Marcus's voice is soft and pleading, with undertones of worry and doubt.

 What's going on? They are talking about me, but why?

 Keeping my eyes closed, I listen. "She's not one of us, Marcus. She's a monster. Have you forgotten that they are just animals?" Evan whispered and yelled at him. 

I've noticed something's changed about him over the last few months, but I didn't realize this was what he had thought about me. Hunters train new members in groups of three to four who work and learn together. After a couple of years and a lot of experience, they typically go out independently. Ironically, like the loners, they prioritize hunting.

"You've only been with us for two years, Evan; she's not like the other wolves; to her, we are her pack. In our first year of hunting, she saved Sarah and me from the wolf we were targeting." While I do care for Marcus and Sarah, I don't have the same delusions that he does. I know I don't belong here, but I won't be killed if I do what I'm told and continue to be helpful. Unfortunately, not all hunters feel the same way he does.

"Time spent with that abomination doesn't matter, you dolt; when the time comes, she will rip out your throat given the change. Don't say I didn't warn you." Evan snaps at Marcus, but he doesn't respond.

 After a few excruciating minutes, I sit up and yawn. "Did you enjoy your nap?" Marcus smiles back at me, but his smile doesn't quite reach his eyes.

A real yawn interrupts my response, and before I say anything Evan speaks. "You've somehow managed to sleep the bulk of the trip away. We've about twenty minutes left before we get to the motel." He looked less than pleased with his constant scowl etched into his brows. I can only guess what I've done to upset him this time. "What can I say? I've got great timing." Smirking at him in the rearview mirror, his brows knit further together, and I take pride in that.

"The plan is to do recon, and then we will go to the nightclub where the incident occurred. That crazy bastard still frequents there," the leather on the steering wheel creaks against his hands. "And if we get lucky, we can catch him alone." The tension in the car makes it hard to breathe. It doesn't take a genius to know what Evan wants to do if he catches him alone.

"I'll run a perimeter on the edge of town, see if I can get an idea about how they come and go," I add, leaning forward between the guys. "Meet-up time will be eight o'clock at the motel," Marcus says, then reads a few business names off his phone that the wolf frequents.

While parking at the motel, Marcus and I wasted no time collecting the bags and bringing them to the room. Dropping the bags in the corner, I walk to the bathroom and look around. "Hey Mark, where did they say the papers would be?" I ask, peeking my head out the door. He stops unpacking and stares at me for a second, blank-faced. "Oh, in the shower wall, the second row from the ceiling, and the second stone to the left." 

Running my fingers across the surface, I feel the stone shift just slightly, and a sliver of a crack appears on the grout line. Pulling the stone out reveals a hole in the wall with papers, silver knives, and bullets. "Gotta love communal hunting supplies," I mumble, grabbing the stack of documents and sliding the stone cover back in place.

Evan walks in with a box as I round the corner. "What's that for?" I nod to the box tucked under his arm, placing the papers on the TV stand dresser. I open a drawer, looking for my clothes. "Top middle drawer," Marcus calls from the bed he was sitting on, and I pull out a tank top and shorts.

"This is the fake IDs that Alex had made for us," Evan drops the box on the other bed and walks over to hand me an envelope. "And this is for you." Confused, I tear open the top and pull a letter out.