Brother Blood

Chapter 31: hunting date

I finished the books I brought as Daria and Aidan slept on either side of me. Aidan woke when I tried to toss the book onto the table and missed. The book fell on the ground with a thump.

"Sorry," I whispered.

"Don't be," he yawned, pulling me down to be wrapped in his arms.

His heartbeat pounded against my cheek and I had to jerk out of his arms and stumble out of the bed, waking Daria in the process. Aidan sat up and nearly stepped toward me, but I put my hand out, breathing hard. Aidan froze.

"Can you...check to see if it's daylight outside?" I requested, pressing my hands flat against the wall. "I need to hunt."

My fangs were the most foreign part of my new self. They were a constant reminder that I was not human and was a momentary lapse in judgment away from being a murderer. Aidan jumped out of bed and shot past me. Daria gave me a sleepy smile.

"Good morning to you too," she said. "Or evening. I have no idea what time it is."

Aidan poked his head through the doorway. "Let's go."

I followed him out of the shop and into the woods beyond. The sun was gone, but it was still fairly light outside.

"I had no idea Conor's blood was so potent," he remarked. "Is it just him?"

"I think the healing properties of werewolf blood made it so I didn't need as much," I replied. "Your blood is like medication of sorts. I've heard the side effects of normal werewolf blood are...severe."

"We'll may have to try sooner, rather than later," Aidan remarked. "If you can't make it twelve hours without hunting we're going to run out of game. Not to mention half of the time you can't hunt because of the daylight."

"I know," I sighed.

Aidan paused, pulling off his shirt and pants before shifting into his wolf form. He nudged my knee with his silver muzzle and padded off into the forest. I followed him, listening to the forest around me buzz with activity. The animals were more cautious of my unnatural presence than humans seemed to be. I could hear various creatures fall silent as we stalked the woods. I picked up a familiar scent and repressed a groan. I didn't like the taste of deer's blood, but I didn't have time to be picky.

Aidan crouched low as we approached, and we spilt up, surrounding the deer in question. I pounced, grabbing the animal before it had a chance to spring away. I could hear the rest of the forest clamor in alarm, but our prey was caught. I allowed myself a grimace, but that didn't stop me from sinking my teeth into the doe's neck, and focusing on how much I could take without killing the creature. Aidan was right; we would run out of prey, especially with winter coming. I hoped that I wouldn't need so much after a while; Stefa had never seemed so affected, even going days without feeding.

I released the deer and she stumbled away. Aidan watched her go and then tilted his head at me. His yellow eyes glimmered in twilight.

"If we stop now, we're going to need to come back in a couple hours," I told him. "I'm sorry."

It took a little longer to find new prey, but once I felt that I could stay to be around other people and not be hungry we headed back to the farm. Aidan had caught a rabbit to eat while I was feeding, and I could count my blessings that eating some hapless creature with its fur still didn't appeal to me. Aidan grabbed his clothes at the edge of the forest and pulled them on as we walked.

"You're faster than I am," he remarked. "I may be slowing you down if I come with you."

"Hunting is easier in pairs," I replied. "I don't mind."