Bitten 》Book 1 Of Werewolves In Yellowstone《

☾Chapter 8☽

Ralph and I were crouched behind a bush the next day, slowly stalking a buck that was grazing in front of us. Every now and then, it lifted it's head, almost as if he knew something was watching him. I had my rifle ready for the right moment to shoot, aiming for the buck's chest.

We watched him carefully, and Ralph soon gave me the signal.

The deer went down instantly and as we approached him, I could see the wild look in his eyes as he fought for his final breath. I looked away until he took one last, rugged breath moments later.

"Nice shot," Ralph told me as we loaded the carcass onto his truck.

I smiled. "I guess it was. I just wish it would've ended a bit quicker."

He nodded, climbing into the driver's seat. "It's sad when you think of it that way, but I understand what you mean. Maybe you could've fired twice?"

"Probably."

We drove back in silence, meeting Jake and Xander in the basement when we got back.

"So what'd you guys get?" Ralph asked them as we lowered the buck onto a tarp.

Jake looked up from what he was doing and pointed at a bobcat. "He nearly snuck up on us," he joked.

"I think he was stalking us. His claws are pretty sharp, too," Xander added, showing us the claws.

"Anyone else back yet?" I asked.

Jake nodded. "Celeste and Becca stayed here. I think they're in the living room watching a movie or something. Jay, Dean, and Lil are probably up there with them. They got back before we did."

I nodded, then got to work helping Ralph skin the deer. We carefully removed his antlers and portioned the meat until there was little left of what the deer had been.

Afterwards, I passed through the living room, finding some of my friends huddled around the TV and watching a movie. I waved to them as I passed and went to my room to take a shower.

When I was done, it was almost noon.

I joined my friends in the kitchen and made myself a turkey sandwich.

When everyone finished lunch, Celeste, Becca, Jay, and Dean went back into the living room to watch another movie while the rest of my friends and I went to explore the woods before it started getting too dark.

We ended up coming back that night with a boar, a wild turkey, and a cottontail.

I went straight to my room, noticing the full moon in my window as I got changed. After I slipped into my pajamas, I finished the sketch I'd started working on the night before, then fell asleep.

♥☾♥

Every so often, I would wake up in a cold sweat, breathing shallowly with my heart jumping out of my chest. This usually happened around the same time of year my parents were killed in the car accident and I was sent to live with Harvey and Sylvia Beaumont, the people that abused me and treated me more like a servant than a potential daughter.

The dream-no, nightmare-would start the same every year: I would hear a scream, ear-shattering. Deathly. Then, I'd see a collision. My mother's life being drained from her eyes as she fought to keep herself and her unborn child alive. My father... his head was bloody and beaten, already dead beyond help.

I wasn't there when my parents passed, but I'd always had nightmares about it. I'd always wake up in a cold heat, the dream becoming a reminder of my parents' death every year, leaving me feeling helpless because there was nothing I could've done to stop it.