Hunter and the Hart

Werewolves?!

The man. Was. Snarling. Like a rabid dog. If my eyebrows raised any more I was sure they'd disappear into my hairline. He. Was. Snarling! How?! That was not a sound that a human could make. He pulled my shoulder firmly, placing me squarely behind him, lowering his head slightly as the guy and the wolf squared off. I shook my head blinking rapidly before pinching my thigh, wincing slightly. I was definitely not dreaming. But this didn't make any sense. But he'd understood the language of magic. That obviously meant something, but for the life of me I couldn't figure out what.

Snarling....like a dog? No. Like a wolf. Like the wolf in the alley. The wolf who was obviously too large to be a normal wolf. I could feel a soft magic buzz around the man, and I tapped into it as inconspicuously as possible. It created a slight buzzing as it connected.

"Johnny, why are you picking a fight in the middle of the street?!" A very angry sounding female voice boomed across my mind, the buzzing crackling like trying to use a pair of broken headphones.

"I don't have time for this, Jenny." The voice of the blond man, Johnny I guessed, came across the same way, his voice low and irritated.

"You better have time for this Johnny, because if the Alpha finds out about this, I can't stop him from tearing a strip out of your hide." She huffed slightly. The connection I had to the magic around them began squealing, like a radio with a bad connection, and I dropped out of it.

I looked back down the alleyway, the wolf had flattened his ears, and was backing away. I felt my magic reach out, brushing around him. He had the same vague feeling of magic that Johnny had. They both stopped snarling, and the wolf in the alley shapeshifted. I tilted my head, staring at the now naked man in front of me as he raised his hands in surrender. He turned back down the alley, disappearing around the corner.

"Are you okay?" Johnny turned to look at me, blanching once again when he realized that I had seen the man in the alley. "Please don't freak out." He whispered slightly, a sense of urgency in his voice as he looked around the street.

"I need some vodka." I felt a bubble of laughter bordering on hysterics as I turned to continue my walk. "Here's hoping that whatever restaurant I'm going to at least has some kind of-"

"I need you to come with me." A deep male voice resounded behind me, and Johnny let out a very creative string of curses. "John, you're coming too." 

"I figured." He sighed softly. 

I turned around, gawking at this brick wall of a man who was trying to get me into his car. He had dark brown hair styled in a crew cut, and I could not imagine him as anything besides an active prize fighter, his black tee straining against the sheer volume of his muscles. He was easily a head taller than Johnny, and his face was set it a scowl that I assumed was a signature look.

My mouth went slightly dry as I studied him. There was no way in hell I could get away from this man unless he let me go, but the set of his mouth and the poise of his body said that was never going to happen. I followed Johnny into a black suburban parked at the side of the road. I folded my hands in my lap, twisting a small ring that I wore on my thumb as I ran through every worst case scenario I could think of. Was I being abducted? Were they going to kill me? Torture was one that flickered across my head several times, with varying intensities and styles. Mom would have said that I watch too many crime dramas. 

But nothing drowned out the memory of that man in the alley, the one who had been a wolf. Realization and a memory flashed across my mind.

~~

9 years ago.

It was Halloween, and daddy had picked out a series of movies that he thought us kids would like. I really liked watching scary movies with daddy and Chris and Caleb. Jaime would always hide from the scary movies. I didn't know why, this was the only day that mama let us watch scary movies.

"Did you have fun trick-or-treating?" Daddy ruffled everyone's hair, and we all giggled.

"Look how much I got, Daddy!" I held out my little pail, almost overflowing with candies. Caleb and Chris kept pouting that I got more candy than them. 

"Maybe it's just because of our ladybug's costume?" Daddy offered with a smile. "Everybody loves a little wolf." I grinned up, making a little growling sound as I made a snapping gesture, my plastic fangs clicking together. "Speaking of, I've got a good movie tonight." Daddy help up a DVD case, almost like he was hiding it from Mama as she dragged her feet through the living room.

"Please tell me it's not something that's going to give them nightmares." She yawned, dropping her sweater on the arm of the couch. 

"I don't think it will." He smiled at Mama like they were sharing a secret. "Not with how much these kids love horror movies. And besides, this is definitely on the mild side, bordering on campy." He kissed Mama's cheek.

"Well, the little gremlins are your duty now. I'm gonna crash." She patted daddy's shoulder before walking up the stairs.

"Okay, kids, you know the drill." He smiled at us, and we raced around the house, turning off all the lights as Daddy made some popcorn. We all settled down on the floor with our candy and the popcorn as Daddy put on the movie. And we were all enrapt. It made me slightly sad, though, because it made me miss my Orion stuffy that was still at Grandma Mira's. 

That night I dreamed of a little boy and a little black wolfy. We talked all night about how much fun it would be to watch scary movies together, curled up together in a pillow and blanket fort. He had the prettiest winter blue eyes. And the little black wolfy had eyes that looked like caramel. 

Mama always made scrambled eggs for breakfast after Halloween. Everyone was eating, but I was just pushing my eggs around with my fork, trying to remember the name of the boy with the pretty eyes from my dream.

"What's the matter ladybug?" Mama touched my forehead. "Did you have a nightmare?" She sent a mean look over at Daddy who shook his head slightly.

"Mama?" I bit my lip as she walked with a couple plates to the sink. "Are werewolves real?"

It had been an innocent question. Really, it had. We'd just watched a werewolf movie, and I thought it would be cool. But Mama made a really weird sound, dropping the plates in her hand, and then saying bad words as she stepped away from the broken pieces on the floor. Everyone around the table froze as Mama grabbed the wall by the kitchen, her voice angry as she turned to me.

"Don't ever mention that word again. If I find out that you -" Daddy stood up, cutting Mama's words off.

"It was the movie. We watched "Cursed" babe. It's a movie about werewolves." He walked past Mama, rubbing her arm as he came back with the broom and dust pan.

~~

"We're here." The bulky man's voice cut through my reminiscence. I climbed out of the suburban as ushered, and stared up in wonder at the building in front of us. It was enormous. It had at least four floors, and I couldn't even see how far back it went. The dark wood didn't look out of place in the forest clearing, light dancing across the manicured lawn and the circular driveway. I had seen pictures of celebrity houses, and this building wouldn't look out of place in those lists. But a single word kept repeating in my head, the one that had Mama so panicked, and now I realized why. They really do exists. Werewolves.