As it turns out Mara likes to socialize and is never home to begin with, however being that she’s a health nut and cooking from scratch is her ‘center’,
Whatever that means;
The group has been eating less take out and more home cooked foods. Karen is sort of a neat freak which happens to be the exact opposite of Hunter who was basically raised in the wild. He knows nothing of basic table manners which drives Mara right up the wall.
Hunter’s also terrible with small talk, grocery store etiquette, and basically being a normal human being. Haven thought it was amusing and liked the way Hunter was so honest all the time but the girls did not. Haven didn’t mind Hunter’s oddness though that was before they realized Hunter didn’t know how to use a credit card or even understand how to dress properly without looking weird, like wearing no shirt or taking it off in public.
It was five full days after Mara moved in that they noticed or rather acknowledged Hunter’s inability to blend into society. Mara proposed an intervention and they set to work trying to teach Hunter all the things he needed to know.
“This is stupid.” Hunter huffed out as Mara snipped away at his hair with the metal scissors. Karen was looking bored and munching on her sixth slice of pizza while Haven was sitting next to her with the sight hint of arousal in his scent. Hunter kept glancing over to him curiously completely lost to why this situation would be in any way sexy.
“It’s like we have Tarzan living with us.” Karen said as she leaned back and stretched. Hunter glanced over to her and frowned.
“Who’s Tarzan?” Karen looked at him and tilted her head thoughtfully.
“How old are you?” She asked completely ignoring Hunter’s question. It annoyed him a bit but Hunter just shrugged. Haven watched them quietly; he and Hunter have talked about his age before.
It never goes well,
Hunter figures he’s maybe twenty four or twenty five. Haven is barely eighteen. “What twenty, twenty one?”
“I don’t know.” Hunter answered.
“Well, then what year were you born?” Karen questioned.
“I don’t know.” Hunter repeated. Karen’s mouth dropped open and Mara stopped snipping.
“How do you not know what year you were born in?” Karen demanded. “I get that you don’t know your real age because of all the weirdness with living in the woods and all but you have family at one point right?”
“Well sure, but the last time I saw them… I was seven.” Karen chewed her lip thoughtfully and staring at Hunter with narrowed eyes while Mara continued snipping away at Hunter’s hair more slowly. The topic of Hunter’s age was dropped after that, though Hunter wasn’t off the hook when it came to cleaning up and learning how to dress.
“No,” Hunter said defiantly as the girls dragged him into a high end cloth store. Haven followed behind smirking in amusement.
“Come on, don’t you want to look good for Haven?” Hunter glanced back to Haven who smiled that light and easy smile of his. Hunter found it hard that anybody would ever have the balls to try and kill someone like him. But time and time again people crawl out of the wood works looking to kill the sacrifice.
“I like him better with no cloths.” He said to which Karen almost tripped over her feet and glared at Haven. Mara simply laughed while Hunter was almost tempted to give Haven what he wanted. But again stripping in the mall was frowned upon and Hunter did not like making Karen angry.
“But then again seeing him in a suit is going to be interesting.” Haven finished making Hunter pout. He didn’t want to put on a suit; they looked like they’d restrict his movement as well as be completely uncomfortable.
Karen and Mara left Haven and Hunter alone to pick out things for Hunter to try on. It was quiet between the two of them; the comfortable silence was always Hunter’s favorite. He loves when they have long deep conversations but the quiet understanding was always somehow more special.
The light brush of skin, the flirtatious smirks and that look in Haven’s eye the one that let Hunter know that everything was alright and he didn’t need to worry about anything at the moment. “I like you with short hair.” Haven said after Karen and Mara were out of ear shot.
“I don’t know.” Hunter said grumpily and ran his fingers through the soft black matt of hair atop his head. When he was younger he’d tried to keep it short but never really had the time to keep cutting it. Haven smirked and looked away from him.
“You look younger… hotter.” Hunter looked over to him but said nothing. Karen and Mara returned then and anything he had to say to Haven was meant for only his ears so he said nothing in response. Mara shoved a bunch of outfits in Hunter’s arms and smiled brightly.
“Here, try these on.” She said and shoved him towards the dressing rooms. Hunter opened his mouth to object when a scent he was not happy with drifted towards him.
He and Mara both froze and looked over towards the exit of the store.
Three men had just walked in their gazes trained on the group; their hungry eyes drifting over the four of them, briefly melting into wolf yellow as they did. Hunter was next to Haven in an instant dropping the clothes next to Mara who was staring at the men with a serious yet guarded expression on her face.
Haven was tense next to him; he hadn’t noticed the men yet though he’d noticed Hunter’s change in mood as if it was written all over his face. Haven was still technically a human until his wolf ever decided to show up. He still had human senses and human healing and he was still very much in harm’s way.
The three men walked up to the group in a casual fashion. It was clear they were in their own territory which meant Hunter and the others were trespassing.
“Hello,” The tallest of the three greeted with a slight nod of his head. “My name is Joshua Wayfarer, the leader of the Wayfarer pack. However I’m not here on my pack’s business, rather I’m here because Cloe Ruxing wishes to meet with the new arrivals.” Hunter kept Haven directly behind him as his heart sank. What kind of a powerful person Cloe Ruxing must be to have an Alpha doing her bidding?
This wasn’t good,
It wasn’t good at all.
Much to Hunter’s displeasure Haven peeked around him. “Sorry but we have plans.” Haven said instantly earning a growl from the strongly built second tallest one standing to Joshua’s left. Joshua gave a cool yet slightly agitated grin.
“Please excuse Logan, he’s a bit new. He can’t quite control his animal urges yet.” Out of nowhere Joshua turned and slapped the Logan guy right across the face making his head snap to the said with a sickening crack. Both Mara and Hunter flinched at the sound of Logan’s jaw breaking. The other customers in the store looked over with curious caution. Haven cleared his throat nervously and stepping closer to Hunter.
“I think we can squeeze you in.” He said his voice was even completely masking the fact his scent was dripping in fear. Joshua looked mildly impressed with this and nodded. Joshua then bowed while Logan quietly worried over his broken jaw whimpering quietly to himself; Joshua was a strong wolf and quick to anger. He was no doubt a red pelt, which made him volatile and very dangerous.
“Right this way my brothers.” He said gesturing towards the exit.
~~~~
Trivia Answers!
1) What was is about Haven’s mother that Hunter noticed?
He thought she was having an affair.
2) What was the shape of the pendant that Mara always wears?
A flower
3) What book was referenced that got Haven thrown out of class, what was the reference?
The Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy, he and Karen were laughing about the number 42
4) What was the Pack’s name that saved Haven from the Light Court when he was little?
The North Winds
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Out of the Frying pan and into the fire. Hey at least they had a year to rest up (of sorts). Joshua can't be up to anything good nor can this Cloe person. Comment your worries and don't forget to vote. <3
Also I should probably explain something here before continuing on. Werewolves’ eyes are special, when in human form their eyes can look like a wolf’s and look yellow as well as reflect light. Sometimes it’s just a show of power as the three that bully the group into going with them showed in this chapter. It can also happen when a werewolf is injured. Now when werewolves are in their wolf form their eyes are going to be human and reflect the color of their natural human form it’s a show of the bond the man and beast share within the body. However the same thing happens when their injured and in wolf form, they’ll have the color of their wolves eyes, it’s a defense mechanism. Later on in the story there will be references of Feral wolves no longer having their human counterpart and will be identified with their eyes forever being the color of the wolves. I hope this clears some things up about werewolf physiology and allows everyone to follow the story a bit better.