Hunter awoke the next morning uncertain. A hot shower did not clear his head, nor did mulling over his breakfast of off-brand flakes of corn. The wolf, his other self, edged him on to attack the staff and steal a plate of real food or run off into the forest and eat a small animal.
Just as he began to wonder what rabbits tasted like, Malcolm plopped down across from him with a larger plate than usual.
"Hey Reeds."
Hunter flicked his eyes upward and back down at his cereal. "Hey yourself."
"I'm sorry about the other night man. Then I forgot my charger, and my phone died.I was a county away for the whole weekend, so I wouldn'tve been much help anyhow."
Hunter shrugged. "Ish no b-big deal." Except I might get arrested.
"I heard about Ashley. They're callin' it a wolf attack."
"Mmm." Hunter slurped down a soggy spoonful. If Malcolm was off campus, that ruled him out. He decided to test the waters. "A wolf attack, huh? Did Mr. Garou say anything?"
"Just that she's in a hospital somewhere. God bless."
"Good. But where's the nearest Lycandoc near here? I know I should've looked it up before startin' school but it slipped my mind."
"Right in town. Ask for Dr.Mahmoud. But you know the deal, make sure to show them your health card before you start talkin' about shifts and stuff."
"Good to know." He dropped the spoon. The cereal was a lost cause, so he concentrated on the conversation. "So, what did you do off campus?"
Malcolm presented Hunter with his phone and slowly swiped through a set of photos.
"Went with some classmates to the Harvest festival in Lyndendale. It was crazy man. Tons of food, no IDs for the drinks, nonstop party. A buncha people from Redwood were there, even Serena. I'm surprised Ashley didn't go. She seems like the type that likes to party, hittin' our phones up with ideas all the time."
"Yeah. But wait, how did you bind up?"
"Ha! Real simple. Kept my inner wolf back with a buzz. Got to the hotel room before I was too hammered. I do it all the time.That way I'm too tired to move after the shift. It's like gettin' the itis. Get too full, go out like a light."
Hunter said nothing. He had seen other werewolves use the same method, getting drunk to slow down the shift. While it proved useful to others, it was a dangerous practice as far as Hunter was concerned.
Malcolm proceeded to eat his breakfast while Hunter drank his soggy cereal. If Serena was at the festival too, that meant she wasn't involved as well. So that was two people he could ignore out of who knew how many. Hurray.
With breakfast behind him he went to his lecture. In class he felt several pairs of eyes watching him. He could only assume that word about his breakdown had spread. He knew three students from his Monday night class with Lugosi were also in his Tuesday morning lecture, but he believed they had better things to gossip about besides the weird crippled kid. When the class ended he went to the freshly cleaned bathroom and sat in a stall. He pulled the evidence bag out of his backpack. It reminded him of days long since past, when his father was still around.
While other Father-Son duos played catch or cards, Hunter's father hid objects around the house for Hunter to find. He would either give Hunter clues or let him sniff things blindfolded, and then set a time limit. It wasn't the most exciting activity, but having a similar trait to his father gave Hunter a sense of pride. As a child he considered becoming a tracker one day.
As a teenager with a single parent, he had different plans.
The air of the bathroom was filled with the scent of pine, easy to distinguish from whatever was in the evidence bag. He opened it and inhaled deeply. Various scents and smells entered his nostrils in a rush. He tried to separate them and place them as quickly as possible. The first ones he identified were the smell of the forest, grass, and dirt. There were several things he couldn't place, and something oddly chemical. He smelled numerous things, but none matched Malcolm's scent, so he was definitely out. He wasn't sure about Tom, however. They would have to meet again for him to be certain.
Hunter headed for the library after class. Investigation aside, he still had exams to study for.
Currently he was on the course track for a Bachelor's in Education. From the few courses he was already taking it became clear quite quickly that teaching was more than making students read aloud from a textbook and passing out handouts. There were courses for everything from cultivating learning environments and perspectives on adolescent learning, to structuring lessons and balancing coursework.
Studying turned out to be as relaxing as it was informative. Two hours passed in the blink of an eye. With daylight hours dwindling, he knew it was time to get to work. He tapped his pencil against his notebook. The easiest way to find the attacker would be to discern their scent from Ashley's. But with Ashley's whereabouts unknown, that would be hard. Trying to asking her questions at this point seemed selfish to him. While the capture of her attacker helped them both, he thought it was best to leave her alone. For all he knew the attack had left her traumatized, and recalling it would make things worse. He would have to approach this from a different angle.
Garou's suspicions annoyed him, but the older man was basing his conclusion on facts and unbeknownst to him, one piece of fiction--Tom's testimony. For whatever reason Tom had decided to lie about his involvement with Hunter's binding, making him suspect number one.
Tom Martinez didn't seem like a bad person. There had been nothing about his behavior up to that point to suggest otherwise. Still he had lied. Why? Perhaps to protect his other half, the Lycan side. This Tom seemed nice, but what if that Tom was an angry beast?
He closed his notebook. Finding Tom would be the first step.
Hunter walked down to the school bookstore, located in the green building. For some reason the cider was a dollar cheaper there, and he was craving something warm. He stood in line, rubbing his hands and looking around. Something bumped against his back but he ignored it. It was an accident, no big deal.
"So, how's it going?"
Hunter looked up. He didn't know how he had missed that familiar scent. "Grayson?"
He didn't think that the taller teen would be willing to talk to him so soon.
"Did you find out anything new--"
"I'm sorry I kicked you out--"
They both stopped talking.
Grayson shrugged. "It's not a big deal. I know this whole thing has you stressed."
Something about the way Grayson was brushing the matter off worried him. "Okay, but it is a big deal. I shouldn't have kicked you out, or hung up the day before."
Grayson rubbed the back of his neck. "Okay...." He smiled. "You're forgiven."
Hunter sighed and turned back around. "Great."
"So, what's the plan?"
"The guy you got my room key from? He said he never stopped by my room at all. He's hiding something. I'm going to figure out what."
"You're gonna go interrogate him?"
"Yeah." Hunter looked back, nodding.
"Like, a cop?" Grayson raised an eyebrow,
"Yeah...What?"
Grayson tried to suppress a smile. "It's just, I can't see you doing something like that."
"Why not!? I can be intimidating if I want, you know."
"Ha, okay. You're too cute to be scary."
"...!" Hunter felt his face burning. He didn't have a comeback for that. Luckily it was his turn at the register.
With hot cups of cider acquired, they walked down the hallway, towards the mess hall.
"So where is this guy?"
"I dunno." Hunter sniffed the drink. The cinnamon had a sharp smell. "I think I know his scent because he went in my room, but that's it."
"You sure there's nothing else?"
"Well, I know he's studying art or design."
"A guy in my history class is in Graphic Design. He said all his classes are in the Garcia Wing of the Kahlo building."
"The Garcia wing? Why does that sound so familiar?"
Grayson stopped walking. "That's where they're having that VR haunted house. I told you about it awhile back."
"Oh...If it was around the moon I probably wasn't listening. I'm sorry."
"You don't have to apologize when you do stuff like that." Grayson took a sip from his cup. "It's not like you can control it, right?"
"No, but I can do better."
Grayson finished his cup of cider. "How are you going to do it?"
"Huh?"
"How are you going to get the truth out of him?"
"Oh, well you know. Demand the truth or whatever."
"How?"
Hunter looked up at him. "You know...Push him against a wall or something."
Grayson stopped again. "Show me."
"Uh..." Hunter looked around. The hallway was empty. Hunter blinked. He pressed his hand against Grayson's chest. "Push him like this."
"But what if he tries to push you back? Or maybe..." He grabbed Hunter's wrist and turned quickly, until they had changed places. Hunter was taken by surprise, as Grayson pushed him back until he was touching the wall. " He does this, and the tables are turned." While Hunter had been pinned quickly, there had been no real force or resulting pain.
He blinked up at Grayson."Okay." Hunter smirked. "But I'm pretty strong you know. I seem to recall shoving you pretty hard the other day."
"I'm still recovering from that you know." Grayson replied, letting go of Hunter's wrist. "The only way you can make it up to me is by coming with me to the haunted house."
"Oh really?" Hunter crossed his arms. "Luckily for you I wanted to see it anyway."
"But you didn't let me finish." Grayson shook his head. "If you wear a costume entry is free. And we're definitely going in costume."
"Oh no. What kind of outfits did you have in mind?"
"In an ideal world, we'd be Power Rangers, but those only look cool if you have a full team. We'll just have to go to that pop-up halloween store at the strip mall and find something."
"Pfft. Okay." He adjusted his sunglasses. "Anyway, I appreciate your concern, but I've got this. What I lack in size, I make up for in hidden muscle. I just gotta hang around the Kahlo building, track his scent, and get to business."
Grayson looked at his phone. "Something I'd love to see. I have to go to class now, but text me before you do it okay? I wanna see how this pans out."
Hunter leaned back against the wall and pulled his sunglasses down slightly so Grayson could see the look on his face. "Hoping to see a werewolf fight?"
"Hoping to prevent one, actually. Don't get mad, but if this guy does have something to do with what happened to Ashley Smith he might attack you too."
Hunter tensed up. Grayson was right of course, but now he wondered if it was okay to keep him around. Hunter had his fair share of unnatural talents, but Grayson was still a normal human being. If Grayson were attacked like Ashley was--
Hunter shook his head. No, one attack was bad enough. If Grayson was going to be a part of this, he would have to take precautions. "If we go at it Lobo-a-Lobo, there's a chance we'll both be okay, but you, not so much. If things get out of hand, I need you to promise me you'll get out of the way as fast as you can. Just because there's no moon doesn't mean things can't get crazy."
"And what? Leave you behind?"
"Yes." Hunter growled. He inhaled and exhaled. "Call SPOIPA or try to get Garou. Cops are a last resort. Do whatever you have to do, and put your needs first. I'll be okay, trust me."
"Fine." Grayson replied, despite his reservations. This was the same Hunter Reeds who had been confined to his bed Post-Shift and could hardly get around without help. He wasn't buying Hunter's bravado, but he played along. "Your phone is messed up right? Let me take that SPOIPA guy's number."
Hunter took out the card and entered the number into Grayson's phone.
"Okay. I gotta go. Make sure you come find me before you do anything reckless. I'll be in the Spade building, in 606E. My lab lets out at 8."
"Okay Dad. I'll swing by at 8."
"Good." Grayson slipped his phone into his back pocket. "If we can't find him, we can have dinner instead." He gave Hunter a quick kiss on the cheek. "See you later."
"Wh-Wh-..." Hunter was left dumbfounded as Grayson walked through the mess hall and off to class. He shook his head, his face was hot. What was this state of limbo they were in? They were definitely more than friends, but what was this called? For a moment he allowed himself to imagine what things would have been like without any werewolf related trouble. Would they be dating? Would Grayson have lost interest by now? He finished his cider. It was much cooler than before. Past the fangs there isn't much to me. I guess I should be glad I've got something extra going on. He could feel the negative thoughts starting up. Grayson liked things that were unusual. Did Grayson only like him because he was unusual?
He shook his head. Don't do this to yourself, Reeds. Find Martinez. Be the tracker.
He headed for the Kahlo building. It was only a ten minute walk from the Spade, so getting Grayson wouldn't be a problem. The Kahlo building was a massive building that housed classes for all the art related majors, art elective classes,and the school's theater. Stepping through the double doors, he found himself in the middle of a whirlwind of activity. Two students were trying their best to spray mount poster designs onto thin black board pieces, another was pushing a sculpture made of wire, feather and felt down one of two hallways that branched off from the entrance. Four students walked passed him carrying large sketchbooks, deep in conversation. Two more in costume were ushering a group of high school students down the hall towards the amphitheatre.
"Hey." A third student in costume appeared behind him. "You almost missed the show."
"Wha?" Was Hunter's eloquent reply. THe taller individual put a hand on his shoulder. "Come on, the show is about to start."
"Huh? But I--" By the time he was inside the dark theater, he realized he had been mistaken for one of the high school students. He shuffled along on his crutches, feeling a little low. Sure, he was short, but he at least looked more like an adult now, right? He walked down the stairs, illuminated by a path of tiny lights. The theater was a proscenium format,with the stage built below, and over three hundred seats, arranged in raised rows that lead back up to ground level. Currently, four teachers and sixty students from the local high school were seated in the large auditorium. Hunter took his seat in a row of excited tenth graders, crossing his arms and staring ahead. At the other end of the row, the teacher was talking about their assignment. He heard the words 'Twelfth Night' over the chatter.
He rolled his eyes. Hunter had never been a fan of Shakespeare. He remembered writing in an essay for his 8th grade English class, 'Shakespeare was only popular during his time because it was the 1600s, there was nothing better to do.'
He propped his chin up with one hand. It wasn't too late to get out of here, was it?
The lights dimmed further, blanketing the audience in darkness. Hunter folded his sunglasses and hooked them to his shirt.
"WOLF!" Someone yelled.
There were two screams, a few sighs accompanied by echoing laughter.
Hunter leaned back in his seat, and shook his head, exasperated with the teens despite still their common age group. He was only nineteen after all. News of Ashley's assault had no doubt sparked panic, rumors, and ridicule in the neighboring area.
As light fell on the stage and large velvet curtains parted, He listened in on the conversations near him.
"Everybody knows it wasn't really a wolf. That clip of them making tracks on the campus is everywhere."
"I think I scrolled past that, did you share it?"
"That looked so fake. Almost as bad as that Fetus ball guy."
"Oh, I saw that! The one where that guy is on the floor, isn't that Northbrook high?"
"No. I saw another video of it from a different angle. It's Redwood."
"They got people fallin' out in class and wolves tryin' to eat people? Redwood is messed up."
He glanced two seats down. One student had taken out his phone, illuminating his neighbor's face as he passed it to her. Hunter squinted.
"See?" The boy whispered as he paused the video. "Look. The security guard's sleeve
has 'Redwood University Campus Security' on it."
Hunter's eyes widened. He recognized that security guard, that classroom, and that blanket. They were talking about him. He sank down in his seat. This had to be a nightmare. How did they get that video? Who recorded it? How far had it spread?
His breathing became ragged.
Was the room shaking? Was it getting even darker?
When Grayson stepped out of his lab he wasn't expecting to see Hunter sitting on the floor with his hood and sunglasses on, crutches to the side and legs outstretched. His body was limp. He did not move when Grayson crouched down to his level.
"Hey." He waved a hand in Hunter's face. "Are you okay?"
"Well." Hunter pressed his sunglasses back. "In the few hours that we've been apart I entered the Kahlo building, was mistaken for a high school student, sat with a bunch of kids who began to watch the public and in hindsight incredibly embarrassing meltdown I had in Lugosi's class on Friday that one of my classmates decided to record and post online, for the whole world to see, making the whole point of me attending a school nowhere near home NULL AND VOID AND GOD KNOWS WHO SAW IT--" He stopped yelling and took a long deep breath. "So like, of course I start having a panic attack and get escorted back out of the theater so I can finish having it out on the lawn at which point I think I should call my Mother to see if she saw it but I can't because I threw my phone at the wall LIKE AN IDIOT so you know it's broken and..." He took another deep breath. "You know what? Let's just go look for Tom while I have some sanity left."
He pulled himself up from the floor.
"Hang on a second--" Grayson began, but Hunter was already walking down the hallway. Grayson caught up to him.
"We should really talk about this."
"Yeah." Hunter replied in a high pitched voice. "Yeah." He repeated with a lower tone. "But not right now. I'm running on empty, and I need to get something accomplished today." He growled.
Grayson sighed and followed him outside. "Maybe we should do this tomorrow." He suggested.
"No." Hunter inhaled. "I've got his scent. Now."
They entered the Kahlo building and walked down a long white hallway. Grayson found the absence of color to be odd and the juxtaposition between the white walls and doors with the pitch black floor jarring.
Hunter pressed on, pushing a door open that lead to the stairs.
As they climbed flight after flight, Hunter's adrenaline began to wane. At the fourth floor, he stepped out into the hallway and leaned against the wall.
"Okay..." He tried to catch his breath. "I'm..thinking a lot clearer now...' He pressed his head against the wall.It was cold and had, bearing the mixed smells of acrylic paints,dust, and tacking spray. The walls were black and featured charcoal paintings or abstract figures, sketches of campus buildings, glitter crusted spiders and party store cobwebs. The sounds of rattling chains echoed through the empty hall, accompanied with the occasional clash of thunder.
"They're definitely ready for Halloween." Grayson remarked. The classroom doors were decorated with fake blood stains and hand prints. "Those noises must be coming from the Haunted House upstairs."
Hunter rubbed his temples. The sounds were a lot louder for him than they were for Grayson. "Let's get this over with so we can get out of here." He shoved his hands into his pockets. "He's close." He sniffed. "Real close." He stopped at a door with a small glass window. The plaque on the wall beside it read 'Media Lab E'. He leaned his crutches next to the door. From the small pane of glass he could see several rows of computers bolted to desks and black office chairs. At the back of the room sat a sleeping individual with a clipboard--the media lab monitor. Tom was the only person occupying a computer, his eyes glued to the monitor.
"He's alone." Hunter whispered. It was too perfect. He reached for the doorknob.
"Wait." Grayson placed his hand over Hunter's. "What's our plan?"
Tom was feeling truly thankful. Lab hours had ended a few minutes ago, but the lab monitor had fallen asleep. He was alone and free to work on his projects for as long as possible. Or so he thought .
Two people came towards him quickly from opposite ends of the aisle, startling him. His chair was pulled back from the desk, and he was turned to face Hunter, as the shorter by stood in front of him. There was a wild look in his eyes, something unhinged.
"You know why I'm here, Tomas."
Tom stared at him. "Uh, no. I don't. What is this?"
Grayson looked at the computer screen, leaning on the desk and moving the mouse. "What's this? Looks important."
"Don't touch that!" Tom looked back at the computer, but Hunter grabbed him by his shirt.
"Why did you lie to Garou?" Hunter growled, glaring.
Grayson kept one hand on the mouse. "Talk or I'll close the program--without saving your work."
"Whoa! Whoa!" Tom's eyes darted around. "Okay! I didn't tell him I was with you because I had to go back to the computer lab until closing, and I knew I'd seem suspicious for staying out late. I'm sorry!"
Hunter kicked a nearby chair. "Are you kidding me!? Why didn't you just say you went home? Heck, why don't you just save up and buy the stupid thing?"
"Illusion shop CC5 Premium EX isn't just any program! Its 99 bucks monthly, plus a maintenance fee! There's no way I can afford that. There are only three licenses for it on campus, and I needed it finish my assignment! I had to come here, but the place was packed until it was late."
Hunter paced down the aisle. If Tom was in the computer lab, that ruled him out as well. There were no traces of his scent in the evidence bag either. He had hit a dead end.
Grayson retrieved the kicked chair. "My sister uses that to make fan art. I don't know if it's the exact same version, nor do I condone theft, but I can ask her for the cracked one she uses."
"I doubt she's using the same version. So far only a few people have been able to crack, to the point where the crack isn't even free, you have to pay for it."
"If you didn't do it, that means all the Freshman have alibis." Hunter sat in a chair. "That means I'm out of ammo. The only other werewolf I know on campus is Garou."
Tom smoothed out his shirt. "What are you talking about?"
Hunter spun around in his chair. "I'm trying to find out what happened to Ashley Smith. Thanks to your story, Garou thinks I'm the one that attacked her."
Tom looked ad his screen, worried. Grayson moved back from the computer with a shrug.
"That sucks." Tom saved his work. "But shouldn't one of those government dogs be sniffing around by now to figure this out?"
Hunter waved the SPOIPA business card. "Yeah. They're around. But the guy didn't get a scent from the crime scene. I did." He closed his eyes. "More like a million scents actually. But none of them match anyone I've met here."
"You're working with SPOIPA?" Tom raised an eyebrow.
Hunter spun the chair again. "Yes and no. One of their guys gave me a bag of evidence, but I think he was just trying to test me." He stopped the chair. "Either way, I'm trying to look into this. Problem is, I don't know where to look now. It would take forever to try and sniff out all the other Lycans on campus."
"The SPOIPA agency has to have some sort of record on that right?" Grayson asked.
"I doubt that they'd give that info out." Hunter looked at the ceiling.
Grayson shrugged. "You could still ask."
"Eh." Hunter shrugged. "The night is still young." He stood up and exited the room.
"Is he alright?" Tom asked.
Grayson shrugged. "He's having a bad day."
"Hmm."
After a few moments, Hunter returned looking rejected. "He laughed at me."
Tom dragged a few files over to her personal drive. "They can't be the only ones who know all the werewolves here. What about Professor Garou? He's the designated counselor."
"You're right." Hunter plopped down on another chair. "But there's no way he's showing me that. Unless maybe you can get something out of him."
That made Tom look away from the screen. "What? I hate to break it to you, but this has nothing to do with me."
"I think it does." Grayson crossed his arms. "Hunter may be the prime suspect now, but that changes if we tell them you were out late."
"You can't do that!" Tom's face was growing red. "You've got no proof anyway! It's your word against mine!"
Grayson took his phone out of his pocket. "That would be true...If I hadn't been recording the whole time." He put the phone to his ear. "Yep. That sounds like hard evidence."
Tom lunged at him but Gray scooted back in his chair, rolling away from Tom and down the aisle. "If you want this to disappear, you should cooperate."
"We'll be in touch, Martinez." Hunter pushed in his chair. "Don't go anywhere."
The pair took their exit, leaving Tom seething.
Across the room, the lab monitor snorted in his sleep.
Hunter retrieved his crutches from outside the door. Instead of the stairs, the took the elevator down. Hunter slid down to the floor and held his face in his hands. "I just wanna go to bed."
"You did good." Grayson smiled down at him.
"You did better." Hunter replied. "You recorded the whole thing. Good thinking."
"Actually no." Grayson shrugged. "I lied."
"Whaaaat?" Hunter wore a look of shock. " No way. Who are you and what have you done with Grayson Lee?"
"It's not the first time, but I'll try not to make a habit out of it." Grayson held out his hand, Hunter latched on at let the taller teen pull him up. " But you realize it's your fault, right?"
"Oh, really?"
"Yeah. You're a bad influence." Grayson pulled him closer. "You've totally ruined me. But you know what?" He asked, leaning forward.
"What?" Hunter replied with a widening grin.
"I'm really, really glad." He pressed his lips against Hunter's, making him shiver.
One kiss lead to another and when the elevator doors opened Grayson had half a mind to shut them again. Instead they continued out of the building. Dead leaves crunched under their feet as they blended in with the campus nightlife.
Grayson carried Hunter's crutches under his arm."You're headed home right? I'll walk you back."
"Thanks." Despite how tired his body felt, Hunter didn't feel like he could go to sleep. There were too many things to think about. He leaned his head on Grayson's shoulder.
"Do you think I'm doing the right thing?"
"..."Grayson looked up. The sky had darkened but was visibly cloudy. "Well, if you weren't doing this, what would you be doing?"
"I dunno, studying?" He latched on to Grayson's arm. "Waiting to be expelled? Fighting the urge to run off into the forest and never return? Anyway how are your classes going?"
"Okay. There's a lot of stuff I have to memorize, and next week I have to dissect a baby pig. I mean, I've spent a lot of time in my Dad's hospital. I've seen people open and bleeding but I do not want to open a baby pig."
"I don't think any sane person wants to open a baby pig." Hunter's face wrinkled with disgust. "All the tech that exists and people're still dissecting baby pigs? Can't they make a synthetic one?" Hunter asked.
"They exist." Grayson shifted his grip on the crutches. "I guess they're expensive."
"Figures." Hunter shivered.
The Howard dormitory loomed in the distance.
Hunter stopped walking. "I don't think I'm ready to turn just yet."
"Hungry?" Grayson guessed.
"Scared." He admitted.
"Of what?"
Hunter looked up at him, but said nothing, his expression was lost behind sunglasses.
"Of Who?" Grayson tried again, hoping for an honest answer.
"Colton."
Grayson didn't know what to say to that. Any mention of that name was followed by rage. He could only wait for it to start. But to his surprise, it didn't. Instead, Hunter stared at the Howard.
"I'm afraid he saw me. In that video, I mean." He let go of Grayson's arm and rubbed his hands together, a futile attempt. " I think I told you before but, no one back home knows that I'm here."
"You did say you couldn't go home." Grayson pressed on. "But you didn't finish explaining why."
The wind picked up, howling through the trees. Hunter rubbed his arms. There were many things he wanted to say, words of anger and regret. But he knew that if he fell into the bitter feelings, his words would be lost. So he steered Grayson towards a bench, sat down, and started from the beginning.
"The first time I spoke to him was three years ago, out of nowhere, at a party. It was during the superbowl. Half the neighborhood was in the livingroom, while everybody under 18 was banished to the basement. The TV was smaller, the couch only fit three people and it smelled like mold, but all ten of us stayed glued to that TV like it was the most important thing we had ever seen. I don't even remember who was playing, just the commercials. The game had barely started when he arrived, coming down the stairs with a book in his hands.
When all looked up and then back down when he came in, it's a wolf thing. Instinct. You don't want to look Alphas in the eye, or speak without being spoken to at first. But he said hello and asked to sit with us, so the chain of command thing broke. My friend Matt got up and let him have his place on the couch, so he sat next to me. I just watched the game at first, but then he starting talking to me."
"It was normal conversation. How was the game going? What was my team, simple stuff. Before I knew it the game was over. It wasn't until everyone started heading home that I realized I was the only one he had spoken to. Still, I didn't think that was weird,I mean, I could remember my friends talking to each other the whole time, so it was no big deal. But then, when we went back to school I started seeing him more often. He'd be in the hallway, or the library where I volunteered,or at the bus stop. Maybe I'd see him at the mall, or the park. But the thing was, he didn't seem to fit in wherever he was. It's like, you know, when you were a kid and you had to find something that didn't belong in a picture. He was the one element that seemed out of place. But I didn't know why. And then one day we were suddenly dating and I couldn't remember how it happened. But at that time, I couldn't remember a lot of things."
"When you follow a routine, the details sometimes get blurry, and two years went by before I knew it. I was going to school, working at the library, and getting ready to go to college with Colton. We were going to live together in New York City. His parents were going to pay for a place for him and I was going to live with my Mom's family in Brooklyn. Earlier this year my Mom's Grandmother wasn't feeling well, and we promised to go stay with her for the Summer. Colton didn't want me to go. I didn't understand why. He said it could wait since we were going to move there anyway, but my Mother told him off, and we left."
"We took the bus down from Syracuse to Manhattan and after the first hour, it snapped. Every missing memory came back. It was like a camera lens coming into focus. Colton never asked me out. Colton made me go out with him. But that was only the beginning. Suddenly I could remember all the times my friends tried to intervene, all the fights I had with them. Why they didn't talk to me anymore. He made me push them away. He made me act like something I wasn't. And..." He wrapped his arms around himself. "He made me..." He shuddered. "Do things I never wanted to do."
"So when we got off that bus I was so angry that I punched the bus--and dented the whole right side of it. I'd never done something like that before. It wasn't like me. But now, whenever I get to upset, I do something like that. And I hate it. I hate that I get like that. But I hate him more."
"After we got to my Grandma's place I called him and I told him I knew the truth, and I was never, ever going back there. At first he apologized, but then he laughed. And just when I was ready to toss the phone out the window he said, That's okay baby. We both know you'll come back to me."
"And I got scared. Because I thought he was right." Hunter's eyes were wide with panic. He rubbed his hands together in a frenzied motion. "Because that's how Alpha's work. They can tell you do something, and you'll do it. They can suggest something and you'll want to do it. If he had told me to come back, one way or another I would have found my way back up there. So I ran away. My Mom is the only one who knows I came up here. I couldn't tell my friends because even if they were on my side, he could make them tell him where I was. But if that video spreads, he'll find me soon enough."
Grayson placed his hands over Hunter's, ceasing their motion. "There has to be something we can do."
Hunter's eyes went to a nearby tree. It's thin branches swayed in the breeze. "An Alpha using their powers is no different from any other person with means abusing their power. Hard to prosecute, difficult to detain. Even if he were tried in court and convicted, his parents would bail him out somehow. There's no way to stop him. All I can do is keep moving. And you see how bad I am at that." He sneered.
Grayson laced his fingers together with Hunter's. "We'll figure something out."
Hunter stared into Grayson's eyes. He wanted to believe that. "I hope so. For right now, I don't know what to do. I know it's stupid, but I feel like if I go back up to that room, Colton will be waiting for me there."
"It's not stupid." He squeezed his hand. "You can come back with me for tonight. Arif's probably not around."
Hunter squeezed back. "Thank you. For everything."