Monday, March 14, 2005
(Mike)
Breakfast felt… too normal.
I sat at the table watching Mom hum while she plated eggs and Dad flipped through the newspaper like it was still the late Stone Age. Their whole morning routine looked so peaceful, so perfectly human, that the debate I'd been having with myself since last night started punching holes in my skull again.
Should I tell them?
Should I tell them that there's an entire supernatural side to the world they know nothing about?
That their son has seen vampires, nearly been killed by one, and is now neck-deep in things no normal person should ever have to deal with?
I looked at Mom while she lectured me about paying attention in class, as if homework was my biggest enemy right now, and I knew the answer.
I couldn't tell them.
Not yet.
Maybe not ever.
Normal humans weren't supposed to know. Knowing painted a target on your back. And they were… happy. Safe. Blissfully unaware. I wasn't going to drag them into danger just because I couldn't handle secrets.
So I just nodded along, pretending to care, pretending I wasn't thinking about monsters and wolves and the fact that my life had completely derailed.
When they finally grabbed their stuff and left for work, the house fell painfully quiet. I let out a breath I didn't realize I'd been holding and pushed my plate away.
Time to get moving.
I picked up Tyler on the way to school. He spent the whole ride rambling, something about a prank video or a math quiz, I wasn't really listening. My head was already a mile away.
When we pulled into the parking lot and he unbuckled, I stopped him. "Hey, go on without me. I've got something important to take care of."
Tyler blinked at me. "What? Why? You need help?"
I shook my head and tried to look normal. "Don't worry, it's nothing big. Thanks, though."
He stared like I'd grown a second head, but he nodded and hopped out of the car. I waited until he was far enough down the walkway before turning the engine back on.
Then I steered the car away from the school.
Because I had somewhere else to be. The Cullens were probably already waiting for me.
…
I pulled into the Cullens' long driveway and killed the engine. Before I even opened the door, Edward was already standing on the porch like he'd teleported.
Seems like someone was feeling impatient.
"Hello, Mike," he said. "And… thank you. For doing this."
I shrugged. "No biggie." Then, "So? Got anything on the hunter?"
He stepped aside and motioned me in. "Come inside."
Alice was the first to speak. She looked tense, which said a lot coming from someone who didn't even breathe.
"He's been sniffing around Bella's house," she said. "But he won't get close, not with Emmett and Jasper watching it. I saw a vision of him checking the school registers last night. He's still nearby, but… he's very good at hiding."
She grimaced, frustration flickering behind her usually playful eyes.
"And since he hasn't decided what he's doing next," she added, "I can't see what will happen next."
Remembering I'm not supposed to know this, I blinked. "Wait, so you can what, see the future or something?"
Alice brightened a little. "Yes. But it's constantly changing. Every choice shifts it."
"That's… still cool," I admitted.
Then I turned to Edward. "Where's Bella?"
"At home," he said. "Emmett and Jasper are with her. Rosalie and Esme are watching Charlie, just in case James tries using him as bait." He sighed. "and Carlisle's at the hospital, emergency case."
"Alright," I said, feeling the nerves kick up a little. "Let's get on with the hunt."
We headed back outside. I grabbed my schoolbag from the backseat and ducked behind one of the yard's massive trees. Clothes off, stuffed in the bag. Then I fished out two big elastic bands and secured a pair of shorts around my left leg. Learned my lesson the first time. No more accidental nudity if I shifted back mid-woods.
Once everything was tied down and the bag zipped tight, I closed my eyes.
Okay. Wolf time.
It took a moment, and then I felt it. That strange presence inside me. So I tugged hard and white fur exploded out of me in a rush, the transformation ripping through in an instant. My senses flared, smells sharpened, sounds stretched, the entire forest waking up around me like someone had turned the world into high-definition.
I breathed through it, adjusting to the sensory overload. Then I picked up the bag gently in my jaws and padded over to Edward, projecting the thought clearly: 'Keep it safe. Please.'
He nodded, doing his best to ignore whatever embarrassing song happened to be playing in my head at that exact moment.
"Be careful," he said quietly.
'Don't worry, man. I got this.'
I trotted off into the trees, nose to the ground, letting the scents wash over me one by one.
I searched for something cold. Unfamiliar. Predatory. The smell of a hunter.
And then…
I ran.
…
It only took about five minutes before something sharp and wrong hit my nose; a cold, metallic scent that didn't belong to any Cullen.
Got you.
I slowed, nose to the ground, following the trail through the trees until it led me behind the school. But the moment I inhaled deeper, my excitement fizzled.
It felt hours old. How did I know? Well, I don't know exactly, it just felt like it, like my instincts were telling me.
It was probably from when James had crept around last night to check the school registers. I snorted, annoyed, and forced myself to focus again.
That's when I noticed it, it was two different scents, not one. And at some point the two trails split.
Great.
Not exactly helpful when I had no clue which scent belonged to which psychopath. So I picked one at random and followed it, pushing deeper into the forest until the ground dipped toward the river, the invisible line between Cullen territory and the Quileute rez.
The trail went straight to the water and ended.
I sniffed the air, snorted again, and dipped my muzzle toward the surface. Nothing. Whoever it was must've jumped in to throw off pursuit.
But from what I knew about Victoria and her insane survival instincts? Yeah. This was definitely her.
Which meant the other trail, now the only one left, had to be James.
I exhaled once, steadying myself, then turned around and padded back, picking up the second scent. This one was stronger, sharper, predatory in a way that made my wolf bristle.
Okay. Round two.
I lowered my head, locked on, and started tracking again, this time knowing exactly who I was hunting.
And knowing I was getting closer by the second.
…
The farther I tracked, the stronger the scent got, so sharp I could practically taste it. My heart clenched when I realized where it was leading.
No. No, no, no…
I broke into a sprint.
Branches whipped past me, dirt kicked up under my paws, and the moment the trees thinned out, I skidded to a stop, breath snarling out of me.
James.
The crazy bastard was standing in the woods behind my family's store, staring at it like it was a buffet menu. He didn't even flinch when I stepped into view. Instead, as if he'd been expecting me the whole damn time, he slowly turned his head.
And smirked.
A cold, deliberate, I know exactly whose buttons I'm about to push smirk.
My blood went white-hot. The realization hit hard and fast, he'd found my parents. He'd figured out I was tracking him and knew exactly who I was. And he was trying to use them as leverage.
My growl ripped out of me before I could stop it.
But James's expression only brightened, his grin stretching wider like he'd gotten just the reaction he wanted to see. Then, without warning, he bolted straight toward the store.
The idiot really thought he could outrun me.
Regular Quileute wolves were already a little faster than vampires in a straight line. And me?
My wolf form was twice their size and built like a damn freight train.
James didn't make it five steps into the parking lot before I slammed into him like he weighed nothing, claws digging into the dirt as I dragged him backward, deeper into the trees where no one could see.
He screeched, high, sharp, and feral.
Some guy on the street glanced toward the woods when he heard it, frowning. He hesitated, squinting into the darkness.
But by then we were already gone.
He shook his head, muttered something about imagining things, and kept walking.
Meanwhile, in the shadows of the forest, I had James pinned.
And I wasn't about to play nice.
…
James opened his mouth, probably to say something smug, something theatrical, maybe something designed to piss me off.
But I didn't give him the chance.
I lunged forward, jaws widening, and clamped down hard.
The sound wasn't like piercing flesh or crushing bone. Instead, it was more like biting through diamonds.
His arms and lower body hit the ground with a heavy thud, while his torso and head were still lodged between my teeth. I jerked back, disgust roiling through me, and spat him out.
God, the taste. I don't think I'll ever get used to the taste of vampires, so freaking disgusting.
Now half-covered in wolf saliva, James stared up at me with a twisted mix of fear and hatred. But even armless and legless, he still managed to look arrogant.
"You think this changes anything?" he hissed. "My mate will avenge me. She'll kill your whole family, every last one of them."
I tried to answer, but all that came out was a strained, snarling choke. Right. Still a wolf.
I backed behind a tree, pulled at the thread of instinct that let me shift, and felt the world snap back into human-size around me. Suddenly feeling the breeze on my junk, I untied my shorts from my leg and tugged them on before stepping back into the clearing.
James was still ranting, still trying to sound intimidating even though he looked like a horror-movie prop someone dropped on the floor.
"You look like a turd, you know that?" I said flatly.
His eyes flared with rage, but with no limbs, all he could do was shout empty threats at me. I ignored him and started gathering wood, stacking it into a pyre. I surrounded it with rocks, Dad drilled it into me since I was little: if you're gonna burn something in the woods, make sure it's properly contained or don't do it at all.
It took me five tries to get the damn match to light. My hands were shaking. Be it with anger, cold, or adrenaline, I wasn't sure.
Finally, the flames caught.
I turned to James. He had stopped yelling at some point. Maybe he finally realized there was nothing left but the end.
"You shouldn't have gone near my family," I said quietly.
He glared up at me. "Victoria will never let you go."
I held his gaze, my voice steady. "Good. I'm coming for her after this."
I tossed his arms and legs in first. The fire hissed as the venom inside them burned off, the smell acrid and chemical.
James watched. He couldn't look away.
"Rest in hell," I said simply.
Then I threw what was left of him onto the flames. His scream tore through the woods, raw and shrill, burning away into nothing as the fire consumed him.
I stood there, expression blank, breath steady, watching the last of the monster who threatened my parents turn to ash.
I was neither smiling nor grimacing.
Just… quiet.
A part of me felt like something deep inside me had just changed, and I didn't know if it was for better or the worse.
…