Searching for Always and Forever

Chapter 6

"We just want to talk. That's all." The man said it very calmly, but the crossbow was still pointing at Hope.

"Sure! I know your kind. You hunt us down one by one." Hope flashed her eyes again, ready to turn and rip the man's throat out. She just had to be quick enough to attack him before the arrow would reach her.

"I told you, we are not here to hurt any of you." He repeated himself.

"That's why you're aiming your weapon at me?" Hope was a second away from turning, but the blond girl stepped beside the man, put her hand on the crossbow and lowered it so it would point to the ground.

"It is only for safety reasons. I won't use it, but the moon is full and you'll turn any moment now. Let us help you!" The man said, then he looked at the girl next to him. The girl nodded and grabbed a watch or something out of her pocket, then the man dropped his weapon to the ground and raised his two hands to show it was totally empty. It was a pretty stupid move if he thought Hope was going to turn to a wolf. She'd tore them apart in seconds... unless the girl was holding some kind of weapon, but no... it was just a regular watch and she put it back in her pocket after a few seconds. They were unarmed... it surprised Hope. "You can turn safely, we won't attack you. After you return, please let us talk to you." He continued.

"You think I would let you stay here alone, with our home unprotected?" Hope laughed.

"We won't touch anything, we won't enter your home."

"Well, it's really cold daddy and we've been walking for hours to find them." The girl next to the man spoke for the first time... no, she whined. So the man was her father. What the hell did they want and why would they look for them?

"Why were you looking for us? How did you know where to find us? Do you know who we are?" Hope questioned them.

"All we know is that you are young wolves and you recently activated your curse... you or the other girl." He continued. "Is there anyone else around or just the two of you?" He asked and Hope just laughed. She obviously wouldn't tell this stranger how many of them were around. "Look, my name is Alaric Saltzman and this is my daughter Elizabeth. We are helping young supernaturals like yourselves. We run a school here, in Virginia. Only for supernatural children. We can help you learn about your history, about your curse. We can help you teach tools for control and we can prepare you for your future to live a life where you can fully embrace who you are."

"We are not interested, get the hell away from us!" Hope yelled. What the hell were they thinking? Were they serious or was this some kind of trap? Luckily Hope wasn't so easy to fool.

"It's called The Salvatore Boarding School." Now the girl continued. "My parents founded the school years ago, to have a safe place for me and my sister to grow up. I am sixteen, and I have been going to this school since I was five. I am different too, I'm a witch. The school accepts every kind of supernaturals. We even have our own wolf pack. You wouldn't be the only werewolves there." The girl explained. Hope was pretty sure it was a trap.

"Hope?" She heard Grace's voice. She turned her head, she was hiding behind a tree. How long had she been there? She didn't run for too long... as soon as she turned for the first time, she had the ability to turn back any time she wanted due to their nature as they were from the Crescent pack. Hope eyed the blanket at the porch, but she was still hesitant to move closer to the strangers. The blond girl noticed where Hope was looking. She walked to the porch slowly. grabbed the blanket, then walked to Hope to the edge of the forest, and handed her the blanket. Hope took it very carefully, then she walked backward to Grace, but her eyes wouldn't leave the strangers and the cabin. She gave the blanket to Grace, who quickly wrapped it around her naked body, then she walked closer to the strangers.

"Are there really other wolves?" Grace asked the girl named Elizabeth whose arms were wrapped around her own body and was shivering at this point. She nodded with a smile. Are you really a witch? Do witches really exist?" Grace asked again with curiosity.

"Of course. How do you think the werewolf curse was created?" Elizabeth asked with a giggle.

"Witches made it?" Grace asked in awe. It was somewhat interesting, but Hope still didn't believe a word they said.

"One particularly evil witch, thousands of years ago. You can learn about her in our history of supernatural origin classes." The blond replied and Grace was smiling. The man was rather quiet, which made Hope uncomfortable.

"Maybe we should all go inside, it's pretty cold out here." Grace said as she looked at the shivering girl in front of her, then she glanced at Hope.

"No!" Hope replied sterny. "You didn't tell me yet, how did you find us? How did you know we were here?" She aimed her question at Alaric Saltzman.

"There is a powerful witch, a teacher in the school. She created a magical globe that pinpoints the exact location, when a young supernaturals gains their power." He explained. Sure... magical globes... Hope just rolled her eyes. He could've made up anything he wanted at this point including witches and magic.

"Okay, you said what you wanted. If you truly mean no harm, leave our property and never return!" Hope added, she walked to her sister, grabbed her by her arm and pulled her away from the blond girl.

"Hope, stop! Just think about this! A school for people like us? There are other wolves, we'd be safe. It's a great opportunity for all of us!" Hope couldn't believe Grace was so easily fooled.

"They are lying Grace!" Hope yelled at her sister.

"We are not lying, we really just came to help. If you truly don't want to come with us, we understand. We won't bother you anymore." The man said and Hope nodded. "Can I have just one question? You are a wolf, I saw your eyes, but you didn't turn at all." He asked Hope. "And you." He was looking at Grace now. "You just turned when we arrived. How did you already transition back to your human form so quickly?" The man asked them curiously. Hope wasn't going to tell him everything. They don't need to know anything about them, and after they left, Hope, Grace and the kids probably had to leave this place behind. They could never be safe anymore now that some people knew about them.

"Our parents said it's only possible with our wolf pack... that we turn by will. Except the very first time. The first full moon is kinda mandatory." Grace explained. Hope yanked on Grace's arm and gave her a seriously pissed look.

"Oh... are you from the Crescent pack?" The man asked and Hope started to be really furious at her sister.

"You know about them?" Grace asked curiously.

"Sure, they are from Louisiana... although not many of you left unfortunately. But we have a boy in school from your pack, Henry."

"Are you serious?" Grace asked and the man nodded. "You hear that Hope? There are others from our pack." Could there possibly be others? Could he be telling the truth? If there are others they could know about this tribrid their parents' killers were looking for. Maybe she'd finally have a lead to find the people responsible.

"Tell me everything you know about the Crescent pack." Hope demanded the man.

"Hope, let's go inside, get comfortable. They won't hurt anyone." Grace said as she already was pulling Hope's hand toward the cabin. Grace trusted them... she really did. Hope wasn't so trusting but she finally gave in and let these strangers into her home, where her two kid siblings were sleeping.