𝕁𝕦𝕤𝕥 𝕒 𝕡𝕖𝕖𝕜

6. Hunter

"Hey bird. How you feeling?" Alex whispered softly as he tucked a strand of hair behind my ear.

I forced my eyes open, being met with the bright fluorescent lights of the hospital.

I groaned as I tried to get up, grabbing my side.
In flashes I remembered the creature with black eyes and spiked arms that attacked me.
As my heart rate accelerates Alex comes closer, holding my hands as I sit up.

"You're okay, it's dead." He shushed me, pulling into a hug, trying to figure out how to calm a traumatised teen.

"What was that thing." I sobbed into his chest, I couldn't understand what was happening to me, everything was changing.
It felt like I had no control, like I was stuck on a pool floaty in the middle of a sea storm.

"I'll explain everything later, but you need to promise not to tell anyone what you saw, not even your mum.
I already told the police that we didn't get a good look at your attacker." He brushed his fingers through my hair as he held me in a hug.

"Where's my mum?" I asked after calming down, almost offended that Alex was the only one who was here.

"She's just grabbing coffee, I'll bring her here."

He walked out, leaving me alone in a room full of beeping machines.
At least that was until I here a nock at the door.

"How you doing?" The voice came from probably the last person I wanted to see, Theo.

"Worse now that I have to talk to you." I sighed dramatically.

"I brought you a gift, I remember you said you liked reading, so..." He held out a green book, titled 'the dread doctors'.

"Thanks." I smiled. "I think I've seen that book before, there's something familiar about it."
Tracing my finger tips along the cover, I felt the dark wave wash over me again.

"Thea!" My mother called out with relief, pushing past Alex and Theo to hug me.
"I'm so sorry that happened, I should have been there." Tears began to form in her eyes.

"Well I was just making sure Thea was okay, so I'll go now." Theo said awkwardly, trying to get away from my mum as fast as possible.

My mother forced a smile as he walked out, embarrassed by the fact she drunk-flirted with him when they met.

"Is he your boyfriend now?" She asked with a cheeky grin.

"No, he's an ass." My mum gave me an all-knowing disagreeing look at me,
"he's a cute ass, but still no."

He was cute, but I still thought there was something off about him.

»»———— ☾✩☽ ————««

"So you're telling me that the supernatural is real and you hunt it?" I snorted, trying not to laugh.

"Yeah, yeah, I know how it sounds.
But after you being attacked, I had to tell you." Alex said as he pinched the skin on his knuckles, sitting on the edge on my hospital bed.

"So what attacked me then?" I asked hesitantly, not wanting to believe him.

"I don't know, I haven't seen anything like it before." He sighed. "But that's more the reason for me to train you-"

"I'm sorry. What?" I blurted out in a laugh of disbelief.

"To be a hunter, like me. The supernatural world is becoming far more dangerous, and I want you to be able to not only protect yourself but others."

I suck in my lips and form a downturn smile, trying not to laugh.
"Look, I'm all for some self defence classes but firstly, I already know how to fight, and secondly, I'm not going to spend my life killing. I don't even like eating meat that much because I feel bad for the animals." I explained with a shrug.

"But these are monsters, freaks of nature, not many of us have the privilege to know the truth, so you have to do the right thing." He encouraged, Trying to justifying the hunter situation.

"No offence to your lifestyle, but killing isn't necessarily the 'right thing to do' in my book." I said as if I were pointing out the obvious.

Alex let out a frustrated sigh as he stood up, rubbing his hand over his mouth.

"You know what, why don't you say that to the thing that tore your father apart." spat Alex as he towered over me.

Tears burned my eyes as I swallowed the lump in my throat.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean that." Alex instantly stepped back, sighing in frustration with himself. "I just care about you Thea, I don't want you getting hurt."
Wishing he could take back his words, he pressed his hand to his forehead, filled with guilt.

I just stared at my hands blankly as tears rolled down my face.

"I'm.. I'm gonna go." He whispered.

Alex's POV
I bashed my hands down onto the steering wheel of my car, I couldn't believe what I had just said.

I only wanted to keep her safe, I always saw the similarities between Thea and my son, Keith.
Both about the same age, both with
brown-ish hair, innocent eyes, and soft faces.

I never wanted the hunter life for Keith, he was too kind for it.
I never told him about it, I left him with his mum most of the time but I'd see him whenever I could.

But the thing about being a hunter is that you can't live two lives, it's all or nothing.
The second I decided that I would keep hunting and family life separated, I doomed Keith.
Because I never prepared him for my world, he didn't know how to protect himself.

Three years ago a man, a werewolf, broke into their house.
He killed Keith's mum, tore her apart, and Keith was the one who found the body.
Another thing Thea and Keith had in common.

What I said to Thea, it was because of Keith's mother.
I trained Keith to be hunter, but it was to late. He had already lost everyone he loved, but Thea, she still had a lot to lose.

I knew I couldn't make that same mistake again, I needed to make Thea a hunter, before it was too late.