Shadows Surround Us

Chapter 4

The fan spins slowly on the ceiling as the early morning light filtered through the curtains of my room. Sleep evaded me after my encounter just a few hours ago. I wasn't sure how to feel. Here I was, a hunter meant to kill the supernatural and, given the chance, I completely failed.

When I met back up with Cyrus at the end of our shift, I was quiet. Even with his persistent joking, I barely responded aside from the half-hearted laugh or nod. I'm sure he noticed but probably chalked it up to me being tired or something from the meeting earlier today. He didn't press me and for that I was grateful. Not that I would tell him anything anyway.

The smell of coffee wafted up the stairs signaling me that my dad was up. He was always the first one up even though most of the time he was the last to go to bed. The pressures of being a leader I'm sure.

I sat up stiffly in bed and stretched my hands above my shoulders. No use prolonging getting up since sleep was obviously not coming. After getting dressed, I made my way downstairs to find him standing in the kitchen, cup of coffee in hand. "Kena," he said, acknowledging my presence without looking in my direction.

"Good morning," I replied, pulling my own mug down from the cabinet and partaking in the black coffee steaming from the pot. We sipped our drinks in silence. We didn't have many moments like this. Everything was calm. Just him and I. Only the ticking of the clock on the wall let us know that time was still moving. Creaking of the boards above meant that Marcus and Damien were starting to stir. The quiet would soon be filled with orders and meetings continued from the previous days. I wasn't feeling up to sticking around for it.

"I'm going to walk the woods this morning," I state, pouring my undrunken coffee in the sink and placing the cup to be washed later.

"Weren't you on patrol last night?" my dad asked, finally shifting his eyes in my direction. The wolf from last night flashed in my mind and I quickly shook the thought away.

"Yeah, I'm not really going to patrol though. Just wanting to get out of the house before all the commotion sparks up for the day," I replied, hesitating in the doorway to see what he'd respond.

"Well, take your radio and gun just in case. Can't be too careful," he said, turning back to his cup of coffee and the papers I now realized were laid out on the counter in front of him. Always working, I thought. With a nod, I grabbed my items and was out the door.

The sun was just beginning to peak over the trees. It was still fairly early. I could see that different houses were starting to stir whether it was from the lights on or the start of smoke coming from the chimney. The hustle and bustle of the day was just starting and before anyone could see me, I snuck through the main door of the compound and out to the woods.

I ducked beneath branches and stepped over intruding roots as I sauntered deeper into the brush. Before I even knew what I was doing, I found myself heading back to the spot I saw the wolf in yesterday. I'm not sure what was drawing me back. Maybe the idea of spotting him again. I know that the thought should excite me for the idea of capturing him but my excitement came from the idea of being able to study him more. It's one thing to read about shifters and to hear the stories from the other hunters but it was a completely different experience than I expected. I found myself more curious than hateful towards him. That idea unnerved me.

I stopped once I got to the area. The woods look different in the daytime than they did during the night. I rarely did my patrols during the day so it was a treat when I was able to sneak away. I scanned the surrounding area remembering the scene from last night. I carefully made my way to where the wolf had been standing. Studying the ground, I spot a print. Kneeling down, I admired how big it was. Sunken into the damp earth, I carefully traced it with my fingertips. Even in the darkness of the night, I could tell the he was way bigger that a normal wolf but now seeing the evidence in front of me of the pawprint, he may have been bigger than I previously imagined.

A rustling in the leaves caught my attention. I stayed in my crouched position but lifted my eyes to survey my surroundings. Amber eyes, the same ones from last night, stared back at me from a few feet away. Now in the light of day, even with the cover of the canopy of the trees around us, his black fur was a stark contrast to the greenery around him unlike last night when he blended in almost perfectly.

His head hung low as he watched me. The caution was still there from last night but something else flitted across them. Curiosity maybe? Perhaps I wasn't the only one who couldn't escape the thoughts of the prior night's encounter.

"Hello again," I say softly. I hold up a hand as I lay my gun down next to me with the other. The wolf's eyes follow my every move. Ever so slowly, I bring myself to stand. The wolf's ears pin back on his head and a low growl rumbles from the back of his throat.

"Easy," I whisper. Don't do anything stupid although you've already laid down the only weapon you had, I thought. Taking a deep breath to steady my nerves, I took a slow step forward toward the creature. The wolf didn't move but his eyes narrowed slightly. He was fighting his instinct as was I. The beating of my heart thumped in my ears. As I got closer, his body tensed. His eyes stayed trained on me but I could see in his eyes that he was trying to decide what to do. Whether it was to run or attack, I wasn't sure. I'd be lying if I wasn't surprised at his hesitation. We were taught that if a shifter were to find you alone to be prepared for a fight. This is the second time I've encountered this particular wolf and there hasn't been a fight. At least not yet.

I was close enough to feel the heat coming off of his body now. My eyes traced over the creature in front of me. There was something majestic about him. The muscles in his shoulders tensed and relaxed in a sort of pattern. His fur blew ever so slightly in the breeze. Up this close, I could see the specks of green in his eyes that made the amber shine.

I lifted my hand up in front of me. It was placed right in front of his face. Not touching, but I could feel his breath. His eyes twitched from my outstretched hand back to my eyes. My chest rose and fell quickly as I tried to control my breathing in this close proximity. The wolf made a slight movement, like he was going to lean forward to close the small gap between us but before we could touch, a loud howl sounded deeper within the woods.

Startled, I jumped back slightly from the wolf in front of me. His ears perked up and he looked over his shoulder to where I presumed the howl was coming from.

"Wolf spotted on the north side!" someone yelled over the radio that was strapped to my hip. The black furred wolf whipped its head back around to glance at me after the radio disturbance. With one more brief look, he bolted from my view further into the woods. Without hesitation, I scooped to grab my gun and made a break for it.