Hunter's Moon

Thirty-Four: Nadia

"So, how's school going?"

I snapped my head up to peer at Dad, hands up by my face as I held the bacon cheeseburger to my mouth. He was giving me a small smile, obviously amused at my expression. I chewed the food that was in my mouth, swallowed, and grunted out, "Good. Um, school's going all right. You know, classes, homework, tests..."

We weren't even two months into the semester, yet classes were starting to kick my ass. Riley's, too. The only classes that I wasn't really having a problem with were Gym, AP Drawing, and my free period. During those classes, I didn't have to think, especially not with my drawing class. I was mostly a painter, but this year I'd decided to expand my repertoire.

If we didn't have a homicidal werewolf on our asses, then Junior year wouldn't have been so bad.

"Mm-hmm," Dad murmured, obviously not believing me. I shrugged and took another bite of the greasy heaven I held in my hands, nearly moaning as I chewed. Riley had been keeping me on such a health spree lately, I'd almost forgotten what good ol' American Heart Attack tasted like.

Almost.

"So," Dad said as he took a bite of his own burger. "I hear you've been hanging out with Jack Bryan the past few days. You and Riley's... pack."

I swallowed and took a sip of my Dr. Pepper. "Yeah," I said. "So?"

He laughed humorlessly. "Nothing," he said. "You do know what he and his family do for a living, right?"

I nodded. "Yes, Dad, I know. They're hunters."

He sighed, bowing his head as he stared at the rest of the food on his plate. After a moment, he peered back up at me and said, "Just... promise me that you're being careful, and that you'll stay safe."

I blinked and leaned back in my seat, shocked. "You're not going to lecture me?" I asked. "Try and control me?"

He laughed once. "Nadia, you're almost seventeen. With how much I work, and after your mom died, you've basically raised yourself. With help from Riley's parents, of course." He chuckled and bowed his head again before a heavy sigh escaped him. "Besides," he added, "I've never been able to control you. No one has, especially when you've got Riley by your side." He smiled, and this time it was genuine.

I laughed as well. He grinned, and we turned back to our food, at peace with our talk.

Well, he seemed to be at peace. Meanwhile, I was a storm of emotions inside. Part of me wanted to slam my burger down onto the table and demand he tell me about my magic, while another part of me wanted to crawl into a deep, dark cave and hide away from the world.

Would it hurt to ask him now? If Jack was right and he knew about my magic, then why didn't he ever tell me? Why did my magic stay hidden until now?

I opened my mouth, about to ask him, but somewhere along the route from my brain to my mouth, the words were lost. I stared at him, my stomach churning violently.

He had just bitten into his burger when his phone rang. He sighed, pulling it out of his pocket as he dropped the burger onto his plate. I chewed, watching as his frown deepened at the caller ID. He flipped it open and pressed the phone to his ear. "Simmons? What's going on?"

There was a response from the other end, then Dad's eyes widened and he glanced over at me. "You're kidding."

"I wish I was," I heard Simmons saying from the other side of the phone. With all of the noise going on in the diner, I had to turn my head so I could try to hear better.

"It's bad, Sheriff," Simmons said. "One of the high school teachers was attacked. Some friendly group run or something. We don't know if he'll make it."