Hunter

Chapter Four

Chapter Four:

I sit on a couch in one of the common-rooms, shivering in disgust. Taylor is next to me, staring right ahead, and Hayley is seated in a chair opposite me. Behind us the flat-screen television is playing a movie, but we aren't watching it. Hayley is telling me of what Joel used to do to his victims. Apparently, he shared it with her after she made the mistake of sleeping with him. I'm so shocked that one person could be so evil, and yet... I can't forget how nice he was earlier.

"Kate," says Hayley, startling me out of my reverie. "Please don't make the same mistake I did. He seems nice, but it's just a show. He'll say that you make him want to change, and you'll feel like you might actually have a chance with him, but then he'll leave you after he's taken you to bed with him. He probably won't talk to you again after then. The first time he looked at me properly, it was the winter dance, and I practically fell into his arms. I couldn't do anything to stop it-"

"Hayley, please. I like someone back home. Alec and I... we have this connection. That's why I was sent here. I'm not a hybrid or anything. I just kissed the most famous protector in the world who happened to be my mentor."

"Firstly, your mentor was Alec? That hunk?"

"Yes," I reply, laughing.

"Second, good on you for kissing him!"

"Actually, he kissed me, but anyway..." She squeals.

"That means he really likes you! Guys only do that- make the first move- if they are extremely sure about you. Thirdly, you have to be a hybrid to come here. They wouldn't let you in otherwise."

"Well, my sister is only my half sister, because my mum had an affair with my dad while she was still married, then had me. My sister's father divorced her after that, and my dad left mum to fend for herself. Although, I'm pretty sure her parents remarried or something."

"Well, your dad obviously wasn't an angel, otherwise he never would have done something that scandalous. He wasn't a shifter, because you can't change into an animal. He wasn't a faerie, a giant or a vampire- well, unless you enjoy drinking blood. That leaves just one solution, which I hope is not right. Your father had to be a demon." I shake my head immediately.

"No, no. That can't be right, can it? I'm not evil, I don't take pleasure in the suffering of others, but I... crap. We learnt about demons in the lower grades. Death can't touch them, and they will always get what they want. The first is true already, and the second... my ability is that I will never lose a fight, which links up to that perfectly. Oh my God, this cannot be happening." Hayley looks into my eyes.

"Kate, listen. I think your old school wanted you to come here so you could learn of your heritage. I think they were waiting for a reason to send you here, and they got one. Kate, not every half demon is evil. Some choose the right path."

"How many?" I ask desperately. "How many chose the right way? Tell me, Hayley!"

"So far, in the past one hundred years... two." That's all it takes to send me over the edge. Everything around me goes black, but then I remember my phone that sits in my pocket. I can just make out the screen, so I type in Alec's name. His number comes up on the screen, and I press call. He picks up almost immediately.

"Hey, Kate," he says.

"Alec," I whisper. "I need you. Damn this, I need you here! I can't do this. I need you to help me, to hold me, to tell me it'll all be fine."

"Kate, I'm already boarding a plane. I can't stand being kept away from you. I told them I'm visiting my hometown. I'll be there by the morning. Can you hold on until then?"