Her Human

Six

I notice the smell first.

It assaults my nose and I have to pause because of its overwhelming metallic scent. It smelled like cold, hard metal. And that's exactly what it was.

Weapons. Everywhere, all kinds; guns, bombs, swords, daggers, bulletproof vests, along with other protective gear and countless other objects filled the room. I was stunned, there was a gigantic map in the center of the wall, colorful pins placed on specific coordinates I couldn't understand.

I can't believe they had this in their house! I get wanting to protect yourself, self-defense and all that, but this is a bit much.

Then I notice the photos and my heart stops.

Pictures, I don't know how I'd missed it, of wolves were taped almost carelessly around the whole room. Werewolves. More specifically my pack of werewolves. How did they-? When did they-? Thoughts were flooding through my mind a mile a minute, I couldn't wrap my head around it, they had all these pictures of werewolves I recognized. How could we have not noticed this!

I'm extremely nauseated and dizzy now and I slump against the large wooden table in the middle of the room and slide onto the floor, bringing a few weapons and weird colorful tubes down with me. I start shaking and breathing harshly, the terror setting in.

These people, these humans I've been staying with have been stalking my pack!

I dig my fingers into the soft carpet, when I notice- oh god. No no no no no, NO! No wonder the carpets in this house were so soft. I choke back a sob and pull my fingers back like I'd touched fire. "It's wolf's fur, it's all wolf's fur!" I'm screaming now.

I don't know how long I lay there, rocking back and forth, mumbling to myself incoherently. I didn't even know what I was saying to myself. I'd been living with a bunch of psychos.

Soon a bitter thought crossed my mind and I actually laughed; a hysterical, broken hitching noise.

I guess in a way, we were the same. The only difference between us, was that my kind hunted small rodents.

And they hunted my kind.

*

I had to leave.

I hardly remember crawling back to my bed after that, but I woke up an hour later, curled up on the soft sheets with dried tears and crusted snot on my face. I couldn't remember whether or not the room was just a nightmare I had, or if it'd actually happened. My question, though, was answered when I saw the keys next to me on the bed.

I took a deep, shuttered breath and reached over to grab the keys. I wanted to feel the cold metal, to make sure they were real and my hand wasn't going to go through them. I wanted so badly for them be fake, for my hand to reach out and grab nothing. For me to shakily laugh off my wild imagination and chock it up to what I'd ate that night.

But when my fingers closed around the ring, I nearly threw up.

Fresh, hot tears streamed down my face and all I felt was searing betrayal. I'd trusted them, I thought they felt the same way.

They're hunters. I just couldn't wrap my mind around it.

I started to wonder if everyone in the small town was a hunter. If that's true, then could my mate...? No. No, I refuse to believe it. I'd never seen him go out hunting for anything other than small mammals. He wouldn't do that. I know he wouldn't.

Was this what my father, my pack, had run from? It wasn't just the rogues, they were far and few. But humans? Humans outnumbered us plenty.