"Ever since I picked up her scent,
I've been trying to find her.
And when I did, my father told me
I had to hunt, destroy her.
All the while, I knew could not, felt I should not
But stolen moments neither of us forgot
Drive me to balance beliefs an...
When we got upstairs I was already nervous, and I didn't know why. The apartment was nice enough, and we had a nice dinner, but what got me was what happened when we stepped through the back of the master bedroom closet:
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"Daddy..." I felt my heart leap not in excitement, but real fear. "Why are we here?"
"We are to meet Didi's family here to talk of your...predicament." He started picking up guns and checking them for cleanliness and function.
"My predicament?" Okay, that's it. "Ever since this--this whirlwind--started, I have not felt like I know anything about what is really going on here!" In three quick movements, I loaded, cocked and aimed. "I feel like I'm being told half truths--"
"John!"
The two I knew as Didi's parents came into the small bunker. They were hunters too, I knew that now, but seeing them with guns still made them quick strangers to me. I just felt like I never knew them.
"Phillip, Karen!" John smiled. He shook hands with Phillip and hugged Karen. "Glad to see you."
"Didi told us everything," Karen said. "Are you alright?"
I realized the question was directed to me. "Yeah, I'm okay."
"You look like a deer in headlights," Karen said with a sad smile.
"Our problem is that we have reason to believe--"
"Phillip!"
"That the son of Payton Kincaid--"
"Kyros." I breathed, earning a raised eyebrow from Karen.
"Can track you."
"Why?"
"Come and sit down." Karen took my hand. "Let's not discuss this in here."
Dad swallowed hard as we moved out of the weapons storage locker and back into the apartment next door. We all sat down, Didi and Dad on either side of me for support and Karen and Phillip sitting across.
"You and Kyros have met." Karen said.
"Not exactly, " I suddenly didn't want to look at her, and was glad I wasn't facing my dad.
"How do you feel about him?"
I shook my head. "I don't know."
"Karen, I know your theory, and I don't think it has a basis--"
"John."
My father growled in frustration.
"Are you....aware of him?" She asked. "Can you feel him coming?"
"I-I don't know what you mean--"
"Is there something in your gut that changes when he is close, or when you look at him, or keep a picture of him?"
"I threw mine away," Didi shrugged.
I swallowed hard. I reached into my pocket and pulled out the sketch. "I looked him up online. He is a businessman, multiple holdings."
Karen pulled out a book and said, "Turn to page sixty-eight."
I flipped through the pages and then found it. "How Do Werewolves Find Mates?"
Karen nodded. "Read it."
I was trying not to cry. "When a werewolf comes across their mate they can sense it. They feel an inexplicable urge to be near the individual. There is something compelling about the individual. They want to know everything about him or her. They want to spend time with the person. Inside, the werewolf will feel a sense of knowing they've found the right person, and they'll no longer feel quite so alone. Everything will feel right, happy, and complete when they're with their mate. It sounds so overly simplistic to just say that the werewolf will just "know" when they've found their mate...but it's true." By the time I finished the paragraph I was shaking.
"I have a theory, Lani," Karen said softly. "I think you are his mate, but he has been taught to hate you because you are not a full breed." She paused. "How do you feel about him?"
"I don't know!" I rose from my seat. "You've already asked me that!"
"They are strong, whatever they are," Phillip said sadly.
I saw a light out of the corner of my eye. When I turned I faced a mirror. My eyes were glowing.
