Hybrid

Friendly Foe

"Where is my daughter?" Henry stormed into my house.

"At your house?" I raised an eyebrow.

"She left. If she's not here, where is she?" Henry's face demanded an answer.

He started prying doors open and looking inside as if he didn't believe I wasn't hiding his daughter in this house. Of course, with each door he opened, he found nothing.

"You're telling me that you don't know where she is?" I asked.

"No, and I will not repeat myself again," Henry stated.

"I don't know where she is," I admitted.

"If you took her, I swear on everything," Henry began his threat.

I interrupted, "Maybe, instead of threatening me, you should go and find her."

Henry stomped out of my house as if it was my fault he didn't know where his daughter was. I called Maria's phone but got no answer. That was day one. I patrolled the area, finding a faint smell that led back to Maria's house, so I tracked it the other way for it to abruptly stop.

Day two yielded the same results, and then so did day three and four. I had developed chronic pacing, finding no peace since the disappearance. I was just getting her back, only to have her whisked away like some cruel god playing tricks.

My head was buzzing with the thought that she had run off to die alone so no one could help her. However, I knew that if she ran off, she would still leave a trail behind, no matter how good she was at not being tracked. We settled on the idea that she had been captured.

A small group of wolves agreed to keep an eye out for anything that could lead to Maria, but the rest of the wolves were so angry that they were glad she was captured. I tried to ignore them, but it got harder with each passing day she wasn't found.

I got so desperate that I did something I never expected myself to do. I called Henry. The small group of wolves that support me stood to one side of the room as Henry filled the other with his hunters, marching into my home like a raid.

I hated that they brought weapons into my home, but I needed their help, so I didn't cause a scene about it. The last time I had seen that many hunters gathered was when Maria was shot, and I could feel my anxiety growing from the image.

"You're looking for your daughter. We are too. If we work together-" I was interrupted.

"There's no chance in hell."

I hadn't expected anything else from him, but it still hurt to be denied when we were both working towards the same goal.

"You've had no luck on your own and we could use the help," I groveled.

"You're of no use to us," Henry spat.

"I'm just asking to share knowledge. I'm not looking for any friendly nature."

"Fine. You tell us what you know."

Henry crossed his arms over his chest, leaning forward slightly to act like he was listening. I needed the help, so I had to restrain myself from sassing him out of my house.

"We've searched the area, but none of us can smell her anywhere. Her trail disappeared a mile or so from your house." I caved in.

"So like I said, you're useless."

"I'm trying to fucking find your daughter you asshole because the longer she's out there, the more likely it is that she's already dead!" I shout.

Henry ignored my outburst but seemed to be mulling something over in his head.