A Lurking Evil

Prologue

The soft swaying of the tall grass moved in waves, mesmerizing, with little peaks of color flashing between the strands of green. The wind whistled softly against the grass, echoing within the large opening of the field, and soared high up into the blue skies. The world was at peace with crickets chirping softly in the background, and the soft rustle of leaves shaking on their branches at the edges of the large, flat, opening. Up high, birds chirped a beautiful melody amongst themselves, flying by with ease and grace.

She remained motionless in the grass, breathing in the fresh air as waves softly reached her ears from a far distance. She could feel the wind softly weaving its way into her hair, tickling her skin, and embedding its way into her clothes. It wasn't cold, but she could feel the wind softly pulling into her, and she cherished the cool sensation against her skin as she closed her eyes. The atmosphere was calm and peaceful, filled with harmony, and she didn't dare make a move that would destroy the innocence it held.

In the distance, she could faintly hear the whistling of birds and the rumbling of animals racing through the woods with grace. Everything surrounding the field felt just as at peace as her own heart felt, even if she was nervous. The wind softly blowing through her hair was enough to keep her mind off the racing heart beating inside of her chest or the slow build in her clammy hands. She didn't want to worry about the time, but she knew that she'd been sitting in the field for a long time, waiting patiently.

The sun was slowly beginning to set in the sky, and she was beginning to grow worried with the minutes that passed. She'd been excited all day, waiting to slip away from her father's watchful eyes so she could escape to the field. She knew that her siblings and her friends wouldn't be looking for her anytime soon, and it was late enough in the afternoon where her father would be preoccupied and wouldn't worry about her. Trying to escape from her home had killed plenty of time and gave her a hard rush of adrenaline, but now it was slowly starting to fade as she continued to wait for her companion.

It had been weeks since she'd seen him, and she was growing desperate to catch a look of him again. She hadn't gotten the proper chance to see him much the last time they were together, but they had worked to find this time to meet up. Since they'd planned their meeting, the days had passed in a quick blur, and time seemed to move quicker than it had before. She didn't care if anyone else noticed the change in her behaviors, or the wide smile always etched onto her face; at this point, nothing else mattered than the few minutes they were trying to steal for themselves. But the sneaking around had given her a rush of adrenaline she hadn't felt before; it was thrilling to sneak away from her father's prying eyes, and the risk of getting caught lingered in every breath she took.

Somewhere, in the distance to the west of her, she could hear the faintest sounds of twigs snapping rapidly, alerting her of someone's approach. She took from her seated position in the grass, wiping away any remains of the earth from her clothing. Though she was small in build and could easily fit into her sister's old girly clothes, she hadn't dressed up for the occasion. Her jeans clung to her body like second skin, but they were faded with years of use and ripped in the odd place; her boots were somewhat new, though the bottoms were caked with mud; and her gray tank top was mostly hidden by the old faded red zip-up sweatshirt she wore almost every day since her thirteenth birthday.

Unlike her sister, she'd followed in her brothers' footsteps when she was growing up. She didn't spend her free time dressing up in cute outfits and practicing different hairstyles to wear at pack functions; instead, she spent it rolling around in the mud outside with friends, practicing the training moves she'd learned, and sparring for fun. She never worried about her appearance before, unlike her sister, and now that she was moments away from seeing her mate once again, she wished that maybe she was a little self-aware of her looks. She had never had a problem being one of the guys, and she had never considered that she'd ever have a reason she'd want to act more like a girl than she already was, but now she was kicking herself in the head. She didn't know how to act cute or less aggressive than she was, and she knew she was stubborn and would never allow herself to act weak for a man.