Lycanthropy and Me: The First Semester(mlm)

Day 31. Wednesday, Waning Gibbous

Hunter's eyes snapped open. His heart was racing, and his breath came out in short gasps. He turned to face the wall. About a dozen happy memories were spread across the cold surface, calming him instantly. He rolled over and looked down at the floor. Grayson was still sleeping, wrapped in a duvet cover. Several hours earlier, they had returned to the dorm room to find Arif. To avoid his ire, they slept apart.

Hunter rolled back over and faced the wall. As horrifying as his nightmare had been, he was already forgetting the details. It was probably best to go back to sleep. The bed dipped as Grayson filled up the empty space, along with his Duvet. Hunter turned his head to see him. "Did he leave?"

"I don't care." Grayson mumbled, his eyes closed. They were shoulder to shoulder at this point.

"I'm sorry." Hunter whispered.

Grayson squinted at him. "Stop apologizing." He laced his fingers with Hunter's again. "Why're you awake?" His voice was riddled with sleep.

"Nightmare." Hunter whispered. "Go back to sleep."

"You go back to sleep." Grayson blinked. "This is my bed, I'll do what I want."

It was a juvenile response, which made Hunter smile. " No, You first. I'm older, so I'm the boss."

Grayson rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

"You have class later." Hunter narrowed his eyes at him. "Go to sleep."

"Don't growl at me." Grayson snorted and closed his eyes. "Wolf Boss."

Hunter awoke later that morning, alone. Arif and Grayson were both both gone, presumably attending their respective classes. He gathered his things, headed down the hall to the shared bathroom, and found a line of disgruntled students waiting to shower. Hunter leaned against the wall, holding the spare clothes he had gathered from his room last night. Colton had not mysteriously appeared out of nowhere, there was no sign of forced entry, yet he was still spooked enough to follow Grayson back across campus.

As he stood in line, Hunter was beginning to see the benefits of living in a large dorm.

Still he waited patiently. It was the beginning of a new day, another chance to move forward. With no classes to attend he headed off campus.

While walking down the hall, he heard the familiar whooshing of a pair of black slacks behind him, coupled with the heavy stench of alcohol and stale tobacco. He stopped on the steps and turned around. "Can I help you?"

Abner Hodges stood a step behind him, dressed in all black. A limp cigarette dangled from the corner his mouth. "You could tell me where you're going, all by your lonesome with a full backpack and no classes?" He pushed a pair of black sunglasses. "Or is this just a walk of shame? You came out of the wrong dorm this morning."

Hunter tipped his own sunglasses down."You following me?"

"O'course." Abner lit his cigarette. "That's what cops do with suspects."

"You're not a real cop." Hunter glared at him. "You're just a big bloodhound."

"Is that so?" Abner spewed a heavy cloud of smoke into Hunter's face. "Is that what you think your Daddy is? A bloodhound?"

Hunter hacked and coughed, waving the smoke away.

"Do me a favor, pup. Don't go too far."

By the time Hunter could see and breathe properly again, Abner had disappeared. Hunter looked around, but saw no sign of the other man. Startled, he realized he had not sensed the werewolf at all. Up to that point in his life, that simply wasn't possible.