Teethmarks and Wolf Pelts

At nightfall, a call from Tristan rumbled Felix and I from our light sleep. My crying, and with help from the rest of the day's events helping, I had felt over-exaggeratedly tired. At the sign of the first yawn, he had wrapped his arms around me and that was that. At some point in the next hour or so, he must of fallen asleep as well. He rubs his eyes a bit and reaches to the nightstand and grabs his phone. He scoffs at it, but opens it.

"Hello?" His usually soft, silkily voice is cracked, deep, and a little groggy. It's kind of cute.

I couldn't hear anything on the other side, so it gives me an opportunity to assess the last few hours, mainly concerning Felix. Sure, I did tell him that I want him and only him, but in all honesty, that didn't exactly make us dating. All I really did was make him aware than I feel the same way he does, which in itself is pretty good. It doesn't mean that we have to date or are dating, but it puts our feelings out in the open.

On the other hand, there are two other matters I'll have to deal with now. First, I'd have to come clean to Lewis about my feelings for Felix and how much I want to be with him. It seems like a really bitchy thing to have to do and makes it sound like I'm breaking up with him, or choosing Felix over him- which is more or less true. The other matter, which is more important than my love life, is the pressing matter of Connor's disappearance.

"Yeah," Felix mutters. "I don't see how that matters," he pauses again, "I guess so. We'll be there soon."

"What doesn't matter?" I ask slowly as I sit up. I quickly run my fingers through my hair, getting out some of the kinks. Felix's calm face seems more troubled than usual. He runs his fingers through his own hair and looks away.

"They asked if Connor was suicidal," he says.

"Why would that matter at all?"

"Well, they think they might know where he is," says Felix. He sees my eyes light and just I'm about to scream out something unintelligible or happy, he holds up a hand to silence me. I cock my head slightly and stare at him. "Here me out first, Priss."

"Okay?" My voice is weak and sullen.

"The place they think he may be... It's an old complex where pack of Hunters used to live. They've switched locations, or so Tristan had been informed, two or three years ago- but Connor may be there."

"Why would Connor go there, if he knew Hunters might be there?"

"That's where the suicidal things comes in. In wolves and most breeds of dogs, when they're about to die or ready to die, they run off to somewhere private where they can die without their loved ones seeing. They think maybe Connor is wanting them to end his life."

"That's ridiculous!" I scream out, one of my fists automatically clenching. My anger has begun to boil inside me and I feel closely connected to Ember. I squeeze my eyes shut, swallow, and force the Change back. "If he wanted to die, he wouldn't have come all the way to Phoenix to do it. I know Connor. He's not suicidal. Even if he was, he's to lazy to make a trip all the way down here for that, right? He could have found another housing community of Hunters closer to home."

"Actually, very few of these communities exist. Most Hunters work in groups of two or three, though they keep in touch. I hear they have one giant headquarters where there's a billboard listing all those of us who have been killed and all those who have warrants to kill. There are communities though, so some of them can hunt in larger areas and have lots of back-up."

"I still don't think he's suicidal," I say, my voice coming out in a near growl. Ember is really starting to fight me on this Change.

"Me either. Connor had only been in the pack for a few months before he ran off, but I don't think he'd do this for any suicidal reasons," he sighs and looks down at his phone. "We'll have to find out, huh?"



Once again, we meet Tristan at his apartment, but I wait outside while Felix, Elijah, and Tristan conduct some business inside. Bree, Lance, and Trisha are present with me but the two girls are in their wolf forms- Bree as blond as her human hair and Trisha is a light tannish color. It's odd, but even though I can can clearly feel what they do, their thoughts only come in at segments. Maybe it's because we belong to different packs?

Lance looks at me, his dark eyes impassive. "They can't be seen," he says, gesturing to the wolves. I look up surprised. It hadn't really been on my mind, but now that he brought it up... What would happen if a human were to see them in this form or even Change? It would more than likely cause mayhem somehow.

"How?"

"A group of Wiccans work for us. They've cast a very powerful illusion spell on the city. If they see us, if at all, it'll be as stray dogs."

"Wait- Wiccans? Spells? Like, magic and stuff? That's real?" I ask, stammering through my words and feeling like an idiot as I do so. Lance gives me a curt nod.

"It's not the magic you think. They can only do minimal things and can only practice spells that don't directly harm others. It's as real as the two natured are."

"Sometimes," I say, "I like to think that this is a dream. That Connor never went away. That I'm a human, that two natured don't exist... It's not a dream, though, is it?"

He sighs inwardly and shakes his head. "I'm afraid not."

Suddenly, the front door to the apartment complex opens and the three men step out, determine looks on all of their faces. This makes me smile a little. Tristan nods to me and speaks, "We think he's within the housing complex on Third and West streets. It's on the other side of town, though. Even as wolves, it'll take a solid half hour of running until we get there."

"That's fine," I say, preparing to shift. I'd come dressed in my shorts and tank top and nothing else, totally prepared for tonight. However, I stop and look at Elijah. "Can I call Lewis real fast? He'd want to know this."

Elijah nods and tosses me his phone. I scroll through his contacts, find Lewis, and click Call. Without really realizing it, as it's ringing, I wander from the group a little. They barely notice, the men discussing something I can't quite understand. I shrug. Finally, there's a click and then a voice on the other end. "Elijah?"

"No, it's Priscilla. He's letting me use his phone," I explain.

"Any news?" He asks. I almost smile- business first, no time for formalities. I relay the information to him- how Tristan may think he's suicidal, the girl in the cafe -though he might have been informed of it earlier-, and finally, the his supposed location. Lewis listened in with great intent and I was grateful for it.

"Go, now, Priscilla," he whispers, "Bring him home."

"Goodbye, Lewis," I say, "Thank you."

I hang up then and turn to my group of peers, but their no longer human- all wolves and one bloodhound. I look down at them and admire them. At first, I was skeptical of what being two natured would be like. I had felt worried that I'd become more of an animal than a human. But right now, in the dim light of a streetlamp, I see an odd beauty in this condition. It's harmony of two souls within one, transformable body. It's truly a wondrous thing.

Without even thinking about it, I let the Change take me. My skin pricks up and down, everything elongates and my skin feels as if it's on fire. However, when the sensation is over, I feel very relaxed. I stumble forward to the group, still not exactly sure on how walking on four paws works. Under other circumstances I would have taken time to figure it out or taken time to enjoy this form and being able to remember it- but I can't tonight.

No word is said, but we all start running then. Our paws are loud against the pavement, our strides are long and powerful. I feel a little wobbly but my running only falters once or twice. Once in awhile, my excitement gets the best of me and I find myself sending a howl out into the moon-lit night. The others laugh in their heads and howl along with me. Tristan is right, the run does take a solid half our or so to reach the destination, but when we do, I throw myself from the Change and back into my human body. The transformation back isn't as painful but it seems to take forever. When I'm standing on my two feet again, I peer at the complex in front of me.

Housing complex truly over sold the concept of the place. All it is is four small house like apartments in close proximity to each other. The paint is cracking and peeling off of each and every house, one of them even has a large hole in the roof. The others just look run down and unlivable. In fact, you can tell they haven't been lived in since the Hunters had moved away. Suddenly Felix in wolf form -the wolf telling me its name is Swift- comes up beside me. He whimpers and looks up at me. "Is he here?" he projects.

I take a long, drawn in breath through my nose, searching for a familiar scent. There. To the west. I point to the most westward house, just to signal them, and take off running. Felix reverts to his human form and chases after me, the others doing the same, though Trisha stays a wolf. I trip over my own feet but I keep racing toward the shitty run down building. The anticipation is already building up inside of me. I can feel him. He's in there. I'll see Connor again! I'll bring him home, I'll protect him.

I'll make everything okay again, I tell myself.

I get to the door first and turn the knob. It's open. With a tiny squeal, I push the sucker open and race inside. Somehow, my instincts tell me where to go- left through the hall, right to the kitchen, and then right into a small, seemingly empty living room. With tears blurring my eyes, I don't see it at first, but when the figure moves, my whole world changes.

The man, gasps and runs, taking a courageous, flying leap out of the open, broken window and starts running. And as he runs, I see that all my hopes and dreams are fleeing with him. Trisha growls and runs across the length of the living room and jumps out of the window, chasing after what I presume is a Hunter. But I don't care. I drop to my knees, strained on the most pain wrenching sight I've ever seen.

There, in the middle of the dull, broken down room is a familiar figure- now just a lifeless form, dagger twisted within his stomach.

"Oh God," I cry out as bile spews from my mouth and down onto the floor.