Jeff's pov

Jack and I quietly moved closer. Four men sat around a small fire, talking and eating. With the trees and bushes helping to obscure us in the darkness, we watched and listened to them.

"Haha, what's really funny is how easily we almost got that huge Nightstalker!"

"I know! That must've been the Alpha! Who knew it would be so weak and pathetic without its pack!"

They all busted out laughing at their own comments. They must be talking about when they attacked Changeling. For some reason, their words toward her only made me angry.

They call her weak. She is not weak. I bet Changeling would've ripped them apart if they didn't have their fancy traps and weapons. Well, time to take care of them.

I inched closer, avoiding the obvious traps that littered the ground. Once I was in position, I jumped out, stabbing the nearest guy in the back. He screamed in pain as the others jumped up, grabbing their weapons.

Jack quickly emerged and joined in helping me take these guys down. One guy came at me with a knife while the other two went after Jack. I easily blocked the guy's attacks. I smirked to myself. This guy's good, but not good enough.

I could see the panic on his face as he figured out that he couldn't beat me. Seeing an opening, I thrusted my knife into his chest. His body fell to the ground and I noticed Jack had taken care of the other two men.

I turned upon hearing a muffled cough, seeing the first guy I stabbed in the back lying on the ground. He struggled to crawl toward a gun a few feet away. As he began reaching toward the weapon, I quickly walked over and kicked it away before crouching in front of him.

I grinned down at him as I pulled his head up by his hair. "Now tell me, why are you hunting the Nightstalkers? Where is the rest of your group?"

The man weakly smirked at me. "I'll...never tell you... You monsters...every one of you...will die."

He started chuckling which only made me more angry. "Go to sleep!"

I quickly sliced my knife across his neck, silencing him. I stood up and sighed, looking over at Jack as he came over to me.

"Let's head home," Jack said. "We need to tell Slender that this group is taken care of."

I nodded. "Yeah, okay."

It was quiet as we headed back home. I immediately noticed Changeling laying by herself. Jack and I went straight inside.

"I'll report to Slender," Jack stated while heading upstairs.

I went to the kitchen and opened the fridge. I got a couple pieces of pizza and chicken. After heating them up, I grabbed a soda and left the kitchen. I went outside and over to where Changeling laid.

She quietly watched me as I approached her and sat on the ground next to her, leaning back against the side of the house.

"I hope you don't mind if I sit here."

Taking a bite of pizza, I noticed Changeling licking her lips as she sniffed the air. I chuckled at her.

"Oh? Smell something you like?"

I grabbed the other piece of pizza and held it up to her. She sniffed at it before grumbling and turning away from it. I laughed a bit at her reaction.

"Aww, don't like pizza? How about this then?"

I put the pizza back on my plate and grabbed a chicken leg. I held it up to her to see her sniff it before gently taking it from my hand. She chewed it up and swallowed it, bone and all, licking her lips afterward.

"So you like chicken, but not pizza. Tell you what, you can have the rest of my chicken, but only if you change into your normal form."

Her eyes widened and she quickly turned her head away. I took another bite of pizza, noticing that Changeling kept glancing at me as I ate.

Marlow's pov

He's crazy if he thinks I'm going to show him my true form for a few pieces of chicken. I defiantly turned my head away, but the delicious smell of the meat made me take quick glances at the pale skinned boy as he ate.

He chuckled as he stared up at me with unblinking eyes. He grabbed a piece of chicken and held it out toward me. I attempted to snatch it from him, but he quickly pulled it back.

"Ah, ah, ah, if you really want it, you have to show me what you look like. Come on, it's just the two of us out here."

I grumbled at him, thumping my tail on the ground in annoyance. He slowly brought the chicken up to his mouth, ready to take a bite. Ooooh, it's too tempting for me to resist.

I shifted my body until I was in my original black skinned form. Jeff stared at me for a moment, as if surprised by my appearance.

"Whoa," he quietly stated. "So this is what you really look like."

I smiled slightly. "Now hand over the chicken. You said I could have it."

He laughed lightly and held his plate out toward me. "Fine. A deal's a deal."

I moved over to sit beside him and picked the chicken off his plate and started eating. We sat in silence as we ate and looked up at the night sky.

"So does this mean you trust me?" Jeff suddenly asked me.

I looked over at him and replied, "Maybe. But don't even think about telling anyone else about this, got it?"

"Okay, geez, I got it. Damn you're moody."

"I have reason to be," I said, sending him a quick glare. "When someone just randomly comes over and starts bribing me with chicken. Yeah, I think you'd be a bit grumpy about that too."

It grew quiet as we both finished eating. I licked my fingers clean of any remaining bits of meat. Jeff gulped down his soda before finally speaking again.

"Hey, Changeling, can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Why did you let me go that night?"

I looked at him in slight surprise before letting out a sigh. "Because it's like I told Slender, I have no reason to pick fights with any of you. And besides, when I stared down into your eyes, I realized something. That you were...like me."

"Really?" he asked, tilting his head to the side slightly.

I nodded before grinning at him. "Don't get me wrong, I was ready to crush you right there under my foot. But I guess I was just glad that there were others like us out there. For awhile there I thought it was just my boys and me."

"I see. I'm guessing Slender already invited you to stay here with us. So why don't you?"

I turned my gaze to the ground in front of me and sighed. "I don't know. I guess I just feel like I'm not ready to trust your family yet. And I've got my boys to think about."

There was a moment of silence before I laughed slightly and said, "You know, you're awfully nice for a killer."

He looked slightly embarrassed as he quickly answered, "Now don't you dare go around telling everyone what a nice guy I am or else I'll tell everyone all about you."

I giggled and smiled at him. "I won't. I promise."

I turned my head upon hearing rustling noises. Out from the darkness, my pack emerged with freshly caught prey. Zane perked his head up when he saw me and immediately rushed to me.

He quickly pushed his way between Jeff and me and growled at the black haired boy. Zane stood over me protectively as he forced Jeff to scoot away a bit.

"Wrath, that's enough."

Zane ignored me and continued snarling at Jeff. I then grabbed his head and forced him to look at me instead.

"I said that's enough, Wrath," I said, more sternly this time. "Look at me, I'm okay. He didn't hurt me."

Zane's golden eyes locked onto mine as his expression instantly softened. I smiled and leaned my forehead against his for a moment before pulling back. Zane glanced at Jeff before turning his head and chittering to the others.

The rest of the pack brought their kills over and began eating alongside Zane. It was quiet as Jeff and I watched them, a smile tugging at my lips. Once they finished, they gathered around me.

Zane laid comfortably across my lap with his head against my chest. I gently stroked his head, keeping him calm as Jeff finally spoke again.

"So do all of them have forms like you?"

I could feel a low growl beginning to erupt in Zane's throat again. I continued petting his head and placed my other hand over his clawed foot.

"Yes. They're all just like me. But they don't exactly trust you yet, which is why they refuse to show you their true forms."

We all suddenly snapped our heads around upon hearing the front door of the mansion. Zane jumped up while Jeff stood with his empty plate in hand.

"Remember, Jeff, not a word to anyone," I quietly told him before changing back into my Nightstalker form.

Jeff nodded his head and quietly left us. I believe I can trust him to keep my secret for now. He seems okay. But I don't think Zane likes him one bit, probably just his jealous, overprotective attitude kicking in.

Jeff's pov

I went around the house to find Jack at the front door. "There you are, Jeff. What are you doing?"

"Just visiting the Nightstalkers, that's all," I casually answered.

I walked past him and into the house, going straight to the kitchen. I heard Jack following behind me as I put my plate in the sink and threw away my empty soda.

"Have you been bonding with Changeling?"

I could almost hear the smirk in his voice as he spoke. I turned and looked at him in slight annoyance.

"No. How can I? It's not like I can talk to her like Slender can."

I quickly walked past him and upstairs to the bathroom. What is his deal? Why does he have to be so annoying sometimes? Ah well, at least I got to see Changeling's true form.

It seems like maybe I've earned her trust. And maybe if we take care of these Nighthunters, we'll earn the whole pack's trust.