Those blood red eyes followed me in my nightmares for the following two evenings. I would wake up in a tangle of blankets breathing hard as I rubbed my arms. Sometimes, when I woke up, I thought I could feel his jagged teeth piercing my skin, claws tearing at my flesh. But the horror constricting my throat didn't trump the nausea in my stomach. I didn't want to think about it. I didn't want to consider it. Even putting a name on it made it seem too real.

But were these vivid dreams the beginning? Was I succumbing to wolf-drain?

Is this how it had started for my parents or for Milo's family? Dreams that felt like they were real, sickness that followed throughout the day. I couldn't differentiate between my rattled mind playing tricks on me and genuine symptoms. We knew so little about it and spoke even less. Anything could have been a sign that the end of my sound mind was coming.

The sickness and fear clawing at my mind were so intense that when I went to visit my parents, I awkwardly forced my father's arms around. His grip was limp the entire time I sobbed against his shoulder. Part of me was so desperate for relief that I even wished that I was at their stage of wolf-drain. Too oblivious to know what was happening. Ignorance could be bliss if one let it be so.

A kind aid had found me when visiting hours were over. She convinced me that health care workers were angels when she carefully pulled me away from my father and held me in her own arms until my embarrassing outburst ceased.

I resigned myself to the fact that I would be seeing Dawn and Armond today. I was certain that I would get ripped apart for my massive failure, but, on the other hand, I was struggling. Never before had my work felt so solitary. I couldn't get the words out of my mouth when Cassey would ask me what was wrong. But being alone, being trapped in my own mind, it could only be described as torture.

When it was finally time to return to the compound, relief spilled out of me. They would know what to do. They had to. Because I could not carry this alone.

"Hello dear," Dawn greeted as soon as she saw me. "Come, sit, I just put on a fresh pot of tea if you're interested. Armond will be up in a moment."

I took a moment to make myself comfortable at one of the rickety plastic tables they always had set up. This was my life now. This was it. Avoiding my own home, scraping comfort out of a set of vacant parents, hoping that black tea from my boss would fix everything.

When Armond appeared Dawn and I had started sipping on our drinks and she had fished out a container of store-bought cookies. I chewed halfheartedly on one to be polite and also because I couldn't remember the last time I had eaten a proper meal.

"How did it go?" Armond asked, setting down a handful of rolled up maps and documents.

"Shit."

To his credit, he didn't fly off the handle immediately. That came after his cup of coffee was plunked down on the table and he seated his pudgy body on the chair with a huff. A hand scraped down his face and I knew it was coming.

"How did you fuck up something so simple?"

My spine straightened and my chin rose. "Everything went well. I did as I was asked to do, documented everything, wrote down oddities. I was able to spot the main cabin. I made sure nothing was amiss, no one was nearby, and I climbed a tree so I could have a better vantage point as I wrote down and drew up the important parts."

"How about you get to the important parts now."

So, I did. I told them about the beast that I encountered. How his eyes had locked on to me, how he had watched me but didn't attack or signal for help until after I had made the first move. I left out nothing and made a pointed comment about how I only had one single silver knife in my arsenal.

"I've never heard you admit that you missed," Armond said, taking a deep slurp of his coffee.

"I didn't miss."

"Well, he's still alive and well enough to chase you. I would say you missed."

"I hit him. The knife was going straight for his eye. And it just...didn't make contact. I saw it. I watched it."

"You were probably in a crazy state of mind."

I felt every muscle in my body stiffen then. My mind. It felt like it was all I had left in this world. And maybe he was right. Maybe I was slipping. Because it didn't make sense. It wasn't possible that the knife should have been embedded in his brain, but somehow wasn't. The laws of science wouldn't allow it.

"Do you think it's wolf drain?" I asked, my voice trembling.

"We don't call you Huntress because you make mistakes. And it was one time. obviously, he didn't close enough to hurt you. I wouldn't say its close enough to cause any lasting damage," Dawn stated, placing her hand over top of mine.

Armond didn't look so certain, but, in fairness, he also didn't look particularly concerned either.

"How was the trail in? Does it seem reasonable?"

I blinked, a little stunned for a moment. Not even a flinch of emotion out of him. But, maybe that was a good thing. My fears weren't worth talking about for more than a few seconds. Always onwards and upwards.

"I mean, it seems okay, but not great. Lots of obstacles, and there's a very steep section that you can't walk up. You have to scramble up it, and even then, it's very slow. Plus, very far from the road. If I have to get out of there fast, there's no chance."

He unfurled a map and stroked a hand over his jaw. "Probably for the best. If that animal went back and raised the alarm, they might be on higher alert in the area. We need to look at our other options. And this time, you need to stay hidden."

"I just—"

"And you need to kill them both at the same time. that mate bond, it will drive them mad. We will have enough problems to deal with, without an angry monarch trying to avenge their lost spouse or whatever they are. And the kid. The kid has to go. Can't leave her alive otherwise the ruling system stays in place. You know how they are, alphas for smaller groups that report to the king and queen and all of it being hereditary."

He said it as if it were all common knowledge.

"Can you explain this a little more to me?" I pressed.

Armond rolled his eyes, but said, "The werewolf scum has a very rigid structure. You are what your parents were. Alphas rule their packs. Often, alphas are described as humans would describe abusive partners. They are controlling, possessive, and brutish. Though most packs have a second in command, betas don't have much power. The alphas then report to the royals, Ajax who was born into the position and Keiko who is mated to him."

"I don't fully understand the whole mate thing," I admitted.

"And you won't," Dawn stated, sawing her teeth over her lower lip. "To be honest, I don't think werewolves understand it. But, all you need to know is that they are tied together. They are drawn to one another and once the mating process is complete, there is no getting them apart. And when one werewolf kills another's mate, wars are started."

"Right, so kill them both," I managed.

"Kill all three," Armond corrected. "If the girl lives, so does the hierarchy."

"And what happens after the family is dead?" I pushed.

"Well, they are going to have to find another leader," Armond stated, folding his hairy arms over his beer belly. "They are primal bastards, no reason or logic within them. They will start off being civil, but it's only a matter of time before they start puffing their chests and fighting for the crown. They'll tear themselves apart."

"What happens to us?" I demanded.

It was so subtle, I almost didn't catch it. But I watched Dawn's eyes flash to her husband then quickly back to me. so far, the likelihood of me returning from my quest was slim.

"We go into hiding. We move into the city for the time being because they will be all over this area, hunting us before they decide to start hunting each other. And once the heat dies down, we move to another town surrounded by packs and we start again. While they tear each other apart from the inside, we keep picking them off from the outside."

~~~Question of the Day~~~

What movie can you watch over and over again and never get tired of?