On the day we planned for Solstice, Val and I went to Sam’s house. I asked Bibiana to look after Alice who refused to follow us. Val didn’t trust Sam so I allowed her to bring a gun just in case any of the tigers tried to kill us. I met the group. I knew Sam and Daniel earlier. Kevin and Nick were twins. Sam told me that they were bitten together when they were fishing during the school holidays twenty years ago. They were only sixteen years old. At a young age, they were able to open a bar not far from here. Their creator wasn’t Adam. They were jokers. There were times I was so stress up that they cheered me up with a couple of dirty jokes.

            Christopher was an adventurous type. I entered his room by accident once. His room was full of pictures. All kind of pictures at every country in this world. He also worked as a photographer for the National Geographic magazine. Christopher, Sam, Kevin and Nick provide money for themselves. Sam told me that now Christopher was off to Papua New Guinea to meet the people there. He will be back just before Solstice.

            John used to help the Bermudan Wolves. I asked Sam what was a Bermudan Wolf and he told me that it was an organization, almost like an empire. They live in a small island near Puerto Rico that was believed to be called Bermuda Triangle. They are wolves that kill animals instead of humans like Sam and the sabre-toothed tigers. They also hunt their own kinds. I asked how it was possible for them to destroy their own species. It was like humans killing each other for any possible reason especially power. Sam told me that they have been around for a long time and they make wolves fight each other to death if they dared to challenge the Bermudan Wolves’ power like the Roman Empire a long time ago. Some Bermudan Wolves even bet on who would win as if it was a football match to them. It must have been fun for them to see other wolves fight to survive. Either way, they were not able from escape from their punishment. If they were caught escaping, the Bermudan Wolves will dispose of them immediately. The tigers and Bermudan Wolves agreed to help each other to decrease the population of wolves. The tigers had to send a bouquet of golden flowers every three years. The golden flowers were a sign of friendship between them. It had been like this since World War 1. John was very quiet. He didn’t say anything when Sam introduced me to him but at least he nodded his head at me.

            Daniel looked young so he decided to try out a football career. He was a player in a local team and I heard he was the star player. He wished to play against the English clubs in the English Premier League. I talked to him about his dream career. Dad taught me a lot about football since he was a sports writer though I kept the information to myself.

            Sam tried out music career, with his guitar and keyboard. He posted his music on YouTube.

            Another tiger, Grey was going to live with the Bermudan Wolves temporarily. He wanted to try something different. Bermudan Wolves accept any creature that was able to hunt other wolves and eat animals only.

            The tigers looked like ordinary people but they protected people from the bad guys like heroes.

            “Why didn’t you tell me about the Bermudan Wolves?” I asked Sam.

            “Because you didn’t ask. I think we will have to ask them to help us for Solstice.”

            “What? No, they are wolves. I don’t trust them. Who knows they might kill all of us?”

            “They are our only chance of winning this war.”

            “I like Daniel’s idea,” I said finally.

            His face turned white. “About killing innocent people? That’s not what we were supposed to do!”

            “Just a few to protect another two billion humans in this world. Some who may volunteer to be one just like Daniel.”

            Minutes passed until he spoke. “No. No way in hell I will let this happen! There must be another to protect more people without changing people to tigers.” He slammed his fist on the table, stood up and slammed his bedroom door with a loud bang. I was still sitting on the chair in the dining room. Val entered the dining room like a ghost.

            “Daniel gave an idea to attack the wolves during Solstice. If we surprised them, we got a better chance to win this battle. The tigers will climb the tree in their human form and wait for the wolves to come. We will distract them by stopping their way,” she told me.

            “It’s risky,” I whispered.

            “I’m not done. The tigers will jump down and transformed. The tigers will take down the smaller ones and we take down the leader.”

            “How do we know which one is the leader?”

            “It is the biggest and oldest wolf in the pack. It will also try to attack us. I think it is the black wolf since it is the only wolf we tried to find after all these years.”

            “What are we going to do with your mum?”

            “Keep it a secret. I want to spend as much time as possible with her because if we never come back after Solstice, I don’t want to regret not spending the last hour of my life with my mum.”

            I wanted mum to be here and spend time with her like Valerie. I wanted my family to be here. Alice was so distracted because of condition that she lost track of time.

            “Let’s go home,” I confirmed. I glanced back at Sam’s door before walking out of the house.

            By the time we entered our house, Bibiana and Alice were in the living room. Bibiana was watching the BBC news. Bibiana must have been expecting updates on Jamie’s murder. Her eyes were red and her cheeks were looked wet and sticky as she saw me. I hugged her as she cried. Alice looked at us, which was weird. She never let her eyes look anywhere else except for the portrait. There were changes in her eyes. It wasn’t crazy anymore. It was filled with fear and pity.

            I paid Bibiana for taking care of Alice while we were gone. She didn’t want to take the money at first but I insisted. She went home using a taxi.

            Val tried to talk to Alice before she went to bed but Alice continued staring at her husband’s portrait. I didn’t know this Alice anymore. Why, after eleven years of his disappearances, Alice started to imagine her dead husband? Why now?

            Val wanted to stay at home to take care of her mum so I had to go to school alone. It felt so different without Jamie at school. I had no one to talk to except Bibiana and Maryanne. They cried with me whenever something reminded us of Jamie. What happened to her? Kidnapped by her father? Murdered by serial killers? The thoughts made me cry.

            “Do you think there is any way to find Jamie’s murderer?” Maryanne said.

            Everyone stared at her. “What could we do? We don’t have any clues or evidence,” Bibiana told her.

            “I think it was Robert who did it,” Maryanne guessed.

            “I don’t think so. He looked very sad after finding out she disappeared. He even cried on television. I prefer the theory of her father,” Bibiana joined in.

            I didn’t want to join into the conversation. I just listened.

            “Why don’t we drop by at Mrs. Fitzgerald’s house for awhile? They need some strength to move on after Jamie’s death,” Bibiana suggested.

            “Sounds like a great idea,” I agreed. Maryanne nodded her head in agreement.

            “Oh and,” Bibiana stopped to look at Maryanne. Maryanne nodded at her encouragingly, “usually, we sleepover at each other’s house for the upcoming exam. Now that Jamie’s gone, do you mind if we go to your house to study?” Our upcoming exam was not far away. I didn’t really care about exams but why not?

            “Sure, what time and when?” I asked them.

            Maryanne grinned. “I need your address please. About eight o’clock. On Friday, after school. You okay with the time?”

            “Any time. Eight o’clock then,” I confirmed.

            I rode with Maryanne on my bike after school since she didn’t have transport. Her parents allow her to do anything she wants. Mrs. Fitzgerald and her husband invited us in after school. Their eyes were red so they must have been crying. I felt pity for them. Jamie was their only child. The police came to collect evidence and we excused ourselves. Mr. Fitzgerald thanked us for visiting them.

            Val was feeding Alice when I returned home, which was an improvement to her condition. I managed to make her drink a glass of water. This made Val thought that her mother will be back to normal. If I were to bet on this, I don’t think she will be like the Alice I knew a few weeks ago. I think she will never change until something horrible will happen and she will be back to reality. Like Gran’s death. Val slept after lunch. It was my turn to take care of Alice. I was watching television when there was a knock on the door. I lowered the volume of the TV and opened the door.

            It was Sam.

            “I’m so sorry for what I did on the other day. Will you forgive me?” he said. Before I could say anything else, he handed me a puppy. I felt a moment of joy. “Happy birthday.”

            “Today is my birthday?” I asked. How could I forget my birthday? He was right. Today was April 11th, the date I was born seventeen years ago. I must have been very stressed up when I was planning for Solstice. “How did you know?”

            “You told me on the day I picked you up from the airport, remember?”

            I totally forgot that I told him that. I cradled the puppy in my arms. “I didn’t know your memory was that strong. So where’s my birthday present?”

            “You are holding it. I found it wandering around so I thought it will need a home. It is its lucky day. I think it is a German shepherd by the look of it. What do you want to name it?”

            “I think it is perfect to call it Pierre. Come in.”

            He entered the house. “Why do you want to name it after me?”

            “What’s wrong? Is it bad to name a puppy after a guy who gave me a puppy that was hanging around for my birthday?”

            Sam grinned. I put Pierre on the floor and gave it a small bowl of water and some leftover fried chicken that Val had for lunch in the kitchen. Pierre drank the water so loudly that I smiled in amazement. I had never had a puppy before. Pierre started sniffing everywhere in the living room after it had its chicken. Sam led me to the kitchen so Alice wouldn’t listen, if she was.

            Sam pulled out the chair and sat. “So do you forgive me?” Sam asked.

            I sat opposite of him. “Yes, I forgive you.”

            He pulled me to my room suddenly, leaving Alice in the living room alone. He turned on the radio and inserted a CD. It was a classical music.

            He looked at me and held his hand out. “Do you care to dance with me, Miss Rhys-Deaux?” he said in a formal way.

            I smiled. “Not at all, Mr. Ledoux.” We danced a slow dance. I didn’t know how long we were dancing and I didn’t care. I just wanted to finish this moment with my best friend. I realized the song changed and stopped dancing. I buried my face in his warm chest and found myself smile in wonder. This must have been my best birthday in my life.

            “I want to show you something,” I told him.

            He just smiled. I woke Val up by letting the puppy to lick her. The first thing she asked was why Sam did give me a puppy. I told her that today was my birthday.

            “Seriously? Why didn’t you tell me? I could have gotten you a present too,” she said.

            “I forgot my own birthday. Anyway, Sam and I are heading for the woods. Do you mind taking care of your mum? In return, I’ll let you play with the puppy.” She agreed immediately and played with the puppy. I didn’t bother to bring a gun today but I hid a knife in my boots. Sam wanted to know where I was bringing him to. It was easy to get there because of the familiar marks on the tree I left so I wouldn’t lose the way there.

            Sam gasped in amazement when we reached our destination.

            “I have passed by this place many times but I never knew it was this beautiful,” Sam muttered. I held his hands and pulled him across the meadow. We sat under the apple tree. He sniffed. “You have been spending most of your time here, right?”

            “That is correct.” A part of me wondered how he knew that. It must have my scent on the same spot that was very strong.

            “I want to talk to you about something.”

            “Talk to me now then.”

            He looked at me with a concerned look. “It’s about the plan for Solstice. Daniel told me that he told Val about his plan. Val must have told you. Please, I don’t want you two to be the black wolf’s attention. Have you seen how smart he is nowadays? He killed Adam in a surprise which it isn’t normal. Wolves don’t have their brains to think of a plan like that. He made a strategy. No wolf was able to do that since ever. Who knows that he might even know our plans? Last year, he was so close to destroying all of us but he was distracted by Valerie who ran away. The wolf went after her until John was able to slam him out of the way. Tell me, what are the odds of us winning against the pack and our deaths?”

            I was lost in thought but he continued, not waiting for me to answer. “You and Valerie are the major attention of the black wolf. We have to protect you two more than we protect ourselves.”

            “No!” I replied. “You can’t risk yourselves for us. You need to survive. You could make more protectors anytime before it is too late. We will take centuries to make more Hunters. Fall in love, get married, have children will take lots of time. All you have to do is bite,” I snapped my fingers in front of him, “just like that.”

            “Your brother might be a Hunter too since you three are the only Hunters left.”

            I shook my head fiercely in protest. “I’ll never let Philip hunt even if he could hunt. I don’t want him to spend the rest of his life killing wolves.” Tears welled in my eyes. I remembered how annoying he was since he was born but I didn’t want his life to be ruined like this. Val, Philip and I are the only direct descendants exist at this time. If Philip comes to Australia and the transformation has begun, I will never forgive myself and feel the guilt for the rest of my life. I wondered how many Hunters there were generations ago. I turned around to not meet Sam’s eyes so he wouldn’t see me crying.

            Sam wasn’t fooled and quickly hugged me. “I’m sorry to bring up the topic. We still have time before Solstice. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” He kept apologizing. When I was better, I pulled away from his arms. “I wonder who you will end up with in a few years time,” Sam said.

            I laughed, wiping the tears with my sleeves. “Will you be jealous?”

            His smile returned. “Maybe. If he breaks your heart, I’ll break his hands off. All you have to do is call me.”

            “It’s so weird. My school back in London is for girls only so I rarely talk to boys except for my dad and Philip. Now I’m talking to a guy who is a mythical creature. Did you have a girlfriend before?”

            “Why are you asking?”

            “Because you’re handsome, strong, have a sense of humor. I couldn’t imagine a girl saying a ‘no’ if you ask her out for a date.”

            “Not exactly. So far no one is my type. What about you? I’m sure guys will fall on their knees to date you.”

            I snorted and then laughed. “As if. Guys are so predictable.”

            “I’m a guy too,” Sam reminded me.

            “Yes, but you’re the only guy I met who is unpredictable.”

            We were quiet for a while. Sam stood up and helped me up. “Can you go home? I have to hunt. Stay away from the forest.” His eyes turned red. I missed the blue in his eyes that suited him more than the red. He looked as lovely as before.

            “Yes sir.”

            He left me in the meadow. By the time he was in the woods, I started to walk home. There was a vision. A small white wolf was coming towards me. At first I was prepared to fight it, and then I remembered that I brought a knife. I should have brought my gun. It was hard to fight a wolf with a knife. It will be stupid if I risked my life to kill a wolf with a knife. I ran away as fast as my body capabilities were built for. A wolf stopped me from running away. It wasn’t the white wolf; it was the black wolf. I started to back away. Its red eyes were focused on me. Before I knew it, I was surrounded by a pack of wolves including the white wolf. I screamed for Sam. The black wolf snarled at me and the other wolves growled. All the wolves growled except for the white wolf. The white wolf’s eyes weren’t red anymore, it was brown. The brown eyes looked familiar . . .

            All the wolves, except the white wolf were walking towards me, step by step, fangs appeared. Sam was right; these wolves are smarter than I thought. They were able to surprise me. I was weaponless and defenseless. My only hope was a knife and Sam. One of the wolves, a dark brown wolf nearly wanted to bite my hand but the black wolf stopped him with a snarl.

            I turned towards the leader, Gran’s murderer and my prey. It looked at me with red eyes but not fury and rage. He opened his mouth and showed me his fangs. My death has arrived. It looked like he was going to bite me in the neck. I closed my eyes in surrender. My knife was in my pocket and my hands were ready to take it out. Just as I was about to take out the knife, I heard a fight between at least two wolves. I opened my eyes and saw the small white wolf trying to take a bite out of the huge black wolf. I was too shocked to do anything. They must be fighting to have me as food.

            I was able to run away from the fight and the pack. The pack didn’t pay any attention to me. They were useless without their leader, the black wolf. Then something was warm touch on my shoulder from the back. I screamed and nearly attack. I was afraid it was the wolves that turned into human.

            “Sophia, what’s wrong?” Sam’s voice was soft. I calmed myself down. Sam’s group was around us just like the pack did.

            “The pack. They nearly killed me. They were distracted by a fight between the black wolf and the white one,” I explained.

            “Daniel, bring Sophia home. Kevin, Nick, follow me. John, Christopher, stop them from escaping through the back,” Sam said in a fast and stressful voice.

            Daniel led me home safely. Val opened the door.

            “Sophia, are you okay? I heard the howling and all. What happened?” Val asked worriedly.

            I was glad I was strong enough to handle the situation or I would have end up like Alice. I invited Daniel to stay in the house a little longer. I explained what happened to them in the kitchen. Checking the time, I was worried if Sam was able to stop the pack. I went upstairs to bath. Val and Daniel were talking non-stop about something I didn’t bother to listen. Daniel claimed that he had to check on the others and went home. Daniel and Val got along very well like Sam and I.

            Before we had dinner, Sam dropped by. Pierre barked at Sam. After it recognized and licked Sam, it ate the food I gave it. Sam’s eyes were still red. I thought that he didn’t have enough time to hunt. He must have controlled himself whenever he was around me.

            “Did you get them?” I asked quickly.

            “No but they left out one of their member.” Sam frowned.

            “What’s wrong?” I was afraid if he said that someone was hurt or dead because of the left out wolf.

            “It was human by the time we reached there. You said earlier that a white wolf distracted the black wolf, right?”

            “Yes, so the left out wolf is the white wolf?” I guessed.

            “Yes and why do you think it bothered to stop the black wolf from biting you?”

            “To have a competition for me and go home with a huge belly,” I answered immediately.

            “I think it was protecting you.”

            “What? This is ridiculous. I don’t even know him!”

            “It’s not a he. It’s a she,” Sam stated slowly.

            My eyes were huge as I stared at him in disbelief. No wolf is a female, only a male. Gran could have lived, but she died instead. Who could the wolf possibly be? Why did she even protect me from the black wolf? The black wolf must have been her creator since she was in the pack.

            “Who is she?” I whispered.

            “None of us recognized her. She looked a little familiar. She was unconscious when we arrived. She had scratches that had disappeared quickly. I decided to bring her to my house, since she saved you from him.”

            “She must have been a missing person. She could be a killer. But why did she bother to save my life?”

            “Do you want to ask her yourself?”

            I looked back to see the time. “I think you’re right. I should thank her for what she did, spare her life for me. I’ll be at you house after dinner,” I confirmed. He nodded and left.

            I quickly had my dinner and took off to Sam’s house. Val wanted to follow but I told her to stay home and take care of Alice.

            What a day. Today was the day I turned seventeen and what do I get? I was nearly ripped by the black wolf. I rode as fast as the bike could go to Sam’s house.

            Just as I was about to knock the door, Sam opened it for me. The whole group was sitting in the living room. They mustn’t have let the wolf to escape, if she tried. Daniel nodded at me, his face was serious. I nodded back.

            Sam led me to a room upstairs and held my hand. “Are you sure you want to go in alone? She might try to kill you.”

            “She protected me from the black wolf. I owe her that, Sam. Don’t worry. I’ll be fine.” I patted at my pocket to show him that I have a gun.

            “That’s not good enough.”

            “Trust me on this.”

            He stared hard at my face then sighed. He let me go. “Shout if you’re in trouble. All of us are here.”

            “Okay,” I said in a weak voice. He kissed my forehead and took a step back.

            I opened the door and let myself in. Looking around for the girl, I took a pace into the room and closed the door behind me.

            “Hello?” I called out.

            The girl sat on the bed and stared at me as I stared at her. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

            No. I knew this girl. She was thought to be murdered but now I knew the truth. She was bitten by a werewolf.

            The girl who was staring at me was Jamie Fitzgerald.