The Gentleman's Den came into view. I hitched Sally to the pole noticing the place was closed. I walked towards the window where we were staying and knocked once, twice, but there was no answer.

"Ron."

There was no response from inside, just the whispers of the passerby on the road. The rain lightly fell.

"Ron."

After a while, the side door opened.

"What took —" I halted.

The bar dog came out to me with a folded letter in his hand. "Come out of the rain. He didn't return last night. I am sure he will come back soon."

"Okay."

"I have a spare key if you need one."

I stepped inside. "Yes, thank you. That would be nice."

The bar dog nodded, turned, and headed up the stairs. I stood and waited by my door.

Tap, tap, tap.

I bit my lip and clenched my fist. Where exactly was Ron? Was he working? I paced myself outside the door. Did Accalia know about him too? Saul, he wouldn't, would he?

Tap, tap, tap.

My body stiffened.

"Here." The bar dog handed me the key. "Are you okay?"

My head bent. "Yeah."

The bar dog stepped closer. "Pardon? I didn't hear you."

"Yeah, I am fine."

"Good."

"You're not from the town, are you?"

The bar dog placed a hand on my back. "No, I was raised in the village and I came here looking for work. And I assume you're both from a city. The way you both talk differs from everyone else here."

"Yeah, we came from the city."

The bar dog nodded. "Anyway, I am sure he is okay. Don't worry about it." Releasing my back, he turned, and his footsteps trailed back outside. "Ron will probably be back soon."

I opened the door, finding the note I left still in its position.

I sighed, slumping down on the latty. The bar dog opened the windows, placed down the chairs, and opened the door. It all radiated through my room's walls and door.

"Ah, the first customer, oh ain't that a familiar face there," the bar dog said.

"Good morning. I am looking for Deputy Karen," the voice said.

"Oh, the deputy just got in. Can I get you anything to drink?"

"No thanks, can you show me her? "

"Enter there. Make the first left and the door at the bottom."

"Okay, thank you."

I sat up and opened the door. Tanner's footsteps pounded upon the wood floor. By the time I stepped outside, Tanner and Ames were both in front of me.

"Karen," Tanner half-smiled. "Are you, are you okay?"

My eyes shifted between the two. "Yeah, are you busy today, Tanner?"

"Well, I was planning on going hunting. Why?"

"I want to talk about some stuff on my mind."

"Sure."

"Not here."

"The Sheriff's office?"

"No, not there either," I whispered. "Let's do it as we go hunting. How far?"

"In the small forest short of the town."

Ames' stomach growled, and his eyes met mine.

Tanner chuckled.

My hand rubbed his brown, shaggy hair. "Tanner, could you help —"

"It's no problem. We will get something along the way from the general store."

"Thank you. Is that fine for you, Ames?"

The boy nodded his head.

We stepped back into the main hall.

"You're leaving already? At least have some cassava brown gargle. It's the least I can do," the bar dog said.

"No —"

"That boy's stomach grumbling up a storm. Don't worry, it's on the house."

We accepted and stood by the bar. When the bar dog had finished with the tea, we headed to a table and sat silently drinking. The brown gargle was a far cry different from the city. As we got up, the bar dog brought bacon and eggs for the boy. With a white apron on, he stood by the table with his tray.

The bar dog gave a cordial smile.

"That is kind of you."

"I can't watch a child go hungry. He reminds me of my own."

"You going to tell me your name now, bar dog?"

"Anansi, but most just call me bar dog."

"Karen."

"I know."

"How?"

" Even though you haven't been here long people have been whispering. There is not a single person who doesn't know your name. News spreads fast, and it ruffles people's feathers."

"And you?"

"There just rumors because your a woman. A paying customer is all I am intrested in."

"Makes sense."

" Since Ron hasn't returned, I could hold the child for you if your leaving."

"No, that's not your concern, Anansi, bar dog."

"Alright, just thought I was helping."

I turned, noticing Ames was done beside me. Tanner got up, and we left, thanking Anansi one last time. I got on Sally and placed Ames in front of me.

"Lead Tanner."

Tanner rode, and I followed as we exited the town and came into the forest. A tingling sensation ran down my spine. Would Accalia really do it? My head turned left to right, but nothing or no one was there.

"Karen? It's right over there."

We halted short of the lush forest and dismounted from our horses.

"I was planning on hunting the old fashion way," Tanner said. "But I guess out here makes a good spot to talk." His eyes shifted to the boy.

We tied the horses onto the trees and entered. The birds chirped, and the wind swayed the trees. I held Ames' hand. My eyes darted to every groove, creak, and bush around me.

But there was nothing there.

Tanner took a seat beside a tree.

I released Ames' hand. "Wait here Ames, I am going over there."

Ames took a seat down on the ground as I went beside Tanner.

"What's wrong, have you been thinking about what I said about Saul?"

"I don't believe Saul would be capable of doing something like that. Don't mention that again, it would only crawl his hump."

"But I have —"

"Enough, Tanner. It could have been the Bull Prosecutors, or it could have even been Accalia."

"Accalia, Winston's mother? Karen, I know something's on your mind. Your eyes are darting all over the place. Is someone after you?" Tanner placed his hand on his gun belt. "Are we expecting company?"

I sat beside him and whispered. "I told Winston's mother what happened and how he died. She didn't really take it too well. She threatened to kill everyone in Black Water if I left."

Tanner took a deep breath. His hand moved from by his waist. "She did, huh?"

I scooted closer to him. "You don't seem surprised. You think she would?"

"I don't know. If what I read correlates to what we are supposed to be like, then yes."

I scratched my head.

"Some of the writing in their book is much newer than others," Tanner muttered. "The Bull Prosecutors have been sending letters between each other at different drop points and couriers to communicate with each other."

"How can you be so sure about the letters? You're talking about that book the Bull Prosecutors have?"

"Yes, but there are many other books. I know about it through Winston. He first realized it in the shopkeeper's basement after I went through the contents of what they were carrying. The words at first didn't make sense and I am only able to understand so much."

"Those books are just fiction and the Bull Prosecutors are all dead."

"How can you say as much, Karen? When you, yourself, have doubts. The Bull Prosecutors can't be dead. They're still alive and I feel..." Tanner's head observed the cloudy sky.

"You think there still there?"

Tanner nodded.

"What did they write about us? From what Accalia said, she made the past and her life before seem like it was the greatest moment of our time."

"There might be some truth in the book. How much is debatable? The book is definitely older than us. My mother told me that in her time when she was a pup, Accalia was alpha and so was your father before he took over."

"How long ago was that?"

"Over a thousand years back, my mother had turned into a sentinel not long after my birth, remember?"

"Yeah, yeah I remember." I bit my lip. "So what makes you think that the book might be true?"

"Because my mother told me what happened back then, and she regretted some things she had to do. Unlike your father and Winston, my parents weren't alphas. She didn't tell me everything, but she did say how we ended up in the forest and I just connected the pieces. These books help me understand my mother and understand my parents' suffering."

"And what do you believe from the books?"

"I believe that at one point, according to the Bull Prosecutors, our kind ruled over the humans. This has always been a factor of life and dominance. We were in control. I believe that we killed, hunted, and butchered humans as well. My mother's statements match up to some of the words I read. Eventually, there were too many humans to werewolves, and the hunter became the hunted."

My eyes gazed at Ames, who sat quietly across on the other side by a tree.

"That wasn't when the problem started first. The first problem we had was ourselves. I am a bit hazy here. But I believe the battle was over leadership and many of our clan members died. A battle that was so horrific that we had not been able to recover from. With the chains broken, it was the birth of the first werewolf hunters."

"How did they figure out our weakness?"

"We told them. We used humans in our battles, and in the end, they used that against us. So we scurried and hid ourselves, being constantly chased and persecuted until we came to what we are today. Accalia, my mom, and your father lived in those times. Their perspectives, of course, would be drastically different from ours. Few of the younger generation are aware of this. It's not one that is spoken about."

"It's good that you have memories of her. I don't remember my mother." My head shifted from the ground.

"I try talking to her sometimes. I will go visit her soon. It's a great sacrifice that she made to become a sentinel."

"Yeah, a great sacrifice."

Tanner's gaze raised to the sky.

Was he looking for his bird? "What else did you learn from that book?"

"How to use silver and ways to trap werewolves. It even spoke about the rebirth of a werewolf hunter who would eradicate the world of our species and bring in a new age of freedom for humans."

"And what would this person be like born with silver on their breath?"

"Nothing of the sort. It just said that the child would know hardship and both sides of the world. And in anger, the child will grow into a man muting himself until his task is fulfilled."

"Sounds like a load of nonsense."

"Yeah, I figure you might say that."

I chuckled.

"Anyway, we drifted off the topic."

"Do you think there are any more Bull Prosecutors left?"

"No, they couldn't be." Tanner scratched his head. "We went from the town to all the villages nearby. Even the townsfolk see them as pure evil now. If they were any, I don't think they would hang around here."

"Yeah, you are right."

"What do you plan to do with that boy? You can't keep him forever and staying in town like this too, someone might recognize him."

"There weren't many survivors from Stawford. I can't release him until I know in good faith someone will take care of him."

"You should probably put him to work?"

"To work? The boy can barely talk. I think he can't speak. At first, I thought it was a loss, but maybe it's a birth defect. He can write though, he writes well and he can read."

"Strange, most of the villagers can't write a single word."

"That's true," I glanced at him. "Even Saul couldn't read that well."

"We should head back to town. I wouldn't want something bad to happen to the people there from what Winston's mother might do."

I got up. "Yeah, you're right. Let's head back then. Can I borrow that book?"

"Sure, but some words are in Latin."

"If I don't know something, I will ask you."

"Alright, I don't feel like we talked about what you wanted."

"It's fine," I said.

We moved to the horses, and Ames followed.

"Sometimes it's better not to focus on the thing that is bugging your soul."

"I guess you're right. I would have really liked to hunt today," Tanner said, getting on his horse. "Another time, another time we could. Maybe we all should. Even that lickfinger Richard."

I took Ames up and placed him in front of me. We trotted back into town silently. Was Ron there waiting for me now? Had he finished what he was doing? Was he okay?

On entering, we stopped by a large crowd that had been gathering. Women gasped. Some men wiped their eyes as they fell back, and others ran in that direction. The closer we got, the louder the crowd became.

Saul's mouth hollered. "Get back! Get back!"

We drew closer. I gasped and covered Ames' eyes.

Blood littered the ground. A white shirt was torn and what had been an arm now lay mangled. My heart beat faster. I dismounted and slid through the crowd.

The man's face was disfigured and unrecognizable. He looked like the chewing remains of a dog's toy.

Wolves howled in the distance. Accalia, what have you done?