CHAPTER TWO

HAZEL

The "Welcome to Ravenville" sign emerged from the darkness, it's faded letters shone by the taxi's headlights. Eight years of running and here I was, crawling back to the one place my dad swore I never to return to.

The cab driver hadn't said a word since I boarded, and I was grateful for the silence. No awkward questions about why a teenager was traveling alone at night, No suspicious glances at my strange golden eyes in his rearview mirror. Just the quiet sound of the engine and my thoughts for company.

Until my phone buzzed, again.

I sighed and glanced at the screen. Aunt Jenna's name flashed for what felt like the hundredth time.

"Hazel, this is insane! Answer me!"

"Do you have any idea how dangerous this is?"

"What about your father? Did you even tell him you're coming?"

I switched the phone to silent and dropped it into my bag. She wasn't wrong about Dad – I hadn't told him I was coming. The plan was simple. find a motel, get settled, then figure out how to break the news that his carefully planned exile has come to an end.

But as we drove deeper into town, something felt wrong. Smoke – so faint at first I thought I'd imagined it. But then it grew stronger, impossible to ignore.

My very sharp senses kicked into overdrive, making the scent ten times more potent than any normal person would notice. My heart stopped as blue and red lights suddenly flooded the cab interior, police sirens wailing as they passed us.

My hands began to shake. Why did this scene feel so familiar? The smoke, the sirens, the panic rising in my throat – just like that night years ago. Was history repeating itself?

"Uh, miss?" The driver's voice snapped me back to reality. "Something's not right here—"

Before he could finish, the bus shook violently which sent my bag flying from my lap. We swerved left, right, left, tires screaming against the road until we finally came to a stop. My head slammed against the window with enough force to make stars dance behind my eyes.

"Damn it!" The driver slammed his palm against the wheel before turning to face me. It was the first time I'd clearly seen his face. "I'm sorry, but I think the tire's blown. Can you step out while I take a look?"

I nodded, too shaken to speak. My head spun as we climbed out of the cab. The driver headed straight for the back tire as he muttered curses under his breath. "Seems it hit something on the road.”

I stared at the destroyed tire, fighting the urge to kick it. "How long do you need to fix it?"

He scratched his head. "An hour, maybe more. You might want to find somewhere to wait, miss. This doesn't look like a good night to be stranded on the street."

"I'll stay near the bus," I said, wrapping my arms around myself. He just shrugged and got to work.

We'd been there maybe five minutes when I heard it, a rustling from the nearby bushes. Like something large moving through them. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" The driver didn't even look up.

I frowned. Maybe it was just my senses playing tricks again. But then I heard it again, louder this time.

"There it is again!"

He glanced up from the tire looking annoyed now. "Miss, you're probably just shaken from the crash. Why don't you sit down and relax?"

But I couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. My every nerve ending screamed danger. Unable to stand still, I found a fallen log and sat on it while my eyes scanned the darkness.

That's when I saw them,glowing red eyes piercing through the shadows. I blinked hard, praying I was seeing things, but when I opened my eyes again, they were there terrifyingly real. A growl rumbled through the air, making me shoot to my feet. "H.. Hello?"

The eyes blinked once, then vanished.

For a heartbeat, everything was still. Then came the sound of branches snapping, something massive moving at impossible speed. I turned to run but my legs wouldn't move. A massive shape bursted from the trees, charging toward the bus.

The driver's terrified shouts split the night and then nothing. The silence that followed was worse than his screams. My legs shook as I crept toward the bus, each step feeling like it took hours.

As I reached the door, I nearly slipped in something wet.

Blood, so much blood pooling beneath the driver's lifeless body. His empty eyes stared up at nothing, his body torn apart like paper. A scream ripped from my throat as I stumbled backward.

That's when I felt it - a hot breath on the back of my neck. Slowly, I turned, coming face to face with something straight out of my worst nightmares. It was a wolf, but it looked more like a monster.

It was larger than any bear, with terrible eyes that held an intelligence no animal should possess. It snarled, revealing fangs longer than my fingers. Any thoughts of this being a normal animal vanished in an instant.

This is how I die, I thought. I should have listened to Aunt Jenna. Should have stayed away. I squeezed my eyes shut, waiting for the killing blow.

But it never came.

Instead, a familiar voice cut through my terror: "Hazel? What the fuck are you doing here?"

My eyes flew open. The wolf was gone, melted into the shadows as if it had never existed. In its place stood my father, his police badge shining on his chest.

"Dad?" I whispered.

Eight years I'd dreamed of coming home, imagined a thousand different reunions. But not like this—not with blood on my shoes and death in the air. And judging by the look in my father's eyes, running wasn't an option anymore.

**********

I suddenly woke up and found myself on the couch. The events of last night came rushing back - Dad's unexpected appearance, the police swarming the scene, bagging what was left of the driver's body.

For a moment, I wondered if it had all been a nightmare. But the way Dad paced our living room told me otherwise. He'd been at it since we got home last night, wearing a path in the carpet.

"What were you thinking? Do you have any idea how dangerous it is here?"

I sat up on the couch. "Nice to see you too, Dad. It's only been what, eight years?"

"This isn't a goddamn joke, Hazel. You could have been killed if not because of—" He cut himself off immediately, like he'd said too much.

"Because of what?"

Dad shook his head. "Never mind. I'm booking you a bus back to the city today."

"I'm not going," I shot back.

"But Hazel, your life is in—"

"What? Danger?" I snapped. "You lost the right to decide my life the day you shipped me off without explanation. Eight years, Dad. Eight birthdays, eight Christmases. You don't get to play concerned father now."

I could see the words I spat cutting into him, see the pain flash across his face. Good. Let him hurt like I had.

"I'm going for a ride," I stormed out before he could stop me.

I ran out of the house and grabbed my old bicycle from the garage. It was exactly where I'd left it eight years ago, covered in dust but still sturdy. I pedaled hard, trying to outrun the memories and the confusion.

The police had arrived quickly last night, muttering about "another animal attack." But I knew what I saw. That was no ordinary wolf. Those glowing red eyes, that massive fur-covered body - it was like something straight out of my paranormal novels. But werewolves aren't real.

Are they?

I shook my head and tried to focus on happier memories as I passed familiar places. The ice cream shop where Darryl and I spent our allowance. The park where we'd play for hours, pretending to be explorers in the jungle.

I was so lost in thought that I didn't see the car until it was almost too late. Tires screamed as I swerved, my bike skidding across the pavement. I tumbled over and scraped my palms on the rough road.

"What the hell!” I yelled.

My vision blurred as the driver's door flew open. A figure emerged as I tried to bring my eyes into focus. Then my heart started pounding so loudly it drowned out everything as my vision finally cleared.

Darryl.

But not Darryl. Not the boy I remembered – this was a stranger wearing his face. In his place stood a young man who looked like he'd been carved from marble. It was his eyes that captivated me. No longer the warm green I remembered, but a mesmerizing amber that seemed to glow with an inner fire.

Without thinking, I dropped my bike and ran toward him. "Darryl!"

He took a step back and stared at me with such cold looks that I froze mid step. "Can I help you?"

I felt like I'd been slapped. "It's Hazel. Don't you remem—"

"Everything okay out there, babe?" A voice cut me off from his car. A girl who could have stepped off a magazine cover came out and wrapped herself around Darryl.

"Just some nobody who doesn't know how to cross the street," he growled, and I flinched back, taken aback by the way his voice sounded so... animal. "Let's go. We're wasting time here."

They turned and walked to their car, leaving me standing there like a statue. I felt like I'd been gutted, my insides hollowed out and replaced with ice. The boy who'd once sworn to be my best friend forever now looked at me like I was less than nothing.

Then suddenly, the hair on the back of my neck stood up, just like last night. A chill ran down my spine, the one that made prey animals freeze on their tracks. Slowly, dreading what I might see, I turned around.

There, between the trees, two burning red eyes stared back at me – the same ones from yesterday. They seemed to burn through me, seeing straight into my soul. I blinked, and they were gone but the message was clear.

I was being Hunted.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​