Chapter 1-AZALEA

“There’s no such thing as werewolves,” I said for the umpteenth time to my father as we sat in the dining room that evening for dinner.

I had gotten tired of his constant rambling about them and how many he had managed to hunt down. It didn’t make any sense to me, a person having the ability to turn into an animal. I had just gotten home from my college dorm after graduation, and the last thing I needed was him lecturing me.

“And how do you think I got the money to feed you and the money for this house that I bought?” he challenged, smirking as if he had just trapped me in a corner that would lead me to believe him.

“You work other jobs,” I guessed with a shrug. I didn’t want to say anything about it anymore.

“I do not,” he argued. “One werewolf is worth tens of thousands of dollars, and that’s only a small size. Six months ago, I was lucky enough to catch one after catching another one a month before.”

I stared at him helplessly, not sure whether it really had been a good idea to let him stay alone this whole time. Perhaps he had gotten too much time to hallucinate these things, and I had not paid so much attention to him.

“I know what you’re thinking, Azalea,” he said, interrupting my thoughts. “And I want you to know that you’re wrong. In fact, we’re going on an expedition in three days. If you really want to see wonders and what the devil himself has put on the earth, you can come with us.”

I almost laughed at his words. First, he had talked about people with the ability to turn into wolves. Now, he made mention of them being the devil’s subjects. Maybe it was time to send him off somewhere to get checked.

“I’m not coming, Dad,” I said. “I need to get my life together. Unfortunately, playing hide-and-seek in the woods is not something I want to do with myself.”

My dad frowned at me, taking my words as an insult to himself and whatever he believed in. But I was not going to take it back or apologize. I didn’t see the point in going into the woods and hunting for anything but deer, returning with disappointment and defeat.

“Suit yourself, Azalea.” He shrugged. “This time, when I find one, I’ll make sure to record it on video for you to see it by yourself.”

Unfortunately, even if he came with video evidence, I would still have a hard time believing him. If I didn’t see it with my eyes, I would take it with a grain of salt.

~

The next two days were nothing but going around town and exploring as I still didn’t know what to do. I didn’t want to get a job just yet as I wanted to take a break from all the routine in my life. There was nothing to do but sit and wait for nothing.

The next day, I helped my dad load his truck as his fellow werewolf believers arrived in trucks of their own.

“Are you sure you don’t want to come? This could be monumental! You could see something that could make you want to be a bounty hunter, just like me…just like your mother.”

After the car accident accident and her funeral that came almost immediately after that I couldn’t be there for because of college, I had believed that he had shifted into a shell that forbade him from talking about my mother.

“I don’t want to be a bounty hunter, Dad. Werewolves do not exist,” I reminded him.

He smiled, kissing me on the cheek and shaking his head. “In due time, you’ll find out,” he said before turning around.

As I got close to the door, I realized that it would just be a whole day of doing nothing all over again. I had walked as far as my legs would take me. Maybe going into the woods and exploring wouldn’t be a bad idea.

“Dad!” I called out when he started his truck, and he looked at me with a grin as if he knew what I was going to say next. “I’m coming along.”

The drive into the woods was nothing but my father communicating with the others through a walkie-talkie. It made me roll my eyes to see how much money he was spending on equipment that amounted to nothing.

“You stay close to me throughout this, do you understand?” he asked as the trucks came to a slow.

I scoffed in response. What were we supposed to be scared of—deer?

As we got deeper into the forest and came to a stop, the trees were so high in the air and with such thick blankets that we could barely see the sun. It almost seemed like it was evening. At least it was a good atmosphere for whatever they were doing. No wonder they were so convinced about the existence of werewolves—they could barely see a thing.

As we all got out of the trucks and gathered, my father handed me a flashlight. “I’ve decided that you should stay in the truck. Use the flashlight to see better. And this…”

He gave me a flare gun, making my brows rise. “If you see something that you’re sure is dangerous, shoot this in the air to signal us.”

I nodded, deciding not to argue so that they would all leave. As soon as the woods were clear of them, I dropped the flare gun in the seat of the truck and walked off with the flashlight.

“Is this what he’s doing with his money? Buying flare guns and all this stupid stuff…” I mumbled as I walked around.

I didn’t know how long I had been walking or if I had even been walking in a straight line. I soon realized that I should have brought the flare gun just in case I got lost.

“This is ridiculous. How can he just bring us to the middle of—”

I stopped when I heard a loud rustling sound somewhere. I pointed my flashlight in the direction of the sound with a frown. “Dad?”

I was answered with eerie silence that started to twist my stomach into knots. Just how far away was I from them? I pulled out my phone to realize that there was no signal. I had gone too far, and I decided to make my way to the truck.

I turned around and started to walk off when my heart dropped at the silhouette of a man standing in the distance. The shock of it made my flashlight fall to the ground. I grabbed it quickly and pointed it in the direction of the man to find no one there.

“Is someone out there? It’s Azalea, Otis’ daughter!” I said, thinking that it was probably one of my father’s workers. There was still no response, and it all felt wrong.

My legs started to move as fast as possible to find my way back to the truck. I started to run as fast as I could, and it wasn’t long before I heard footsteps behind me. They didn’t sound normal. They sounded heavy, fast. Too fast.

My leg got caught on something, and I fell to the ground with a heavy thud, the flashlight flinging out of my hand. Before I could stand up again, I felt the man on top of me.

“No, please! Please, I didn’t do anything. My father’s somewhere out there. Don’t kill me, please!”

I turned around to try and see his face, but what I was met with stunned me. The flashlight only showed his teeth and his chest, but I could see his eyes so clearly. They were golden. His teeth were more fangs than they were teeth, and his chest had more hair than normal.

“No, no, no!” I begged as I tried to get out from his grip, but he didn’t budge. “Let me go! What are you!? You’re not… Get away from me!”

“Mate,” the man growled at me.

Before I could try to escape again, his sharp fangs pricked and dug into my neck.