Chapter 6

Miranda-

Eyes.

Gold-tinged pupils staring me down.

I was helpless. He was growling. I was running. He was chasing after me. I ran blindly through the large pine trunks in the foggy forest. I could hear the thundering of wolf paws on the ground behind me.

Mine...!

I heard his voice claim.

I felt like I was screaming, and yet not even a meek squeak sounded from my burning vocal cords.

Mine!

I heard him again. I looked behind me, and the wolf was gone. I turned back around and there he was.

His golden vision staring me down. I crashed into his chest. His hands fell on my shoulders. His palms burned my skin, but it felt good. His sun-like orbs penetrated my dull brown ones, and he smiled. His canine teeth were sharp, but they were not straight like Jamie's or Georgie's. No, they were slightly dented with one longer fang, accompanied by a smaller one.

He was a different creature.

He pressed my form against his, and he lowered his face until it was directly above mine. His eyes. I couldn't look away from his eyes. He seemed to understand this; I was under his spell, and he liked it. His smile widened, and the fear grew deeper and deeper inside my stomach.

Was he going to kill me? Why did his touch burn me?

MINE! He roared.

"AAH!" I woke from my sleep with a horrified scream, my physique trembling from head to toe.

I gulped and panted, though my throat felt drier than starch. My chest was heaving and the skin beneath my neck was dotted with sweat. I looked around and saw that I was in my room. My left hand reached out to the nightstand to retrieve my phone, and I couldn't ignore the way it shook while performing the task.

I breathed until my heartbeat began to calm pulse by pulse. The pad of my index fingertip unlocked my smartphone.

10:00 AM, the clock read.

Ten in the morning? How did I sleep in so late? And how did I get in bed?

The questions crashed inside my skull and swelled against my brain in the form of a sharp headache located at my temples. I pressed the ball of my palm against my head and pulled my eyelids shut, only to regret it instantly.

A warped almost ominous choir made up of voices, booming basses and music, dancing pale bodies, and the eyes. My stomach churned as the faint smell of alcohol burned my nostrils by memory, and then, an image burst below my eyelids. The yellow eyes!

I opened my eyelids quickly and gasped again. Another tremor of fear ran through my spine, and tickled my scalp with an uncomfortable tingle, which lead to my figure shivering from head to toe.

What was wrong with me?

I removed the sheet from over my physique and noticed that I was still dressed in my attire from the night before. The only items removed were my shoes.

Why didn't I change last night? Heck, what was last night?

I could barely remember anything past the memory of me running all around the club serving drinks.

I swallowed down an uncomfortable ball of saliva which felt as though it barely pushed past my epiglottis, then I slowly stood and headed to my small bathroom. I relieved myself and brushed my teeth. Then I washed my face and hands and headed to my closet to grab a change of clothes. There was a thin over-the-door mirror attached on my closet door. I noticed my reflection and cringed at the dark bags encircling my eyes. I couldn't be tired, tonight was my first official night at Georgie's.

Speaking of Georgie's... I tried to think back again to the night before, but I still couldn't put the pieces together, following the last order of drinks I served.

Did I drink last night? I wondered, then I shook my head.

Of course not. I hate the taste of alcohol. I scrunched my nose and gagged just at the thought of it. Sighing and clearing my thoughts, I picked out a pair of jeans and a long-sleeve shirt, then I closed the door.

A scream erupted from my throat, my skin exploding in fearful goosebumps, when I saw the image of the dark-haired man with yellow pupils reflecting in the mirror. He was right behind me. I turned around sharply but had a brief moment of relief when I saw that there was no one there. My mind was playing tricks on me.

"Miranda? Miranda? Are you alright?" I heard aunty May's voice outside of my door.

"I-" I looked back at the mirror, and the image was gone, "I'm fine aunt May." I called out.

"Are you sure? I thought I heard you scream." May replied.

"No, no, I'm alright." I reassured her, though the harsh thudding of my heart told me otherwise.

"Well, I was just coming by to let you know that breakfast is ready." Aunt May announced, and I smiled softly just as my stomach growled like a bear waking from hibernation.

"I'll be there in a minute!" I called out, then hurried back to my bathroom to change, after sending one last suspicious look in the mirror.

Once I changed my clothes, I grabbed my phone and keys, then exited the shed and made my way across the lawn to my aunt's home. While doing so, a bird cawed from the pine trees that bordered the forest behind my aunt's home. I almost jumped out my skin, while turning too harshly towards the source of the noise. The black bird flew away, but now my orbs were locked on the forest. The further I looked beyond the tree line, the darker the forest appeared, and though it made sense that the trees' canopies restricted the sunlight, the dark hue that outlined the shadows of the pine trees and weaved through the thick tree trunks was eerie to me.

A wind from deep within the forest blew in my direction. I smelled the woodsy scent of fallen pinecones, and the aura of the fresh-water ravine which flowed not too far from the house. There was also another scent in the air, it was similar to the scent of fresh-morning dew which rested on the tips of pine needles, and yet there was an earthy undertone, like the chilled forest clay mixed with mud and dry leaves. This smell entered my nostrils and swirled about in my lungs. The scent was refreshing but familiar, and yet I knew that I had never encountered such an aroma before.

I closed my eyelids for a moment, and I swore I pictured a pair of yellow pupils stalking me from the forest. My gaze snapped open, and of course there was nothing there. But that didn't stop my palms, which began rubbing away the swells of goosebumps on my skin. I was suddenly cold in my short sleeve shirt and blue knee-length shorts, so without wasting anymore time, I turned back around and headed into the house.

"Aunty, do you know what time I came home last night?" I asked upon entering the kitchen, where May was plating pancakes, hash-browns, scrambled eggs, sausages and bacon on a ceramic plate.

"Don't you mean this morning?" Aunty May replied, handing me the plate.

I grabbed the dish gratefully, my stomach growling again when I took a whiff of the freshly baked pancakes and bacon.

"Morning? Gosh, I have to admit, you can easily lose track of time in there. There were so many people," I explained while taking a seat at the round table, "I think I overworked last night between running back and forth to and from the bar."

"Mmh, so you don't remember in what state you came home this morning?" May questioned, while sitting across from me, and handing me the glass bottle of homemade syrup.

"State?" I questioned skeptically, "What do you mean? Was I drunk? Because you know I don't drink." I rambled in my defense.

"That's not what I meant. You came home and Jamie had to help me get you in bed. You were very tired." Aunt May explained, but to me it sounded strange.

How tired could I have been that I had to be escorted to bed?

I shrugged and angled my head to the side; No matter how strange, it did provide a reasonable explanation as to why I was still in my work clothes from last night.

"Huh... I do remember the club being very cold at the beginning, but then it became so packed, and the other waitresses were swamped, so I stepped in to help." I recounted from what I could gather from my foggy memories of the night before.

"And are you sure that all you did was take orders and serve drinks?" Aunt May interrogated, and I nodded.

"Yeah, but you know aunty May, some of the people looked so weird." I lowered my voice, as if I was afraid of someone hearing me and feeling insulted.

"What do you mean?"

"Well majority of the crowd either looked too pale as if they were feverish, or too perfect to be human. The ones who did appear human were always accompanied by a pale creature. It was so strange. And the pale ones had these crazy white teeth and extra sharp fangs." I ranted on, "And the ones who looked too perfect to be human had these double fangs for canine teeth. It was all very strange."

"Interesting." My aunt nodded.

"And weird." I added.

"Well, eat your breakfast and get some rest. Tonight is officially your first night at Georgie's, although it sounds like you put in quite the work yesterday." Aunt may brushed, and that caught my attention.

That's it? She wasn't going to say anything else.

My left eyebrow rose with skeptic curiosity, but I said nothing more, and simply ate my food.

#

Narrator-

"We have to go back there tonight." The Alpha decided as he sat behind his desk, his face contorted in a mean scowl.

"I don't think that's a good idea." Joshua replied carefully.

"She's mine!" Asher roared.

"I know that." Joshua raised his hands in sign that he wasn't looking for trouble, "But she's also human. Your world is going to hit her harder than culture shock."

"I can't leave her among those bats! They'll be sniffling all over her," Asher complained, "No," He hummed, "I have to get her." Asher replied, unsure why his wolf, Ash, insisted so.

"One thing at a time," Joshua paced, "What happened to finding out who killed the Luna?"

"I haven't forgotten, if that's what you're implying." Asher took a defensive tone.

"Exactly, I think you should let the human girl be for now. Find out who killed the Luna, then you can claim the girl," Joshua explained, "From what I saw last night, the vampires won't harm her. But if you claim her now, she'll definitely be in danger."

"But she's mine. She needs to be here." Ash persisted, "that way I know she's safe. At my side."

"Ash, I know. But first, let's take care of the SOB who killed the Luna." Joshua encouraged, then he added, "I sent Deidran to find the Bounty Hunter who served your dad. His name is Bennett, but he goes by Ben."

"Ben the bounty hunter," Asher echoed with a nod, "yeah I know him. He served my dad well."

"Deidran said he had gaze on Ben. He was hunting in the East end of the woods, they should be here soon." Joshua explained, just as a knock sounded from the door.

"Come in." Asher ordered, and Deidran opened the door and entered the office along with an older gentleman, who sported shoulder length greying hair and blue eyes.

"Alpha." Deidran greeted with a swift bow of his head, "this is Ben, the bounty hunter." Deidran pointed to Ben.

"Alpha." Ben greeted, the gruffness in his voice displaying the number of centuries the elderly wolf has experienced.

"Ben, it is a pleasure to see you again. How is your mate, May was it?" Asher greeted.

"She is well. We live in a small house in town," Ben replied, then he added, "it is my understanding that you sought me out to hunt someone." Ben got straight to business.

"Yes," Asher replied carefully, his business-like tone slipping onto his vocal cords, "I know you and your brother, my father's Beta were the best hunters in the pack. As I am sure you've heard, the Luna was recently killed here, and when I chased the suspect, it was a vampire. Have you heard or seen anything out of the ordinary while out in the woods?"

The elderly wolf lifted his chin to a parallel position with the floor. He pursed his lips slightly at the word vampire, then he sighed.

#

"Uncle Ben is still not back from his hunting trip?" Miranda asked, while moving around the kitchen, and washing the dishes she and aunt May shared breakfast in.

"Trust me honey, your uncle is not coming back until he catches what he's looking for." Aunt May replied, knowing very well that her mate was nowhere near returning.

When Alpha Asher requested that her mate go to him, Ben had given her a heads up.

"Yeah, I remember mom telling me that he loved hunting with my dad. But obviously, she doesn't like talking about dad much, so maybe you can fill me in with some of the details about his life." Miranda explained, and she noticed when a forlorn look crossed her aunt's face, but it was only for a brief second.

"Well, your uncle would be the best to recount their crazy adventures. But what I can tell you that your father was a very important man to many people, including your mother. He was well respected in his community, and there's never been anyone else to fill the hole he left after he died." May recounted in pure honesty and appreciation for her brother-in-law.

"Yes, I know that, but who was he? How was he? Was he funny? Did he like to laugh, or sing or dance?" Miranda asked exasperated, feeling the need to know who her father was in every way.

"How about we leave that conversation for another time, huh? Go on and get some rest, by the sound of it, you have another long night ahead of you." Aunt May sidestepped Miranda's questions.

Though Miranda found her aunt's dismissal to be strange, she knew when not to push, so sealing her mouth in a thin line, Miranda nodded her head then headed back to her shed. Miranda closed and locked the door and pulled out her phone while plopping her form on the bed.

She opened her contacts, her fingers scrolling towards the M list of contacts until she reached the person she wished to contact in that moment. Miranda's right thumb hovered above the contact labeled as mom, while she debated on whether or not she ought to call her mother. Miranda hadn't contacted her mom since she arrived in Montana, nor did her mom try to reach out. Miranda knew that her mother was respecting her wishes, in fact it was the last thing her mother heard before Miranda left for the airport.

*Flashback*

Miranda opened her door. Lacing her duffel bag across her shoulders and grabbing her purse along with the handle of her suitcase, Miranda exited her bedroom and headed towards the small living space of the two-bedroom apartment she shared with her mom. Her mom was just dozing off in a nap after a twelve-hour overnight shift at the hospital. The movement caught her attention, and the sleepy woman with dark blonde hair opened her fatigue-ridden eyes and acknowledge her daughter's presence.

"What's going on?" Was how Miranda's mother greeted her.

"I'm heading to Aunt May's for a while. Don't know how long I'll be there for, so don't ask." Miranda expressed; her voice and face emotionless.

Miranda didn't need this to be any harder than it already was. She has been living in her mom's shadow since she was a child, and now at 24, Miranda felt suffocated. She needed space.

"Can I ask why?" Her mother demanded carefully.

"I just need to get away for a while. I need to breathe." Miranda answered truthfully but offered no further explanation.

"Is it something I did?" The mom asked next, and Miranda pursed her lips forward while biting the inner lining of her lower lip.

Of course. Miranda wanted to scoff.

"This isn't about you, so don't make it about you. Like I said, I need to breathe. If you've never given me anything, at least give me the space to breathe." And with those words, Miranda turned around and opened the door, dragging her suitcase into the hallway.

Without turning back, Miranda closed the door and exited the apartment building, then she hailed a taxi to the airport.

*End of Flashback*

Miranda knew that her actions were sudden, and she could imagine hurtful. But she had no other way to leave unless she did it spontaneously. The only one who was aware of her wishes was the person who received her. But now, having the urge to take a trip down memory lane had Miranda blue with nostalgia, and she yearned nothing more than to hear her mother's voice. So, without taking another second to think, Miranda's thumb clicked on the contact, then she dialed the number.

Miranda brought the phone to her ear and waited patiently for her mom to answer. Meanwhile, her teeth took out the stress on the inner lining of her mouth, as they bit away small pieces of the saliva-coated tissue, to the far extent of almost drawing blood.

#

Across town, Jamie saw to restocking the bar after the previous wild night, while she did this, she began zoning out while recounting the events of the night before. It appeared that Miranda wasn't the only one who caught a werewolf's eye. While Jamie wasn't claimed by Asher's right-hand man, she remembered the chase from the night prior. She remembered the way the wolf snarled in her direction. It looked as if he enjoyed the chase, and somewhere deep inside her mind, Jamie realized that she enjoyed the idea of the wolf chasing her.

"Jamie love, you're not here." Jamie suddenly heard a voice break through her thick thoughts like a drill.

Jamie blinked and smiled, while acknowledging Georgie who stood and watched her with a careful frown.

"Sorry Georgie, guess I'm just a little tired after last night." Jamie replied.

"Well, how about you crash on the couch in my office, tonight is Miranda's official first shift. We have to be ready just in case we have more... visitors tonight." George offered though he pressed on the word 'visitors'.

"Yeah, I think that's a good idea." Jamie agreed with a nod, then she pointed to the bar, "finish up for me?"

"Don't worry your pretty head." Georgie assured, while pinching Jamie's chin in between his fingers.

Jamie smiled at Georgie's actions, then with a shake of her head she walked away, hoping a nap will help replenish her strength.