Hope Springs

I paced my room, trying to come up with an idea of what I should do but I didn’t have a clue. A lamp could work, smashing it over someone’s head would hurt but then I’d be all out of a weapon. If only we had a bat or a gun or something. I ran a hand through my hair, I guess I could jump out the window. After a few minutes of deliberating that was what I decided I would do, it seemed to be the safest option and I could escape into the woods and hoped that one of my friends was out there.

I grabbed a duffel bag and stuffed it with a few pairs of clothes, a couple books, the files and the satchel I had gotten from Dad’s office, toiletries, and family pictures. I slung the bag over my shoulder and carefully opened my window. I swung my leg over first and looked back into the room, frowning. I couldn’t believe I was being forced to leave my house, but if I didn’t I would surely be killed. I swung my other leg over grabbed the window sill with my hands, using all of my arm muscles to slowly lower myself down as close to the ground as I could. When I was satisfied that falling wouldn’t break my ankle or another bone I let go. I landed on my side and groaned, hoping that I hadn’t made too much noise with my undignified landing.

I hauled myself to my feet and booked it into the woods, getting as far away from my house as I could. As I got deeper into the woods, I began to notice how cold it was and how dark it was getting. I also realized that I had no idea where I was going, and I was all alone. I set my duffel bag down and opened it, rooting through it and grabbed the jacket that Max had let me keep. Hopefully if I stumbled across a wolf it would know that I was Max’s...Luna and would help get me somewhere safe.

While I wasn’t comfortable with the idea of being the mate to a werewolf or even being a werewolf, I had to reluctantly acknowledge that right now finding one of my friends was my best chance at survival. I continued to wander around the woods until morning, hoping that by some miracle I would come across Max’s house, but I think that I only succeeded in getting myself lost even further. I rolled the sleeves of Max’s jacket up and adjusted my grip on the duffel bag. Which direction should I go in? I decided that I would keep heading northwest. Going west would bring me closer to town and I knew that while Max’s house was in the woods he also wasn’t that far from town so hopefully I would end up at his house or in town.

About an hour later, and many falls I ended up in front of a large white house with blue trim and a dark colored roof. The house was four stories high and was also very wide, and I prayed that this was Max’s house. I walked up the porch and before I had even knocked on the door it swung open to reveal a large, imposing man with dark graying hair, and blue eyes. The eyes were the same color as Max’s.

“Hi,” I offered meekly, “Are you Max’s dad?”

“Yes,” he answered, his voice deep, “Who are you?”

“I’m Trinity,” I replied, rocking on my heels, “Trinity Walters...Can I come in?”

He looked suspicious and I feared that he wouldn’t let me. After a few moments of silence he let me in and closed the door.

“Why are you here?” He asked, crossing his arms over his clearly muscular chest. “Did you run away from home?”

I sighed, “Sort of.” I paused, “Um...I need to talk to Max.” It wasn’t that I didn’t trust them (although I didn’t really) but I trusted Max more and I felt more comfortable with him.

“He won’t be home until after school,” Mr. Judge said, “Which is where you should be.”

I sighed. I wasn’t quite sure what to say to him. I wondered if he believed me and quickly realized that Mr. Judge was probably a werewolf, so he might believe me. But he didn’t know me, so why would he believe me? What if I told him I knew they were werewolves, then would they believe me? Or....What had Max called me? His mate? Maybe if they knew that then they would believe me. But...Still I was reluctant to tell them.

“I don’t know where my family is,” I began, “They are gone....And these men came into my house last night with guns. I didn’t know where to go.”

“So you went to find my son,” Mr. Judge said his voice quiet, “Did you even think that this might put him in danger? What if they followed you? Then my family would be in danger.”

I wilted and ducked my head. I hadn’t thought of that but Max was a werewolf, and werewolves were tougher than humans. I hadn’t really thought that I would be putting Max in that much danger.

“But,” I faltered for a moment, “But, you guys are werewolves. Surely people can’t hurt you that badly?”

Mr. Judge tensed and fixed me with a glare, “How do you know about that?”

I bit my lip. Obviously that hadn’t been the right thing to say. I bounced on my feet, “Uh...” I wasn’t quite sure what to say. I didn’t want to get Max in trouble but there wasn’t really any other option. Besides, the look on Mr. Judge’s face was scaring me. “Uh,” I paused again, “Max told me. He also told me tha-” I was interrupted by the door opening and Max walking in.

What was he doing here? I thought that he was at school.

“Trinity,” Max interrupted me, shock coloring his voice, “What are you doing here?”

“Well,” I started but Mr. Judge interrupted me.

“Why did you tell her about us Max,” Mr. Judge growled and Max met his father’s narrowed eyes. “Max,” Mr. Judge growled, his eyes flashing black and Max’s own eyes flashed gold.

Max’s lips curled back into a snarl and I took a step back, my eyes flickering between the two warily. Mr. Judge advanced towards Max. Everything about his posture seemed threatening and he seemed to be trying to intimidate Max, but Max didn’t seem like he would back down. Mr. Judge growled and that was all it seemed to take. Max shifted, his bones cracking and popping as he turned into a large black wolf, with glowing golden eyes.

My eyes widened, and I took a step back. I was trying not to freak out, but it was a little difficult. Mr. Judge was growling at Max and Max was snapping at his father. Suddenly it was deathly quiet. The two had stopped growling and had taken to just staring at each other. Slowly, Mr. Judge’s eyes returned to their blue hue and he glanced at me before looking back at Max. Max shifted back and crossed his arms over his chest, not appearing phased that he was completely naked.

I squeaked and turned around, my cheeks flushing red.

“You can turn back around Trinity,” Max murmured, laughter in his voice and I slowly turned around, relieved to see that he was wearing clothes.

“When Rhea...When Rhea turned back into a human she had clothes,” I murmured, “Why didn’t you?”

“Rhea didn’t have all of her clothes on,” Max pointed out, “Just her undergarments.” He took a deep breath, “I’m not quite sure how to explain it. The wolf and the human are two separate beings. We have our human body and our wolf body, and when we shift into our wolf it takes a conscious effort to keep the clothes from shredding. Does that make sense?”

I shook my head, “Not at all.”

Max allowed a small smile to slip onto his face, “Well....Just accept the fact that when girls shift they will have clothes and when guys shift they won’t.”

I slowly nodded. It still didn’t make sense to me but no matter how Max explained it, I knew it still wouldn’t make sense. I shifted on my feet, my eyes darting nervously around the house before returning to Max and I felt my body relax slightly when he gave me a reassuring smile.

“Why are you here Trin,” Max asked and then hurriedly said, “Not that I don’t want to see you or anything Trin, it’s just....Aren’t you supposed to be at school?”

“Aren’t you,” I shot back and he gave me a look that said that he was serious. “Okay, okay, I’ll tell you.”