Eva

Prologue:

Neil, Erick, and Maveric snapped at the young DemonHunter's heels. Finally out of sheer luck, he happened to turn down a dead end alley. My pack stopped just about five feet from the boy. Some of the cubs continued pacing around in a semi-circle, letting out low snarls and growls.

The boy was pale from fear, yet when he spoke his voice did not waver, "I meant no harm. I was not clear on the border. If you let me pass peacefully I will not hurt you." I valued his courage and admired him in a way. Challenging a werewolf pack single handed. Not the best idea but, it was brave nonetheless.

The cubs and younger wolves begged, "Can I get him, Boss? Can I get him?" Annoyed, I rumbled, "Silence!" The whole pack fell silent.

Addressing the DemonHunter I said, "Do you regret your mistake?"

The boy bowed his head and said, "Yes, sir I do. I am truly sorry for all the trouble I've caused."

Maveric, whose parents had been killed by DemonHunters, roared, "Ya, right you little murderer." I gave him a silent command to remain quiet. Without warning a small framed girl slipped through the pack unharmed, to stand by the boy. "

Is there a problem here gentleman?" mainly addressing me. The wolves snarled even louder. One of the cubs threw himself at her, only to be blocked by an invisible wall.

"This DemonHunter crossed into our territory. He claims he did not notice our markers," said Neil, the only calm one in the world of chaos. Her expression turned thoughtful for a moment, then said," I see no fault. I think that this was all a misunderstanding." Someone in the pack growled, "Who died and made you king? Because all we know is that you are just a snotty DemonHunter who is poking their nose in where it doesn't belong and isn't wanted."

The girl obviously was the same age as the boy, but the cold look she gave the speaker looked centuries old. I grew tired of our idle chit chat so I gave an inaudible command to get ready to attack. I had been hoping that we could have taken down the boy without a scratch, but now we might have some difficulties.

The pack filled in the gaps and tensed up, ready to attack. The girl looked me in the eye and the message was clear. This was unnecessary and if I didn't call off my pack many would suffer. I was about to do so when Maveric set of a false command.

"Attack." The wolves charged toward her, but I didn't move. A few of the older wolves, who had recognized the message as false, stayed by my side. I watched in silent horror as my pack was thrown against walls and gutters. All of the injured let out pitiful whines. I thought I wasn't going to have much of a pack left by the end of this but then there was a scream. A cub had snuck behind her then jumped, knocking her to the ground. Her head met the ground with a sharp crack. She lay still except for shallow breathing.

My wolves surrounded the limp form and were about to strike when the boy, who was now on the other side of our boundary, called,"Risara!" The girl was lifted into mid air and drifted over to him. The wolves growled their disappointment. She gently glided into his outstretched arms. After the spell ended he staggered backwards from exhaustion. My pack was about to charge the two when I called, "Stop!"

Most of the wolves gave me a glare or an exaggerated expression. "They are past the border and pose no threat. Let us return home." Most just turned around and started trotting along while others stared at the former target. Finally with a large sigh they turned around as well and together we went home.

I knew for one thing. That girl wasn't normal or ordinary. Seeing an image of her in my mind made a shiver run down my spine. Neil put on a burst of speed so he came to run right beside me. "Cold, Boss?" he asked in a puzzled tone for the weather was fair. Not wanting to put unnecessary stress on him I said," Ya. I think I'm coming down with something." The wolf shrugged and fell back. I raced ahead thinking about the strange girl.

I watch her walk down a small hallway before letting myself remember what I was feeling just now. It had felt great not to have a care in the world even if it only lasted three minutes.

I hear a scream and I'm down the hallway in five seconds. When I reach a small bathroom with the light on and poke my head in, I don't see anyone. But I feel someone's mind. I probe it trying to find out who and what it is and where Eva is but a voice startles me out of my concentration.

"I'm fine. I just have a slight issue." The voice seems to come from nowhere. "Please don't laugh," Eva's voice says.

"Why would I-" I start to say but the rest of my words are ripped away as she dismisses what I guess to be a invisibility charm and I see a tan wolf sitting on a bath mat.

"Eva?" I ask. The wolf bows its head and nods.

"But how?" I wonder a second before the answer comes. "You can't cure the transformation part of a bite, can you?" The wolf shakes her head. I put my head in my hand.

"I'm so sorry. I should've seen this coming so we could make a reverse spell or something. I'm so sorry." I feel my eyes stinging and I bet she'll think I'm a big baby for crying.

"It is not your fault. I was the one who got bit, and it was my fault for not paying attention when I was fighting." She rises from her sitting position and comes over to me and rests her head on my knee. I pet her head absent mindedly and I jerk my hand back.

"Is that ok…" She nudges my hand while saying, "It may seem weird but that feels really good." I smile and if she was human I think she would have blushed, then continue to rub her head occasionally scratching behind her ears.

After what seemed to be ten minutes, she says, "You know what this means. I'll have to go to the pack that bit me. I have no choice or any idea on how to control this. Being a wolf is kinda cool, but I miss having fingers."

"Of course," I reply, "Let's go."

"Arin…." she says and I can see where this is going. "They will tear you apart if you show up there. I don't want you to get hurt at my expense. I can transport you to wherever you want and when I'm done with my visit, I'll come and see you. When I'm human again."

I sigh and say, "Well? Let's do the whole transport mumbo jumbo." She bows her head once again and I'm starting to get better at reading a wolf's emotions by looking at their face.

"The warehouse?" she asks. I nod and ten seconds later I'm standing in my shared bedroom. I sit down on my bed and stare at nothing, then releasing my self control I start to sob and cry.

The thing is I'm not completely sure why. At some point Esmera sits down next to me on one side and Aussie on the other. Esmera is patting and rubbing my back like my mother did when I was very little. She keeps telling me everything is going to be all right even though she doesn't have a clue what's wrong. Then I realize why I'm crying. Definitely Eva's condition but also something I never cared to visit in my memories because I knew that this would happen. The other thing was my parents. I still remember my last night with them.

I was three and still in the Lego/building block phase. I was building something with my mother. My father was watching us contentedly while reading the newspaper in his favorite chair. We heard a horrible howl and the next thing I knew my father was kissing me goodbye. I kicked and screamed for him to come with us. He didn't know that I heard him when he whispered to my mother, "I'll hold them off as long as I can."

I may have been young but I guess some sensible part of me understood what that meant. When I heard the first sound of battle I buried my head in my mother's shoulder and cried as she ran away from our home. She patted my back just like Esmera was doing now.

After that it was just a blur till I noticed were out by the woods. There was a small cottage and a tiny barn. My mother knocked on the door and shoved me into the woman's arms. She hurriedly explained what had happened and again heard the main sentence. "I'll try to lead them away."

That was the last time I saw my mother. I found out that the woman was my aunt and that the authorities found my father dead in our previous home. I lived with my aunt for a few years till I was eight. Then she was killed by a demon assassin.

That time it didn't hurt as much as losing my parents. While I may have lived with her longer, I never became attached to her.

After that I set out not wanting to end up in an orphanage. One day when I was shopping in a large market a DemonHunter saw me, recognized me as one of his own and took me in.

At first I had thought he had a good heart but all that changed when I met all his other "adopted" children. All were fairly powerful DemonHunters. I confronted him on the issue, even though he was around forty and I was nine. He had gotten angry and told me not to tell anyone or else he'd track me down and kill me. I acted terrified as a ten-year old should.

One week after my confrontation I held a gathering with the other children and roused the rebellious side. We rebelled against him and he gave himself up to the authorities out of fear of us. I had made friends with one especially.

Cevin. Cevin and I were the main leaders of the whole thing. I traveled around with him for a few months before he settled into Klamath Falls with a generous DemonHunter family. I had felt betrayed and left the town as soon as I could.

Then I came here and found Esmera and Aussie and have lived in our remodeled warehouse ever since. I feel bad about how rash I was about him being adopted. I guess I thought we would always stick together no matter what. He said there was a reason behind the adoption but he couldn't tell me. I guess I should have stuck around for a little longer just to see if he would tell me why.

This was the first time I had thought about all this since it had happened. I didn't even think about my parents when I was with my aunt. My history was less startling and heart crushing if I reviewed it like this.

Finally I snapped out of my reverie and my tears stop. I pull my head out of my hands to see Esmera and Aussie gazing at me in great concern. "I've had a hard past," I whisper. They both nod.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Esmera asks, actually quiet for once. I shake my head.

"Eva…" is all I have to say to set Esmera off. "Okay, what did she do?"she asks, but it's more like a statement then a question. I shake my head again.

"It's my fault," I say. She takes the defensive side automatically. "Nothing is ever your fault, Arin."

"She's a werewolf," I finally admit, "And it's my fault because I didn't have the sense to think about it before it was too late. Now she's gone off to the same pack that tried to kill her to find out how to be semi-normal. She says if she is going to be one of them she has follow their rules."

I try to ignore Esmera and Aussie's shocked expressions but it's pointless. "She insisted she go alone so that I wouldn't get hurt."

There was a long moment of silence before anyone speaks. To my surprise the speaker is Aussie. "We need to go after her, regardless if she thinks she can take care of herself. Not to mention she nearly got killed last time she was in battle or combat or whatever you want to call it. And to top it off she's a wolf right? She won't be used to this new form so she could be caught by surprise." Both Esmera and I are nodding. "So…Anyone know how to do a tracking spell?" Esmera asks while grinning widely.

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