Prologue

Ten years ago….

Chris Argent quietly made his way towards the front door, keeping as close to the shadows as possible and being careful not to bump any of the furniture with the black duffel bag slung over his shoulder. He didn't want to wake up any of the females asleep upstairs because he was fully aware of how vicious they could be when woken in the middle of the night. Even a veteran hunter such as himself knew enough to be frightened of the prospect of angry, tired females. Even miniatures ones.

"Uncle Chris?" a small voice asked drowsily from the top of the staircase and he froze at the front door with his hand on the handle. The sound of soft footsteps patted down the carpeted stairs as he slowly turned around.

"Tess. What are you doing up?" Chris asked in a soft voice with a forced smile on his lips and the tiny blonde standing in the middle of the stairs tilted her head to the side with an unamused expression.

Therese Argent was normally a tiny whirlwind of energy, with bright blue eyes and blonde curls flying about as she skipped from one thing to another. But, at that moment her eyelids were drooping and the side of her unblemished skin was wrinkled from where she had been lying on her pillow.

"Where are you going?" Tess asked her uncle in a frightened voice as though she was terrified he would never come back and her dull blue eyes focused on the black duffel bag over his shoulder. "Are you going to fight the bad werewolves?"

Chris completely froze as his blood run cold at his niece's words. Werewolves? How had an innocent six year old found out about their family's little secret? He had been so careful around the girls. He didn't want Tess or Allison involved in any of this before they absolutely had to.

"Therese, where did you learn that word, sweetie?" he asked the six year old curiously with tight smile as he gently set the duffel bag on the ground at his feet. Tess pursed her lips together in a way that made him think about his sister Kate and she sighed heavily as though his question was completely ridiculous, but she was going to humour him by answering anyway.

"I read it in one of the books in the study. Auntie Kate told me about them."

"Kate. Of course." He muttered under his breath to himself as he rubbed his forehead with the palm of his hand and closed his eyes in exhaustion as he shook his head slightly.

"So? Are you going to fight the bad werewolves?" she asked him curiously as she placed a hand on her hip and tilted her head to the side questioningly.

Chris wasn't sure what to do. He could easily tell her that the books were just stories, fairytales, make-believe. Or he could tell the truth. He could get her started on the path her parents had set for her before their death. He could honour his brother and sister-in-law's last wish and teach their daughter how to protect herself from the supernatural.

"Yeah, sweetie. I'm going to fight the bad werewolves."

"Okay! Have fun." Tess chirped happily with a bright smile as she bounced on her toes and Chris blinked in surprise at her sudden change in demeanour. He knew that he probably shouldn't have been. Tess had always been able to adjust to any new situation with an almost enviable ease, it was one of her many qualities that would turn her into a good hunter.

"Go back to bed, sweetie. We'll talk in the morning, alright?" Chris told him firmly as he pointed a finger back the stairs and she nodded reluctantly with a pout on her lips as she turned on her heel. He shook his head with an amused smile as he watched her flounce up to the top of the staircase.

"Uncle Chris?"

"Yeah, Tess?"

"If werewolves are real, are unicorns real too?" Therese asked him with such child-like innocence that it made his heart swell with warmth. Her big blue eyes stared down at him in question as she tilted her head to the side and he hoped that she didn't lose that virtue, that endearing inquisitiveness that she displayed.

"No, sweetie. I'm sorry." Chris told him in an apologetic tone as he offered her a soft smile and she sighed in relief as her whole body seemed to slump slightly at the news.

"Thank God. Unicorns scare me. A horse with a horn on its face? Please!" she said with a scoff as she flicked her blonde hair over her shoulder and started walking back up the stairs to her room as Chris stared at her retreating figure with a dumbfounded expression.

This is the first book in my new series: Anchors & Arrows

Please review and tell me what you think...