II.

Penny leaned her head against the wheel of her car and exhaled deeply, she had a long day. After the run-in with the mysterious group of men, a few curious-cathy's wandered through the store but no one really bought anything. Near closing a group of church-moms came by and started preaching to her about working at the'devil's store' and enabling Mrs. Grey in her craziness. Penny had fought against the urge to curse them out, she just closed the door on them instead.

Thankfully, closing time came fairly quickly. The rain had gotten harder and the thunder was still rolling in. Over the radio it said there would be a rainstorm tonight, she rolled her eyes of course, it was October after all. The short drive home was quiet though, the streets were mostly abandoned, save for the store owners closing up. So, once she got home from a fairly stressful day, she was dismayed to see the living room light on, and the TV shining through the curtains on her windows. She knew Kurt would be either drunk or horny, and she didn't feel like dealing with either situations.

She kicked the front door closed and threw her shoes off, and shook her jacket off, trying her best to not mess up the old wooden floors. "Hey, babe."

Horny. He wasn't drunk, his speech wasn't slurred, so he must be horny. She grimaced as she walked into the living room, he was on the lazyboy recliner he dubbed his throne and had a half-eaten box of pizza beside him. Pineapple, she mentally gagged. She walked to him and kissed him lightly, she always hated the taste of beer, "Hey, what's up?"

Kurt gripped her waist and pulled her down to his lap, "Did you see the news? There has been a huge spike in animal attacks over the past few days. Sheriff Parker says it looks like a bunch of wild dog attacks, most of the bodies were found by joggers who go through the woods." Kurt muted the TV, "He's urging everyone not to stay out past sunset. I was so worried about you."

Penny forced herself not to scoff, worried about her? The only thing Kurt worried about was when he was going to have enough money to get another beer, or when she's going to get home so he could send the harem of females he picked up home. Or maybe he was genuinely worried, because without her he'd have to actually pay bills. "But you didn't even call me to see if I was alright?" She couldn't help but show him how disappointed she was, her voice was laced with bitterness.

"Yeah, Chet, Zack, and Bryce decided to start a hunting group. We're going to go out into the woods at night and search for those damn dogs. It's about time the men do something about this," he patted her bottom absentmindedly, "So, I got all wrapped up into that long story short: I forgot." Penny scoffed and stood to her feet, he forgot? About her safety?

Kurt looked at her, "Really? You're mad Pen?" He felt his own anger spiking, "I'm being honest. I got into a few beers and forgot to call, wouldn't you rather me at home drunk instead of at a bar picking up some fucking girl you probably went to high school with?" His voice raised.

Penny nodded her head in understanding, "You're sleeping in the guest room tonight." She said simply as she walked up the rickety steps that led to her master bedroom. It wasn't big or grand, but it was hers and she loved it. It even had her own bathroom, it was small and dated but still it was hers. The guest room was on the first floor at the back of the house, behind the stairs. It was smaller, and less comfortable, but she didn't care. Truth be told, she wasn't even mad at Kurt. She expected this behavior from him, she expected him to be negligent. It was just sleeping with him tonight felt…wrong. Before she used to relish in the idea, especially when it was storming outside—she loved to cuddle, but now? It made her sick.

She heard Kurt calling out to her, upset, she was glad he wasn't drunk cause than it would've turned physical, "Are you serious Penny? What are you, on your period?" He shouted, "Fucking Christ," he slammed a beer bottle into the kitchen sink. It shattered into brown pieces and sliced his palm, he swore violently before storming into the guest bathroom on the first floor.

Penny closed the door behind her, thankful to be seeing her bed. She was exhausted.

"Penelope!"

Penny could smell fresh air and nature all around her, the heat of the golden sun kissing her skin and enveloping here in it's warmth. Birds chirped above her head and the trees bristled with the wind, "Penelope!"

Penny giggled as she fell backwards, her back hit the ground with a soft thud. Beneath her laid long wild grass and a plethora of wild flowers of all colours. She inhaled deeply and watched as butterflies fluttered above her, the sun glaring in her sight.

She heard heavy footsteps and a deep chuckle, "Penelope, there you are…come to me," she heard a deep voice coax her. She looked up and was immediately met with piercing blue eyes, her breath hitched in her throat. "My love."

"Come to me, Penelope. I've been waiting, come to me…"

Penny woke with a start, what the hell was up with that dream? She narrowed her eyes as she looked out of her window, thee rain slowed down, but it still looked miserable outside. She grabbed her phone and looked at the time, five o'clock in the morning, geez it was early.

She tentatively got out of bed and walked to her dresser. Grabbing her sketch book, she turned the small table lamp on and got to work.

Ever since that man had come into the store, she wasn't able to stop thinking about him, his eyes…the necklace, all of it. It was so odd, but something about him felt familiar. It was impossible, and she knew that, but it didn't stop her subconscious mind from dreaming of him. He was mysterious, and so were his friends—they didn't even say a word to her. She sighed deeply, she was probably never going to see that man again.

She looked down at the sketch pad and noticed she had sketched one eye, a blue one. Behind the eye was the dense Newmist forest, giving the illusion that the eye was peeking out of the trees. She took a minute and just stared at the picture, her eyes narrowed. Her hands moved on their own accord, she never really concentrated on what she wanted to draw, her hands just knew. But why this? Penny jumped at a sudden noise in the distance.

She put the pad down and walked towards her small balcony doors, she grabbed her pale blue silk robe and walked onto the balcony. As she stood on the second level of her home, she could see far into the distance. The crescent moon still stood tall in the sky, shining so confidently, as if it had something to prove. She could smell the rain in the air, the scent of nature evading her sinus. She closed her eyes but opened them immediately once she heard shuffling.

While she enjoyed living closer to the woods than most people, she found sometimes she was scared of them—especially at night.

So, she looked down and caught a glimpse of what looked to be a dog. Though, this was no dog, it was more like a mix between a bear and a dog…like a beast. It was large, and hairy—everywhere. Its fur was a dark brown, the richest chocolate would be envious, and its ears pointed so straight in the air you could tell it was alert. Penny's breath hitched in her throat as she looked down at the animal.

The animal stopped in front of her, staring at up at her from the street. She felt like she couldn't breath as piercing blue eyes met her own.

As quickly as it happened, the animal burst out into a sprint, quickly disappearing into the trees behind her house. She let out a breath and quickly went back into her room.

Newmist had wolves now? Was that the animal attacks that were going on?

"Penny!"

Penny looked up at her friend, Jessica Parker, she was the Sheriff's daughter and one of the nicest people in the town. They had become best friends through schooling, there was only one community college, and that's where everyone went. Well, anyone who wanted to leave Newmist. The blonde smiled, Jessica had red hair and there wasn't one inch of her skin not covered in freckles. Her brown eyes always shone with excitement, she was adorable.

She was twenty-six, same age as Penny, "Hey, Jess, what's up?"

Jessica sat at the table with a loud huff, Penny grinned as everyone around them glared. They were in a library after all. Jessica just rolled her eyes, she was always the eccentric one, "Did you hear what happened? My dad announced it on TV today." Penny frowned, no, she missed the news this morning.

The redhead waved her off, "My dad said he'll be canceling the Pumpkin Festival if the animal attacks are still going on. People are so upset, there's a gathering going on at the city hall." She said eagerly. Penny's eyes widened, "Cancel the Pumpkin Festival? People are gonna be mad!"

Jessica nodded her head, "I know. Now enough chit chat, let's go to City Hall!" She grabbed her friends' arm and dragged her out the library.

The good thing about living in a small town was everything was relatively close, walking distance. Also, the rain stopped this morning, so the roads were wet, and the air smelled of pine, but Penny loved it all. She couldn't really focus on what Jessica was saying.

The reason she had been in the library in the first place was because she was researching the towns history. After seeing the wolf in front of her house, staring at her, she felt compelled to learn more about the town she was born into twenty-six years ago. She always just lived her life and coasted by, but maybe it was time for her to open her eyes. She learned that exactly two hundred years ago there was a spike in animal attacks again, but after five years they all just stopped. She wondered if that had any correlation.

At the time there was a man named George Cooper Sr. he was the mayor of the town at the time and ruled with an iron fist. Mercy for no man, woman, or child. Many had said he was evil, the rumors that surrounded his name were ridiculous. Though, his rap sheet didn't disprove any of them. One of the worst ones was that he was a cannibal, after a break in of his house pictures circulated through the newspaper. It was supposedly of his basement, dried blood everywhere and a deep freeze off in the corner. Many citizens called him a Vampire, Werewolf, Witch, anything they could. Soon, they ran him out of the town.

Not long after, the animal attacks spiked.

"Don't punish the children!"

"It's a tradition! You don't cancel tradition! It's our right, our culture!"

Penny heard the outcries of the people of Newmist, everyone was angry. On the stairs of the City Hall stood Sheriff Parker, Jessica's father, he looked stressed. Mayor Greene stood to his right, wiping at his wrinkly forehead with his handkerchief. She narrowed her eyes once she saw Kurt, Zack, Chet, and Bryce, along with some other able-bodied men standing at the bottom of the stairs. What the hell was going on?

She and Jessica pushed to the front of the angry crowd, everyone was shouting at Sheriff Parker and Mayor Greene, demanding for justice. She saw Jessica run up the stairs and towards her father, he whispered something to Jessica and patted her arm. Jessica didn't look happy, but she stood off to the side. Penny reached Kurt, "What the hell are you doing?"

Kurt rolled his eyes, "Come to apologize?" Penny was annoyed with him, she would've argued with him, but Sheriff Parker started speaking again.

"I know! I know! You're all upset about the possibility of the Pumpkin Festival being cancelled, but it is for your safety! I would rather you all be upset with me and safe, opposed to targets to rabid dogs. Mayor Greene understands the sacrifice, and we promise once this is cleared up and dealt with, we'll resume our normal festivities." He said desperately. Some people stopped chanting, but for the most part everyone was still peeved.

Kurt stood tall and stepped beside Sheriff Parker, he shouted at the angry crowd through the megaphone in Sheriff Parkers hand and immediately the crowd fell silent, "It's about time the men in this damn town did something about what's going on!" He started and raised his bat above his head, "Me and men are going to protect you, every night we'll patrol the streets and take these damn dogs down! This is our town and our people! To hell with curfews and ruining traditions! With us on the streets we'll make Newmist safe again!" Kurt roared and everyone followed. It was as if he started a riot.

Penny shook her head, he was an idiot.

She turned to look for Jessica but instead found herself winded, directly to her left through the wild crowd she saw him. He was by himself this time, he stood just at the edge of the crowd leaning against a street lamp. His arms folded over his chest, one leg crossed over the other. He stared directly at her, blue eyes daring her to look away. How? There were hundreds of people here, nearly the entire town. How could they find each other with such ease?

But his look didn't make her nervous, nor did it make her uncomfortable. It just was…warm.

He was tall as hell, and though he wasn't a mass of muscle like Kurt—who often took steroids, he was very well defined. She could see the muscle of his arms, the sleeves of his flannel button up were pushed to his elbows, and she could see a faint ink marking on his arm. It left her curious, wanting to take shirt off and examine the art herself.

Her eyes were torn from him when Kurt stood in front of her, grabbed her hips and kissed her roughly. "That was awesome!" He yelled over the loud of the crowd, "Your man is going to do great things, Pen!" He said enthusiastically as everyone clapped him on the shoulder, thanking him.

Penny still thought he was an idiot.

"With Kurt and his friends helping with patrol, I don't see why the festival can't go on. Like scheduled, Friday night, Halloween, the Pumpkin Festival will commence!"

Kurt walked away, collecting more praise. Penny searched the crowd for the icy eyes she loved to draw and was disappointed when she couldn't find them. She frowned deeply but narrowed her eyes once she saw the familiar red flannel shirt disappearing into the woods. The smart half of her told her to stay put and go home with Kurt, but the curious side of her, the side that kept dreaming of this man couldn't help but follow him.

She ran to the edge of the woods and disappeared into the foliage.