Two men stood side by side, both around 6’2 tall. One had jet black hair, chiseled jawline, and held a silver-tipped dagger in his right hand. The other had messy brown hair, a rugged build, and carried a holstered pistol loaded with silver bullets.

Next to them was a third man, slightly shorter, but the long wooden crossbow in his hand made up for it. A woman with curly red hair stood a few inches from the others, with silver chains hanging loosely around her waist.

“Why does it feel like every time I try to find peace, something bad always seems to happen?”

I sighed, dragging a hand down my face before taking another look from where I was hiding, hoping to find a way to get past them without being noticed.

But to my surprise, they had all vanished.

“Where did they go?” I mumbled, turning both ways, but they were nowhere to be found.

_Oh, screw this_

Whatever games they were trying to play, I wasn’t planning on sticking around to see the end of it.

The moment I stepped into the open, I came face-to-face with the holstered pistol pressed against my forehead.

“You’ve got 30 seconds to tell me who or what the heck you are before I pull this trigger and blow your brain out." The rugged man said, steadying the gun between my brows.

“P… please, d…don't." I tried to speak, but the world around me felt like it was spinning all of a sudden. I staggered back, gasping for air, and before I could find something to support myself, everything went black.

A Few Hours Later

I opened my eyes slowly, a soft groan escaping my lips.

The first thing that caught my attention was the bright light radiating from the moon, and second was the cool breeze tossing my hair around.

“You’re awake.”

I rubbed my eyes twice and blinked. When I looked up, a hunter was staring back at me, but for some strange reason, he had a big smile on his face.

“Please…please, don’t kill me.” I dragged myself back inch by inch, my legs feeling too weak to stand.

“Didn't I tell you not to let her see that ugly face of yours the moment she woke up? Now look. You've scared her”. The lady with red hair scolded, pushing him aside.

“Hey, it’s okay.” She smiled, crouching to my level. “We’re not going to hurt you."

I pressed my lips together, my entire body still trembling.

“I’m Lori Henshaw.” She said, gesturing slightly, “This is my brother, Dior Henshaw."

“Hi there.” He said with a grin, which looked more scary than polite.

“That’s my other brother, Merlyn Henshaw." She signaled a man grilling over the fire, who responded with a wave of his greasy hand.

“And finally." She pointed at the shoreline where the man who attacked me earlier was staring blankly at the flowing river. “Dennis Evergray, my best friend."

I tried to speak, but my brain just wouldn't cooperate.

_But why would it, when I was nothing but a helpless wolf in the midst of four scary hunters who could kill me at any time?_

“Come on, tell us,” Lori giggled. “What is your name?”

I bit my lower lip. “It's...it's Samantha."

“Well, it's nice to meet you, Sam." She said, extending a hand.

I hesitated before reaching out and touching her fingertips. But Lori squeezed my hand and shook it anyway.

“It's hard for anyone to wander alone and clearly unprotected around these parts," Dior's eyes narrowed slightly. “So, how exactly did you end up here again?"

“Isn’t it obvious?” Lori interrupted before I could speak, “She's a runaway."

“I am…?” I blurted, searching her face for any sign of deception.

_There was no way she could be a real hunter and still manage to be this calm after knowing that I was a werewolf who had run away from her pack._

“No need to pretend anymore,” Lori said, raising a brow. “You look hungry, exhausted, and your clothes are literally falling apart… Only someone who is running away from something would be crazy enough to wander alone out here without any supplies”.

I didn't say a word but slowly nodded to whatever she was saying.

“The markings on your body,” she tapped her chin, carefully studying the scar on my stomach, “It looks like you were attacked by those werewolves.

_A weird realization hit me: these humans actually believed that I was one of them… I didn't know whether to feel happy or offended by it. But right now, the only thing keeping a silver bullet out of my brain was pretending to be human, and since that was the case, I didn't mind playing the part for now_

“Come on, let's get you all warmed up.” Lori quickly covered me with a warm fur, probably gotten from one of the many unfortunate animals they had managed to hunt down.

She helped me to my feet and guided me to sit on a log. Dior settled next to me after tossing a few more wood into the fire.

“Dinner's ready, guys.” Merlyn said, arranging skewers of grilled meat wrapped in leaves.

“Dennis, it's time to eat," Dior called out for the second time but got no response.

“Maybe he's not hungry,” Merlyn shrugged, “I'll just save his own later".

He handed Lori and Dior their portion, then turned to me with a smile.

I eyed him suspiciously, my hands folded together.

“Don't worry, it isn't poisoned,” Merlyn said, gently prying them open and placing a wrap in my palm.

“Thank you,” I muttered.

“You're welcome,” he replied, sitting beside Lori.

I sat idly, feeling too on edge to even move, let alone eat. While everyone else was happily devouring their meals.

_These were the same people who hunted down and killed a lot of my kind for as long as I could remember._

_But then again, I was starving… If I let this meal pass me by, who knew when I would get the chance to eat another one?_

_Ancestors, please… Just this once, turn a blind eye to my betrayal_

And with that, I took the first bite.

“Oh my goodness.” I murmured, trying to savor the taste without drawing any attention.

A rich, smoky flavor filled my mouth, making me melt on the inside. I had never tasted anything like this before. It was good… So good that I was tempted to ask for more.

“By the way, Sam." Dior interrupted, chewing another mouthful of meat. “How did you manage to get yourself injured by a wolf?"

The food in my mouth turned to sand as all eyes suddenly turned to me. I tried to force it down my throat, but instead a lump formed, making me choke loudly.

“Here, drink this.” Lori quickly handed me a bottle of water.

I grabbed it and drank, the cool liquid soothing my throat.

Lori patted my back gently, helping me relax. “Are you feeling better now?”

I nodded, my breathing steady again.

Lori glared at Dior, who was still enjoying his meal after nearly choking me to death.

“You jerk, why would you ask something like that?”

Dior held up his hands. “I'm sorry, okay? I just got a little curious, that's all. But I meant no harm."

Lori frowned. “That's what you always say, but you never—”

“It's fine.” I interrupted, slowly looking up." You see, after my father passed away, my life was completely ruined—home didn't feel like home anymore, and the people I was supposed to trust made it clear that they wanted nothing to do with me. I was trapped and alone… Until it got to a point where I couldn't take it anymore".

“So you decided to run away?” Merlyn asked.

“What else could I have done?” I forced a smile, suppressing my guilt. “And since then, I've been wandering around like a pathetic loser.”

Lori placed a hand on my shoulder. “You don't have to feel bad about it. At least you're free to live however you want now. And maybe someday, you will learn to enjoy it just as much as we do”.

The others nodded in agreement.

“Did you guys also run away from home?” I asked, my curiosity getting the better of me.

Lori's hands fell from my shoulder as she quickly looked away.

No one was eating anymore, and with how tense the atmosphere had become, I knew I had crossed the line.

“Oh, Samantha, why do you keep doing this to yourself?”_

“I… I… am so sorry,” I said, trying to save myself from the awkwardness. “I really didn't mean to… Just forget I asked.”

“It's fine," Lori sighed, pressing a hand on her forehead. "I guess there's no harm in letting someone else know about our story, right?”

She sat straighter, not waiting for any response. “Ten years ago, we were just a group of free-spirited teenagers, living our best life up on the mountains with our parents—Thomas and Lisa Henshaw.”

She shook her head slowly. “They were licensed wolf hunters, respected by the locals and feared by those they hunted. We would help them prepare for hunts and celebrate whenever they returned home with a huge catch."

The smile on her face began to disappear again. “The mountains were our home, but there were still so many things we didn't know about… Our parents warned us, but we never …”

Lori's voice trailed off as tears rolled down her cheeks. She tried to force herself to continue, but no words came out.

Merlyn wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulder, pulling her into a tight hug.

“Whenever we got bored, we'd sneak out and explore the mountains,” Dior continued instead. “Our parents believed that we were always at home, safe and sound. But they never guessed we would sneak out, do some dangerous stuff, and be back in bed before they checked."

“And then what happened?” I asked, blinking slowly.

“Everything was going well and fine until one night ruined it all.” His jaw tightened. “We didn't notice a pack of wolves following our trail until they broke past our defense and attacked our home."

The scars on their bodies seemed to tell a thousand stories, and I could already imagine the horror they had to endure.

“Our father died trying to hold them off while we found a way to escape. But our mother was badly injured, dying.” He clicked his tongue. “She managed to get us to safety, but there was nothing anyone could do to save her."

_At this point, I deserved a round of applause for managing to keep my composure through everything I was hearing… In my head, though, I had already passed out a few times and was in the process of reviving myself._

“I… I'm so sorry to hear that." I lowered my head, hiding the fear in my eyes.

“The ones who should really be sorry are those wolves who ruined our lives,” Dior sneered, his hands trembling. “And so, when we were old enough, we became hunters, just like our parents. And for the past four years, we've dedicated ourselves to hunting down those evil creatures and eliminating everyone we can get our hands on".

I swallowed, but my throat felt even drier.

“And what about him?” I asked, gesturing to Dennis, who hadn't moved an inch from where he was sitting.

“His wife and unborn child were also murdered by wolves, and, just like us, he's out for blood."

“Blood?” I repeated, almost throwing up in my mouth.

_I might as well start digging my grave now._

“The mission is simple—hunt, kill, and make them pay for what they did to us," Dior stared at me, a vengeful smile on his lips. “It's what we live for and what we'll die for.”