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, rugged build, and carried a holstered pistol loaded with silver bullets.

Next to them was a third man, slightly shorter, with spiky blonde hair and a long wooden crossbow in his right hand. A woman with long, curly red hair stood beside him. Her brown eyes fixed intently ahead with silver chains hung loosely around her waist.

“Why does it feel like every single time I find a place to rest, something bad always seems to happen?” I wondered.

I took another cautious glance from where I was hiding, hoping to find a way to get past them without being noticed, but they had all vanished..

Where did they go?" I mumbled, quietly stepping out of my hiding place. Whatever games they were trying to play, I wasn’t planning on sticking around to see the end of it.

The moment I turned to make a run for it, I came face-to-face with a holstered pistol pressed against my forehead, and immediately, I froze.

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

“P… please, d…don’t." The world around me seemed to spin suddenly as I tried to find the right words to speak. I staggered, feeling my breath become unsteady and my vision blurry.

LATER THAT EVENING

I slowly opened my eyes, a soft groan escaping my lips. The first thing that hit me was the bright light radiating from the moon and the cold air blowing all around me.

“You’re awake.” I heard a deep and unfamiliar voice say.

I rubbed my hands against my eyes, this time fully awake. My gaze slowly met the hunter with jet black hair who, for some reason, had a big smile on his face.

I tried to scramble to my feet, but my weak legs gave out, sending me crashing back to the ground.

“Please…please, don’t kill me.” I begged, my voice shaking as I struggled to back away.

The woman beside him stepped forward, gently pushing him aside.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay.” She said softly. “We’re not going to hurt you."

My eyes darted anxiously between the two hunters.

“I’m Lori Henshaw.” She said with a gentle smile, “This is my brother, Dior Henshaw."

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

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

“And last but not least." She pointed at the shoreline where the man who attacked me earlier was staring blankly into the flowing river. “Dennis Evergray, my best friend."

I tried to speak, but my words were stuck in my throat. But why wouldn’t it? I was a powerless werewolf in the midst of four scary hunters who could kill me at any time.

Lori bent over to where I was still sitting on the floor. “Come on, tell us, what is your name?”

“It…it’s… Samantha." I mumbled.

Lori’s smile broadened. “Nice to meet you."

Dior’s eyes narrowed slightly. “It's hard for anyone who isn't a hunter to wander alone and clearly unprotected around these parts, so how exactly did you end up in the gorges?"

Lori raised an eyebrow. “Isn’t it obvious?” She said, nudging him playfully before her expression turned serious. “She must have run away from home.”

“I did…?” I asked, confusion written all over my face.

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.

“Of course you did,” Lori said. “I mean, you look hungry and exhausted, and your clothes are falling apart. Only someone who was running away from something would be crazy enough to wander out here alone and without any supplies”.

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

Lori's eyes narrowed as she carefully studied the injury on my body. “The markings on your body… It looks like you were attacked by one of 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 that was keeping a silver bullet out of my brain was pretending to be human, and I didn't mind playing the part for now.

“Come on, let's get you all warmed up,” Lori said with a soft smile. She carefully helped me to my feet and guided me towards a log.

She quickly covered me up with a warm fur, probably gotten from one of the many unfortunate animals they had managed to hunt down and kill. Dior settled next to me after tossing a little more wood into the fire.

“Dinner's ready, guys.” Merlyn said, pulling out skewers of meat wrapped in leaves. “Dennis, it's time to eat.”

“Dennis.” Merlyn called out for the second time but got no response. “Maybe he's not hungry.” He said with a shrug.

He handed Lori and Dior their skewers, then turned to me with a warm smile. I eyed the food suspiciously, my hands clenched together in fear.

“Don't worry, it isn't poisoned,” Merlyn said, gently prying my hands apart. He placed the skewers in my hand and gave me a reassuring smile.

I hesitated for a moment before accepting his gesture. “Thank you,” I said softly.

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

I looked around at the others, feeling a bit self-conscious about sharing a meal with them. I mean, these were the same people who hunted down and killed a lot of my kind for as long as I could remember.

But I couldn't control the hunger I was feeling inside me, and after hesitating for a few minutes, I finally took a bite.

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

I could feel the rich flavors dancing in my tongue, distracting me from my uneasiness. I hadn't eaten anything like this in my entire life, and the taste was surprisingly good.

“By the way, Sam, how did a wolf manage to injure you that badly?” Dior interrupted, taking another mouthful of skewers.

I felt a lump form in my throat as the group's attention turned to me. The food in my mouth suddenly felt like sandpaper, making me cough.

“Here, drink this.” Lori quickly handed me a bottle of water. I wrapped my fingers around it and gulped the cool liquid gratefully.

Lori gently patted my back, a concerned look on her face. “Are you feeling better now?” she asked.

I nodded, my breathing steady and my body slowly returning to normal.

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

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

Dior held up his hand in a defensive gesture.

“Hey, I'm sorry, okay?” I just got a little curious, that's all."

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

“It's fine”. I interrupted, slowly looking up." Well, you see, after my father died, everything fell apart for me. Home wasn't home without him, and the people I was supposed to trust made it clear that they wanted nothing to do with me. I felt trapped and alone. I couldn't take it anymore”.

“So you decided to run away,” Merlyn added, and I nodded.

“I didn't know what else to do,” I replied, my voice barely above a whisper. “And since then, I've been wandering.”

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

The others nodded in agreement. “Did you guys also run away from home too?” I asked, my curiosity getting the better of me.

As soon as I asked, I could feel the surrounding atmosphere become very tense. Lori's gentle hands suddenly fell off my shoulder. The others had stopped eating too, their eyes fixed on me.

“Oh, Samantha, why do you always have to make things so hard for yourself?” I thought, feeling a surge of guilt.

“I… I… am so sorry.” My words tumbled out in a rush as I tried to save myself from the awkwardness. “I really didn't mean to ask that; it just slipped out.”

Lori forced a smile, but it looked strained. “It's fine. I guess there's no harm in letting someone else know about our story, right?”

She paused, trying to play it down.

“Ten years ago, we were just wide-eyed teenagers, living our best life up in the mountains with our parents.” A hint of smile played on her lips as she continued.

“They were licensed wolf hunters, feared and respected by the locals. We'd watch them prepare for hunts and celebrate when they returned home with a huge catch”.

The smile on her face began to disappear again. “But it was a double-edged sword. The mountains were our home, but there were still so many things we didn't know. Our parents warned us, but we never believed…”

Lori's voice trailed off as she couldn't bring herself to continue. Tears rolled down her cheek. Merlyn wrapped a comforting arm around her, pulling her into a hug.

“Whenever we got bored, we'd sneak out and explore the mountains,” Merlyn continued. “Our parents thought we were safe at home, but we'd always go deep into the woods and return home later without them noticing.”

“And then what happened?” I asked, my eyes lit up in curiosity.

“Everything was going well until one night,” Merlyn continued, his voice dropping to a whisper. "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 almost see the horror they had endured.

“Our father died trying to hold them off, and we barely escaped. And our mother, she was also very injured, dying.” He let out a deep sigh. "She managed to get us to safety, but there was nothing anyone could do to save her.

I managed to keep my composure even if I could already feel my heart beating so fast. “I… I'm so sorry to hear that."

“The ones who should really be sorry are those wolves who ruined our lives,” Merlyn replied, his fist clenched. "And so when we were old enough, we became hunters, and for the past five years, that's what we've done - hunting down those wolves and killing each one we can get our hands on".

I could feel a cold shiver run down my spine. My hands and legs were already shaking uncontrollably, but I still managed to force a smile. My eyes drifted towards Dennis, who hadn't moved an inch from where he was sitting.

“And what about him?” I asked Dior, who seemed so lost in thought.

“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 because if they ever found out the truth about my real identity, then I'd be as good as dead.

“Our only purpose now is to track them down, take them out, and make sure they pay for what they've done”. Merlyn stated, his voice firm. “It's what we live for and what we'll die for.”