"It's not a serial killer thing or anything." Kale clarified. "I don't really wanna hunt, it's just the wolf won't stop until it's had human meat. I don't like it, man, trust me. I used to be a vegetarian before all this!" Kale lied, because not only had he never been a vegetarian before, he knew perfectly well that he and the wolf were one in the same and they both lived for the hunt.
"You weren't there." He challenged, a smug smirk on his face for a moment as his eyes met hers again and he confidently said. "I would've smelled you if you were." Some small part of him worried she had been watching him every time he hunted, but how could that even be possible?
Kale let out a snarl of pain and gritted his teeth as the silver blade was pressed even further into his skin, already excruciating pain somehow made worse. For a moment he was blinded by uncharacteristic rage and wanted nothing more than to rip the knife from her hand and slash her throat with it, even if he'd never used a weapon in his life. Instead he'd try something with less of a chance of the knife slipping and killing him in the process.
"I've been training for years. Silver doesn't do much anymore." He bluffed, because the tiny bit he'd be able to force wouldn't be enough to do much and was nowhere near a full transformation, but hopefully itâd be enough to scare her. He growled as bared teeth started turning sharp and jagged, overcrowding his mouth as his canine teeth grew into long fangs. Unfortunately for him he wasnât able to hold it long or transform any further, teeth turning back to normal in less than a minute.Â
âHey, thatâs not fair, man. You werenât there so you donât know.â Kale retorted, because heâd heard similar comments about the hippie movement before from people he didnât think had any right to be making them. Right back to his peaceful facade the second he didnât have his fangs to help him, he continued. âIâm not sure a wolf hunting for food is really something to bring morality into.â
âIâve seen the look on your face after a hunt,â she said, laughing. âYou love it as much as âthe wolfâ does. I bet youâre thinking about your next chance to hunt right now.â Erika didnât really think he had a one-track mind, but she knew that the power of suggestion was strong, and there was a good chance bringing up an interest of Kaleâs would be enough to cause his thoughts to drift to that idea.
Erika met the smug expression with a too-sweet smile of her own. âNot if you werenât expecting me, not when I made sure I was always part of a group. I have years of experience in making sure my quarry never suspects a thing until I want them to know theyâre being hunted, Kale. And youâre a more cunning hunter than you claim to be. Youâre not even always a wolf when you kill.â
Then he started to transform. Her confidence turned to terror, and she couldnât hide it. She was going to die right here and now, just after bringing attention to the very fact that would end in her immediate demise. Kale was stronger than her, and if the silver failed her, his fangs were more than enough to bring about a brutal death. There was no time to run, and she wouldnât be able to drive the knife deep enough into his flesh before he ripped her to shreds.
Even when his teeth reverted to a more human set, Erika couldnât stop shaking. She pressed the knife deeper into his skin, but sheâd recovered just enough of her senses to avoid seriously injuring the werewolf, or worse, killing him outright. The game wouldnât end now after all.
âWell, I do enjoy getting to know my quarry face-to-face. But if you canât keep your fangs to yourself, perhaps itâs time to end our evening early,â said Erika. The menace in her tone was accompanied by a touch of genuine regret. After trying to end her life so early, Kale deserved to think he was about to die, but it was a pity. Up until that disaster, this was the most fun sheâd had in years.
âIf you were just a wolf, youâd be killed for what youâve done. You pretend itâs that simple, you lose the only reason anyone has to let you live.â She drew a pair of silver handcuffs from her pocket, careful to keep the knife to his throat with her other hand. Letting her guard down, even for a moment, could still prove fatal. If only she were still confident that the handcuffs would be enough to keep him in human form.














