The Hunt

Will

In folklore, a werewolf (Old English: werwulf, "man-wolf"), or occasionally lycanthrope, is a human with the ability to shapeshift into a wolf, either purposely or after being placed under a curse or affliction (often a bite or scratch from another werewolf) with the transformations occurring on the night of a full moon. From our studies we have determined the latter to be false. If one is not born a werewolf, one cannot become a werewolf. Early sources for belief in this ability or affliction, called lycanthropy, are Petronius (27–66) and Gervase of Tilbury (1150–1228)

Hunter's Codex, Introduction to werewolf pg. 7

        I was out for a stroll in town to get away for a little bit. As much as I love my pack, they can be a bit overbearing at times. I wanted to visit the game store and maybe go looking for something sweet to eat when I smelled something that made my mouth water. I can’t explain what the smell was, it would be almost impossible with all of the different hints and layers throughout, but the smell made me think of home. It made me feel like I was relaxing on the forest floor looking up at the sun shining through the branches. Peaceful. I followed the scent down the sidewalk until I finally saw what was causing my mind to go blank. It ended up being a who. There were a couple girls and a guy walking towards the bookstore laughing at something that must have been said but I couldn’t get a good look at the guy or one of the girls. The only one that had my attention was the brunette walking next to them. She was beautiful and I had the strongest urge to run to her and hold her in my arms, to claim her as mine and bring her home with me. She was my Soulmate. 
        That was impossible though, unless she was a visiting werewolf that I didn’t know about. Humans and werewolves don’t pair off as Soulmates, it just doesn’t happen, has never happened, and never will happen. At least until now. No matter how much I sniffed the scent there wasn’t a lick of werewolf in it. I was in the middle of working through my shock at seeing her, here, and human, when she looked up and locked eyes with me. I stopped breathing for a moment, there was no doubt in my mind, she was my mate. My heart was racing and the wolf instincts in me screamed to go to her, but I couldn’t. She was a human and wasn’t feeling the same thing I was. On top of that, a human couldn’t be my Soulmate. Humans and werewolves have been together in the past, we’re genetically compatible, the problem lies in the fact that humans are never a werewolf’s Soulmate, the imprinting process has never happened with a human before. 
    I had to find out who she was. After she walked into the bookstore her scent started to fade away immediately and I turned and went into the store I was standing in front of. It was a furniture store, but it had windows on the side that let me look out to the bookstore so I could see when she came out. It felt like I was waiting forever and the employees were starting to give me strange looks. After a few more minutes I felt a tap on my shoulder. “Excuse me sir, can I help you with something?” 
    I turned to look at who was talking to me only to see a young female employee staring up at me. “Oh, um, no I’m just looking around.” She gave me a look that told me she knew I wasn’t looking at any of the furniture but turned and walked off without saying anything more. I looked back out the window only to see the back of their heads as they walked back the way they came. Crap, the employee almost made me miss them. 
    I slipped out of the front doors and stayed a distance away, following her scent down the sidewalk. I was beginning to lose myself in the peaceful odor that just filled my senses. I almost didn’t stop in time to see them walk up to their car and get in. Again, she looked right at me as she climbed into her car but this time I could see a little surprise and fear cross her features as she climbed in the vehicle. This time I was close enough to hear her say, “Hey can we hurry up and go?” Just as her door was shutting. 
    “Crap.” I’m going to have to figure this out. Something is not lining up.