The Hunters

Chapter Fifteen: The New Normal

My alarm clock sounded off. It's annoying beeping was blaring through my bedroom. I sleepily reached for it, and slammed my hand down on top of it. Now there was silence. I forced myself out of bed and began to get dressed. I had adorable clothes neatly hung up in my closet, but today, I had to wear my uniform.

Days spent in the human town had turned to weeks. Those weeks turned to months, and the months turned into two years. I was now twenty years old. River and I eventually forgave each other for what happened at the New Moon Pack and had moved on, but our friendship was never quite the same again.

We both got jobs waitressing at first, but it only took River a few months to find a job doing administrative work for some company. She always was such an over achiever at everything she did. She would tell me that at this kind of job, she didn't serve anyone. She felt like it was a real job and not a servant. While I was still a waitress. I made decent money off the tips, so I saw no reason to try administrative work. I had even made a human friend at my Cafe.

In time at all, River and I had gotten an apartment for us. We each had our own bedroom and lived on the bottom floor. It was pretty quiet, too. Everything about the apartment was simple. It wasn't like the life we were accustomed to in the Full Moon Pack, but it was leagues better than how we were recently living. Anything was better than being prisoners.

I had decorated my room in the apartment. The colors were pink and purple throughout. Even my bed spread was purple. I had photos of flowers on the walls that reminded me of the home I once had which no longer exists. My room was a beautiful and peaceful place. The bathroom, was the same, with colors that matched my bedroom. It felt like me. I was desperate to find myself again. I felt like I had been stripped away of everything that I once was.

On my way out, I grabbed my lucky bracelet that River had given me as our relationship mended. I cherished it deeply because it reminded me of the version of her that existed before parts of ourself were ripped away. It helped make me feel whole again.

I bolted out the door and ran down the side walk towards the Cafe. River and I shared a car, but since my job was so close, River usually used it to get to work. Her job was on the other side of town.

I got to work right on time and the moment I walked through the door I saw Jaci look up and smile at me. She had brown hair tied up in a ponytail and hazel eyes that sparkled with delight. She was a few inches taller than me, but most girls were at least an inch or so taller than me. Jaci was always there early. She was already clocked in and refilling someone's drink.

"With no time to spare as always," she playfully teased me as I walked by.

"Yeah yeah," I waved her off and smiled back at her as I headed to the back to clock in.

Jaci didn't know what I was. A werewolf that is. I kept that secret from everyone. If River and I needed to shift, we went out into the forests that surrounded the town. We hadn't had any issues or ran into anyone dangerous. There was a time or two we saw a Rogue wandering around the human town, but we had avoided each other.

It felt amazing to be able to shift again. It was a week before River or I could shift after leaving the New Moon Pack. It took some time for the wolfsbane to leave our system.

When I reunited with Vesper, she was as broken as I. She was hoping to save herself for our mate. She was deeply depressed for a long time. I shifted as often as possible to try and lift her spirits, but it was hopeless. Only time helped her. She still wasn't happy. She did not mind the humans, but she longed to be in a pack again. One like back home where we were safe and accepted. Living in the human town we were always on high alert. We knew there were other rogues that were out here and werewolf hunters, too. We must have gotten lucky so far to have been able to live peacefully the past couple of years. Then again, we made sure to keep our heads down. We didn't really go out except for our jobs and the occasional shopping trip. We were cautious and didn't wander around aimlessly. We avoided the most busy of areas and only hoped neither another rogue or a hunter would see us while we were at work. That was my biggest fear.

I clocked in and rushed out to start waiting tables. As normal, everything went smoothly. I was actually pretty good at this job. I always remembered everything and was quick. I happily counted my tips throughout the day and chatted with Jaci every chance we got.

"Want to do a movie night tonight?" She asked.

"Of course," I giggled. "Your place or mine?" I asked.

"Do you think River would want to join us?" She asked.

"I don't know," I shrugged my shoulders. Sometimes River enjoyed hanging out with Jaci and I, and sometimes she preferred to be alone. She often trained in the forest at night to build the strength she had lost back up. She wanted to be ready for anything. She had offered to help me train many times, but I knew better than to try. I wasn't a fighter and I never was. Besides, trying only reminded me of my family that was now dead.

"Okay, let's do your place," she said happily before bouncing off to get back to work. Our chatting breaks were short, but sweet.

The rest of the day went by without any problems. At the end, we ended home to find River already there. I had texted her ahead of time that Jaci was coming over so she wasn't caught off guard. We tried to be careful when bringing humans around.

River was watching TV, already dressed in her pj's. She had a bowl full of popcorn in her lap. She had been stuffing it hungrily in her face when we stepped inside the apartment. She guiltily looked over her shoulder at us. Her blue eyes glistening in the TV light.

"Hey guys, I already made popcorn," she said with her mouthful. Jaci laughed at her.

"Awesome, thanks River!" She said cheerfully and leaped over to take a seat beside her. She wasted no time plunging her hand into the bowl of popcorn and chowing down. "Maybe we should order pizza too. My treat this time," she offered. I took a seat on the other side of River.

"That would be great, thanks Jaci," I said grabbing some popcorn as well. "Now we just need to pick a movie." Jaci was already on her phone ordering us a pizza. River and I picked a movie together.

I loved the simple nights like these were all three of us hung out. We got to live a somewhat normal of a life. Even if it was one among humans. There was tranquility in its simplicity. It was comforting after everything we had gone through and we had gotten used to the simple pleasures of living as humans and being among them.