• Chapter 3
    *Jared*
    Three Years Later
    Libby is a friendly town and it is near a forest, so that is pretty good. I don’t know where the Wolf Hunters ended up in, but they didn’t bother us for three years which is a very good sign. Misty lives with us now and she doesn’t talk very much. In fact, she doesn’t talk to anybody at school unless she needs to talk to a teacher. On the plus side, she talks to my father and me often. But I think she is depressed over her parents being dead and all; she was very close to them, especially her mom. She was their only child....
    School is okay for me; I’m in my sophomore year in high school. I made a lot of friends and no one has a clue that I am a werewolf. I think I am doing a very good job about that. Though, it is really annoying when I really feel like I want to just turn into a gigantic wolf in the middle of class. But I made it through the temptations and everything else in life until this new girl came.

    The desks at the school were in square tables; my table only had three kids in them including me. There’s nowhere else to sit.
    Before class started, Mrs. Taylor (the english teacher) said, “We have a new student in our class today. Please welcome her whole-heartedly.” In came a girl with long red hair; her hair was the length of the middle of her back on the right side, but slanted towards the left until it was to her waist. She wore light blue skinny jeans and black skater shoes. Her shirt was a dark shade of jungle green and it was long sleeved. The weird, and rude, part was that she smelled funny and it really bothered me.
    “Can you tell us your name?” Mrs. Taylor asked. “And a little about yourself?”
    “Um, my name’s Scottlyn Trae,” the girl said quietly with a British accent. “And I’m from Hamilton, Montana. Uh, I lived in Montana for my whole life and, uh, I never been out of this state. But I don’t think it’s boring, actually, it feels quite great that I know more about Montana than most people.”
    “Wow! That’s amazing!” the teacher said. “Can you tell us something?”
    She was quiet for a few seconds before Mrs. Taylor realized she didn’t want to talk any more. “Okay, the only seat available is the one right next to Mr. Zogeme over there,” she explained. Scottlyn stared at me with a blank face, but she walked to her new desk a minute later. To me, the teacher added, “Jared, can you please help Ms Trae when she needs it?”
    I nodded and said, “Yes, Mrs. Taylor.” Inside, I knew something was bad about this Scottlyn girl. She smelled so disgusting, I felt like I could’ve threw up.
    When class finally started, I examined Scottlyn a little more closely. Something in me was telling me that she was... very different. Not normal. I know everyone is unique in their own way, but this new girl was completely different; like she was not a real person.
    I didn’t breathe normally the minute she walked in; her smell was just too over whelming. It was worse when she sat down next to me. I was lightheaded for a second, but I regained my strength. It was abnormal for someone to smell so bad that someone could faint. I know it was not perfume and it was not her body odor. So, what was it? I couldn’t figure it out in just that one class period, but I ended up getting clues. It’s better than nothing, I told myself.

    Thank God Scottlyn wasn’t in my next three classes; I would’ve died! Her scent was terrible! I couldn’t stand it any longer. No one else seemed to be bothered by the scent for some reason. Maybe it was all in my head, I don’t know. I hoped that I wouldn’t even see her again, but it gets worse from there.
    At lunch, Scottlyn decided to sit by herself. My table was right next to the table she sat at and I didn’t like that at all. She was sitting with her back towards my friends and me, but she still
    bothered me! My friend Riley caught me staring at her.
    “Hey, Jared, why are ya starin’ at that chick?” he asked. He probably had the wrong idea.
    I had to tell the truth... well, some of the truth anyway. “She’s... weird.”
    “Don’t judge a book by its cover, Jared,” someone said; I didn’t really pay attention to the voice or turned my head to see who it was.
    “No, no!” I said. “I don’t like her, but I don’t dislike her. She’s just... different, that’s all.” I didn’t want to tell them she smelled weird. Not everyone in the world had a keen sense of smell like I do. I didn’t want them to think I was creepy.
    “Liar, you know you want to talk to that new girl, Jared.”
    “Hmm....”
    “Ah, ha! So you do like her!”
    I turned to the person who was talking to me. It was another good friend named Greg. “I don’t like her! I’m just trying to figure out what’s wrong with her. I mean, look at her, she’s not eating! How weird is that?”
    My excuse didn’t work out so well. “Um, dude, Riley isn’t eating. Maybe she’s just not hungry.”
    “Ugh....” I groaned.
    “If she’s bothering you so much, go talk to her,” Riley suggested.
    “Why would I do that? That’s considered rude.”
    “What’s so rude about it?”
    “You don’t go up to some random girl and say ‘You’re kind of weird and it’s bothering me.’ That’s like saying you want a date with a purse and the floor!”
    “You don’t have to say that, just... start a conversation with her, that’s all.”
    I pondered on that and sighed. “Fine.” I got up and slowly walked to Scottlyn. She didn’t seem to hear me when I stopped right behind her. I took a deep breath and said, “Hello.”
    She turned around and looked at me with that same blank face as in the classroom of my first period. Then, she replied, “Hello.” I didn’t realize how beautiful her voice was.
    “Um, well, welcome to Libby High School,” I started as I sat down next to her.
    “Mmm.... Thanks.” She paused. “Aren’t you in my, um, english class? Um, Jared, right?”
    “The one and only!” I said, and I felt stupid for saying it. “How has, uh, your first day been so far?”
    She looked away. “I guess it has been okay. Better than all the other first days of school I’ve had. But... you are the first person to, uh, actually talk to me and I thank you for that.” She looked up and smiled, but she didn’t show her teeth.
    I smiled as well. “How many times have you moved? I know you never been out of the state, but... uh, well, yeah.”
    “Five times, I believe.” Scottlyn studied me. “You are not from around here are you?”
    How did she figure that out? “No, I’m from Alaska.”
    “That’s sounds like an amazing place to live. How long have you lived in Libby?”
    “Three years.”
    “Uh, huh.”
    She really wasn’t half bad, but when that silence came, I realized I have been holding my breath for a while. She still smelled terrible, but now I finally realized the terrible smell was: blood.
    “Do you have a dog?” Scottlyn suddenly asked.
    “Um, no, why do you ask?” I said, tensing up a bit.
    “You just... never mind, it’s kind of rude to say.”
    “No, tell me.”
    “Well, you kind of smell like... dog.”
    “Oh, uh, well, my neighbor has a dog and, uh, I was playing with his dog for a while before school. So, uh, yeah....”
    “Humph.... Okay.” She so didn’t believe me.
    I could feel my friends’ stare at me. I knew they thought I desperately liked her but, I swear, I don’t. She’s just... interesting. And she still seemed very abnormal.
    The bloody smell was driving me crazy; I began to feel light headed.
    “Are you okay?” Scottlyn asked urgently. Obviously, I looked sick to her. “Are you feeling alright?”
    “Um, yeah.”
    “But you look slightly paler than usual.”
    Stupid scent. “I’m fine, really.” I looked up at the clock. “Oh, look there, lunch’s almost over. I better get my... uh, trash before the bell rings.” I quickly got up and walked back to my table. She said “bye” and I didn’t say anything back. Stupid, stupid, stupid, I told myself.
    When I reached the table, Greg was the first to speak. “Hey, man! So, how’d it go?” he asked.
    “Mm.... Well,” was all I could say at that moment. The bloody scent was still bothering me, but I did feel a whole lot better. I really hoped she wasn’t in any more of my classes, but if she was, I hoped she sat very far away.

    Guess what? My wish did not come true. Turns out Scottlyn’s in my science class and guess who she sits next to; the one and only me. Yeah, I feel special alright....It’s not good to faint in the middle of science. Trust me; I experienced it that very day....
    Here’s the story and it isn’t a long story, neither. Really what happened was this: towards the end of class, I couldn’t take that bloody smell anymore and I fainted in the middle of taking notes! That is straight out embarrassing! After I left the nurses office, I vowed to myself that the next class she’s in, I’ll make sure Scottlyn’s not sitting right next to me; I will do anything to stop the teacher from making us sit by each other. Though, that would be a problem if the teacher wants us in alphabetical order.... Not many people have a last name that starts with u, v, w, x, and y.
    That idea was totally torn apart after I really thought that through. I guess I would have to do the only thing that I could think of: tell Scottlyn the truth. I knew I would regret doing that after she hits me, but that’s the only thing that might work.
    In history, I thought of what I was going to say. “Scottlyn, I know this may be very rude, but you smell like blood.” Yeah, that’s surly going to tick her off. That would be pretty random her if I went up to her and said that. So, I thought of something else. “Scottlyn, what perfume do you use? Oh, really? Well, no offense or anything but you smell like blood.” No, no, no! I’ll sound like I am retarded! I didn’t think of anything else after that; I knew it was hopeless and I was going to have to tell... my dad. Or I would have to figure it out on my own, whichever is easier.

    After school I went to Misty’s school and picked her up and, then, went straight home. I really needed to figure things out. Misty asked what was going on and I instantly knew I was about to break the steering wheel of my silver Nissan.
    “Jared, something’s up and I want to know what,” she said demandingly.
    I sighed. “There’s this new girl at school and....”
    “Oh, I get it! You have a crush on her!”
    “NO, no, no! You don’t get it!” I took a deep breath, knowing that Misty would think I was crazy when I told her. “Scottlyn smelled like... blood.”
    Silence dominated the car, but Misty finally said something. “That’s... that’s kind of... um, creepy, Jared. Why do you go around smelling people? You only do that when you are a dog!”
    “Oh, shush, Misty! There’s more—“
    “You like her!”
    “No! She said that I smelled like dog.”
    “Eww, why do you people smell each other?”
    “It’s not like that! Gosh, Misty! It’s called odor. You know, girls put on perfume to smell nice and stuff.”
    “So, your girlfriend—“
    “She’s not my girlfriend!”
    “Okay, fine. This girl uses perfume that smells like blood?”
    “I don’t even think they make that scent.”
    “How would you know? You’re a boy!” She laughed.
    I was tired of talking to her about this subject. “Lets just drop this subject, okay?”
    “Whatever you say.”
    I pulled into the driveway and got ready to tell my dad what was going on that day.

    Chapter 4
    *Scottlyn*

    When school was over, I went straight home in my Ford. There was a lot on my mind. One: why did that Jared boy smell like a dog? I know he said he played with his neighbor’s dog, but that was too strong of a scent to just be brushed off from a dog to a human. Two: Why did Jared just suddenly faint in science? I didn’t smell any chemicals or anything that would make him faint. And three: There is something weird about that boy; he isn’t normal, but I couldn’t figure out what was wrong with him. He is nice and all, but just not... human. I can’t really explain it, but he seems like he’s hiding something important and I really wanted to know what that something was. But first, I have to talk with my dad about the whole dog thing; it may not seem very important to you, but if you took one breath around that boy you’ll understand. Then, I realized that all that was on my mind was questions about Jared.
    I parked the car and ran inside the house to see if my dad was home yet. I needed to see all those books he got at the No Name Library near Troy. Dang it! I thought when I explored the place. He isn’t here! I sighed and got to my homework.
    About an hour later, my dad finally came through the door. When I heard the door slam, I jumped up from the couch and stared at him like he was an alien. Looking at his face reminded me to ask him where the books were.
    “Dad!” I said, surprised. “I really need to see those vampire books you got at Troy. Where are they?”
    “Um, in my room,” he replied slowly. “Why do you ne—“
    “Thanks!” I jogged down the hallway, making sure I didn’t run too fast, and carefully pushed open the door to his room, making sure I didn’t rip the door off. I saw a stack of books on his nightstand and looked through the “Table of Contents” in all of them. The last one in the stack had what I wanted: Vampires’ Enemies. All I knew was that werewolves are a threat to us vampires, but what I wanted to know is how you know where a werewolf is. I was hoping that that book had what I wanted.
    I ran to my room at the speed of light and hopped on the couch that was in there. I opened the book with the voice in my head saying, Page seventy-three, page seventy-three. Once I reached the page, I slowly read through it. It said:

    Werewolves
    A werewolf is a major enemy to a vampire. They are a lot bigger than a real wolf and they are very furry. Werewolves, unfortunately, can transform themselves into humans, but their scent is still present. Vampires and other “mythical” creatures are the only living things that can smell this terribly distracting smell. Depending on who is scenting it, it may be strong enough to be smelled from a few miles away.
    They have a keen sense of smell, like vampires, and they can run at fast speeds, although, vampires can run a lot faster than werewolves. Wolves, as some people call them for short, have sharp teeth. Wolf teeth are hard enough to bite through bone, so it is obvious that it could possibly bite through a vampire’s skin. Another characteristic werewolves have is that they have a great sense of hearing and they have great eye-sight. Their nails are sharp enough to cut down a tree, if they had the patience to do so.
    The advantage wolves have against vampires is that vampires can’t read their mind unless they get to know them, which is highly doubtful for a vampire and a werewolf to be friends. Though, vampires can read their minds rarely, when the wolf’s mind is wide open. Not in literally terms.

    I put the book down. Why was I reading this? Why did I care right now? I looked at it again and closed it. Why was that information so important to me right now? New questions
    formed in my head and they stayed with me for a few minutes. Then, I shook them out and laughed at myself. “There’s no werewolf around here,” I said out loud. “There’s no werewolf within a mile from here. What am I worried about?” I thought about that some more and remembered what the book said. Wolf teeth are hard enough to bite through skin, so it is obvious that it could possibly bite through a vampire’s skin. I shuddered at the thought of being bitten by a wolf; it sounded painful.
    I put the book where I found it and went into our living room. My dad and I moved here about two weeks ago and all our furniture was put perfectly into place. Because I was amazingly strong, we didn’t have any problem unpacking our things.
    My dad was making himself some dinner and I realized that I needed to go hunt. I felt thirsty after two weeks without feeding myself. “Dad,” I called. “I’m going to go....” I still didn’t feel very comfortable saying the word around him. “Hunt,” I quickly said and sped out the door. Before I left the neighborhood, I heard him say, “Okay,” and nothing else.
    The freezing winds on the night hit me as I ran towards the forest, which was outside of the town. Because of my oddly cold skin, I didn’t bother to put on a jacket. This long sleeved shirt was enough for me.
    When I reached the forest, I slowed to a walk. I was looking for something that would be very challenging to get. I sighed when I thought that. Nothing is challenging for me: rabbits, cows, deer, they are all too easy and there’s nothing around here that would be challenging. I roamed around for a few minutes; I heard a few noises that could possibly be my meal, but I wasn’t in the mood to go after them. I just wanted to find something in my way and be done with that little trip.
    About a half an hour into the hunt, I heard the bushes rustle, and the rustling seemed like it was brushed by something big, something huge. I stopped to listen more carefully and I smelled the air. Dog. It was a familiar dog scent, like I encountered this dog before. I haven’t pet any dogs or even saw any in my time in Libby. I slowly walked around in circles, examining the area around me. Abruptly, I heard the rustling again and I turned toward where the scent and the noise was coming from. I cleared my throat, ready to say something when the time came.
    Again, rustling. “Who’s out there?” I yelled. “Show yourself!”
    A shadow was seen from in the bushes and it went away immediately after I saw it. What is this creature? I thought. What is it doing? I continued walking the path I had been walking on, but I was walking slowly and I was being very cautious of my surroundings. Whatever-it-was was gone, or so I thought.
    An hour later, something huge with bright gray eyes jumped right in front of me. I didn’t scream but I sure did gasp and jump back. I looked at me with confused eyes. I tried to read its mind, but I couldn’t for some reason. What did it want?
    It came closer and I finally realized what it was: a wolf. But not an ordinary wolf because this one was huge. Bigger than the wolf I saw at the zoo when I was seven. I searched through my mind to figure out what to do. Run or talk? I decided that it was a good time to talk. I knew it wouldn’t understand me, whatever-it-was, but I gave it a shot.
    “What... are you? And why are you here?” I asked. It continued to look at me confusingly. “What do you want? I have nothing.”
    The wolf looked like it was trying to tell me something for a minute there, then, it bolted in the bushes. That was odd; all it did was stand there and look at me. Wasn’t it supposed to attack me? Wasn’t it supposed to do, I don’t know, something? I pondered on that but, eventually, I didn’t care about it anymore and walked along the path that lead deep into the forest.
    I reached a clearing that the moon lit. Staring up at the starry blanket of the sky, I
    stepped into the middle of the field and slowly sat down. It was such a beautiful scene and I wished I could’ve stayed there forever until I died.... I sighed when I thought that. I will never die. Never. Not in a hundred years and not in a thousand years. Not even in a million years. I will be alive forever.
    I laid down on the soft mix of grass and snow, and closed my eyes. I left my mind blank. I was probably laying there for about ten minutes before I realized someone walk up to me.
    “Hi, Scottlyn,” a voice said. I opened my eyes and sat up in one quick move; a human would’ve probably been lightheaded from doing it.
    “Oh, whoa! You don’t need to freak out!” the voice said. I looked around quickly and stopped in front of a boy’s face. No, not just “a boy,” it was Jared from school.
    “It’s just me, Jared,” he said.
    “Oh,” I whispered.
    “Sorry, did I wake you up or something?”
    “Oh, no. No, you didn’t.”
    “Why are you out here anyway?”
    “I was just—I was just taking a hike.” I nearly told him the truth.
    “At ten o’ clock at night?”
    “Um, yeah; I like to take hikes at night.”
    Jared sat down next to me and laughed softly. “Okay.”
    I tried not to smile because, if I did, he would see my fangs and that would be the end of living in this town. Suddenly, a familiar aroma hit me and it was coming from Jared. Where did I smell that before? All I had for that moment was that he smelled like dog still.
    “Were you, um, playing with your neighbor’s dog again?” I asked.
    “What? Oh, uh, yeah, I was.” He said. I knew that it was either he was lying or he was just in La-la Land.
    “Oh, I see.” Then, I remembered that I needed to hunt. I felt so thirsty that I could’ve jumped on Jared and drank him any time now.
    “Um, I have got to go. I, uh, need to go home.”
    “Oh, I could walk you home if you don’t want to go by yourself,” Jared said. “It’s pretty scary in there.
    “No thanks, I’m fine.”
    “No, I really mean it.”
    “I said no thank you.”
    “It really is scary in there.”
    “Maybe some other time.”
    “I’m—“
    “NO!” I yelled and jogged to the way I came in. Once I was far enough, I ran full speed and quickly got something, then, went home.
    The house was dark and I immediately knew that my dad was in bed. I envied him; I can’t go to sleep. I jumped on the couch in the living room and folded my knees up to my chest. The fight I had with Jared haunted me. It’s not my fault I’m a vampire; I never wished to be this way. I realized that was exactly what my dad said three years ago when I started to become one. The thought went away when I thought about what happened in the clearing. I would have let Jared come with me if I hunted beforehand, but I was stupid and I didn’t. I didn’t plan to yell at him that way, but I had to do something to make him stop talking and let me go. I needed to apologize to him the next day. He was the only person who talked to me that day, besides the teachers. He was the one who was actually being nice. Well, it’s not like everyone else wasn’t nice, it was just that they never talked to me.
    I didn’t have anything to do and I didn’t want to go outside again, so for the rest of the night I stared at the blank walls that matched my mind.