"Hey, are you okay?" Kendal asked when she passed by Harper’s room and saw her glued on the small TV screen in front of her.
Harper merely glanced at her standing in the doorway. “Another alleged bear attack.”
“What?” Kendal walked into the room and joined her on the bed, and watched a field reporter describing to a TV anchor how locals in the area had found a mauled body.
*“…the partially consumed body was more likely mauled by a bear and then left on the side. Authorities are now searching the area for…”*
“What could have triggered these animal attacks?” Harper asked, eyes still on the screen.
Kendal sat still.
“The girl from the first inn we stayed at had told me about some bear attack last month, and another one that week, and now…”
“How sure are they that the bears are the ones responsible for these gruesome…attacks?” Kendal rhetorically asked as she listened to the reporter saying that there was no witness to the incident that left the 34-year-old cyclist and widow dead half a mile from the nearest trail in the nature reserve near Clearwater Crossing.
Suddenly, Harper felt chills in her entire body when she remembered Claire and Kendal’s experience, and she still couldn’t believe how or what pushed these animals to attack.
“Do you think that something else could have killed that woman?” she asked.
“Possibly.”
“Like what?”
Silence…
Then Kendal shrugged. “I don’t know. Something else that’s more unforgiving and…evil?”
Harper slowly turned to her. “I’m sorry,” she said, eyeing Kendal’s expression.
Kendal quickly reached for the remote and turned off the TV. “What are you sorry about?” But she knew, deep in her heart, what the sorry was for – Claire. She smiled to mask the hurt she was still feeling inside and said instead, “Why don’t I show you around town today?”
“Okay. Um, Alex went to help Nan with some groceries, and I think your grandpa said he’d be at the shop?” Harper said.
“Oh! Yeah. His shop. He owns the oldest souvenir shop in town, you know,” Kendal said, her chirpy attitude slowly returning.
“That’s cool. Can we drop by his shop first then?”
“Sure. Let me just…um…I’m going to run some errands, and I’ll be back before lunch. Nan and Alex should be back by then.”
Harper nodded casually. “Sure.”
Kendal gave her a small smile. "Awesome. So you chill in here. You and Alex just wait for me here. Okay?"
“Alrighty.”
As soon as Kendal left the room, Harper immediately kept herself busy and went on and tried to continue to unpack, taking off her clothes and laying them across her bed. Unable to shake off the thoughts about the animal attack on the news, she paused from what she was doing, sprawled on the bed, and stared up at the ceiling.
When thoughts about her parents’ looming divorce crept inside her mind, she let her head drift to the side, eyeing the overcast outside the window. Then suddenly, she heard a commotion downstairs.
She sat up and rushed to the door. Unsure of what the noise could be, she tipped her toes out of her room and quietly went down the stairs. Then, her blood rushed to her head as soon as she saw a tall man pinning Kendal against the wall and another two standing by the door.
"Let go of Kendal, or I’ll call the cops!" she shouted firmly and walked over to them.
The man looked at her, surprised at her audacity to threat him and his companions when there were three of them. The man turned back to Kendal. "Is she with that pup?" he asked.
"Yes. She’s my friend from college," Kendal answered. "Harper, it’s okay. Keane here is a family friend."
But Harper wouldn’t just have it. "A family friend? Is that really how people in Clearwater Crossing treat their family friends?"
“Harper, let it go, please. You―”
But she turned to Keane instead. "Do you usually run into your family friends’ homes and assault them? Don’t you know that assault is a crime?" Her voice was tense yet unwavering.
Keane was quickly drawn by Harper’s brazen display of grit and crossed the hall to stand in front of her. His dark brown eyes were boring into her as he towered over her. "Your friend here actually has the balls, Kendal. I’m impressed."
Harper swallowed hard, taking a step back. Keane’s expression morphed into a smirk at the action.
"She and her fiancé are just visiting," Kendal said, walking over to Keane. As soon as she felt her own blood boiling, she grabbed the man’s arm and pulled him in the direction of the door.
Keane eyed one of the men who came with him and gave the nod. Quickly, the man pulled Kendal off him. He went back to stare at Harper. “Is it true? The pup’s your fiancé?”
Harper made a face, confused. “Huh? What pup?”
"Hmm… I see. I get it," he said, turning to Kendal. "You’ve got some explaining to do." Then he and the other two men stormed out, leaving the door wide open.
Harper looks over at Kendal. "Is there some local gang that I should know about? And, oh my god, are you a part of that gang?"
Kendal shook her head, closing the main door. “There’s no gang, and Keane’s just the town’s local asshole. Every town has one. Unfortunately, he’s part of the complicated family tree that came first to Clearwater Crossing. So, he’s kind of relied proudly on that fact.”
“And he thinks that being a member of that family, he could just assault people in their homes? What a stupid reason. So what if his ancestors first came to this town? His mom or dad isn’t the town’s mayor, is it?”
“No.”
“Well, even if they are, it doesn’t give him any right.” Harper paused. “Why was he pinning you against the wall anyway?”
Her friend looked like she wasn’t sure how to answer. "Some argument over some stupid stuff."
"What was he talking about a…a pup?" Harper asked, crossing her arms over her chest. "Was he talking about Alex?"
Kendal bit her lower lip, staring at her. "Yeah. Well-um, you have to admit, you know your-ah, your so-called fiancé isn’t some average guy, you know. His presence in this…um…ah…town is making quite a stir with…w-with…ah…t-he…wo-women?” she stammered. “And most of the men here are immature, *especially Keane*. They can’t handle some competition, especially Keane. Look, I gotta go and run some errands. I’ll be back.”
Harper frowned; she knew Kendal was hiding something from her. She wanted to ask what it was but decided against it instead. Maybe when she’s ready to talk, she’d talk. “Okay.”
*** * ***
Kendal pulled up her car in front of a large house and angrily slammed the door when she got out. She loudly knocked on the front door. A gray-haired woman answered and offered her a heart-warming smile as soon as she saw her.
"Kendal!"
“Good morning, Mrs. Cobb. I actually came to see Alpha David. Is he here?”
“Nice to see you today!” Mrs. Cobb replied, pulling Kendal into a hug. "The Alpha just left an hour ago. His beta is out in the back."
“I don’t want to speak to that jerk. How about Luna Mildred?”
“She’s in the tea room. Come on in.” Mrs. Cobb stepped aside.
Kendal thanked the older woman, walked in, and went straight to where Mrs. Cobb said where the luna was. She knocked on the ornated door and heard Keane’s familiar voice instead, “You may enter!”
Her blood boiled right away.
“Asshole,” Kendal hissed to herself before entering the room.
Luna Mildred’s warm smile immediately greeted her, but when her eyes drifted a little to the far right, she saw Keane on the sofa with a cup of what could only be coffee, judging by its strong scent that wafted through the air.
"What are you doing here?" Keane asked, a smug look on his face.
“Don’t be rude, Keane,” the luna spoke.
"Good morning, Luna, " Kendal said, closing the door behind her.
“Good morning, Kendal. How are your grandparents?”
“They’re fine, Luna.”
“And how are you?”
“Still wrapping my mind around the truth, the reality, but just fine as well.”
“Glad to hear that.”
“I actually came here to tell you what your son did this morning,” Kendal started, ignoring the fact that Keane was just a few feet away from her.
“What did he do this time?”
"Nothing, mom―"
“I’m not asking you, son.”
Kendal shook her head. "You attacking me in my own home is definitely NOT nothing to me. Especially in the presence of my friend."
“Is this true, Keane?”
“Mom―”
Luna Mildred set her cup of tea on the table, stood up, and slapped her son across the face in one swift motion. It was so hard and so sudden that Kendal gasped in shock.
"You know how I hate liars, Keane."
Keane’s eyes soon moistened. “Mom.”
“You’re already fucking twenty-five, and yet you act like a spoiled brat.”
“But she’s hiding something from us, mom. I didn’t even know until then that her friend, that that feisty woman, is human.”
Kendal growled, irritated. "Oh, come on, Keane. What could I possibly be hiding, huh? My best friend and her fiancé are here for a vacation. A harmless vacation in our quaint little town.”
“Oh yeah? Since when are Lycans allowed to bond with a human?” Keane stood up, face red in both humiliation and anger.
“I beg your pardon?”
“Oh, how pitiful. You don’t know that your friend’s fiancé is a Lycan, do you?”
Kendal shook her head. “What a lying piece of shit you are?!”
He grinned. “You may be right. I may be a piece of shit, but I know a Lycan when I see and smell one. You don’t know because just like your friend, you’re *just* human.”
Luna Mildred looked out through the open window, and pursing her lips, she said, "Kendal, humans, and werewolves can’t bond. It is forbidden. It is a crime, and the punishment for it is the most brutal of all: death for the human and banishment for our kind."
“Luna, I’m sure Alex is not one of you. And he’s definitely not a threat at all.”
The luna just smiled. “We shall know for sure soon.” She turned to her son. “Now be polite and walk Kendal out.”
“It’s okay, Luna, there’s no need―”
“My son needs to learn some simple manners, so I insist.”
Keane sighed and stood up, "Let’s go."
“And apologize to Kendal for your behavior on your way out.”
“Fine,” he muttered, walking out of the door with Kendal.
"Thanks for your time, Luna," Kendal said.
Luna Mildred smiled. “See you again soon, Kendal.”
Keane closed the door behind them and mumbled under his breath, “You’re such a kiss-ass that I’m beginning to think you’re just trying to get on my mother’s good side so we won’t kick you and your grandparents out of this town.”
“Nan and Pat made a pack with your grandparents. We’re not going anywhere, jerk.”
“Why don’t you start kissing my ass as early as now so when I become alpha of the pack, it would no longer be too difficult for you.”
“I don’t give a shit about you.”
“Oh, you should. Weren’t you listening to what my mother just told you? So if you aren’t careful, I might just report your friend’s forbidden affair with that Lycan.”
“He’s not a Lycan―”
“The full moon’s just a few days from now,” Keane smirked, then opened the main door for Kendal, “He wouldn’t be able to hide his true self, so we shall know by then.”
“Whatever you say.” Kendal glared at him then slammed the door behind her. She got into her car and drove off.
Could Keane be telling the truth? She thought, then fear soon crept into her.